As Sri Lanka is highly vulnerable to external shocks, such as those stemming from climate change and natural disasters, senior economist and former Central Bank Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy stressed it is essential for the country to look at buildi

World stock markets sank anew yesterday as the US Federal Reserve warned over the “highly uncertain” economic outlook due to the coronavirus pandemic -- and investors eyed fears of a second wave of the killer disease in the United States.

Central Bank’s top researcher recently revealed how external agencies, including that of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and rating agencies project doomsday scenarios for the Sri Lankan economy even when the country is rapidly re

The immense health crisis created by COVID-19 has also rapidly caused a global economic crisis, threatening small, and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and the livelihoods of workers in Sri Lanka and around the world.

The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) yesterday thanked the government and particularly Sri Lanka Tourism for granting a wage support scheme for employees of the hotel industry and concessions for the payment of utilities.

The Maldives is reopening to visitors but while anyone with a super yacht or private jet can already head to the Indian Ocean destination, normal travellers will have to wait a few more weeks.

Businesses across all sectors in the country have massively cut down or completely frozen job postings in the recent months and despite the economy being reopened for nearly four weeks, no real recovery is seen in industries creating job opportuniti

Piramal Glass Ceylon PLC (PGC) said it incurred a loss of sales to the tune of Rs.450 million, including exports worth of Rs.200 million, during the month of March, due to the closure of operations amid COVID-19 lockdowns.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a US $ 3 million grant from its Asia Pacific Disaster Response Fund (APDRF), to further assist Sri Lanka in its response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Sri Lankan gig platforms are at a disadvantage over their foreign counterparts, who have their operations here, as the former comes under regulatory scrutiny and local tax laws while the latter is not, says the Central Bank.

An agreement was signed by the Government of Sri Lanka with the Government of Germany yesterday to obtain a technical assistance grant of euro 11 million, to implement two projects pertaining to vocational training and SME development.

Sri Lanka’s banking sector asset quality measured by the gross non-performing loan (NPL) ratio edged up to 5.1 percent during the first three months of 2020, from 4.7 percent at end-2019, broadly in line with the expectations, the latest Central Ba

Sri Lanka’s apparel sector is showing signs of recovery from the impacts of the pandemic, with the lockdowns being carefully lifted world over but the industry players expect to receive a new hit come July, as demand for safety gear, which has help

Expo 2020 Dubai is gearing up to help shape a post-pandemic world and create a better future for all, after a two-thirds majority of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) member states voted in favour of postponing the next World Expo by one

Sri Lanka has the third worst pension system among 70 nations, in terms of sustainability and adequacy, according to the latest Allianz Group Pension Index (API).

Asian equities mostly rose yesterday as long-running optimism over the reopening of economies overcame early profit-taking to extend a rally across world markets. Sydney and Hong Kong were the standout performers, with traders picking up the baton fr

The World Bank (WB) Group projects Sri Lanka’s GDP to contract by 3.2 percent this year and to remain flat at zero percent next year, underscoring that a V-shaped recovery is unlikely for the country from the coronavirus-induced recession.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing a US $ 50 million loan to Commercial Bank of Ceylon (ComBank), Sri Lanka’s largest private bank, to help small and medium businesses in the country deal with the adverse economic impacts of COVID-

Fitch Ratings has revised the National Long-Term Rating of Sunshine Holdings PLC to ‘A(lka)’, from ‘A-(lka)’ and has simultaneously affirmed its Outlook Stable.

The government has extended all visas of foreigners in the country till July 11, as many were unable to get an appointment before the previous deadline of June 11, the country’s immigration office said.

Sri Lanka’s lubricant market leader, Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC, plans to grow its exports aggressively to Bangladesh and the Maldives, as the export volumes to Bangladesh hit an all-time high in 2019.

People’s Bank has reduced the interest rate of the ‘Aswenna’ loan scheme, a unique product that is aimed at creating a self-sufficient nation, with immediate effect.

Coronavirus may have disrupted supply chains around the world and caused widespread economic pain but the pandemic is slowly re-setting the global world order which dominated manufacturing and trade for half a century, foreign entities have been forc

Coming August, Sri Lanka will open its doors to tourists from across the world, a step it will take by having in place strict safety guidelines and precautionary measures against the COVID-19 threat.

The MarCom Collective has commissioned Ernst and Young Sri Lanka (EYSL) to undertake a comprehensive study on the country’s marketing communications industry and its contribution to the Sri Lankan economy.

Worries continue to deepen for the local apparel sector with the concessionary loans under the emergency COVID-19 refinance scheme not being released yet despite the government having made the announcement nearly two months ago.

If there has been any growth in Sri Lanka’s life insurance business so far, that is mostly owed to its agency network that relies on human interaction for policy sales, but that very human interaction has now tuned in to a potential deterrent to ge

Significantly reduced volumes from customers and disruptions to the supply chains due to the coronavirus, of which Expolanka began to feel from as early as January, undermined the company’s performance in the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

Encouraged by the recent move to re-impose special commodity levy on canned fish imports, Sri Lanka’s canned fish manufactures say that the country could commence exporting canned fish products within two years with the right backing of the governm

Asian shares rose to a two-month high yesterday as expectations of further government stimulus supported investor confidence in an economic recovery from the global coronavirus pandemic.