Jaffna Int’l Airport opens today

The upgraded airport in Palali will be declared open as Jaffna International Airport (JIA) today, under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Arjuna Ranatunga and Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Taranjit Singh Sandhu. The inaugural flight today by Alliance Air, a unit of Air India, will carry 30 passengers and the airline is set to operate three flights a

Hans calls on pvt. sector to ignite nation’s mojo

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) chief this week called the private sector to take the lead in breaking out of the middle income trap with positivity and greater focus on inclusivity, instead of waiting for the economic growth to return.

August trade deficit narrows with continued decline in imports

Sri Lanka’s imports, supported by lower vehicle and gold imports, continued to decline while exports largely recovered from its recent decline to see the island nation’s trade deficit narrowing in August, the trade data released by the Central Bank showed yesterday.

Banking sector NPLs likely to hit 5% this year

Sri Lanka banking sector’s gross non-performing loans (NPLs) ratio is forecast to reach five percent at the end of this year, the highest level since 2014 amid increased market lending rates and sluggish economy, Central Bank (CB) said. According to CB statistics, the gross NPLs ratio had risen to 4.9 percent by August from 4.8 percent in the second quarter of this year. As of second qu

CB keeps rates steady to stabilize inflation

The Monetary Board of the Central Bank (CB) yesterday decided to maintain policy interest rates at their current levels, awaiting for materialisation of various measures aimed at accelerating subpar economic growth in the country, while being cautious on the implications of the public sector salary hike scheduled for next year.

Demand for carbon emission cut

Police officers arrest an activist at London City Airport during the fourth day of demonstrations by the climate change action group Extinction Rebellion, in London yesterday. Demonstrations occurred in 60 cities around the world this week, with thousands taking to the streets of New Delhi, Cape Town, Paris, Vienna, Madrid, and Buenos Aires. Extinction Rebellion is demanding that governments drastically cut carbon emissions. / AFP

WB urges banks to adopt a multifaceted approach to be development enablers

With nearly one-third of Sri Lanka’s adult banked population considered to be inactive account holders and many facing significant constraints in accessing finance, the World Bank (WB) urges the country’s banks to position themselves as development enablers by adopting a multifaceted approach to further promote financial inclusiveness in the country.

CB sees private credit improving to 5-6% by end of the year

The Central Bank (CB) expects private sector credit growth to pick up by end of this year amid anticipated low interest rates through lending rate caps slapped on banks and enhanced business confidence. Speaking t

Fitch says lending rate caps may not support loan growth in short term

The lending rate caps on banks may not yield the desired effect of stimulating credit demand in the short term, as the root cause of the problem lies not with the rates but with the borrower sentiments and subdued economic activity, said Fitch Ratings.

Cinnamon’s 15th property opens doors in Maldives

Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts, the leisure arm of John Keells Holdings continues expansion with the opening of its newest hotel, Cinnamon Velifushi Maldives. The opening of the new r

Ceylon Tea global promotion campaign kicks off in Moscow

The maiden launch of the Ceylon Tea Global Promotion Campaign took-off ceremonially with pomp and pageant in the capital city of the Russia Federation last week. Moscow was the center of attraction where 150 guests from the tea fraternity were mesmerized by the cultural troop of Chandana Wickramasinghe consisting of ten male and female dancers.

Growth to pick up with easing of political uncertainty

First Capital Research (FCR), a Colombo-based equities research house, expects Sri Lanka’s economic growth to pick up to 4.1 percent next year with possible easing of political uncertainty following the Presidential Election scheduled for next month. However,

Harsha slams rent-seeking public sector for scuttling e-govt. projects

The rent-seeking nature of Sri Lanka’s public sector is blamed for the failure to fully implement the key e-government initiatives, including the Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) System aimed at enhancing the efficiency and cutting wastage in the public sector. “I am still unable to buy a pack of A4 paper via the so-called Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) System. People have been working on it for years.

Need for overarching digital policy framework urged to avoid confusion

Sri Lanka’s IT industry experts recently emphasised on the adoption of an overarching digital policy framework to avert confusion and potential policy contradictions as a number of digital related draft polici

Gota faces court test over nationality

(Colombo) REUTERS: A court in Sri Lanka set up a three-judge panel yesterday to hear a petition challenging the citizenship of presidential nominee Gotabaya Rajapaksa, which could disqualify the hardline former defence chief from the November 16 vote if it succeeds.

“Plan to fail” perfectly sums up Sri Lanka’s power sector crisis

As the authorities continue to practice the “plan to fail” approach based on outdated planning models incentivised by emergency power purchases, experts and academics warn another power crisis could materialise in 2023, unless Sri Lanka’s energy sector shifts to modern-day implementable planning models. “Planning to fa

Sri Lanka needs to invest in people to unlock productive potential:WB

The World Bank unveiled yesterday a new report to guide policymakers and development practitioners across Sri Lanka in better investing in the health and education of all Sri Lankans. The report titled ‘Sri Lanka Human Capital Development : Realizing the Promise and Potential Of Human Capital’ is part of the Human Capital Project, a global effort led by the World Bank since 2018 that recognizes the vital importance of human capital for a country

SAES XII renews call for South Asian integration

South Asian academics and think tanks yesterday expressed hope for a shift in political structure and thinking to move forward with regional integration, which has come to a grinding halt due to region

Treasury fears Rs.300bn revenue loss to govt. coffers

The Treasury fears revenue loss in excess of Rs.300 billion by the end of this year as the economy struggles to recover from the adverse impacts of the Easter Sunday attacks. “So far, we have seen a Rs.215 billion loss in state revenue. If the revenue doesn’t improve during the next three months and the current trend continues, it will be in excess of Rs.300 billion,” T

Dhammika unveils action plan to make SL a developed nation

Business tycoon and Vallibel One PLC Chairman Dhammika Perera yesterday laid out a brand-new tax structure with tax cuts and incentives to guide Sri Lanka to the developed nation territory by 2030, as the current tax regime has failed to attract the required investments during the past five years for the economy to take off and avoid the so-called middle-income trap. Perera y

Absence of effective comms skills cited as key barrier to SOE reforms

The present regime’s absence of effective communication skills to engage all relevant stakeholders was pointed out as the main impediment for state-owned enterprise (SOE) reforms in Sri Lanka, by an opposition lawmaker, at a recent forum, although a government minister rejected the claim and stressed that the support extended by the Opposition is key to successful SOE reforms.

State intervention sought at tea auction to control prices

As efforts to introduce a productivity-based wage model to the plantation sector have repeatedly proved futile with politicised estate sector trade unions, Sri Lanka’s Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) now seek State intervention at the Colombo Tea Auction to control tea prices to avert crisis. “During last three years, we have gone through two worker wage negotiations with almost 17 percent increases granted in each wage increase. This has ha

Asian markets enjoy gains as focus turns back to trade talks

HONG KONG (AFP) - Asian markets edged up yesterday as investors turn their attention to the China-US trade talks, while keeping an eye on the Gulf region after last week’s air strikes on Saudi oil facili

Brandix clinches ‘Exporter of the Year’ award

Brandix was bestowed with the accolade ‘Exporter of the Year’ by President Maithripala Sirisena at the Presidential Export Awards 2018/2019 held yesterday. The award was accepted by Brandix Directors Ranga Ranmadugala and Dave Ranasinghe (L to R) on behalf of the company.

Bureaucracy slowing down SL tourism sector: expert

Sri Lanka’s tourism sector is acknowledged as one of the highest revenue earners for the economy but poor planning and slow execution by the relevant authorities are observed to be pulling the sector down, implied a senior industry representative. Deliberating on the ‘key’ to unleashing Sri Lanka’s next growth drivers at Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2019, Jetwing Hotels Chairperson Shiroma

It’s time pvt. sector decides on economy’s future growth trajectory: PM

While insisting that the government has successfully stabilised Sri Lanka’s economy overcoming a debt crisis over last five years, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe asserted it is now up to the private sector to decide whether the economy has to stagnate in the middle income trap or to have a leapfrog trajectory and become the first advanced economy of South Asia. “We are

Malik requests foreign investors not to get distracted by domestic politics

While assuring the government’s continuous commitment to facilitate foreign investments in the country, the government appeals to the foreign investors not to get distracted by the current domestic

Top academic claims fundamental flaws in Port City’s EIA process

A leading academic claims the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process concerning the Colombo Port City project which was renamed as Colombo International Financial City (CIFC) had fundamental flaws.

SL faces explicit and implicit risks from SOE liabilities: Moody’s

State-owned enterprises (SOE) liabilities are posing both explicit and implicit contingent risks to Sri Lanka and some other Asia Pacific nations such as Vietnam, Bangladesh and Papua New Guinea, Moody’s

Economist fears shift towards State and against markets

With elections nearing, a leading economist painted gloomy economic prospects for Sri Lanka, saying that the country is faced with a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea after the current dispensation missed once in a generation opportunity to drive economic reforms. “As we stand h