Teejay Lanka extends positive profit momentum to March

Teejay Lanka PLC managed to report a slight increase in the bottom line for the final quarter ended in March 2018, as the weft knitted fabric maker continued its positive march in quarterly earnings it set out in the December quarter.  

Central Bank seen keeping rates steady on Friday

REUTERS: Sri Lanka’s Central Bank is expected to keep key interest rates unchanged at its policy review announcement on Friday, after unexpectedly cutting a key rate by 25 basis points in April to help bolster economic growth that has slipped to a 16-year low.

Carson group private equity arm writes off Rs.52.4mn as two investments go bust

Guardian Capital Partners PLC, the specialized private equity investment arm of the Carson group, has incurred an impairment loss of Rs.52.4 million for the financial year ended March 31, 2018 (FY17/18), with two of the start-up companies the firm had made investments going bust.

Top African safari operator keen on investing in SL

Luxury African safari operator andBeyond is likely to make some large-scale investments in Sri Lanka in the next two years, giving new impetus to the island nation’s wildlife tourism, Mirror Business learns. 

Nestle Lanka March net profit up 9%

Nestle Lanka PLC, the local unit of the world’s largest food and beverage company, saw its March quarter (1Q18) net profit increasing 9.4 percent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs.944 million, as the company managed to contain its costs. 

National Economic Council to take up gem and jewellery industry issues next week

The National Economic Council (NEC) chaired by President Maithripala Sirisena is expected to take up the issues faced by the country’s gem and jewellery industry on May 15, which will include the recently imposed 1

Teejay Lanka extends positive profit momentum to March

Teejay Lanka PLC managed to report a slight increase in the bottom line for the final quarter ended in March 2018 as the weft knitted fabric maker continued its positive march in quarterly earnings it set out in December quarter.  

February tourist arrivals up 13%

Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka for the month of April rose 12.6 percent year-on-year (YoY) to 180, 429 amid higher arrivals from Asia & Pacific and Europe, the data released by Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) showed.

State-owned Litro Gas says price hike was necessary

Litro Gas Lanka Ltd recently announced the price hike of a Litro gas cylinder (12.5kg) by Rs.245, following the approval from the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA). “The price increase was a necessity and a long overdue step that the company was compelled to take, owing to the volatile nature of the industry prices, which is largely determined by two key variables, namely the Saudi Armco contract price (CP) (announced on a monthly basis) as

Sampath Bank March net up over 40% on new loans, higher margins

Higher loans, stretched margins and fee incomes helped Sampath Bank PLC to record higher earnings for the quarter ended in March 2018, offsetting the negative impact from the increased provisions made on possible bad loans. 

Cargills offers free pumpkin to customers to help farmers

Sri Lanka’s largest supermarket operator, Cargills Food City said it would offer 500 grammes of pumpkin to every customer, whose bill value exceeds Rs.750, in a bid to help out the pumpkin farmers in Nawagaththegama.

ADB tells Sri Lanka to keep all options open for an energy-secure future

Sri Lanka should keep its options open when it comes to electricity generation to secure the country’s energy future and meet the increasing demand as its economy grows, according to energy sector experts at the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Distilleries Company 4Q net surges amid price increase

Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka PLC reported a surge in profits for its January-March quarter (4Q18), as the country’s largest and oldest spirit maker increased the prices to pass on higher taxes on alcoholic beverages in November, last year.   

Softlogic bags Delifrance franchise

Diversified conglomerate Softlogic Holdings PLC has entered into a master franchise agreement with France’s Delifrance S.A., to develop, open and operate Delifrance outlets in Sri Lanka with its trademarks.

Mangala holds discussions with ADB to expedite projects in Sri Lanka

Minister of Finance and Media Mangala Samaraweera who is currently attending the 51st Annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila held discussions with In-Chang Song, an Executive Director of the Board of ADB at the ADB Headquarters yesterday.

EFC calls for grassroot level interventions to ensure OSH standards at workplace

At a time when ‘youth are a rare resource’, the need to give priority to Occupational Health and Safety (OSH) measures at the workplace is unprecedented, observed the Director General, Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC), Kanishka Weerasinghe. The EFC Chief made these observations at the ILO-initiated workshop held on World Day for Safety and Health at Work recently. 

THASL invites SLTDA to run joint workshops in major touristic areas

The President of The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) Sanath Ukwatte said the recent incidents in Mirissa and harassment of foreigners in general has brought in great disrepute and has tarnished the cou

TEA welcomes removal of glyphosate ban

The Tea Exporters Association (TEA) welcomes the government decision to lift the ban on use of glyphosate weedicide on tea and rubber plantations. The Association thanks the President and the Prime Minister for the decision taken in the best interest of plantation sector and also the national economy.   TEA itself addressed a letter 

Asia stocks ease, dollar off highs before U.S. payrolls

REUTERS: Asian shares fell yesterday while the dollar ran into some profit-taking after several weeks of strong gains as financial markets turned their attention to looming U.S. payrolls data for fresh catalysts.

Sri Lanka attracts US$ 465 mn FDI in 1Q

Sri Lanka has attracted US $465 million in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the first quarter of 2018 (1Q18), exceeding the Board of Investment (BOI) target of US $378 million for the period, Development S

We need to invest more in higher education. Here’s why

There is a long-standing debate about whether development assistance should finance tertiary education. The debate largely revolves around the impact of public subsidies for university students on income distribution and equity.

Former Central Bank Governor accuses govt. of meddling with GDP calculations

Former Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal yesterday claimed that the government has meddled with GDP calculations in 2014, 2015 and 2016 to increase the real GDP growth rate of 2016 from 2.2 percent to 4.4 percent.

Stocks edge higher as financials gain

REUTERS: Sri Lankan shares ended marginally firmer, led by financials, though gains were muted as investors looked for fresh cues from political and economic fronts, brokers said.

Rupee holds steady near record low

REUTERS: The Sri Lankan rupee ended steady yesterday, holding near the record low hit in the previous session, as importer dollar demand was met by greenback sales by state banks, dealers said, while a top Central Bank official warned against 

Transparency, clear communication strategy highlighted as key for Public-Private Partnership success

Transparency and a clear communication strategy were presented as the key factors behind the success of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Centre of the Philippines—a case in point where Sri Lanka could definitely take 

ADB to increase lending to Sri Lanka this year

 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) yesterday said it would substantially increase its lending to Sri Lanka this year as the country has undertaken larger development projects in rece

President intervenes to remove exorbitant charges on gem and jewellery exports

President Maithripala Sirisena has intervened in removing the exorbitant service charges slapped by the National Gem and Jewellery Authority (NGJA) on gem and jewellery exports and asked the NGJA Chairman and Director General (DG) to tender their resignations following a meeting the President had with the members of the Sri Lanka Gem and Jewellery Association (SLGJA) and other industry stakeholders last week, a SLGJA member told Mirror Business.

Lankan firm partners big Chinese travel agency to bring additional tourists

Green Leaves Leisure (Pvt.) Ltd, a subsidiary of Green Leaves Group, on Tuesday guaranteed to bring 16,000 additional Chinese tourists to Sri Lanka monthly for the next 10 years, commencing this May, with the aim of making China the largest source market for the local tourism industry by the year end.

Apparel exports grow slow in 1Q18

Sri Lanka’s apparel exports grew at a slower pace than the industry expectation during the first quarter this year, recording a growth of 4.1 percent to reach US $ 1.269 billion, compared to the US $ 1.219 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2017, the latest apparel export data released by the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) indicated.

Rupee hits all-time low; cenbank intervenes

REUTERS: The Sri Lankan rupee hit a fresh low on Wednesday on importer demand for the U.S. currency, dealers said, but recovered after the central bank intervened in the market.