The Central Bank has slashed its expectations for private sector credit for 2020 amid expected reduction in spending and investment activities by individuals and corporates alike due to coronavirus-induced economic and financial difficulties.

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has announced the commitment of approximately Rs.10 billion to a bank-funded COVID-19 support loan scheme to assist affected SME enterprises.

Access Engineering PLC reported subdued performance for the period ended March 31, 2020 but said the company envisages a quick return to normalcy, although there would be some short-term financial pain due to temporary stoppage of project work and an

Sri Lanka’s second biggest private lender in assets, Hatton National Bank PLC (HNB), successfully concluded the country’s first-ever hybrid virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) on May 29.

Sri Lanka’s headline inflation measured by the Colombo Consumer Price Index declined to 4.0 percent during the twelve months to May, decelerating from 5.2 percent in April due to higher base effects that prevailed in the same month last year.

The Chief Architect and Founder of WSO2, Dr.Sanjiva Weerawarana has stepped down from the board of the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) after little over a six-monthperiod following his appointment to the board in December last

Former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe called for a major restructuring of the Sri Lankan economy as a financially challenged future is foreseen for the country, and despite economic challenges faced, he stressed it was time for the island nation

Thailand’s parliament approved yesterday a near US$ 60 billion stimulus package, the kingdom’s biggest-ever cash injection, to revive an economy that has been hammered by the coronavirus.

The Sri Lankan government is facing a budget and revenue crisis triggered by the mitigation measures taken to reduce the spread of Covid-19.

Small and Medium Scale Enterprises make up a large part of Sri Lanka’s economy, accounting for 80 percent of all businesses.

COVID-19 is creating a great deal of disruption in the market. Technology itself, which was seen as the great saviour for most companies, is having a reverse effect on some, which were founded on a tech base.

The susceptibility of smokers to contract COVID-19 has been recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other medical authorities. In Sri Lanka, concerned parties have called for a temporary ban of cigarette sales as a measure to contain th

Volkswagen said yesterday it will invest around 2 billion euros (US$ 2.2 billion) in two Chinese companies in the electric vehicle sector, calling it “the world’s biggest market”.

Growth in lending to eurozone businesses continued to accelerate in April as companies sought funds to cope with the tough coronavirus lockdowns which hit activity, European Central Bank data showed yesterday.

Sri Lanka’s Health Promotion Bureau (HPB) has launched an automated Messenger experience, with support from Facebook and Arimac Digital, a digital product development company, to ensure that people in Sri Lanka are kept up-to-date, and have access

Tokyo stocks closed lower yesterday, snapping a four-day winning streak, with investor sentiment dampened by rising US-China tensions over Hong Kong.

The number of workers filing for jobless benefits since the coronavirus arrived in the United States passed 40 million this week while manufactured goods sales plunged even as signs emerged that people are returning to work.

Microsoft and the Ministry of Education in Sri Lanka have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on May 14 to advance remote pedagogy during a time when the health and safety of educators and students is paramount. The agreement wil

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) called for urgent and large-scale policy responses from governments across the world so that the long lasting damage to young people in terms of education, training, and labour market prospects can be preve

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa this week appealed for “unconditional” support from the international community so that middle-income countries like Sri Lanka can maintain confidence in the private debt and equity market since the ongoing COVID cris

Sri Lanka has emerged as the ‘shining star’ in the efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the global economic recession has started impacting the country at all levels.

The outlook for finance companies is expected to be more challenging compared to banks in the post-confinement period as asset quality, liquidity and higher capital standards could weigh on the sector’s recovery, but the regulatory response aimed a

Sri Lanka is the 8th cheapest country for mobile data in 2020 while the average mobile data speed records a steep decline leading to the poor ranking of 79 among 100 countries.

DFCC Bank PLC had some robust growth in loans during the first three months of 2020 until lockdowns came into place mid-March while the re-classification of fair value losses on Commercial Bank shares it owned helped to generate higher profits for th

As coronavirus exacerbated the setbacks already faced by Sri Lanka’s gem & jewellery industry, required is a renewed narrative on the sapphire trade, capitalising on the country’s ethical mining practices, for the industry to think of any revival

Fitch Ratings has recalibrated its Sri Lanka national rating scale to reflect changes in the relative creditworthiness among Sri Lankan issuers following Fitch’s downgrade of the country’s sovereign rating to ‘B-’ from ‘B’ on 24 April 202

Fitch Ratings has downgraded Kotagala Plantations PLC’s (Kotagala) National Long-Term Rating to ‘RD(lka)’ (Restricted Default) from ‘CC(lka)’.

Sri Lanka’s largest exporter of alcoholic beverages, Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC was compelled to halt production and dispatch for nearly two months due to the curfew following the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Optimism over the reopening of major economies across the planet continued to push equities higher yesterday, as investors looked past building China-US tensions for now, though there remain worries about the uncertain global outlook.

Equities were mixed yesterday as profit-taking and worries about deteriorating China-US relations were weighed against optimism over the gradual reopening of economies around the world.