Category: Banking and Finance
Port City Colombo opens gates for investment
Port City Colombo, Sri Lanka’s brand-new reclaimed land, slated as the “Gateway to South Asia”, now officially becomes the country’s first service oriented Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The Sri Lankan Parliament, today (20th), adopted a powerful Bill enabling a giant step in Port City Colombo becoming a pivotal global financial and services hub for South […]
FIU imposes Rs. 4 Mn penalties for 1Q 2021 to enforce compliance on Financial Institutions
As the regulator for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) in Sri Lanka, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has imposed penalties, totaling to Rs. 4.0 million for the period from 1 January 2021 to 31 March 2021 to enforce compliance on Financial Institutions. Penalties have been imposed mainly on the violations of […]
Sampath Bank Digitalizes KYC Process in Partnership with Dept for Registration of Persons
Sampath Bank entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Department for Registration of Persons (DRP) to facilitate customer identification and verification through the DRP interface. This will enable Sampath Bank to onboard customers digitally, without them having to physically visit the Bank, by verifying and confirming their identity via the DRP database. Digitalizing […]
Are we getting the Colombo Port City Financial Centre right?
By H. Dabarera and KD Vimanga. Background The Colombo Port City commission bill is to be debated in parliament this week. Over the last few weeks, Sri Lankans have contemplated if the proposed Colombo Port City is the messiah that will rescue the country’s economy or whether it is another Trojan Horse that will throw […]
HNB records Profit After Tax of Rs 4.7Bn during the first quarter of 2021
HNB recorded a Profit After Tax (PAT) of Rs 4.7 Bn during the first quarter of 2021 while Profit Before income Tax (PBT) amounted to Rs 5.5 Bn. At Group level PBT and PAT were at Rs 5.9 Bn and Rs 4.8 Bn respectively. The substantial monetary loosening adopted to revive the pandemic hit economy […]
ComBank makes strong start to 2021 with robust growth in fund-based operations
Q1 net interest income up 21.08% with interest expenses down 17.14% CASA ratio improves further to 45.26%, among best in industry Operating income up 21.73% to Rs 24.161 billion Impairment charges raised by 7.56% to Rs 7.156 billion Provision cover improves to 60.98%; net NPL ratio to 1.93% The Commercial Bank Group led by Sri […]
Financial results of Sampath Bank for Q1 of 2021
The Bank recorded a Profit before tax (PBT) of Rs 6.1 Bn in 1Q 2021 compared to Rs 3 Bn in 1Q 2020, denoting a growth of 101%, while Profit after tax (PAT) increased by 83% to Rs 4.6 Bn from Rs 2.5 Bn recorded in the first quarter of 2020. Resilient performance of all […]
Prime Residencies IPO oversubscribed on opening day
Following the debut of Prime Lands Residencies’ Initial Public Offering (IPO) yesterday (11), the company’s oversubscription forecasts proved to be true as the initial 100 million shares were purchased in record time. The Board of Directors have decided to exercise the option to issue up to a maximum of a further 87.5 million shares as […]
SLAITO welcomes temporary ban on Indian arrivals
Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) yesterday welcomed the move by Civil Aviation Authority to temporarily halt passengers from India. “India always remains our number one partner, but under the current heightened COVID pandemic situation we have to think about the safety of our nation first,” SLAITO said. “We hope and pray that […]
China backed Port City missing link for SL to become game changer; no threat to sovereignty
The Colombo Port City, one of Sri Lanka’s most significant projects with tremendous potential has to go forward in the right direction as a game-changer for the island and the proposed draft legislation is the missing link, a senior official said. Multiple petitions were filed in the Supreme Court last week by Opposition parties, civil […]
Opinion: Rejuvenating waste plastic bottles, a universal treasure
By Michael F. Perera Valuable resources are extracted every day to develop convenient products such as bottles, containers and more. As the extraction of virgin resources rapidly depletes the availability of such, it is high time a sustainable alternative is fetched, to ensure longevity and liveability for future generations. With the prices for virgin material […]
Seylan Bank records Rs.1Bn PAT in 2021 Q1 despite Covid challenges
Seylan Bank made a steady start in 2021 by posting a Profit After Tax (PAT) of LKR 1Bn in Q1 2021 amidst macro-economic challenges brought in by the COVID-19 pandemic. Statement of Financial Performances Interest income recorded a decline due to the lower interest rates and moderate book growth but net interest margin showed a […]