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 mont

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

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

(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

As the authorities continue to practice the “plan to fail” approach based on outdated planning models incentivised by emergency power purchases, experts and academics warn another power crisis could materialise in 2023, unless Sri Lanka’s energ

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 : Realiz

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

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 rev

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

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

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

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 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)

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) plans to call tenders for a fresh Rs.1.3 billion multi-country marketing campaign next week targeting 12 key source markets of Sri Lanka tourism.

The tea exporters recently complained that the decline in trade finance in the Sri Lankan banking sector restricts tea exports to key traditional markets while hindering the efforts by the exporters to penetrate into new markets. “Due to various r

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe inaugurated the Enterprise Sri Lanka exhibition in Jaffna on Saturday. Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera, State Minister Wijeyakala Maheshwaran, TNA MPs M. A. Sumanthiran, Mawai Senathirajah and Dharamalingam Si

The Sri Lanka Buildcon and Wood International Expo supported by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Ministry of Commerce & Industry of India was inaugurated yesterday by the Minister of Megapolis & Western Development, Patali Champika Ranawaka

Ahead of the upcoming election cycle, Sri Lanka’s corporate sector leaders stressed on decisive leadership, security, national economic policy, rule of law, increased R&D spending and educational reforms to transform the country to an export-orient

Sri Lanka must address the fundamental issues in the country’s public sector before moving into a national policy dialogue, Finance State Minister Eran Wickramaratne said. “I’m convinced no country will rise above without the support of the pub

Average land prices in Sri Lanka’s commercial capital, Colombo, rose 13.6 percent in the first half of 2019 (1H19) over the same period in the previous year, according to the Land Price Index (LPI) compiled by Central Bank’s Statistics Department

As the GSP Plus concessions are set to expire in 2023, following Sri Lanka’s recent graduation to the higher-middle-income category, the government has requested the European Union (EU) to expedite the approval to source high-quality fabrics from I

The much anticipated deep water East Container Terminal (ECT) will come into operation in December next year, under the proposed terminal operating company (TOC) that will be jointly formed by Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), Japan and India, in whi

The newly appointed Ambassador of Netherlands to Sri Lanka Tanja Gonggrijp paid a courtesy call on Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama at the ministry. The dis

The People’s Bank (Amendment) Bill will be presented to Parliament for a vote next week, seeking lawmakers’ approval to allow the State-run bank to raise capital by issuing debentures similar t