Innovative food delivery on electric bikes
Food delivery service PickMe has begun using electric bicycles (seen in the picture) which can run for 60 km on one charge in an innovative way to counter the fuel crisis. The company has collaborated with bike developer and maker, Rhoda and the riders have taken a leasing facility to buy the bikes.
SL rupee shortage alongside dollar crisis
Recent bids at the Treasury Bill auction of the Central Bank (CB) reflect the rupee liquidity shortage in the country’s banks, economists point out. The gravity of the rupee liquidity shortage is witnessed by the bids submitted by primary dealers at spurious rates, they say. Now they bid at high rates to capitalise on high [...]
New budget to replace 2022 current budget
Sri Lanka’s new administration headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is gearing up to present a new, relief-based budget, around next month, replacing budget 2022 – for the first time in history since independence. The Finance Ministry will prepare the new relief budget as the previous budget for the fiscal year 2022 has become unrealistic [...]
Many people want to go overseas for jobs, long-stays
While the country is grappling with an economic crisis of unimaginable proportions, foreign embassies are experiencing a rising number of visa applications in all categories, which most likely means that many people want to leave the country for good. An unusual number of visa applications are piling up every day such that the visa processing [...]
Govt. seeks foreign help for fertiliser imports
Sri Lanka is expecting support from the international community to purchase fertiliser for the farmers and experts have asked to now concentrate on making preparations for the Maha season. During a meeting chaired by former Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam (heading a committee appointed by the new PM), state agriculture institutions, fertiliser importers and experts present [...]
Law firms dropping politically exposed persons
The Central Bank (CB)’s noose on money laundering activities has gotten tighter in recent months so much so that now law firms are also quietly letting go of their PEPs (Politically Exposed Persons), following the lead of private banks, industry officials said. “Now the regulator’s scrutiny is 10 times more than what it was and [...]
Selling a troubled airline
Last week’s headline in this column ‘Scraping the barrel’ hit the nail on the head when it comes to foreign reserves. While the ‘gross official foreign exchange reserves’ were US$1.8 billion in April, the usable reserves (amount available to be used freely for any import or transaction) were less than $5 million! We are literally [...]
Learning through a hard knock
Newly-appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe outlined the dangerous state of the Sri Lankan economy and the way forward, in his maiden speech last Monday. While the public is faced with increasing shortages of essential supplies and sky-rocketing prices largely due to the lack of foreign exchange for payments, the Prime Minister mentioned the challenge for [...]
CB restricts public foreign currency holdings
In a desperate move to preserve foreign currency, the Central Bank has restricted the holding of foreign cash by the public to US$10,000 from $15,000 with effect from August, Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe divulged. Addressing a media conference on Thursday convened to brief monetary policy decisions, he noted that law enforcement authorities have [...]
New Anthoney’s Farms reaffirms poultry supply amidst economic challenges
New Anthoney’s Farms (Pvt) Ltd, to ensure consumers continue to enjoy their favorite chicken brand, recently reaffirmed its position to provide adequate and uninterrupted supply of its meat range amidst feed shortages and the growing challenges facing Sri Lanka’s economy. The poultry industry forecasts production to contract by one-fifth this year primarily due to the [...]
Sri Lanka defaults international bond payment
Sri Lanka on Wednesday defaulted on its international bonds for the first time, after failing to make its coupon payments that were due on April 18 within the 30-day grace period. In the meantime Fitch Ratings said it has downgraded Sri Lanka’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency (LTFC) Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘RD’ (restricted default) from ‘C’. [...]
Ceylon Chamber meets party leaders to discuss Sri Lanka crisis
The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) officials met with the leaders of several key political parties this week to discuss the serious economic and political challenges faced by the country. Among the leaders met were Sajith Premadasa – Leader of the Opposition and SJB, Anura Kumara Dissanayake – Leader of the JVP, M. A. Sumanthiran [...]
SLT Group shows resilience in 1Q2022 despite challenges
Sri Lanka Telecom Group has recorded a consolidated revenue growth of 5.4 per cent to Rs. 26 billion in Q1 2022, in comparison to the corresponding period in the previous year. Group Profit After Tax (PAT) in the same period was recorded at Rs. 2.7 billion, demonstrating the SLT Group’s resilience despite challenging economic conditions. [...]
“Sri Lanka Tourism running out of cash”
With reference to last week’s article under the above headline carried in the Business Times, the chairperson of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) has sent us the following letter: “Sri Lanka Tourism has no shortage of cash i.e., LKR/Rupees, the legal tender in Sri Lanka. However, the country has run out of dollars [...]
Importers to put essential food imports on hold
Sri Lanka is about to face a severe essential food crisis following the imminent decline in the importation of commodities like rice, sugar, dhal, chickpeas, coriander and other lentils etc as a result of the ban on imports via open account payment terms, essential food commodity importers and traders complained. This catastrophic situation erupted due [...]
Auditor’s role in preventing corruption
Whilst the new Prime Minister is busy looking for solutions to provide essentials to people in Sri Lanka, professionals in the country should look at ways of bringing sustainable solutions to the economic crisis of the country. I strongly believe that the root cause for the current economic crisis is lack of ethical values that [...]
CA Sri Lanka seeking to produce more Chartered Accountants
With Chartered Accountants known the world over to possess unique skills to power businesses across multiple sectors and industries, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) continues to work with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW), one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious accounting bodies, to [...]
Container transporters vital for exports
With only 10 per cent of container transporters in operation, priority needs to be given to this sector that is vital in resuming plying between the port and the export zones. The All Island Container Transport Owners Federation Chairman Sanath Manjula told the Business Times that for about a week there has been an acute [...]
HNB shows resilience under difficult conditions
In the backdrop of turbulent market conditions, Hatton National Bank PLC continued to demonstrate resilience, strength and stability, posting a profit before tax (PBT) of Rs.5.9 billion and a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs.4.8 billion for the first quarter of 2022 recording a Year-on-Year (YoY) growth of 7 per cent and 3 per cent [...]
10,000 families benefit from Dialog, MAS, Hemas & CBL initiative
In a mission to provide emergency relief to the most vulnerable communities across the country amidst the ongoing economic crisis, the ‘Manudam Mehewara’ initiative reached its first milestone of aiding over 10,000 families in-need. Joining hands with like-minded partners including its execution partner Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement and independent auditor PwC Sri Lanka, Manudam Mehewara was [...]