The Central Bank together with the government is pursuing several avenues to prop up its foreign reserve buffers, which had by end-March depleted to US$ 4.1 billion, which is sufficient to cover only three months of imports.

While all-time low interest rates appear to be galvanising the economic revival after the virus hit, they are also powering another crucial segment in the economy, i.e. the mutual fund industry, as the sector has been adding assets at a faster pace o

Local tour operators represented by the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) yesterday expressed their displeasure over tourists being pushed to pay US$ 40 for a PCR test, and urged steps should be taken to charge for the tests in

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its latest World Economic Outlook report has slashed Sri Lanka’s economic growth rate forecast for this year to 4 percent from 5.3 percent it forecasted in October, 2020.

The Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill, which will declare Colombo Port City (CPC) as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), and under which a high-powered Commission will be appointed to administer it, was presented to Parliament yesterday.

The United States-based global architecture, planning and design firm, CallisonRTKL has been appointed to re-calibrate the original conceptual design of US$1 billion Colombo International Finance Centre (CIFC) mixed-use development project at Colombo

The Central Bank yesterday said it has commenced the payment of increased compensation amount of Rs. 500,000 under the Sri Lanka Deposit Insurance and Liquidity Support Scheme (SLDILSS),

Real wage growth or the wages accounted for inflation in the country has remained in the negative for private sector employees for over one and half years before the informal private sector wages turned positive in January this year. But the formal p

High-speed Internet for rural areas must be prioritised to ensure the establishment and advancement of industries across the country, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa stressed, yesterday.

With the Colombo Port City Commission Bill reaching the final stages of the legislation process, the project company of Colombo Port City (CPC) eyes to release 20 land plots located adjacent to Colombo Business District (CBD) as pilot development pro

Sri Lanka yesterday saw the launch of its own localised food tracker ‘Bath Curry Indicator’ (BCI), a spin on the popular ‘Big Mac Index’ conceptualised by The Economist in 1986.

The fifth Big Bad Wolf book sale and its second virtual return to Sri Lanka is scheduled to go live from May 5 to 12, the organisers said in a media statement.

Sri Lankan shares ended higher yesterday, helped by gains in the financial and consumer staples sectors.

Aitken Spence PLC yesterday said it acquired 100 percent of shares of Waltrim Energy Limited, a sub-subsidiary of Sunshine Holdings PLC, for a total consideration of Rs.900 million.

While affirming Hemas Holdings PLC’s National Long-Term rating at ‘AAA(lka)’, with a Stable Outlook, Fitch Ratings yesterday said the company’s recent exit from the leisure sector further reduced its business risk.

The Monetary Board of the Central Bank, which met yesterday for the third time of the year to determine the rate path after assessing the efficacy of its previous policy measures, was largely expected to have decided to stay pat, as the economy is pr

The Imports and Exports Control Department has issued a directive to all commercial banks and Sri Lanka Customs not to facilitate the processes of palm oil importation with immediate effect.

Malaysia, one of the key sources from where Sri Lanka imports palm oil, appears to have been visibly irked by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s move to ban palm oil imports.

Sampath Bank’s Basel III compliant listed debenture issue to raise up to Rs.6 billion, which opened yesterday, was oversubscribed.

Mobility, which took an immense and a prolonged toll from the pandemic, appears to be re-emerging as people are seen venturing out for shopping and other recreational activities after more than a year of shelter-in-place.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) yesterday revealed that service providers are gearing up to unveil their unlimited internet packages by next week.

Softlogic Research, in its most recent publication took a very strong stance on the material sector, predicting a strong growth backed by an economic recovery and the renewable energy drive.

The lawyers appearing for senior tax professional Raja Nihal Hettiarachchi who petitioned the proposed Inland Revenue Bill on Monday made submission in court proposing amendments to the bill, so that the clauses concerned would no longer be inconsist

Sri Lanka is witnessing a slow yet steady increase in the number of international visitors entering the country, as the month of March welcomed 4,581 tourists, bringing the total number of arrivals for the first quarter to 9,629.

SANASA Development Bank PLC (SDB bank) plans to issue up to 88,000,000 new ordinary voting shares to the public, via a secondary public offering (SPO), with a view to further improve the bank’s capital adequacy ratios and to partly finance the envi

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) yesterday said it had approved an application submitted by Chrissworld Limited for the listing of its ordinary voting shares by way of an offer for subscription on the Empower Board of the CSE.

South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc will wind down its loss-making mobile division after failing to find a buyer, a move that is set to make it the first major smartphone brand to completely withdraw from the market.

The board of directors of WindForce Limited has decided to allot a minimum of 42,028,125 ordinary voting shares, amounting to 20.7 percent of its Rs.3.2 billion IPO issuance, to ‘identified investors’.

Sri Lankan shares closed slightly higher yesterday, helped by gains in material and industrial stocks. The CSE All-Share Index ended up 0.34 percent at 7,217.83. The index last week posted a second straight weekly gain, rising 1.35 percent.