E-commerce in Sri Lanka remains ‘basic,’ says report

An e-commerce readiness report on Sri Lanka has revealed that despite the general optimism among Sri Lankan businesses with regards to the use of e-commerce, the present state of e-commerce development in the country remains “basic”.

Colombo bourse goes fully digital!

Capital market operator, the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) this morning kicked off its initiative to offer a fully digital on-boarding experience that would allow smoother and efficient operation of the bourse.

SL ranks in 83 Economic Freedom of the World index

Sri Lanka ranks 83 among 162 jurisdictions on the Economic Freedom of the World index, a position it has secured by gaining 15 places over the last year.

Jaffna to get US $1.2 mn sea cucumber processing plant

Sri Lanka will see the setting up of a sea cucumber processing plant in Jaffna with the Board of Investment (BOI) having inked an agreement with a local entity.

‘The Street Food Festival’ to hit Colombo come October

Local foodies will be able to taste Sri Lanka’s food heritage come October with Lanka Exhibition & Conference Service (LECS) organising ‘The Street Food Festival’ to promote the nation’s cuisine.

Developing Asia to witness negative growth in 2020

Developing Asia will witness dampened economic growth this year, a contraction that will take place for the first time in six decades, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said.

Govt. plans to meet domestic liquid milk demand

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has instructed officials to implement a short-term and long-term plan in collaboration with the public, private sectors and small-scale farmers to meet the local demand for liquid milk.

SPC to open 100 drug stores at Sathosa & Co-op Super outlets

State Pharmaceutical Corporation of Sri Lanka (SPC), the State-owned manufacturer and distributor of medicinal drugs is considering expanding its reach significantly by establishing 100 new drug stores within retail outlets of Sathosa and Co-op Supermarkets spread across the island.

BPEA affiliated funds to acquire Virtusa in US $ 2bn deal

Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA), one of the largest private alternative investment firms in Asia, and Virtusa Corporation, which employs over 3, 000 software engineers in Sri Lanka, yesterday announced a definitive merger agreement under which funds affiliated with BPEA will acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of Virtusa for US $ 51.35 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately US $2.0 billion.

Asia Capital to undergo restructuring to bring value to Malaysian, Japanese investors

Govt. bodies told to advertise in State media to cover losses

The government has decided to make it mandatory for government and semi government institutions to allocate 25 percent of their advertising budgets to State-run media institutions so that that government doesn’t have to allocate moneys from the national budget to support these media establishments.

Cabinet nod to purchase US $ 3.8mn worth new cylinders for Litro

Cabinet of Ministers has given its nod to State-run Litro Gas Lanka Limited to purchase US $ 3.76 million worth of new empty metal cylinder containers for liquid petroleum gas (LPG) from two companies for the year 2020.

PM tells banks to go easy on borrowers

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is also the Finance Minister, has told Sri Lanka’s bank chiefs to follow a lenient policy when giving out loans.

Altair clarifies court order to buyers

Indocean Developers has informed buyers of Altair apartments that a recent Supreme Court decision relating to a management rights dispute involving two groups of shareholders was only a denial of a plea by one party to the dispute to dismiss a case filed by two purported directors on the grounds that the said directors had been fraudulently appointed.

Lankagama connected with high-speed internet and voice services

Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) and Mobitel have connected Lankagama, a village bordering the Sinharaja Forest Reserve, with high-speed 4G/LTE broadband and voices services.

New company applies for licence to operate domestic and int’l flights

Colombo-based Fly Lankan Asia (Pvt.) Ltd has requested permission from authorities to operate domestic and international flights carrying passengers as well as cargo and mail services.

Govt. to hand over lands of loss-making tea plantation companies to smallholders

The government is planning to hand over the lands belonging to loss-making plantation companies to tea smallholders as a pilot project, a statement by the President’s Media Division said.

Stockbrokers told to proactively engage local investors before going after foreigners

Instead of passively waiting for foreign investors to come, the stockbrokers at the Colombo bourse have been asked to proactively engage local investors as there is huge potential for share valuations to increase in the near future.

44% of UL customers believe it will be safe to fly in 3 months

A survey carried out by SriLankan Airlines among its loyal customers has revealed that 44 percent of the respondents believe that it would be safe to fly within three months in the current context, despite COVID-19 pandemic has not shown any signs of slowing down.

Softlogic Life secures US $ 30mn investment from FinnFund, Norfund and MunichRe

Softlogic Life Insurance PLC, a unit of Softlogic Holdings PLC and the country’s third largest life insurer said, it finalised two landmark deals to the tune of US $ 30 million (Rs.5.6bn) .

EDB -Foreign Min join hands to boost exports

Sri Lanka’s export promotion agency, the Export Development Board (EDB) announced it has joined hands with the Foreign Ministry to boost the nation’s export revenue and mitigate the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry.

Uber launches package delivery service in Colombo

Taxi hailing App, Uber launched in Colombo today its new package delivery service ‘Uber Connect,’ which will allow residents of Colombo to send and receive parcels within city limits.

Permit holders can buy vehicles already imported at reduced prices: FinMin

The Finance Ministry today said vehicle permit holders who haven’t been unable to import vehicles due to import restrictions, can purchase unregistered vehicles already imported to the country from registered vehicle importers/sellers at market price minus the tax concession entitled for such permits.

Harsha Amarasekera new Chairman of Sampath Bank PLC

Sampath Bank PLC today announced the appointment of President’s Council (PC) Harsha Amarasekera as the bank’s new Chairman (Non-Executive, Non- Independent) with effect from 30 August 2020.

Online survey to measure COVID-19 impact on economy

The Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) the main statistical organization of the government, has initiated an on line survey to measure the impact caused by COVID-19 pandemic to the Sri Lankan economy.

ICTA inks MoU with UNDP to design and implement National Digital Strategy

The Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka signed a 4-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)today to support the island nation’s aspirations for digital transformation.

BOI initiates discussion with British High Commission to attract FDIs

The Board of Investment (BOI) initiated dialogue with the British High Commission in Colombo to look at avenues to bring into the country the much required Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs).

LOLC records highest ever profits

LOLC releasing its first quarter results for FY20/21, today said it has recorded the highest ever profit-after tax (PAT) of Rs.37.2 billion compared with Rs.5.6 billion recorded for the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Profit attributed to the equity holders of the group rose 137 percent to Rs.13.9 billion.

Enough vehicles stockpiled for next two and half years: PBJ

President’s Secretary Dr.P.B. Jayasundara this week (24) told a private television station that Sri Lanka has amassed vehicles enough for the next two and a half years during the five-year period of 2014-2019.

Colombo land value growth decelerates

The growth in land values in the Colombo district fell below 10 percent for the first time in years, decelerating to 7.1 percent year-on-year (YoY) in the first half of the year from 10.8 percent recorded in the second half of 2019, according to the Land Valuations Indicator (LVI) complied by the Central Bank (CB).