Category: Economy and Markets
Dialog Axiata pledges Rs. 200Mn for ICU capacity development
Apr 26, 2020 (LBO) – Dialog Axiata pledged 200 million rupees for urgently required ICU capacity development in hospitals selected by the Ministry of Health (MOH). This will be utilised for expanding healthcare systems to provide critical care services and provide accessibility to intensive care for patients. There is an ever-increasing requirement to expand the […]
Union Bank to cease its operations as a Primary Dealer
Apr 24, 2020 (LBO) – Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has granted approval for Union Bank of Colombo to cease its operations as a Primary Dealer with effect from 01 May 2020. Union Bank will continue to function as a Dealer Direct Participant in the LankaSettle system and transact in scripless […]
WTO, IMF call on countries to remove recent trade restrictions
Apr 24, 2020 (LBO) – The World Trade Organization (WTO) and The International Monetary Fund (IMF) call on governments to refrain from imposing or intensifying export and other trade restrictions and to work to promptly remove those put in place since the start of the year. Releasing a joint statement on trade and the COVID-19 […]
”; outlook negative
Apr 24, 2020 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has downgraded Sri Lanka’s Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) to ‘B-‘, from ‘B’ with a negative outlook. Full statement KEY RATING DRIVERS The downgrade of Sri Lanka’s IDRs reflects the following key rating drivers. The shock to Sri Lanka’s economy from the coronavirus pandemic will […]
SL appoints Presidential task force on economic revival and poverty eradication
Apr 23, 2020 (LBO) – President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has appointed a Presidential Task Force in charge of Economic Revival and Poverty Eradication. It has been established under the powers vested in the President by the Constitution. The Task Force is responsible for reviving the economy and eradication of poverty while paying special attention to the […]
Chair of SL Tourism requests banks and fin institutions to give full support to industry
Apr 23, 2020 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Tourism plans for an early revival post-COVID-19, as the country starts opening up gradually from this week. A major step was the Cabinet approval of the critical five-year global promotion initiative last week and plans are underway to finalize the Terms of Reference and appointment of the Procurement, […]
‘s headline inflation decreased in March
Apr 22, 2020 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s headline inflation as measured by the year-on-year change in the National Consumer Price Index has decreased to 7.0 percent in March 2020 from 8.1 percent in February 2020. As per the Statistics Department, this was driven by a monthly decrease in prices of the items in the Food […]
Sri Lankan consumer retail, construction, hotels most affected: Fitch Ratings
Apr 22, 2020 (LBO) – Fitch-rated Sri Lankan corporates in consumer goods retail, construction and hotels will be among the most affected by the coronavirus pandemic in Sri Lanka, says Fitch Ratings. Full statement Companies in consumer goods retail and construction-related activities also have lower rating headroom than in most other sectors. The ultimate impact […]
SriLankan Airlines special flights to bring back stranded in India, Pakistan and Nepal
Apr 21, 2020 (LBO) – SriLankan Airlines will operate special flights from India’s Amritsar, Coimbatore, Pakistan’s Karachi, Lahore and Nepal’s Kathmandu to bring home 433 Sri Lankan students who have been stranded overseas due to the prevailing travel restrictions imposed in view of the COVID 19 pandemic. These special flights are being operated as part […]
Yenlo achieves highest WSO2 reseller status as platinum VAR
Yenlo was named a WSO2 Platinum Value-Added Reseller in recognition of its success in growing global customer adoption and delivering best-in-class open source integration and API management solutions based on the WSO2 platform. Global integration specialist Yenlo today announced that the company is now a WSO2 Platinum Value-Added Reseller, the highest reseller status recognized by […]
Central Bank permits remittances to Sri Lankans abroad on visits & studies
Apr 20, 2020 (LBO) – Central Bank reiterates that there is no hindrance to providing financial assistance to Sri Lankans who have gone abroad to pursue studies or short visits. Making a clarification on the matter, the bank, however, requested all concerned parties to make use of the opportunity in a responsible manner. Family members […]
Opinion: COVID-19 and foreign exchange woes: Can Sri Lanka find a way out?
Bilesha Weeraratne Growing pressure on Sri Lanka’s scarce foreign exchange resources, due to the wide spread of COVID-19 across the globe, is now more real than ever before. To ease this pressure, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has taken many measures to attract as well as retain more foreign exchange in Sri Lanka. […]