(The Hauge) AFP: US internet giant Google used a legal mechanism to transfer almost 20 billion euros from the Netherlands to Bermuda in 2017 for tax purposes, a Dutch newspaper report said yesterday.

REUTERS - The Sri Lankan rupee ended steady near a record low yesterday, as foreign fund outflows mainly, from government bonds, continued amid dented investor sentiment after a recent political crisis.

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal by Finance and Mass Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera to hold negotiations and enter into an agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to fund a light rail system. The 17km-long

The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) and Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) have got new acting chairmen as the appointment of permanent chairmen is further delayed as the President has got tough on qualification criteria of ne

The Central Bank is likely to tighten the regulations on Licensed Finance Companies (LFCs) and Specialised Leasing Companies (SLCs) to ensure higher capital adequacy and loan loss provisioning, im

Former Port and Shipping Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe says the implementation of the 3-year comprehensive plan during his tenure helped the Port of Colombo achieve a historic handling of seven million containers in 2018. Issuing a statement yesterda

While commending the Export Development Board (EDB) for fast tracking initiatives to improve the country’s export income, the National Chamber of Exporters (NCE), pointed out that a number of issues would need to be ironed out to pave the way f

Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka grew 10.3 percent to 2,333,796 from the previous year with December seeing the arrival of the highest number of tourists for a month despite the political turmoil that rocked the island nation from October 26 to the mid

Sri Lanka’s gross domestic product (GDP) is possibly understated by over 0.5 percent last year as the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) lacks resources to capture required data to support the new methodology adopted in 2015, according t

(Colombo) REUTERS: The Sri Lankan rupee ended near record low yesterday due to continued outflows of foreign funds mainly from government bonds, as political uncertainty dented investor sentiment.

The Central Bank plans to complete six forensic audits on the Employees’ Provident Fund’s (EPF) investments in equities and treasury bonds and the operations of a few selected entities regulated and supervised by it, as recommended by the

(Colombo) REUTERS: The Sri Lankan rupee closed slightly firmer yesterday, but trade was thin as many foreign currency traders were on holiday for the New Year. Continued outflows of foreign funds mainly from government bonds due to political uncertai

Finance and Mass Media and Treasury Secretary Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga yesterday said the year 2019 will be challenging year for Sri Lanka as the country has to carefully manage its debt position and give priority to maintain fiscal discipline.

Addressing the language barrier and misunderstandings in connection to the time-consuming legal processes faced by Chinese investors in Sri Lanka, Yunnan Baqian Law Group of China opened Baqian Law Group Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd in Colombo to act as a cata

With the retirement of Chairman Susantha Ratnayake on December 31, 2018, after four decades of service at the John Keells group, Sri Lanka’s premier blue chip yesterday announced the appointments of Krishan Balendra and Gihan Cooray as the Chai

Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga, who has been reappointed as the Secretary to the Treasury and the Ministry of Finance and Mass Media assumed his duties at the Finance Ministry yesterday. Deputy Treasury Secretary A.R. Desapriya, Additional Secretary R. Semas

Dialog Axiata yesterday announced a major step forward in Sri Lanka’s 5G journey with the commissioning of South Asia’s first fully-functional and standards compliant 5G transmission using commercial grade base stations and end user dev

The hotel industry remains the only industry in the country which has the potential to turn around the sluggish economy. We eagerly look forward to the opportunity of partnering with the government in taking Sri Lanka’s economy to new levels, w

Danish wind turbine manufacturer seller, installer, and servicer Vestas Wind Systems A/S has won the tender to install Sri Lanka first large scale wind power plant—the 104 megawatt (MW) Mannar Power Project.  

(Colombo) REUTERS: The Sri Lankan rupee fell 19 percent in 2018, making it one of the worst performing currencies in Asia, as heavy foreign outflows from government securities weighed on the local currency.  

The headline inflation in December measured by the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) decelerated to 2.8 percent on a year-on –year basis, from 3.3 percent recorded for November.  

(New Delhi/Mumbai) REUTERS: India will ban e-commerce companies such as Amazon.com and Walmart -owned Flipkart Group from selling products from companies in which they have an equity interest.

Sri Lanka’s listed corporates led by banks have raised a record Rs.55.26 billion via debentures in 2018, indicating a 176.3 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth in new corporate bond issuances.  

The Sri Lankan rupee has depreciated 16.1 percent against the U.S. dollar up to December 28 despite measures taken by the Central Bank and the government, which include open market operations and import restrictions.  Up to the same date, the&nb

Citizens Development Business Finance PLC (CDB) is to raise up to Rs.1.25 billion through a listed debt issue on top of the Rs.2 billion raised by the company through a previous debenture issue this April.

(Los Angeles) AFP: A malware attack that appeared to have originated outside the US delayed the hardcopy distribution of several major newspapers, according to a report.

(Cigondong/Jakarta) REUTERS: As Indonesia reels from the carnage of yet another natural disaster, authorities around the globe are working on how they can prepare for the kind of freak tsunami th

SAN JOSÉ (AFP) - Costa Rica likes to advertise itself as an ecological paradise, where more than 98 percent of its electricity needs are met by clean energy.

BEIJING (AFP) - Trade negotiators from China and the United States are planning to meet in January for talks, Beijing said Thursday, but stopped short of confirming the exact date or location.   

COLOMBO (Reuters) – The Sri Lankan rupee fell to a record low for a sixth straight session yesterday on continued outflows of foreign funds mainly from government bonds as political uncertainty dented investor sentiment.