Category: Economy and Markets
Sri Lanka headline inflation marginally increased in July
Aug 22, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s headline inflation as measured by the year-on-year change in the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) increased marginally to 2.2 percent in July from 2.1 percent in June. According to Central Bank data, this was due to the monthly price increases of items in both Food and Non-food categories. […]
Sri Lanka unveils modern hi-tech TVET facility with South Korean backing
Aug 21, 2019 (LBO) – Backed by the global industrial giant South Korea, Sri Lanka launched its most modern national hi-tech training facility to-date on Wednesday. As it unveiled its Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) facility in a Colombo suburb, Sri Lanka also said that its skills development work has shown results so […]
SEC files action against several individuals for market manipulation
Aug 20, 2019 (LBO) – Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) has filed an action before the Fort Magistrate’s Court against several individuals for market manipulation. The full statement is reproduced below. SEC FILES ACTION FOR MARKET MANIPULATION The Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) on 25th July 2019 filed action […]
SLASSCOM and Norway sign collaboration agreement on ICT and entrepreneurship
Aug 20, 2019 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Association of Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM) and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs entered into a two-year agreement to foster collaboration in the ICT industry. The newly appointed Norwegian Ambassador to Sri Lanka, H.E. Trine Jøranli Eskedal and Ranil Rajapakse, chairman SLASSCOM signed the agreement. The […]
Samurai Bond to support reserves to maintain around USD8Bn throughout 2019: FC
Aug 20, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s First Capital Research believes that the raising of 500 million dollars via Samurai Bonds is likely to support to maintain reserves around the 8 billion dollar mark throughout the rest of this year. As per the Governor of Central Bank, the government will soon issue Request for Proposals […]
First Capital assigns higher probability for neutral monetary policy stance
Aug 20, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s First Capital Research believes that the Central Bank may delay the monetary easing while allowing the impact of the previous rate cut to materialise. With manufacturing and credit signaling signs of recovery in economy and vulnerabilities affecting the external outlook, they assign a higher probability of 70 percent […]
Softlogic Holdings report 7-pct growth in first six months 2019
Softlogic Holdings top line witnessed a 7% growth to Rs. 17.1 billion during the quarter ended JUNE 30, 2019 following the decline in consumer demand and business sentiments. The top contributors to Group revenue were Retail (49%), Financial Services (22%) and Healthcare Services (20%). The non-core vertical which includes Automobile and Leisure & Property together […]
Teejay extends partnership with University of Moratuwa
Teejay Lanka PLC, one of the largest knit fabric providers in South Asia, has announced an extension of its support to the University of Moratuwa for another two years, further strengthening a long standing and mutually beneficial partnership. A memorandum of understanding first signed in 2014 provided the now tight-knit organisations with a framework for […]
Sri Lanka to present Vote on Account for 1Q 2020 instead of fully-fledged budget
Aug 14, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s cabinet yesterday approved a proposal to present a Vote on Account (VoA) to allocate state expenditure for the first quarter of 2020 as it will be nonsensical to present a fully-fledged budget in the wake of a presidential election. Since the Presidential Election is due at the end […]
Sri Lanka’s Hayleys to issue listed debt
Aug 13, 2019 (LBO) – Colombo Stock Exchange has approved in principle an application for listing the debt securities of Hayleys PLC. Hayleys said in a stock exchange filing that the company expects to raise 3 billion rupees by the issue of 20 million five-year debentures at 100 rupees each with an option to issue […]
Sri Lanka official reserves at USD 8.3bn by end July; YTD rupee appreciation 3.1-pct
Aug 09, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s gross official reserves were 8,343.9 million US dollars by the end of July, down from 8,864.98 million US dollars in June, latest Central Bank data showed. By the end of July, foreign currency reserves were 7,366.8 million dollars while the reserve position in the IMF was 65.8 million […]
Sri Lanka looking at establishing direct flights to Cambodia
Aug 09, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is looking at the possibility of establishing direct flights to Cambodia and to enhance tourism and trade between the two countries. President Maithripala Sirisena, who is on a state visit to Cambodia, held a meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Pakdei Techo HUN SEN yesterday […]