The business barometer dips again following a brief surge as corporate optimism fades Unpredictable global politics, T20 World Cup fever, progress on the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), emerging health concerns and the not unusual political drama have dominated conversations in recent weeks. Sri Lanka recorded notable progress on the CPI by Transparency International (TI),…
Asia-Pacific (APAC) commodity issuers are likely to see divergent credit effects if the Iran conflict prolongs disruption to Gulf energy supply and shipping, Fitch Ratings says. Upstream producers would benefit from higher realised prices, while the cost inflation would pressure the margins of downstream, energy- and feedstock-intensive sectors. Higher input prices pose the main risk…
Reuters – The United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Saturday, targeting its leadership and plunging the Middle East into a new conflict that President Donald Trump said would end a security threat and give Iranians a chance to topple their rulers. The strikes put nearby oil-producing Gulf Arab countries on edge as fears of escalation grew,…
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has released the key findings of the latest edition of the Systemic Risk Survey (SRS) conducted for the first half (H1) of 2026 capturing market participants’ perceptions of the financial system. This survey was conducted between 19 December 2025 and 16 January 2026, in the immediate aftermath of…
Dr Asanka Wijesinghe, Research Fellow, Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka The recent US Supreme Court ruling will reduce Sri Lanka’s overall tariff from about 31% to 21.6%, with apparel seeing nearly a 10‑point cut. More Sri Lankan products now qualify for tariff exemptions, granting additional-tariff‑free access for USD 65 million worth of exports….
The largely state controlled Sri Lankan health sector is a comparatively high quality welfare system. Still on many instances media reports the hardships less privileged go through when state sector health professionals engage in strikes (refuse to work). To reduce this impact, state introduced duty free vehicle permits in the early 1990s for health sector…
Fitch Ratings – Fitch Ratings believes the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s (CBSL) reintroduction of a consolidation framework for the banking sector is broadly positive for sector credit profiles. Consolidation should strengthen franchises, create better-capitalised banks and support compliance with tightening single-borrower limits, particularly as higher post-merger capital can enable banks to take larger exposures…
Sri Lanka’s export sector began 2026 on a strong momentum, recording a robust year-on-year growth of 13.71%, signaling renewed momentum in external trade performance. According to statistics released by Sri Lanka Customs, together with estimated export figures for gems and jewellery, petroleum products, and services, total export earnings reached US$ 1,532.6 Mn. The encouraging performance…
Fitch Ratings – The U.S. Supreme Court ruling on February 20 invalidating the Trump administration’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to levy broad-based tariffs on imports from most countries slashes the U.S. effective tariff rate (ETR) by more than half, from 13% to around 5% to 6%, says Fitch Ratings. However,…
By Prof. Samitha Hettige Prime Minister D.S. Senanayaka, a master horseman sphere headed the combined efforts of many patriots including Anagarika Dharmapala & Edward Henry Pedris etc. to gain dominion status from the British on 4th February 1948. Celebrating the 78th independence anniversary President AKD stressed below points to his people (Ref. Media). A firm…
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