Sampath Bank PLC suffered a decline in profits during the three months ended December 31, 2018 (4Q18) as the lender became a casualty of the general weakening of banking sector asset quality and the first time adoption of a new accounting standard re

Dialog Axiata PLC’s December quarter (4Q18) profits were hurt by the continued translational losses stemming from its dollar borrowings and the one-off cost made on group-wide business process re-engineering exercise towards digital technology. Acc

Sales slowed at Sri Lanka’s monopoly cigarette player, Ceylon Tobacco PLC (CTC), during the December quarter (4Q18), as CTC had to jack up prices of some of its products, as a result

Sri Lanka having reached the advanced stage of a demographic transition, where it now has a fast-growing ageing population, will require increased focus to cater to that group as current measures by the government remain inadequate. Highlighting Sri

Attempts are said to be underway to thwart a move to establish Sri Lanka’s first shipping and logistics industry chamber under the name National Chamber of Shipping of Sri Lanka, Mirr

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia said yesterday a long-awaited trade deal with Indonesia will be signed in March, following months of diplomatic tension over Canberra's contentious plan to move its embassy to Jerusalem. 

NEW YORK (AFP) - A US Commerce Department report has concluded that American auto imports threaten national security, setting the stage for possible tariffs by the White House, two people familiar with the matter said this week. The investigation, or

HONG KONG (AFP) - Asian stocks retreated yesterday as the US hailed "productive" trade talks in Beijing despite earlier reports suggesting an impasse, while Wall Street was hit by weak US retail sales. Bourses across the region were already

(Colombo) REUTERS: Sri Lanka's rupee ended weaker yesterday, as dollar demand from importers weighed on the currency, market sources said.  The stock market also closed weaker at a near four-month low, as foreign investors sold the island na

BEIJING (AFP) - Alibaba has bought an eight percent stake in Chinese online video sharing and entertainment service Bilibili for an undisclosed  amount, state news agency Xinhua reported. 

 KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - An ex-Goldman Sachs banker accused of involvement in the multi-billion-dollar 1MDB scandal has agreed to be extradited from Malaysia to the United States to face charges, his lawyers said yesterday.

The Central Bank suspended the troubled non-banking financial institution The Finance Company (TFC) from taking new deposits and issuing loans with effects from yesterday (15th) as the losses at TFC continued to expand, amplifying the firm’s al

Two private sector tourism leaders, who had been caught up in a legal battle for over two years initiated by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID), yesterday called for law 

The World Bank yesterday tipped Sri Lanka as one of the stronger economies in the South Asian region, but asserted the country is yet to reach its full potential, and will struggle to do s

Profits at Melstacorp PLC remained flat during the quarter ended December 31, 2018 (3Q19) compared to the same period a year ago, as the diversified conglomerate which houses the country’s largest spirits maker is facing prolonged challenges in

Sri Lanka’s tea exports to China surpassed the 10 million kgs mark in 2018 for the first time in history, reaching an all-time high of 10.02 million kgs. However, the growth of tea exports to China slowed down to 1.2 percent last year from a re

(Colombo) REUTERS:  Sri Lanka’s rupee ended tad weaker yesterday led by higher importer dollar demand, market sources said.  The stock market closed steady in dull trade, but foreign investors bought into the island nation’s ris

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and four Sri Lankan universities yesterday signed project agreements totalling US $ 145 million, under the ADB-funded Science and Technology Human Resources Development project, to foster science and technology in Sri

Sri Lanka’s largest brewer has urged the government to come up with a foolproof mechanism to eliminate the tax revenue leakages stemming from non-declaration of full production volumes by spirits makers.  

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) yesterday announced the appointment of Dimuthu Sanjaya Abeyesekera and Murtaza Jafferjee as Directors of the CSE board with effect from February 1, 2019.   

The strong performance of the consumer, healthcare and energy sectors offset the negative results from the tea plantation business at Sunshine Holdings PLC, paving the way for the diversified conglomerate to pull off a robust performance for the quar

The Colombo Commercial High Court has issued enjoining orders on MTD Walkers PLC restraining it from transferring its shares in the name of third parties or interfering with its shares in any other manner, until February 20. 

(Colombo) REUTERS: Sri Lanka’s rupee ended tad weaker yesterday, as importer dollar demand surpassed the exporter greenback sales, market sources said.

The World Bank Vice President for the South Asia region, Hartwig Schafer is currently in town on his first visit to Sri Lanka to gain a better understanding of the country’s development priorities and as to how the bank can continue to support

Access Engineering PLC is en route to secure its largest construction contract outside Sri Lanka worth of 14 million euros to design and construct substructures for a Spanish-funded steel overp

Costs stemming from heavy borrowings and substantial exchange losses weighed on Singer Sri Lanka PLC as the country’s largest consumer durables retailer and white goods maker suffered a loss for the quarter ended in December 2018 (3Q19). 

European tourists accounted for 50 percent of the tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka during the first month of 2019, the data released by Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority

(Colombo) REUTERS: Sri Lanka’s rupee ended weaker yesterday, as banks bought dollars to facilitate stock-related outflows and importer greenback demand, market sources said.  The stock market closed down as 

The tourist arrivals during the first month of this year rose 2.2 percent year-on-year to 244,239, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) said in a brief press release yesterday. The largest source markets during the month were India, fo