While a large segment of the borrowers who were under the extended moratoria have seen their cash flows being restored to a larger extent, banks sense another 10 to 20 percent of customers might still find it challenging to restart repaying their loa

Central Bank has extended the relief measures afforded to licensed finance companies on mandatory liquidity standards by a further 3 months through June 30, 2021 to ride the pandemic-induced business challenges, after the earlier extension lapsed on

Despite the heavy toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on Sri Lanka’s economy and the lives of its people, the economy will recover in 2021, though challenges remain, said the latest World Bank Sri Lanka Development Update: Economic and Poverty Impact of

In a fresh gazette last Friday (9th), the Central Bank (CB) relaxed the earlier rule of requiring exporters to convert 25 percent of repatriated proceeds down to 10 percent, while also doubling the period given to exporters and banks to meet the dire

Aitken Spence PLC recently acquired Waltrim Energy Limited, a subsidiary of Sunshine Holdings PLC, for Rs. 900 million.

Completing Rs.175 billion worth tea sold during 50 weekly sales, CICRA Solutions (Pvt.) Ltd’s award-winning Colombo Tea e-Auction platform is celebrating its first year of operations.

HSBC and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) this week announced a US $ 300 million financing programme to help the region’s supply chains scale-up to deliver life-saving vaccines at both volume and pace.

SriLankan Catering yesterday announced the appointment of Mangala Wijesekera as Chief Executive Officer of SriLankan Catering, a subsidiary of SriLankan Airlines.

The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) has announced that interest will be paid to electricity consumers on their deposits made when applying for connections.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) yesterday issued a fresh warning to those interested in investing in virtual currencies (VCs), stressing that currently there are no regulatory safeguards relating to the usage, investment or dealing in VCs in Sri

The Central Bank together with the government is pursuing several avenues to prop up its foreign reserve buffers, which had by end-March depleted to US$ 4.1 billion, which is sufficient to cover only three months of imports.

While all-time low interest rates appear to be galvanising the economic revival after the virus hit, they are also powering another crucial segment in the economy, i.e. the mutual fund industry, as the sector has been adding assets at a faster pace o

Local tour operators represented by the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) yesterday expressed their displeasure over tourists being pushed to pay US$ 40 for a PCR test, and urged steps should be taken to charge for the tests in

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its latest World Economic Outlook report has slashed Sri Lanka’s economic growth rate forecast for this year to 4 percent from 5.3 percent it forecasted in October, 2020.

The Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill, which will declare Colombo Port City (CPC) as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), and under which a high-powered Commission will be appointed to administer it, was presented to Parliament yesterday.

The United States-based global architecture, planning and design firm, CallisonRTKL has been appointed to re-calibrate the original conceptual design of US$1 billion Colombo International Finance Centre (CIFC) mixed-use development project at Colombo

The Central Bank yesterday said it has commenced the payment of increased compensation amount of Rs. 500,000 under the Sri Lanka Deposit Insurance and Liquidity Support Scheme (SLDILSS),

Real wage growth or the wages accounted for inflation in the country has remained in the negative for private sector employees for over one and half years before the informal private sector wages turned positive in January this year. But the formal p

High-speed Internet for rural areas must be prioritised to ensure the establishment and advancement of industries across the country, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa stressed, yesterday.

With the Colombo Port City Commission Bill reaching the final stages of the legislation process, the project company of Colombo Port City (CPC) eyes to release 20 land plots located adjacent to Colombo Business District (CBD) as pilot development pro

Sri Lanka yesterday saw the launch of its own localised food tracker ‘Bath Curry Indicator’ (BCI), a spin on the popular ‘Big Mac Index’ conceptualised by The Economist in 1986.

The fifth Big Bad Wolf book sale and its second virtual return to Sri Lanka is scheduled to go live from May 5 to 12, the organisers said in a media statement.

Sri Lankan shares ended higher yesterday, helped by gains in the financial and consumer staples sectors.

Aitken Spence PLC yesterday said it acquired 100 percent of shares of Waltrim Energy Limited, a sub-subsidiary of Sunshine Holdings PLC, for a total consideration of Rs.900 million.

While affirming Hemas Holdings PLC’s National Long-Term rating at ‘AAA(lka)’, with a Stable Outlook, Fitch Ratings yesterday said the company’s recent exit from the leisure sector further reduced its business risk.

The Monetary Board of the Central Bank, which met yesterday for the third time of the year to determine the rate path after assessing the efficacy of its previous policy measures, was largely expected to have decided to stay pat, as the economy is pr

The Imports and Exports Control Department has issued a directive to all commercial banks and Sri Lanka Customs not to facilitate the processes of palm oil importation with immediate effect.

Malaysia, one of the key sources from where Sri Lanka imports palm oil, appears to have been visibly irked by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s move to ban palm oil imports.

Sampath Bank’s Basel III compliant listed debenture issue to raise up to Rs.6 billion, which opened yesterday, was oversubscribed.

Mobility, which took an immense and a prolonged toll from the pandemic, appears to be re-emerging as people are seen venturing out for shopping and other recreational activities after more than a year of shelter-in-place.