Fitch Ratings Lanka this week said its rating forecasts on Melstacorp PLC are based on the assumption that the company will remain acquisitive, particularly from 2023 as it generates strong cash from existing businesses, sufficient enough to launch a

Lanka IOC PLC (LIOC), becoming one of the early filers of interim results for the July-September (2Q21) quarter, reported an operating loss for the period, largely due to elevate costs and somewhat downbeat revenues, as people pumped less gasoline in

Export companies in the Gampaha district can continue to operate during the curfew period strictly following the COVID-19 health guidelines and all preventive measures for the pandemic, with consent from the relevant health authorities.

Richard Pieris Group said it invested Rs.1 billion in its subsidiary, Richard Pieris Finance Limited, to help the latter to meet its regulatory capital requirements.

Sri Lanka’s insurance penetration, known for its extremely low levels by most standards, appears to be sticky as both long-term and general insurance businesses have made only insignificant gains in 2019, and the sector could face a further setback

Airtel Lanka yesterday said that it has been allotted the 4G spectrum by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) and will soon launch its high-speed mobile broadband services across the country.

The Board of Investment (BOI) yesterday said the operations of the BOI industries located within the Gampaha district would be carried out without any interruption during the curfew-imposed period.

Sri Lanka’s wage growth, which accelerated in July, slipped in August and continued to remain under the headline inflation, weighing on the purchasing power of the people.

Inflation measured by the broader National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) increased for the third month in September, amid higher food prices while non-food inflation remained largely unchanged.

The long overdue earnings report card of listed corporates for the January-March quarter is finally here, with only 266 companies filing interim results so far,

Signalling a loss in steam after a belligerent positive run, the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) ended in negative territory for the second day in a row, amid Sri Lanka recording a higher number of COVID-19 cases and the key Gampaha district going into

National Development Bank PLC (NDB) yesterday revealed its plans to raise up to Rs.8 billion via a rights issue.

Sri Lanka added more workers to the agriculture sector during April-June 2020 (2Q) period amid the urgent need to ensure food security and to bring in much foreign exchange as possible to the economy beset by the pandemic. According to Census and St

The Hambantota District Chamber of Commerce (HDCC) has joined hands with the Colombo University China Language Center and the Hambantota International Port to provide Chinese language lessons to Hambantota district residents.

Global stocks were mixed yesterday before a key deadline to agree a pre-election US stimulus package as concerns weighed over a fresh surge in coronavirus infections.

First Capital Research (FCR) has lowered its bets on another round of monetary policy easing by way of a rate cut announcement tomorrow as the country’s macro-economic indicators point to an improved economic health with easing financial conditions

Softlogic Finance PLC has received Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) approval for its rights issue of Rs. 1.9 billion as the Extraordinary General Meeting of the company fixed for November 9, 2020, with the funds expected to be received by the company by

Joining in the bandwagon of issuing cautionary signals on the country’s finance leasing company (FLC) sector, Fitch Ratings yesterday said the pandemic induced pressures on asset quality and profitability would test the companies’ loss absorption

Overabundance of liquidity caused by the lacklustre growth in loans in the sector, Sri Lanka’s non-bank lenders are settling vast sums of their borrowings to banks, with larger players leading the pack, as they appear to reduce their leverage in th

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) now sends a customised daily trade alert to investors at the end of each trade day, notifying them of all transactions that are carried out through their securities accounts in CDS.

The healthcare arm of Harry Jayawardena-controlled Melstacorp Group plans to perform real-time PCR (RT-PCR) tests with further plans to venture into retail pharmaceutical business.

Hatton National Bank PLC (HNB) in a statement yesterday confirmed that further to one staff member having tested positive for the coronavirus on October 15, all staff working in the relevant area of level 19, HNB Towers and close associates, who unde

With the objective of taking local start-ups to commercial level and thereon to the global market, the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Forum of the Sri Lanka Association for Software Services Companies (SLASSCOM) recently kicked off an ambitious agen

Sri Lanka’s LOLC Group has commenced its operations in Zambia recently, with the official launch of its inaugural branch located in Lusaka.

The ongoing health crisis saw the private sector step up efforts in extending relief to vulnerable groups but it is the government that must take the lead in the area of social welfare, the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) stressed.

With the July-September earnings season underway, stock market analysts believe that the corporate earnings have largely turned a corner—barring the sectors which were directly hit by the virus, such as travel and tourism—and thus could power the

Buoyed by positive local investor sentiment, the main All Share Price Index (ASPI) of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) rose 2.54 percent or 147.07 points last week to 5, 945. 79, while the more liquid S&P SL20 Index rose 0.93 percent or 21.93 points

The recovery in private credit and the broader economic revival post-coronavirus are expected to lift many economic participants and sectors other than finance companies, as they could be left behind due to intense competition from banks, while leasi

Sri Lanka produced a record paddy harvest in 2020 as both cultivation seasons gave a bumper crop as favourable weather, robust policy assistance and assurance of guaranteed prices gave hope and certainty to the farming community to cultivate a larger

Following the Minuwangoda factory outbreak that has become the biggest COVID-19 cluster in the country, over 15, 000 PCR tests have been carried within factories under the Board of Investment (BOI) in the last few days.