SYDNEY (AFP) - Canberra yesterday played down reports a major Chinese port had banned coal imports from Australia, as fears grow that worsening diplomatic tensions are damaging the nations’ crucial trading relation

FRANKFURT AM MAIN (AFP) - Confidence among business leaders in Germany fell for the sixth month in a row in February, a closely-watched survey showed yesterday, as global trade struggles cast a pall over Europe’s powerhouse economy. The Munich-base

COLOMBO (REUTERS) - The Sri Lankan rupee and the main stock index ended little changed yesterday after the Central Bank surprisingly reduced commercial banks’ statutory reserve ratio (SRR) by 100 basis points with effect from March 1, market source

HONG KONG (AFP) - Asian stocks mostly rose yesterday as early concerns about weak US data were replaced by hopes for success in the China-US trade talks. With high-level negotiations between the w

BERLIN (AFP) - German auto giants BMW and Daimler said yesterday they would invest one billion euros (US$1.1 billion) in combining and extending their carsharing schemes DriveNow and Car2Go, in future offering a slew of ‘mobility services’, inclu

The Monetary Board of the Central Bank (CB) decided to reduce the Statutory Reserve Ratio (SRR) to inject Rs. 60 billion to the domestic money market, aiming to support economic growth and addres

Finance State Minister Eran Wickramaratne recently acknowledged the continuing lag in the implementation efforts in the country and said if at all there is an area to be picked for change, it would be the public service.

Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake will be taking over from J.M.S. Brito as the Deputy Chairman/Managing Director of Aitken Spence PLC with effect from March 15, 2019, the company said in a stock market disclosure. Brito, who will be retiring with effect fro

A policy combination enhancing competitiveness of businesses and structural changes in State expenditure supporting Sri Lanka’s transformation to a knowledge-based and high-tech driven economy will be crucial for the country to escape a potential m

The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) is planning an interim tourism promotional campaign in Germany with an emphasis on subways and TV advertising, to coincide with the launch of Sri Lanka Tourism’s global promotional campaign at ITB Berl

Sri Lanka’s countrywide consumer prices as measured by year-on-year (YoY) change in the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) rose to 1.2 percent in January 2019 from 0.4 percent in December 2018, driven by base effect and increased non-food prices.

The Sri Lankan government and International Monetary Fund (IMF) may need to negotiate a more realistic and acceptable budget deficit target that allows the economy to grow at a higher pace, according to Standard Chartered Bank’s global research tea

The Urban Development Authority (UDA) has entered into a partnership with the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) to develop a tourism development master plan, to promote sustainable tourism development activities in seven existing as wel

(Colombo) REUTERS: The Central Bank is expected to leave its key interest rates steady tomorrow, a Reuters poll showed, as the island’s economy slowly recovers from a political crisis that sparked credit downgrades by all three major global rating

Sampath Bank PLC yesterday said its Rs.7 billion Basel III-compliant debenture issue was oversubscribed on the opening day.

(Colombo) REUTERS: The Sri Lankan rupee rose 0.2 percent yesterday in a lacklustre trade on dollar sales by banks, market sources said. The stock market fell for the third straight session to a near four-month low as foreign investors exited from th

The Colombo Commercial High Court yesterday further enjoined MTD Walkers PLC, until March 7, from transferring its shares in the name of third parties. At the outset of the inquiry, the counsel for D.L.M. De Seram, appearing on behalf of the defenda

Softlogic Holdings PLC recorded a net loss of Rs. 346.6 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2019 (3Q19) from a profit of Rs.77 million in the year earlier period, as the group’s top line slowed amid rupee weakness, import restrictions and sl

Sri Lanka’s TAD Group has entered into an exclusive partnership with Japan’s Odakyu Group to facilitate investments to the tune of Rs.4.5 billion in Sri Lanka. Being one of the largest conglomerates in Japan, Odakyu Group together with its consor

MTD Walkers PLC reported a massive loss for the quarter ended December 31, 2018 (3Q19), expanding the losses it had made in the previous quarters, as the construction major which is stuck in a debt trap is struggling

Lee Hedges PLC on Monday said they would build a car park building and a commercial development above the car park on a freehold land in Colombo 3. The company said the car park of the project, which has two phases, will be built first with an inves

Profits of Sri Lanka’s lubricant market leader, Chevron Lubricants (Lanka) PLC halved during the December quarter (4Q18) amid sluggish lube sales, the year-end financial accounts released by the company showed.

Fitch Ratings has revised the National Long-Term Rating of National Savings Bank (NSB) to ‘AA+(lka)’, from ‘AAA(lka)’. The Outlook is Stable.

The Board of Investment (BOI) of Sri Lanka recently signed an agreement with ARD Aluminium (Pvt.) Ltd to set up a US $ 1.7 million factory to manufacture aluminium food containers with lids and aluminium home foil wrap for food.