Sri Lanka’s trade deficit expanded for the third consecutive month on a year-on-year (YoY) basis in May to US $ 716 million, from US $ 407 million a year ago, amid the rising global oil prices and recovery in imports.

The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) plans to float international tenders for the construction of the proposed new oil refinery adjoining its existing oil refinery in Sapugaskanda as a public-private partnership (PPP) project either on build–oper

The high and rising price inflation related to food during the pandemic adds to the list of concerns of the national economy, as the ongoing trend in food prices would have serious implications on poverty, senior economist Dr. Dushni Weerakoon said.

The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) reported a net loss of Rs.45 billion during the first four months through April 2021, and the subject Minister had said the losses mounted to Rs.57 billion by May as oil prices in the global markets climbed, whi

Sri Lanka’s economy grew 4.3. percent during the first quarter of 2021, compared to a contraction of 1.8 percent in the first quarter of 2020, the data released by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) showed.

As broadly expected the Monetary Board left the current accommodative monetary policy stance unchanged yesterday to further support the economy beset by the pandemic-induced restrictions.

Sri Lanka is sitting on US $ 8.0 billion worth of foreign financing from multilateral and bilateral partners to be utilised during the next three to five years, while the country is negotiating several other deals to the tune of US $ 2.5 billion wort

Government revenue during the first half of the year trailed sharply below the targets due to imposed island-wide travel restrictions to contain the third COVID-19 wave in the second quarter.

The government expects the current abnormalities in the local foreign exchange market to ease off within the next few months, amid the new inflows expected to the tune of US $ 2.5 billion into the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

The tourism sector received the nod from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa over the weekend to resume operations starting today (July 5) with limited capacity.

The Labour Ministry seeks proposals to amend key laws and regulations on child labour, with a view to eliminate child labour from Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka’s large banks, which hold the highest amount of foreign currency denominated government securities, have the most exposure to the sovereign credit risk and thereby the risk of deterioration in their credit profiles, according to Fitch Rat

Union Assurance PLC offered vital medical equipment to four government hospitals as part of an initiative launched in response to combat the COVID-19 pandemic

In a bid to support the expansion plans of local firms outside of Sri Lanka, the Cabinet of Ministers this week decided to relax the foreign exchange controls to allow local firms to raise foreign funds via foreign currency-denominated equity listing

The banking sector credit growth could start to pick up from the second half of this year (2H21) after a setback in the 2Q21 due to lockdown-like restrictions, which crippled most business and consumer activity for over two months, according to Acuit

Central Bank Governor Prof. W.D. Lakshman in a fairly detailed statement issued yesterday dismissed the repeated concerns raised by certain quarters of an imminent external sector crisis brewing in the country, often citing weaker external reserves,

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Bank credit to the private sector continued in May, although losing momentum from the recent high in March, indicating that loan disbursements had continued despite a semi-dormant economy due to COVID-19 related lockdowns during the month.

With an extensive vaccination drive and easing travel restrictions, Sri Lanka’s economy has started to show signs of a positive outlook. The World Bank forecasts a 4 percent growth in GDP in 2021.

Sri Lanka is preparing itself for a trade relationship sans GSP Plus with the European Union (EU), said Finance State Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal, after the European Parliament recently adopted a resolution urging the EU Commission to withhold the

Despite the pandemic-related travel restrictions, Sri Lanka’s merchandise exports remained resilient in May, as exports recovered by 10.7 percent month-on-month (MoM) to US $ 884.2 million in the month from a five-month low in April, due to the ini

Sri Lanka stands to lose US$ 700 million in its trade surplus with the European Union (EU), if the EU decides to move ahead to halt the GSP Plus scheme to the country.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) and Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) are gearing to introduce a Delivery vs Payment (DVP) system for stock market transactions.

Sri Lanka’s income inequality further worsened last year as the poorest suffered the largest proportionate earnings shock, while the smallest proportionate income losses were suffered by the rich due to mobility restrictions imposed to contain the

Fitch Ratings expects Sri Lanka’s government to meet its remaining external debt maturities for the rest of the year, including a US $ 1 billion International Sovereign Bond (ISB) maturing in July, with the partial easing off external liquidity pre

The Cabinet nod has been received to commence negotiations for a preferential trade agreement (PTA) with Bangladesh to bolster trade flows between the two countries.

The continuous COVID-19-related restrictions are making the government’s low tax regime completely useless, as the consumer and producer prices have surged significantly, adding a much higher tax on people than a true legislated tax imposed on them

The Ceylon Motor Traders Association (CMTA) has expressed its concerns on the government’s decision to import 400 vehicles—including 227 luxury SUVs–to a value of Rs. 3.7 billion through the Bank of Ceylon.

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved US $ 40 million in additional financing for Sri Lanka to expand water supply, sanitation and hygiene services in seven districts through the Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Project

The government is likely to end up with a blowout in the fiscal gap this year with the deficit potentially reaching double digits amid slowing tax income due to COVID-19 related restrictions and heightened expenditure on virus control and welfare spe