Category: Economy and Markets
Sri Lanka Budget Speech 2024 – Highlights
President and Finance Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is delivering the Second Reading of the Appropriation Bill for the financial year 2024 in Parliament. Sri Lanka Budget 2024: LIVE VIDEO To enhance government employee pay, the state’s revenue must be increased, emphasizes President Inefficiencies in the public sector must be eliminated. President Ranil Wickremesinghe highlights need to […]
”; Outlook Negative
Fitch Ratings has downgraded Sri-Lanka based Hela Apparel Holdings PLC’s National Long-Term Rating to ‘BB+(lka)’, from ‘AA- (lka)’. The Outlook is Negative. The downgrade follows the sharp deterioration in Hela’s financial profile following the apparel manufacturer’s significant adjustment of financial accounts from the interim accounts during its annual audit for the financial year ended March […]
John Keells Holdings PLC interim financial results for 2Q 2023/24
Summarised below are the key operational and financial highlights of our performance during the quarter under review: • During the quarter under review, the Group’s businesses, except for Transportation and Property, recorded growth in profitability. • Group EBITDA at Rs.8.06 billion in the second quarter of 2023/24 is a decrease of 13% against Group EBITDA […]
Ceylon Chamber leads private sector engagement at India – SriLanka biz summit
The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce called for a new economic model focused on export-led investment and tourism, and facilitating the private sector as the engine of growth to build a sustainable business environment, at the recent India-Sri Lanka Business Summit in Colombo. The event brought together key figures, including Dinesh Gunawardena, Prime Minister of the […]
Sri Lanka to host upcoming Asia Pacific Retailers Conference and Exhibition 2024
The Sri Lanka Retailers Association (SLRA), which serves as the foremost organization for organized retail in Sri Lanka, recently played host to the eagerly awaited Federation of Asia- Pacific Retailers Association (FAPRA) Head of Delegations Meeting. This significant event took place at the prestigious Cinnamon Grand Colombo. A pivotal point of discussion during the FAPRA […]
Government urged to crack down on tax evaders instead of taxpayers: Harsha
In a press conference held yesterday, MP Harsha de Silva, Chairman of the Committee on Public Finance, shed light on the government’s tax collection efforts, revealing significant shortfalls in expected revenue. His comments have ignited a debate on the fairness of the current tax collection system and whether the government should prioritize collecting taxes from […]
Focus on Including Private Sector Proposals for Building the Economy in the Budget
President Ranil Wickremesinghe has announced his intention to prioritize the inclusion of proposals from the private sector in this year’s budget and to separately examine related areas. He made these statements while attending a 2024 pre-budget -discussion held at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday (01) with the leaders of private sector institutions. During the meeting, the […]
Ceylon Chamber Advocates for a Balanced Fiscal Approach Over Proposed VAT rate hike
The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce raises concerns regarding the proposed increase of the Value Added Tax (VAT) to 18%. While recognising the government’s commitment to revenue enhancement in alignment with International Monetary Fund obligations, it’s imperative to evaluate the broader economic ramifications of such a decision. The current economic landscape, characterized by escalating income taxes, […]
Sri Lanka’s Mobile Network Performance Lags Behind in South Asia: Analysis
In a recent analysis by Opensignal, which examined the mobile network experiences of smartphone users across the six most populated countries in South Asia, Sri Lanka’s performance was found to be lacking compared to its regional counterparts. The study, which included Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, revealed significant disparities across the region. […]
PUCSL electricity tariff revision discriminatory: Advocata
Electricity tariff design must meet two main objectives: firstly, raising the money needed to pay for the costs of provision, and secondly, sending the right economic signals to each customer to favour the optimal socio-economic use of electricity. To achieve the above objectives the principles that must be followed when designing tariffs are; Economic sustainability […]
‘s real estate market trends
In a significant stride towards fostering transparency and informed decision-making within South Asia’s real estate landscape, the Research Intelligence Unit (RIUNIT) unveiled a series of reports during the 8th Islamic Finance Forum of South Asia, held on recently at the Shangri-La hotel in Colombo. These reports provide a holistic view of the real estate markets […]