Tackling fuel irregularities
Three-wheelers register at the Keselwatte Police Station in Colombo under a scheme where these vehicles can only pump fuel from a fuel station in the area assigned by the police station. The scheme is aimed at reducing irregularities since many 3-wheelers are said to be selling fuel in the black market. Pic by Indika Handuwala [...]
Return of Glyphosate for plantations, ban lifted
Glyphosate, a key weed killer required in producing Ceylon Tea to the world, is now staging a comeback as Cabinet approval was granted last month to lift the ban for the next three years for use on plantations alone. But the gazette is still pending and authorities are uncertain whether the state has cash to [...]
Sri Lanka faces drop in apparel orders
Sri Lanka’s apparel orders are facing a 10-15 per cent drop as a result of the instability at home and the rising inflation in its buying markets like Europe and US. “We could see a reduction in orders and it varies from company to company but approximately there is a 10-15 per cent drop,” Joint [...]
Dollar liquidity situation seen improving
The country’s dollar liquidity which was under extreme stress is seen to be improving, economists say. The backlog of letters of credit in banks being cleared has contributed to the boost in dollars in these institutions, Murtaza Jafferjee, CEO JB Stockbrokers said. “The dollar demand magnified during the past few months due to payments for [...]
Heavy interest payments on public debt
Sri Lanka is continuing to spend a substantial amount of its earnings on interest payment on public debt this year, Finance Ministry data shows. This will be a burden for the interim budget 2022 which will be presented in parliament next month in which the total expenditure is estimated to be more than double that [...]
SL firms likely to shrink or shift business abroad
Sri Lanka’s debt-ridden economy without any real solution in sight is pushing industries to scale down operations or rethink their geographical spread. All industries are on the verge of trimming their operations and certain companies in the apparel sector are shifting operations to countries like Vietnam. “Firms in the IT sector are shifting to Dubai. [...]
JKH in exchange gain of over Rs.10 b
John Keells Holdings has made a sharp foreign exchange gain of over Rs.10 billion in the three months ending June 2022, up from Rs. 428 million in the same 2021 period, benefiting from its exposure to foreign exchange earning sectors. This information is contained in the company’s latest quarterly report which reported an EBITDA improvement [...]
Positive signals to the world
Many years ago, when the late Lalith Athulathmudali was Trade Minister, the cry “export or perish” was very much in the air to signify how important exports were to the Sri Lankan economy. I was reflecting on how the country is suffering due to a lack of proper policy measures to strengthen and firm the [...]
Ending the fuel shortage in 12 months?
The following is an extract from a Twitter message of the Energy Minister, Kanchana Wijesekera on July 25: “…Due to foreign exchange issues, fuel imports have to be restricted in the next 12 months. CPC (Ceylon Petroleum Corporation) has never distributed fuel daily to every single fuel station. Practically (it’s) not possible, even when stocks [...]
India, Sri Lanka resume efforts to finalise ETCA
Indian and Sri Lankan authorities are now working towards the finalisation expeditiously of the much delayed and widely debated Economic and Technology Co-operation Agreement (ETCA), which will replace the existing free trade agreement (FTA) entered into in March 2000, Trade Ministry sources confirmed, adding that discussions have resumed after more than five years. The conclusion [...]
SL has failed despite having enough land, plenty of water for irrigation
Despite being a country with most arable land and plenty of water for irrigation, after 70 years of independence where millions of people are suffering from food security, Sri Lanka has never put in place a system to overcome these shortcomings other than to depend on outside help, said Dr. Anila Dias Bandaranaike, former Assistant [...]
Poultry industry urges Govt. to promote exports
Sri Lanka poultry industry is in trouble facing several challenges for its survival due to the rise in the price of chicken feed and other raw material and a drop in demand among local consumers as they cannot afford to pay high prices of chicken and eggs, several industry leaders said, adding in a crisis [...]
SMEs need to adapt to the turbulent environment
While the economic crisis has battered small and medium enterprises (SMEs), companies need to be agile and adapt to the new economic conditions. Within the turbulent environment there will also be new opportunities that emerge. These remarks were made by SME Consultant and Associate Professor in Business Strategy, Dr. Nirmal De Silva during a virtual [...]
SLT-Mobitel in effort to make SL a smart nation
SLT-Mobitel has taken a major initiative towards transforming Sri Lanka to a smart nation further improving strategically important services and sectors while digitally empowering the people. This was disclosed by Sri Lanka Telcom Group Chairman Rohan Fernando when he announced a national proposal to introduce the new system change of SLT-Mobitel to digitally empower citizens [...]
SL’s RAGA Sparkling Kithul Toddy gains celebrity status in Australia
Innovative Sri Lankan produce and beverage exporter, Agri Deshiya’s RAGA Sparkling Kithul Toddy has attracted celebrity attention in one of its key overseas markets, Australia. This is after famous football star, Ben Long, recently tried this new trendy beverage. Upon tasting this native Sri Lankan beverage, produced to international standards, and which is now available [...]
NDB crowned “Best Bank in Sri Lanka” by top 3 awarding bodies
NDB Bank was recently named the Best Bank in Sri Lanka for 2022 by Euromoney, in addition to being named “The Best Bank in Sri Lanka” by Global Finance of USA for 2022 and 2021 consecutively. The bank also won “Bank of the Year 2020” by The Banker, UK thus achieving the rare feat of [...]
IMF prepares for policy discussions with new administration
Sri Lanka is set to reach a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) within a couple of months and an economic reform programme for a bailout package would be finalised by next month (August). The debt restructuring process will also commence soon to reach an agreement with creditors as a prelude to the [...]