Category: Economy and Markets
Sri Lanka Development Update: Navigating Sri Lanka’s demographic change
Feb 14, 2019 (LBO) – The latest edition of the World Bank’s Sri Lanka Development Update (SLDU) finds the island in a challenging macroeconomic landscape. The post-conflict high growth momentum has decelerated.A volatile global environment and structurally weak competitiveness continue to weaken growth and external sector performance. High interest costs mask limited fiscal improvement. The […]
Sri Lanka Trade Min. launches digital platform for small, informal biz
Feb 14, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has began work on the first national digital data bank for its SMEs and entrepreneurs recently with the backing of a Singaporean firm. Under the new initiative the National Enterprise Development Agency (NEDA) will execute a nationwide centralised database of all SMEs and entrepreneurs thereby boosting the performance […]
World Bank Vice President arrives in Sri Lanka to support country’s reform plans
Feb 13, 2019 (LBO) – The World Bank Vice President for the South Asia Region, Hartwig Schafer arrived today on his first visit to Sri Lanka to gain a better understanding of the country’s development priorities and how the Bank can continue to support its critical reform agenda. “Sri Lanka has made good progress in reducing […]
Sri Lanka unemployment at 4.1-pct in Q3 2018
Feb 13, 2019 (LBO) – The number of unemployed persons is estimated as 346,998 during the third quarter 2018 or 4.1 percent, the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) said. The overall unemployment rate reported for female is 6.6 percent and it is 2.8 percent for male. Youth unemployment rate (age 15 – 24 years) […]
‘s Access Engineering records Rs.1.6Bn PAT for nine months
Feb 13, 2019 (LBO) – Access Engineering PLC, releasing its interim financial statements for the nine months December, 31 2018 said the company has recorded an impressive after tax profit of 1.66 billion rupees at Group level with a YoY increase of 43 percent. For the quarter ended December 31, 2018 the Group recorded a […]
‘s industrial production up by 1.2-pct in Dec 2018
Feb 13, 2019 (LBO) – The volume of industrial production in Sri Lanka has increased by 1.2 percent in the month of December, 2018 compared to the same period in 2017. Among the manufacturing industries; volume of products of ‘wood and products of wood and cork except furniture’(27.7 percent), ‘Beverages’ (14.0 percent) and ‘Manufacture of […]
Hayleys records third quarter PBT of Rs.1.7Bn
Feb 12, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lankan multinational, Hayleys PLC, recorded a strong all-round performance in the third quarter of 2018 (3Q18), as the Group turnover rose by 20 percent Year-on-Year( YoY) to 59.7 billion rupees bn, resulting in a sharp 80 percent YoY increase in Group’s Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation ( […]
Sri Lanka tourist arrivals up 2.2-pct in Jan 2019
Feb 12, 2019 (LBO) – The total number of international tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka during January 2019 was 244,239. In comparison to January 2018, there is a growth of 2.2 percent as the last year January tourist arrivals were 238,924, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority stated in a press release. Last month, the largest source […]
Central Bank clarifies issues on sale of ETI Finance Ltd
Feb 12, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank says it has come to the notice of the Bank that some misinformation is circulating pertaining to ETI Finance Ltd (ETIF) disposing its subsidiaries, sub-subsidiaries and investment properties, and the involvement of CBSL therein. With regard to the said transaction, CBSL wishes to clarify the following: […]
Sri Lanka stocks wake up, foreigners active but still net sellers
February 11, 2018 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan stock market has at least for today, awoken from its seemingly endless slumber. The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) recorded unusually heavy trading on the day with Rs3.3bn (USmn) worth of trading turnover.Foreigners were unusually active, perhaps as a result of Sri Lanka’s stabilising currency. The Sri Lankan […]
Opinion: JKH board is duty bound to evaluate takeover defence/restructuring
February 11, 2019 (LBO) – John Keells Holdings (JKH) and its management seem to be asleep at the wheel.Whether the board of the most important company in Sri Lanka realises it or not, their company and its shareholders are under threat. Sri Lanka’s billion dollar stock market bellwether now has 3 shareholders who own in […]
‘s bonds
February 9, 2019 (LBO) – Foreign institutional bond investors have started to aggressively re-enter Sri Lanka’s government bond market after a rapid exodus in 2018.In the last 3 weeks, foreign investors have invested close to a net of US0mn into Sri Lanka’s bonds.This comes on the back of close to a billion dollar outflow in […]