Sri Lanka’s small and medium-sized banks (SMBs) will have to brace for a turbulent period ahead, stemming from the weaker asset quality and pressure on profits among a host of other problems in a hobbling economy, Fitch Ratings said in a brief note

(Colombo) REUTERS: Sri Lanka rupee rose yesterday buoyed by hopes of dollar inflows into two sovereign bonds launched earlier in the day, while shares fell for the third straight session to hit a near two-week low on foreign outflows, market sources

Sri Lanka yesterday launched the second sovereign bond sale as the island nation looks to tap the global capital markets for the second time in three months, to meet the government expenditure and settle the

Laws concerning the proposed Southern Economic Corporation are being drafted currently and will be introduced soon, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said over the weekend. He said Moneragala, Hambantota, Matara and Galle will be developed under t

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce will celebrate the commencement of its 181st year on June 28 at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel, to coincide with its Annual General Meeting and the induction of Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya as the Chairperson for the year 2019/20.

The Ceylon Motor Traders Association (CMTA) is to formulate a future mobility plan for Sri Lanka with the assistance of Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and a few internationally-renowned research agencies to devel

Colombo Dockyard PLC delivered its first ever cable-laying vessel ‘KDDI Cable Infinity’ last Friday, built for Kokusai Cable Ship Co. Ltd. (KCS) of Japan. The picture shows KDDI Cable Infinity at Colombo Port before setting sail for Japan on Satu

Sri Lanka’s food and commodities prices rose 3.5 percent during the 12 months to May as higher food prices mostly pushed up the index that measures the national level prices. However, it eased from 3.6 percent in April.

Private lender, Sampath Bank PLC last week said its directors were in discussion with a potential investor to place the undersubscribed shares of its Rs.12.1 billion rights issue. Sampath Bank offered 89 million shares at Rs.136 e

BANGKOK (AFP) - Southeast Asian leaders are eager to sign a sweeping China-led trade pact by the end of this year, Thailand’s Prime Minister said yesterday, with further talks expected at a Bangkok summit on the world’s biggest commercial deal. B

The ninth edition of Sancharaka Udawa, Sri Lanka’s premier travel and tourism fair was inaugurated yesterday at the BMICH, Colombo. This two-day fair will be open to the

The Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama has welcomed the Parliamentary approval received on Thursday to repeal the ‘Revival of Underperforming Enterprises or Underutilized Assets Act No. 43 of 2011’.

The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) is said to be currently evaluating the impact of its digital campaign launched in the UK and France recently. The evaluation data will be used in fine tuning the digital campaign before its scheduled la

HONG KONG (AFP) - Oil prices stabilised yesterday following the previous day’s surge fuelled by tensions between the United States and Iran, while Asian equities turned negative as investors took their foot off the pedal following a recent rally.

LONDON (AFP) - Gold prices struck near six-year highs yesterday as a weaker dollar and escalating US-Iran tensions fuelled a flight to haven assets, while oil futures built on strong gains.

REUTERS - Sri Lankan shares fell for the second straight session yesterday to hit a more than one-week low, due to continued foreign fund outflows, while the rupee ended steady as dollar demand from importers offset exporters’

Registrations of motorcars and three wheelers continued to slide in May as people struggled to come to terms with the deadly blow delivered by the Easter Sunday attacks on April 21, that killed many and left the economy paralyzed.

The investor of the Western Automobile vehicle assembly project in Kuliyapitiya is said to be given a deadline of two months to set up the proposed vehicle assembly plant. This was re

Moody’s Investors Service said the economic fallout from the Easter attacks runs deeper than portrayed, as the April 21 carnage has sent tremors across multiple key sectors from fiscal to the external sector, prompting the rating agency to slash

Amidst dwindling tea yields, high interest rates and declining tea prices, Sri Lanka’s tea industry is seeking a financial relief package for over 100 tea factories that are on verge of collapse. Sri Lanka Tea Factory Owners Association (SLTFOA) m

Hatton National Bank PLC (HNB) has instituted legal proceedings against Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Australia Pty Limited (WKFS) seeking recovery of approximately US $ 500,000, which the bank had paid to the said company for the implementation

Strong recovery in agriculture amid favourable weather gave a boost to the reeling economy in the first quarter of 2019 (1Q19), as the economic growth for the three months was recorded at 3.7 percent from a year earlier—the highest rate nearly in a

Sri Lanka’s banking sector asset quality took a plunge in the quarter ended March 31, 2019 (1Q19) from end-December 2018, while the deterioration was sharper when compared with the corresponding three months of the previous year.

Mobitel, the mobile telephony business unit of Sri Lanka Telecom PLC, yesterday announced the acquisition of M3Force (Pvt.) Ltd, by taking the majority stake in the security solutions company.

The Central Bank (CB) mulls setting up a joint committee consisting of the regulatory and non-regulatory stakeholders of the financial industry to ensure the full implementation of the recently launched Roadmap for Sustainable Finance in Sri Lanka by

The government will borrow up to Rs.480 billion more this year from both local and foreign sources, under the Active Liability Management Act (ALMA), for future debt repayments between 2020 and 2029.

Indian multinational Larsen & Toubro (L&T) yesterday said it has won a contract for a water supply project in Sri Lanka.

The government has expanded the relief package announced for the tourism sector hit by the Easter Sunday attacks.

(Colombo) REUTERS: Sri Lankan shares closed at a more than six-week high yesterday, boosted by foreign inflows into equities, while the rupee ended slightly firmer on dollar sales by exporters.

When it comes to Sri Lanka’s national security and sovereignty, nothing seems more guaranteed to generate heated discussion than the spectre of foreign involvement in seaport developments. After years of wrangling, Sri Lanka, India and Japan finall