Sri Lanka’s banking sector asset quality measured by the gross non-performing loan (NPL) ratio increased to 5.6 percent at end-May from 5.1 percent at end-March, according to Central Bank provisional data.

Lower interest rates could stay for longer in Sri Lanka than in previous instances as Central Bank would be more cautious in changing track given the scale and magnitude of the economic shock dealt by the pandemic, says Tundra Fonder, the Swedish ass

The global pandemic pushed organisations to respond quickly to address the unforeseen changes and challenges, and restructuring human resource (HR) practices to align with the ‘new normal’ remains one of the biggest hurdles companies face, a PwC

The Central Bank (CB) plans to exert pressure on certain troubled licensed finance companies (LFCs) to merge with others under a new programme instead of cancellation of licences.

The Special Deposit Account (SDA), which was launched in April to seek assistance for the national effort to overcome the effects of COVID-19 outbreak in Sri Lanka has attracted an unimpressive US$ 86.9 million during the three-month period.Central B

The novel coronavirus which drove cities and countries into lockdown has now sparked anxiety over a possible food crisis given the increase in export and import bans and disruption of global food supply chains.

The e-commerce industry in Sri Lanka has seen a rapid development over the last year, with a large percentage of shoppers venturing on to the digital platform.

In view of the recent developments in the finance leasing business, Central Bank Governor Prof. W.D. Lakshman appointed a three-member committee to examine and report on the irregularities and illegal activities of the finance and finance leasing bus

Over 35,000 Sri Lankan migrant workers still remain stranded mainly in the Gulf countries, awaiting return to the country amid the job losses triggered by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, according to the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau (SLFE

The state-imposed import controls are likely to further hamper the country’s growth prospects while advisedly impacting the businesses that rely on imported raw materials, including exporters, Colombo-based policy think tank Advocata Institute said

The government of Japan has agreed to provide a grant of Yen 800 million (Rs.1,360 million) to Sri Lanka to support the country’s fight against COVID-19.

Sri Lanka was singled out on the world stage yesterday when the leading global asset manager, Aberdeen Standard Investments advised the investors to “be careful” about frontier markets such as the island nation, even though Asia and emerging mark

The government’s sudden policy decision to ban the cultivation of oil palm incurred a loss of Rs.75 million for Malwatte Valley Plantations PLC and Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) are pursuing litigation measures against the ban, which is base

Sri Lanka is ranked second among 250 global start-up ecosystems for affordable talent, securing the top spot in the Asia Pacific region, according to the 2020 Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) by Startup Genome and the Global Entrepreneurship Ne

Talal Rafi has been nominated by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader 2021.

It’s hard to draw positives from a global crisis such as COVID-19, one that has taken hundreds of thousands of lives and impacted millions more globally but the reality of crises such as this is that they are, more often than not, some of the great

Ernst & Young (EY) was commissioned to conduct an assessment on the key bottlenecks for private sector investments in the Northern Province in agriculture and fishery sectors, amidst significant progress made by the International Labour Organisation

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) yesterday entered into agreements to begin the process of developing blockchain technology-based shared know-your-customer (KYC) proofs of concept (PoCs).

Sri Lanka’s budget deficit for January through April expanded to 2.9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), from 2.3 percent in the corresponding period, last year, as the coronavirus lockdowns sapped the tax revenues while the government had to

While Sri Lanka would be among the few markets in Asia to avoid a contraction in its insurance business this year, the industry will make a swift recovery from 2021 and could clock in a 10 percent growth every year on average in the next 10 years to

The government refutes the claims on any changes to the special interest scheme for senior citizens’ fixed deposits while assuring the scheme would continue with the prevailed interest rate up to now.

Sri Lanka tourism has received a much-required impetus for revival with the British public service broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) having come on board to promote the island nation to the world.

Sri Lanka Tourism yesterday said they were working closely with the Foreign Affairs Ministry to include Sri Lanka in developing travel corridors for travel with no quarantine overseas, for returning tourists or visiting Sri Lankans.

As the COVID-19 virus forced much of the world into lockdown, the scale of interdependence and reliance on trade across nations was apparent by the global urgency to re-open economies as soon as possible.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, a combination of technological breakthroughs had been rapidly reshaping the way we lived and worked.

On 2 July 2020, India’s Ministry of Health announced 226,947 active cases of COVID-19, with 17,400 lives lost.

Dart Global Logistics (DGL) has signed an agreement with the Board of Investment (BOI) to set up a US $ 3 million state-of-the-art logistics fulfilment centre, at the Muthurajawela Industrial Zone, located in Kerawalapitiya, Wattala.

Sri Lanka is facing the second most significant deterioration in debt affordability among the non-investment grade sovereigns, amid the erosion in its revenue base and upcoming external debt maturities, according to Moody’s Investors Services.

Earnings from the tourism trade, Sri Lanka’s second largest foreign currency income after worker remittances, took nearly a 50 percent plunge during the first six months to June, as all forms of cross-border travel were suspended from mid-March sin

Senior economist Dr. Kenneth De Zilwa has been invited to take over the Chairmanship of the reconstituted Financial System Stability Consultative Committee (FSSCC) of the Central Bank (CB) by CB Governor Prof. W.D. Lakshman, with effect from this mon