The Port of Colombo, which had its operations impacted last week due to some port workers testing positive for COVID-19, announced yesterday that it is getting back on track and returning to normalcy by taking the necessary precautions to prevent fu

Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a key barometer of the vibrancy of the economic activities across both manufacturing and services sectors, contracted in October, as the resurgence of COVID-19 in the country affected production.

Despite the massive customer deposit pile-up at banks, thanks to COVID-19 restrictions, Sri Lanka’s licensed finance companies have failed to have a piece of the pie or at least to cling on to their existing deposit base.

The writ application filed by the Centre for Environmental Justice against the Colombo Port City Project in 2015 was dismissed by the Court of Appeal, yesterday.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) yesterday expressed optimism over the Asia-Pacific leading the way in navigating through the turbulent times and said the region would show governments across the world the recovery path to follow.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) in a resolution yesterday called on governments across the world to reopen borders for travel, a move which would be possible by employing the association’s proposed systematic testing of internati

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) yesterday signed a US $ 165 million loan agreement to provide immediate financing support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which have been severely affected by the coro

The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) in a statement yesterday hailed Budget 2021 as a “pragmatic financial road map”, while praising the government’s moves to encourage local businesses via import substitution and for maintaining a stabl

Sri Lanka’s tea export volumes declined by 10.4 percent year-on-year (YoY) to 23.1 million kgs in October, despite a 2.1 percent YoY improvement in tea production in the month, according to the Tea Exporters Association (TEA).

Budget Speech 2021 was presented at a time when the country is being severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. GDP growth is projected to be down to negative 2 percent this year. Despite this economic setback, the government envisages to maintain an inc

First Capital Research (FCR) expects the Central Bank (CB) to maintain the current policy rates unchanged at the monetary policy review tomorrow amid recent improvements in private sector credit, rock bottom market interest rates and excess liquidity

While descending interest rates are generally considered a bane for banks, the same phenomenon acted as a blessing for the sector bringing in billions worth of capital gains on government treasuries they held, potentially offsetting any negative impa

Sri Lanka’s national prices descended to a six-month low in October predominantly on some ease in food prices and non-food prices over the same month in 2019, the latest data on inflation measured by the National Consumer Price Index showed.

With Sri Lanka’s tourism industry grappling to stay afloat amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are scrambling to find ways to remain competitive and resilient.

Bolt, the leading European transportation platform committed to make urban travel easier, quicker and more reliable yesterday announced its entry to the Sri Lankan market.

Sri Lanka’s hospitality sector recently saw the addition of a new luxury property to its portfolio with DoubleTree by Hilton opening the first phase of Weerawila Rajawarna Resort.

Sri Lanka’s MAS Holdings put the island nation under fresh spotlight once again by receiving the ‘most influential’ innovators award in South and South East Asia by Clarivate, a global leader in providing solutions to accelerate the innovation

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has allocated US$ 220 million worth of funds to build Sri Lanka’s health system capacity and resilience under the recently unveiled country operations business plan (COBP) for 2021–2023.

Bolt, the leading European transportation platform committed to make urban travel easier, quicker and more reliable yesterday announced its entry to the Sri Lankan market.

State-owned savings giant, National Savings Bank (NSB) recently raised yet another debt capital bond to raise Rs.5 billion, furthering its dominance.

Tokyo Cement Company (Lanka) PLC recently entered into an investment expansion agreement with the BOI, reflecting its appreciation towards the government’s farsighted decision to encourage the local manufacturing sector.

The banking sector has successfully navigated the immediate pressures of the COVID-19 crisis. As thoughts turn to a new world beyond the immediate crisis, a strong financial sector will be needed for a strong recovery.

Increasing female labour force participation has been a challenge for the country. These challenges are even greater for night-work and shift-work (hence referred to as non-standard work).

Moody’s Investors Service in a report issued yesterday said, “Sri Lanka’s 2021 budget highlights the ongoing fiscal challenges and is unlikely to significantly boost growth,”indicating that the change of opinion between the government and the

The controlling shareholder of leading manufacturer of bituminous products Industrial Asphalts (Ceylon) PLC (ASPH), G. Ramanan has not subscribed for the company’s recent rights issue concluded in September.

The country’s inbound tour operators yesterday expressed concerns over the government’s move to amend the Tourism Act, which would eventually lead to the private sector players having no involvement in influencing or taking part in the industry d

The government eyes US$ 2.4 billion potential increase in official worker remittance inflows per annum as COVID-19 pandemic disrupts the operations of informal and illegal remittance channels forcing Sri Lankan migrant workers rely solely on official

The budget proposal to effect consolidation in the highly fragmented finance and leasing company (FLC) sector is expected to spark a wave of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) during the next two years, as the government proposed to give tax credit to th

Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC returned to its peak performance in the three months ended in September (2Q21), predominantly cushioned by robust exports and partly by increased domestic consumption, despite the absence of a tourism sector running at full

The temporary payment holiday on tourism sector loans granted in view of the loss of business due to coronavirus is likely to be extended till September 30, 2021 from an earlier timeline of March 31, 2021.