Sri Lanka shares posted a sluggish performance yesterday, despite the investor-friendly budget presented on Tuesday, which contained specific measures to boost the country’s capital markets.

Prime Minister and Finance Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa presented the following Budget for 2021 in Parliament yesterday, considered as the 75th budget report of the country.

The maiden budget of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government presented yesterday in Parliament by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is also the country’s Finance Minister, broadly aligned with the policies spelt out in the government’s po

The government proposed to provide 50 percent tax concession on corporate income tax for three years to companies seeking listings on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) before December 31, 2021 and maintain a rate of 14 percent in the subsequent two ye

The Budget 2021 yesterday proposed for the compulsory retirement age to be extended to 60 years for both the private and the public sectors so that all employees contributing to the national economy are treated the same.

Retail juggernaut Softlogic Holdings PLC recorded improved top line performance for the September quarter (2Q21) with higher operating profits compared to the previous year, stoked by pent up demand and recovery in the economy after COVID-19 related

With biennial wage negotiations for a new Collective Agreement in plantation sector approaching early next year, the government plans to present a legal framework in Parliament in January next year to change the management agreements of Regional Plan

Senior representatives of the plantation sector yesterday reiterated the need to urgently move towards the proposed productivity-based wage model and warned that turning a blind eye towards reforms would lead to a massive hit to both the workers and

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal to implement a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) allowing loss-making national carrier, SriLankan Airlines, to retire approximately 560 employees at an estimated cost of Rs.1.46 billion over next three

The government yesterday announced measures to encourage and promote mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the country’s financial sector, starting with a merger among three State-owned financial entities.

Top economists in the country opine that the new government faces a daunting task in containing the rising fiscal deficit with credible revenue-enhancing measures while ensuring a speedier recovery of the coronavirus-battered economy, as it is schedu

Robust economic rebound and increased focus on health and hygiene sectors post the first coronavirus wave helped Hemas Holdings PLC to pull off a stunning performance in the three months to September (2Q21), with group profits soaring.

Nations Trust Bank PLC (NTB) reported higher earnings for the three months to September (3Q20), on the absence of the Debt Repayment Levy and Nation Building Tax on financial services but the lack of growth and higher credit costs weighed on the oper

The latest Sri Lanka Development Bond (SLDB) offer of US $ 75 million was oversubscribed by over 15 percent, enabling the Central Bank to offer SLDBs to the tune of US $ 87 million.

Robust sales recovery at Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka PLC (DCSL) gave the needed fillip to its parent, Melstacorp PLC, while the aggressive cost cutting elsewhere in the group lifted its performance in the three months ended in September (2Q21).

Rating agency ICRA Lanka Limited expects the private sector credit growth, which set off to a robust start in August and accelerated in September, will continue its momentum, in spite of the continuous hurdles posed by the resurgence of the virus to

Although Sri Lanka continues to be impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the country’s real estate sector remains largely unaffected despite the shocks faced by the economy, a study revealed.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday appointed former Secretary of State for International Development, Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP, as the UK’s International Champion on Adaptation and Resilience for the COP26 Presidency.

Workers’ remittances registered the sixth consecutive monthly increase in October despite earlier forecasts cautioning significant decline in such earnings due to COVID-19 resultant job losses.

Sri Lanka’s outward labour migration declined by over 57 percent in the first half of this year compared to the first half of 2019 while estimated 40,000 Sri Lankan migrant workers returned to the country amid COVID-19 infused crisis in their host

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has issued revised instructions to banks on projecting losses on their loans and other financial assets, which will effectively shun forecasts of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB) and the

Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) assured that the operations at Port of Colombo would return to its usual level of efficiency within this week after facing severe labour shortage at key terminals of the port with several employees testing positive fo

Diversified blue chip, Aitken Spence PLC, which has extensive interests in travel and tourism sector in Sri Lanka and overseas, saw its revenue almost halving during the quarter ended in September (2Q21) as the impact of coronavirus weighed on the gr

Since the UK is the main market for Sri Lanka’s exports to the EU region and the second largest export market after the USA, it is important for Sri Lanka to receive the same tariff preferences it was enjoying prior to Brexit when trading with the

The second phase development of the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake will kick off from November 18 with a funding of Rs.107 billion from Japan, making it the largest development project since 2014.

The earnings of listed companies plunged 58 percent year-on-year (YoY) in the quarter ended in June 2020 as businesses suffered the worst-ever disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic while only a few in sectors such as transportation and materi

Subdued loan growth, a large deposit pile and higher credit costs weighed on Seylan Bank performance in the three months to September (3Q20), but the bank was beginning see some pick up in its net loans in a sign that the rebound in economic activiti

The second phase development of the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake will kick off from 18 November with a funding of Rs.107 billion from Japan, making it the largest development project since 2014.

Earnings from merchandise exports fell 14.9 percent in October to US$ 831.72 million compared to US$ 977. 3 million in October 2019 due to adverse impact of the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic that began in early October.