Leasing and pawning
Many people were seen at this finance company in Kuliyapitiya earlier this week seeking to pay their leases while some were waiting to pawn their jewellery. Pic by Indika Handuwala
IMF yet to receive request for SDR financial support
Despite assurances that Sri Lanka has won approval to receive International Monetary Fund (IMF) funding from a new facility, the IMF is still to receive a request from Sri Lanka to consider the approval of the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) Facility which is a unique instrument that would benefit all its member countries, a fund [...]
SL forex crisis impacts trade financing, squeezes importers
A large offshore trader heavily into trade financing on Tuesday received a ‘positive’ response from the Central Bank (CB) through the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) to honour his international settlements, but other importers are left rudderless embroiled in a forex crisis with no end in sight. With the liquidity crisis and the balance of [...]
Factory workers refuse COVID vaccine
Some factory workers are resisting inoculation of the COVID-19 Sinopharm from China that would have helped to complete vaccination in factories and likely to relax health rules should authorities agree to do so. About 25-30 per cent of the employees at the factories in the zones are refusing to get vaccinated, said, Free Trade Zone [...]
Excise duty fails to achieve target with unsteady liquor sales
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic third wave and the mobility restriction imposed to control the spread of the virus, the Excise Department’s revenue collection from fines and excise duty is feeling the pinch due to the closure of liquor bars and sales outlets, a senior official of the department said. Excise duty on sale of liquor [...]
NIFL eyes options to increase liquidity or not
On the back of illiquid LOLC Development Finance PLC’s (NIFL) unprecedented share hike triggering Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) intervention, the company is detailing plans to increase its liquidity or delist the share, sources close to the company said. ‘Internal discussions are on in this regard,” a source told the Business Times on Thursday. The [...]
Forex quagmire
It was one of those weeks where rapid developments meant a change in focus and strategy. I had in mind the topic that I was about to focus on in this week’s column but a call on Thursday morning by my jolly-mood economist friend, Sammiya (short for Samson) set me thinking afresh. “Hello machan, how [...]
Playing with boiling oil
Our food is becoming oily again, whether we like it or not. It is not because we keep adding more ‘cooking oil’ to our food, but because of the “rising oil prices” in the world. On average about 20 percent of the cost of food production is said to have originated from fossil fuel. The [...]
Sri Lanka’s hospitality staff see prospects in other sectors
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry’s workforce is now leaving hospitality jobs in search of higher paying work as the sector awaits approval for a long term moratorium on its loans from the Central Bank to cure its financial ills. City Hotels Association President M. Shanthikumar said that they have seen about 30 percent of the industry [...]
Large SL banks most exposed to sovereign risk: Fitch says
Sri Lanka’s largest banks are the most susceptible to heightened sovereign risk due to their higher exposure to foreign-currency denominated government securities and, in some cases, weaker capital positions, said Fitch Ratings in a new report this week. Domestic banks have significant direct exposure to the sovereign, largely via government-security holdings, as well as to [...]
TUs campaign for GSP+ continuance
Trade unions involved in Sri Lanka’s apparel sector have agreed to sound off their European counterparts to support Sri Lanka’s case to continue GSP+ concessions. This came during a meeting on Friday between local trade unions, Foreign Relations Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and Labour Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva to discuss the recent resolution in the [...]
Calculation of Sri Lankan fuel prices and why they are so high
In the wake of confusion triggered with the increase in fuel price after maintaining it at a stable level for 20 months, the new pricing policy adopted by the government has triggered a cost of living crisis, economists and analysts said. They said people should be made aware of the reason for the increase of [...]
Retailers’ Association seeks support from state against collapse
Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association (SLRA) is urging state support for the industry and for a consultative approach when taking national lockdown decisions – especially at short notice, as the sector has witnessed mounting multi-million-rupee losses overnight due to ad-hoc measures. In a statement, the SLRA stressed that implementation of COVID-19 controls should not affect the [...]
NDB secures $75 m from US state institution
NDB Bank has secured a long term funding line of US$ 75 million from the state-owned Development Finance Corporation of the United States to further the bank’s support for the small and medium businesses and infrastructure funding during these challenging times. In a media release, the bank said that the US is providing a welcome [...]
SLT-MOBITEL invests Rs. 25 bn annually to improve connectivity, capacity
SLT-MOBITEL, the state-owned ICT, Telecommunications and Mobile Services Provider, has ramped up its service delivery to meet the nationwide increase in data usage and traffic that has nearly doubled since the onset of the pandemic. The company in statement said that an investment of over Rs. 25 billion is being made annually in the past [...]
PUCSL signs MOU under USAID-funded project to upskill 45,000 electricians
The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), the electricity sector regulator, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with USAID’s youth employment and entrepreneurship project, YouLead to provide professional qualification to 45,000 electricians. This initiative aims to channel joint efforts to support and upskill Sri Lankan youth in the electricity sector, and to encourage [...]
Dr. Nalin Jayasuriya launches book on HR development
Dr. Nalin Jayasuriya, Chairman of Mc Quire, Rens Global Consulting Ltd and Non-Executive Chairman, Eswaran Brothers Ltd, a sought-after leading Management Trainer and Business Consultant, has launched a book on creating a driving force and strategy to overcome managerial dilemmas in organisations. This easy-to-read book addresses the fundamentals of strategizing for corporate sustainable growth which [...]
Handicrafts: Plight of an industry that has global recognition
The craft sector is one of the most underutilised and underprivileged industry sectors in Sri Lanka although local craftsmen have innate talents that are in their DNA. The handicraft industry’s key manufacturers and raw material suppliers are operating in an informal environment with lack of capacity to market their products and to promote their own [...]
Inclusive development is a necessity for Sri Lanka
Inclusive development means combining aspects of social development with economic growth and this is often done through political intervention implemented through various subsidy schemes and normal market guided production systems combined with environmental sustainability. The monthly public lecture organised by the Centre for Banking Studies, Central Bank (CB) was held on Monday in a webinar [...]
Energy and water consumption high in apparel sector
As far as Sri Lanka’s apparel sector is concerned there is a huge increase in consumption patterns where energy, water and global emissions are over 50 percent and there is waste creation, said Dr. Ananda Mallawatantri, Country Representative IUCN at a webinar held in Colombo last week on the topic “Road Map to a Greener [...]
Sri Lanka tackling huge economic challenges
Sri Lanka is heading towards an unprecedented economic crisis, with the Central Bank (CB) printing money, facing a severe shortage of foreign exchange which are dampening investors’ confidence In this back-drop CB Governor W.D Lakshman recently issued a statement on the forex situation emphasising that self-serving speculations are unwarranted and are harmful to the general [...]
Vish Govindasamy elected as CCC Chairman
The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce elected Vish Govindasamy as its Chairman during the Chamber’s 182nd Annual General Meeting on Tuesday). Mr. Govindasamy succeeds Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya who completed his 2-Year Term as Chairman at the culmination of the Annual General Meeting, the chamber said in a statement. Mr. Govindasamy serves in the capacity of Managing [...]
LAUGFS Rubber launches Sri Lanka’s largest tyre
LAUGFS Corporation (Rubber) Ltd. (LAUGFS Rubber) recently unveiled the latest addition to its product portfolio with the 23.5 – 25 LOADER GRIP tyres, the largest tyre size (weight – 1100KG) to be manufactured in Sri Lanka. Designed for extreme off the road applications, the “23.5 – 25 LOADER GRIP” facilitates high loading capability for loader [...]
Softlogic Finance shows zero NPLs on Rs. 14 bn new loans
Softlogic Finance PLC, a subsidiary of Softlogic Capital the financial arm of the Softlogic Group, has announced plans to strengthen its Tier 1 Capital in compliance with Capital Adequacy Requirements as stipulated by the Central Bank, through a planned Rs. 2.2 billion Rights Issue to existing shareholders. “With an overall strategic plan to boost stability [...]
Sri Lanka Tourism enhances traveller experience
Sri Lanka Tourism said this week that it has adopted a proactive approach to harness the benefits of technology into its offering to remain competitive in the digital era. Sri Lanka’s apex tourism body is integrating technology into its operational infrastructure and has invested in value-adding IT initiatives to enhance quality of services, human resources [...]
CSE, Port City Colombo pact to set up multi- currency stock exchange
The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and CHEC Port City Colombo has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance the capital markets in Sri Lanka by taking advantage of the Port City Colombo’s special emphasis of the Colombo International Financial Centre, in order to establish a regionally recognised financial exchange within the country’s borders. The [...]
Prime state-run resorts in Sri Lanka up for grabs!
Sri Lanka Tourism authorities are eyeing the possibility of leasing out the resort properties owned by the state citing the losses incurred in maintaining them based on data obtained about eight years back. Five state-run resorts held by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) in Bentota, Anuradhapura, Kataragama, Nuwara Eliya and Bandarawela have become [...]