Hela Clothing secures Rs.1.2bn capital infusion

Sri Lankan apparel manufacturer Hela Clothing Group yesterday announced that it had secured a capital infusion of Rs.1.2 billion, by way of a mix of shareholder and new private equity investment funds from a private consortium, whose lead investor has a wide portfolio, including private equity investments in the fashion and retail space.   

Netherlands’ Rabobank loans euro 52.1mn for construction of steel bridges

The Rabobank of Netherlands has agreed to provide euro 52.1 million financial assistance to construct approximately 250 steel bridges islandwide, especially in the rural areas.   

CIC Holdings crop solutions biz performs better with revival in agri activities

The turnaround at CIC Holdings PLC appears to be facing some tough challenges as the agricultural and industrial giant is still striving to plough ahead beating the headwinds faced by its multiple businesses, though its crop solutions business fared well during the September quarter. 

De-growth in basket value hits Cargills Sept. top line

Cargills Ceylon PLC’s revenues languished and profits shrank mostly on the decline in basket values of its namesake supermarket chain, while the margins also narrowed as the group was seen striving to contain the costs to maintain profits.    

Rupee hits record low on political uncertainty, economic woes

(Colombo) REUTERS: The Sri Lankan rupee hit a record low for a fourth straight session yesterday, as investors dumped currency-denominated assets following a credit rating downgrade and a delay in an International Monetary Fund loan discussion in the wake of a political crisis.  

MTD Walkers suffers Rs.1bn loss

The financial woes at MTD Walkers PLC further deepened as the construction giant suffered a heavy blow to its bottom line during the three months ended September 30 (2Q19) as the company lo

SLT September profits surge on higher revenue, efficiency

Sri Lanka Telecom PLC (SLT), the leader in fixed line services and number two in mobile services, reported higher revenues and contained costs to post strong profits for the quarter ended September 30, 2018 (3Q18), but a sizeable slice of earnings had been wiped off by a hefty foreign exchange loss.  SLT reported revenues of Rs.20.6 billion for the three months under review, up 8.4 percent year-on-year (YoY). The operating profit before depr

SLASSCOM urges swift, constitutional settlement to current political crisis

Sri Lanka’s IT sector main industry body, Sri Lanka Association for Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM) in s brief statement expressed its disappointment over the current political situation in the country and called for a swift and constitutional settlement. “As an industry body, we are disappointed to see the current state of indecision and the inability to arrive at a swift settlement by the parties concerned.  “W

Russian airline Rossiya to fly 7 days a week to Colombo

The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Russia recently announced the planned expansion of the regular flight programme between Moscow and Colombo. According to the agreement between the Russian and Sri Lankan governments dated March 26, 2012 and the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two countries on December 05, 2017, the Russian air carrier Rossiya Airlines Company (JSC) has been appointed for performing regular passenger, baggage, cargo and m

THASL calls for speedy solution to political stalemate

The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) has highlighted the need for a speedy solution to the political stalemate, which will have detrimental effects on the tourism industry and the main tourist season.  At a recent meeting convened by the newly ap

May defends draft Brexit deal agreed by EU, Britain

LONDON (AFP) - Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday fended off heavy opposition in parliament after Britain and the EU agreed on the outlines of post-Brexit ties as part of a draft deal due to be signed off by EU leaders. After briefing her cabinet in a hastily-arranged teleconference call, May addressed the House of Commons, saying the agreement was the “best possible deal”. EU Council President Donald Tusk

Dolce & Gabbana founders seek ‘forgiveness’ in China with video apology

(Shanghai) REUTERS: Dolce & Gabbana’s co-founders asked for China’s ‘forgiveness’ yesterday, trying to salvage a crucial market for the luxury brand after a backlash against its latest advertising campaign.

Chinese tourists skip Thailand after Phuket boat disaster

BANGKOK (AFP) - A ferry disaster that killed dozens of Chinese tourists in Thailand earlier this year has sent visitor numbers plunging from the kingdom’s single largest market. 

China leads Asian sell-off as fears grow over global economy

HONG KONG (AFP) - Fresh fears over headwinds facing the global economy saw Asian stocks plunge into the red yesterday, in light holiday trading after US markets were closed for Thanksgiving.

S. Africa plans US$1bn investment in S. Sudan oil industry

JUBA (AFP) - South Africa and South Sudan signed an outline agreement yesterday that could see Pretoria invest around US$1 billion (880 million euros) in South Sudan’s struggling oil industry. The agreement, whic

Soaring trade restrictions spark ‘serious concern’: WTO

GENEVA (AFP) - The world’s biggest economies slapped import restrictions on nearly half a trillion dollars’ worth of trade over the past six months, the World Trade Organization said this week voicing “serious concern”. Forty new import barriers were erect

Rupee hits record low on Moody’s downgrade, political uncertainty

REUTERS - The Sri Lankan rupee fell to an all-time low of 179.95 per dollar yesterday, as Moody’s downgrade of the country’s credit rating in the wake of a political crisis saw more investors dump rupee

Finance Ministry allays loan default fears

The Finance and Economic Affairs Ministry has assured lenders that Sri Lanka will honour its dues during the financial year beginning from January 1, 2019, despite the current political impasse triggered by the sacking of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe by President Maithripala Sirisena on October 26. The situation worsened by the subsequent dissolution of the Parliament by President Sirisena, which is now being challenged at the country&rsqu

Trading on disaster recovery site today

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) is to conduct a planned full-day of trading from the disaster recovery site using ATS Version 7 Disaster Recovery Solution today.  The CSE in a brief statement said the exercise will be an industry-wide activity with the participation of all stakeholders to ensure the preparedness of all participants to meet the recovery needs of the industry, as a part of the Annual Business Continuity Planning (BCP) process

Sri Lanka holds sovereign bond issues after downgrade

(Colombo) AFP: Sri Lanka has abandoned plans to raise money through sovereign bonds and will pursue badly-needed revenue elsewhere after Moody’s downgraded its credit rating amid political turmoil, an official said yesterday. President Maithripala Sirisena’s economic advisor said “alternative finance” raised locally would service much of Sri Lanka’s US$ 4.5 billion in foreign debt repayments in 2019.

Greenhouse gas levels in atmosphere hit new high: United Nations

(Geneva) AFP: The levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the main driver of climate change, have hit a new record high, the UN said yesterday, warning that the time to act was running out. Ahead of the COP 24 Climate 

Nissan board votes to oust Ghosn as chairman

(Tokyo) REUTERS: Nissan Motor’s board voted yesterday to oust Carlos Ghosn from his post as chairman following his shock arrest this week, public broadcaster NHK reported, marking the 

Three large banks downgraded after sovereign rating cut

A day after the country rating was downgraded, Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s) yesterday downgraded the long-term ratings of three large banks in line with the sovereign rating over challenging operating conditions, exacerbated by the current political deadlock.    

BOI signs US$ 60.86mn worth investment agreements

The Board of Investment (BOI) yesterday announced that it has signed US $60.86 million worth investment agreements with local and foreign investors in apparel, logistics, plant tissue culture and packaging sectors.  

Rupee hits record low after Moody’s downgrade, IMF loan delay

(Colombo) REUTERS: The Sri Lankan rupee fell to an all-time low of 179.00 per dollar yesterday, a day after Moody’s downgraded the country’s credit rating, as a political crisis worsens a rout in the currency.  

IMF delays Sri Lanka’s loan discussion on political crisis

(Colombo) REUTERS: The Internationa l Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday it had delayed discussions on Sri Lanka’s next loan tranche due to the country’s political crisis.  

Moody’s downgrades Sri Lanka on political crisis

Delivering the first major blow to crisis-ridden Sri Lanka’s economy, Moody’s Investors Service yesterday downgraded the Government of Sri Lanka’s foreign currency issuer and senior unsecured rating

China believes Maldives will make ‘correct choice’ on trade deal

(Beijing) REUTERS: China believes the Maldives will make the ‘correct choice’ to continue with a bilateral free trade deal, a foreign ministry spokesman said yesterday, after a Maldives politician said the tiny nation would pull out of the pact.

Sri Lanka expects bumper rice harvest in Maha season

Sri Lanka expects a bumper harvest of 3.33 million metric tonnes of paddy output in the key Maha season (2018/19), a 40.2 percent year-on-year (YoY) increase, as weather conditions continu

Manufacturing and services activities expand in October

Sri Lanka’s manufacturing and services activities expanded during the month of October, according to SL Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) compiled by the Statistics Department of the Central Bank. The manufacturing sector PMI value in Octob