Australia’s United Petroleum plans setup a food manufacturing venture in Sri Lanka with an investment of US$ 20-30 million to produce pies and other convenience food items under Australia’s iconic pie brand ‘Pie Face’.

The transshipment volumes declined for the third straight month, bringing to a four-month low in July this year, as the Colombo Port started to see competition from the newly operationalised Adani’s Vizhinjam Port located in South India.

Sri Lanka’s merchandise exports climbed 6.6 percent year-on-year in July 2024 to US$ 1.087 billion due to higher earnings from apparel and textiles, tea, coconut-based products, spices, and seafood. Exports also edged up 1 percent compared to June

The consumer prices measured nationally were a tad higher in July, rising by 2.5 percent from the same month a year ago, picking slightly up from 2.4 percent through June, as the higher base effects last year were dissipating.

As Sri Lanka’s hospitality sector gradually gains global attention, two regional industry stakeholders highlighted the urgent need for Sri Lanka to step up its focus in facilitating its tourism industry in the digital landscape.

The Central Bank expressed its confidence about the ability to maintain inflation below its medium target of 5 percent through the first quarter next year, before seeing a temporary uptick in the prices towards the second half of 2025, before converg

Sri Lanka has set its eyes on welcoming three million tourists next year, aligned with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau’s (SLTPB) plans to launch the much-awaited tourism promotion campaign covering the key source markets, starting from the

Sri Lanka’s political and bureaucratic leaders should reassess the current debt sustainability plan with a fresh Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) to establish a realistic path out of the debt crisis, a top economist said, whilst also urging gover

Sri Lanka’s private sector is quick to lament the brain drain and staff shortages but it seems that it is contributing to the problem by failing to offer salaries that support a decent standard of living.

As sustainability is no longer a choice but a necessity for the textile and apparel industry, a top public official stressed that large industry players have an inherent responsibility and a larger role to play in guiding and supporting the whole ind

Sri Lanka’s insurance industry is poised to benefit from the ongoing recovery in economic activity, Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe said, as improved business conditions, low inflation and low interest rates in conventional financial

Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, which only recently celebrated the suspension of the VFS Global-led visa issuing system, is now grappling with a significant crisis.

The tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka maintained momentum in August, as within the first eight days of the month, over 53,000 international visitors entered the country.

As Bangladesh, a major player in the global apparel market, grapples with a severe crisis, Sri Lanka is poised to benefit from some apparel orders in the short term, according to the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF).

Sri Lanka is becoming a favoured destination among the international travellers, with a notable increase in Google searches for accommodation, according to a US-based Google specialist.

Sri Lanka affirmed its commitment to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2040, for which President Ranil Wickremesinghe outlined some measures the island nation will roll out in this regard.

Sri Lanka ranks among the top three countries in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) for cyberattack vulnerability, with nearly 35 percent of internet users affected in the first seven months of the year, according to the cybersecurity provider Kaspersky.

Sri Lanka’s tourism industry commended the decision to suspend the e-Visa portal run by VFS Global, but urged the reinstatement of the old online system at the earliest to minimise inconvenience for tourists.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), during its recent mission to Sri Lanka, said the 2025 budget needs to be underpinned by appropriate revenue measures and continued spending restraint.

Sri Lanka’s deficit in the merchandise trade account continued to soften on a monthly basis as the earnings from exports rose faster than what the country expensed for imported goods in June.

Inflation in the Colombo district came in at 2.4 percent in July from a year ago, slightly higher from June’s 1.7 percent, as the favourable base effects are dissipating.

Premier blue-chip company John Keells Holdings PLC reported a decline in group profitability for the first quarter of the financial year 2025 (1Q25) due to pre-opening expenses and non-cash exchange losses of its upcoming high-profile property, and a

Sri Lanka’s estimated four million informal sector employees may soon be absorbed into the formal sector, granting them the dignity of their labour through two landmark initiatives.

​The Central Bank last week said it does not want to intervene in setting the interest rates, and will leave them to market forces.

The State-Owned Enterprise Restructuring Unit (SOERU) yesterday addressed the misconceptions regarding the divestiture of Hotel Developers Lanka (HDL) Ltd and Sri Lanka Telecom PLC (SLT).

President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday unveiled a blueprint to transform the country’s outdated plantation sector towards a modern and thriving agro-business by rolling out a slew of major reforms with an inside-out approach.

The Central Bank trimmed the policy rates by 0.25 percentage points. While the decision caught some sections of the economy off guard, others were not surprised.

Sri Lanka’s merchandise export performance for the first half of the year (1H24) totalled US$ 6.098 billion, a 3.87 percent growth Year-on-Year (YoY) when compared with the corresponding period in 2023.

The transshipment volumes declined for the second straight month in June this year, as some services rerouted to avoid the heavy congestion at the Port of Colombo.

The Sri Lanka Shippers’ Council strongly criticised successive governments for their inconsistent....