Category: Economy and Markets
Opinion: Extended producer responsibility to help address Sri Lanka’s plastic waste management
By Manjula de Silva, Secretary General and CEO, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Each year, over 640,000 metric tonnes of plastic leak into the Indian Ocean from Sri Lanka (Clean Cities, Blue Ocean, June 2020). The Western Province alone generates around 7500 metric tons of solid waste every day, out of which only 3500 metric tons are […]
ASPI crosses 8000 points mark; Hayleys announces subdivision of shares
The All Share Price Index (ASPI) of the Colombo Stock Exchange crossed the key psychological mark of 8,000 today gaining 246.80 points to end the day on 8,131.25 points. For the first time in its history, the All Share Price Index has ended a trading day above 8,000 points today. The S&P SL20 index which […]
SL vehicle registrations show an increase in Dec 2020: Jan expected to be nil
Jan 21, 2021 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s vehicle registrations for the month of December show an increase mainly due to a shifting of registrations from the month of November, a new report says. Data compiled by JB Securities equities research shows that total vehicle registrations recorded 4,407 units in the month of Dec up from 2,868 […]
SL explores bilateral trade with Philippines
The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Manila initiated a virtual introductory meeting between the State Trading Corporation of Sri Lanka (STC) and the Philippine International Trading Corporation (PITC) on 13 January 2021 to discuss opportunities for mutually-beneficial trade engagements between Sri Lanka and the Philippines. Ambassador Shobini Gunasekera, in her welcome remarks, enjoined the two […]
Fitch expects Sri Lanka’s FX reserves to decline to around USD4.2 bn in 2021 & USD3.4 bn in 2022
Fitch downgraded Sri Lanka’s rating to ‘CCC’ from ‘B-’ in November 2020, reflecting the sovereign’s increasingly challenging public and external debt position. Fitch Ratings: How Are Sri Lanka’s Fragile External Finances Likely to Hold Up in 2021? The coronavirus shock has exacerbated an already high public debt-to-GDP ratio, and financing options for the sovereign have […]
‘s export earnings amounted to USD 932Mn in December
The US$ 13.5 billion export target set for merchandise export sectors in early 2020 remains challenging, requiring not only strong efforts from local enterprises, but also the recovery of global demand amid complicated Covid-19 situation. Amid severe impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, Sri Lanka’s merchandise exports remain at US$ 9.9 billion in 2020, which is […]
Gross official reserves estimated at USD 5.7bn at end 2020
Sri Lanka’s gross official reserves were estimated at US dollars 5.7 billion at the end of 2020, with an import cover of 4.3 months, the Central Bank said continuing its accommodative monetary policy stance. The trade deficit is expected to have narrowed by over US dollars 2.0 billion in 2020 in comparison to the previous […]
The differences between big data, data science and data analytics – and why it matters to your business.
As today’s software development practices form their foundations on the cloud through cloud support services, digital applications are more interconnected than ever before. If your IT agency is a dedicated AWS partner (or partnered with any other leading provider, for that matter) this implies a relationship with an entity apart from your development team. This […]
Eran warns “Be careful of pump and dump in stock market”
Jan 18, 2021 (LBO) – Former State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratna said that when we hear the message of share market it was not only the message but we also need to look at the messenger as well. “We hear a lot of comments on basically about economy, lots of nice stories and fairy […]
”; outlook stable
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Sir Lanka Telecom PLC’s (SLT) National Long-Term Rating at ‘AA-(Ika)’. The Outlook is Stable. We have also affirmed the ‘AA-(Ika)’ national rating on the company’s LKR7 billion of senior unsecured debt. SLT’s ratings are constrained by the sovereign’s ratings as per Fitch’s Government-Related Entities Rating Criteria, as the state holds a […]
SEC welcomes market performance; low bank interest rates attract local investors to CSE
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) welcomes the record-breaking performance of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). Bloomberg has identified the CSE as the second best performing equity market in the world. On 15th January 2021, the CSE saw 61,722 trades which is the highest number of trades ever in a single day […]
RPCs lay out final proposal to remunerate workers Rs. 1105 per day
In a meeting today between the Minster of Labour Hon. Nimal Siripala de Silva and the Chairmen of all Sri Lankan Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs), a final proposal has been submitted towards ensuring a sustainable earnings model for the sector. This proposal takes into consideration the sustainability of both the industry and livelihoods of plantation […]