By Nishel Fernando Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) is to enhance its network access to cover 90 percent of the country’s population within this year by continuing its aggressive investments in expanding extensive fibre optic network and 4G converge, as t

The National Development Bank PLC (NDB) yesterday announced the over-subscription of the initial tranche of its subordinated debenture to beef up Tier II capital base which is being rapidly taken up to support its aggressive lending in to the newly v

Reuters: Sri Lankan shares closed at their lowest in more than six years yesterday, ending weaker for a seventh straight session, dragged down by telecommunication and banking stocks. The market awaits for some positive news from the third and fina

PARIS (AFP) - Chinese President Xi Jinping yesterday stressed the growing convergence between Beijing and the European Union on global issues from climate change to trade, urging the two sides to overcome their “suspicions.” At a meeting in Pari

Sri Lanka’s motor insurance sector growth will slow as the recent excise duty increase and luxury taxes imposed from the budget presented in March will dent the demand for motor vehicles but the non-motor segment shows prospects for longer-term gro

Sri Lanka’s private sector credit or the credit extended to private individuals and business enterprises by the banking sector rose at a healthier pace during 2018, defying the policies broadly tilted towards the tightening side.

The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) is now fully geared to issue renewals for accommodation and service providers in one day when the relevant documents for each category are submitted, a statement issued by the SLTDA yesterday stated

Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) to partner with Huawei to take up on the Smart City project at Colombo Port City with an aim to position Colombo Port City as Southeast Asia’s premier smart city.

The Board of Investment (BOI) has approved an estimated US $ 5.1 billion worth of new investment projects in the first quarter of this year, including a steel plant project to be set up in Trincomalee, with an investment of US $ 1 billion, the latest

Sri Lanka’s premier business association, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC), yesterday reached its 180-year mark, a milestone that was commemorated with a bell ringing ceremony at the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE).

Hatton National Bank (HNB), Sri Lanka’s second largest private lender by assets recently called on the government to re-evaluate the “unsustainable” high tax regime on the banking sector as it limits the sector’s ability to support other indu

Sri Lanka’s banks managed to overcome in what could become a thorny issue on their capital coming from the first time impact of the new accounting standard on loan loss expenses as the companies built up buffers in the run up to the full implementa

REUTERS (Hambantota): Oman’s oil minister said yesterday he was excited to be part of a Sri Lanka oil refinery project, an indication plans for the sultanate’s involvement may be back on track. The comments by Mohammed bin Hamad al-Rumhy came af

The Development Strategies and International Trade Ministry and the Finance Ministry together will set up a Trade and Productivity Commission (TPC) within next three months to continue with the trade liberalisation process on a structured basis, whil

Sri Lanka missed the opportunity to place the country as a destination for digital innovation with Google Loon project in Sri Lanka, as the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) failed to provide the required spectrum for the

Minister of Industry & Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen said recently that neither the government nor this Ministry has approved the transfer of the profitable Pulmoddai mineral sand deposits. “As we celebrate the 61 year anniversary of Lanka

China’s Export-Import Bank (EXIM Bank) has approved US $ 989 million concessional loan for the Central Expressway Section 1 from Kadawatha to Meerigama. The Finance Ministry said t

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Tesla chief Elon Musk on Thursday urged workers to make helping with the “biggest wave” of deliveries in the electric car maker’s history their top priority, Business Insider reported. The news website posted a copy of an

The Hindu:A Singapore-based company in which stakes are held by the family members of former Union Minister of State S. Jagathrakshakan of the DMK has been linked to a record foreign direct investment of US$3.85 billion in an oil refin

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lankan shares fell for the fifth straight session yesterday and posted their lowest close in more than six years, dragged by telecom stocks, but foreign investors’ buying capped the decline. The market now awaits cues from

JAKARTA (AFP) - Indonesia’s national carrier Garuda has told Boeing it will cancel a multi-billion-dollar order for 49 Boeing 737 Max 8 jets after the model was involved in two fatal crashes. The move could spark more cancellations from other major

BEIJING (AFP) - China has lodged a diplomatic protest with the United States after Washington sanctioned two Chinese shipping companies for doing business with North Korea, the foreign ministry said yesterday.

Headline inflation as measured by the year-on-year change in the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI, 2013=100) increased to 2.4 percent in February 2019 from 1.2 percent in January 2019 mainly due to the base effect, Central Bank’s Statistic

Sri Lanka’s guidance space yesterday witnessed much required impetus with the launch of an online employment and entrepreneurship platform for the country’s youth. YouLead, a programme that kicked off 19 mo

In light of Oman Oil and Gas Ministry denying being part of a US $ 3.85 billion refinery project in Hambantota, Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment (BOI) yesterday said that they were aware Oman Oil Company has ‘firm intention’ in taking

(Paris) AFP: Glyphosate, the world’s most widely used herbicide and the active ingredient in Monsanto’s weedkiller Roundup, is the subject of fierce controversy across the globe and is classified by the World Health Organization as “proba

Sri Lanka’s share index fell for a fourth straight session yesterday to a more than 6-year closing low as investors exited the island nation’s risky assets, while they awaited cues from the third and final vote on the 2019 budget,

Khaadi, an iconic fast fashion retail force, has appointed MTI Consulting for its Sri Lanka market entry. Having carried out an initial market feasibility study, Khaadi has identified the high potential to establish the premium ethnic fashion brand

The sluggish economy and deceleration of vehicle sales are hurting Sri Lanka’s non-bank lenders, as the sector is facing risks raging from weaker asset quality, muted growth, underwhelming profitability and need for higher regulatory capital. Acco