Oil futures fell more than 1% on Friday and were on track for their steepest weekly decline since early April, following reports that the U.S. and Iran had agreed to extend a ceasefire, though it had yet to be finalised. Brent crude futures for July fell 1.1% or $1.04 to $92.67 a barrel at 0330…
United Motors Lanka PLC announced a strong financial performance for the year ended 31 March 2026, recording a sharp recovery in profitability and revenue across both Group and Company levels after the lifting of the import ban. Group revenue for the year reached Rs. 52.36 billion, compared to Rs. 11.77 billion in the previous year,…
Fitch Ratings – Sri Lanka’s tighter macroprudential restrictions on vehicle and gold-backed lending will benefit lenders’ risk profiles, particularly those of finance companies, Fitch Ratings says. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s lower loan-to-value (LTV) caps target two products that have expanded rapidly in recent years and represent a substantial share of mainly finance companies’…
Reuters – Oil prices jumped more than 3% on Thursday after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they targeted a U.S. airbase in response to a U.S. attack near Bandar Abbas airport. Brent crude futures rose $3.51, or 3.72%, to $97.8 a barrel by 0344 GMT, while the more active August contract gained $3.35 or 3.63%, to $95.6. The…
Sri Lanka’s ICT and BPM sector has achieved a major national milestone, with digital services exports surpassing tea export earnings during the first four months of 2026, reflecting the country’s accelerating transition toward a knowledge-driven digital economy. According to recent export performance data published by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB), ICT/BPM export earnings…
Enables channeling of global digital earnings directly into bank accounts via ComBank Digital The Commercial Bank of Ceylon, reaffirming its leadership in introducing the latest global financial technologies to Sri Lanka, has announced the availability of PayPal-linked withdrawal functionality for eligible customers to seamlessly channel their global digital earnings directly into their Commercial Bank accounts…
The IMF Executive Board completed the combined Fifth and Sixth Reviews of the Extended Fund Facility for Sri Lanka, providing the country with immediate access to SDR508 million (about US$695 million) to support economic policies and reforms. Performance under the program was generally strong. The prior actions on restoring fuel and electricity cost-recovery pricing were…
The South Asia Sustainability & Security Research Institute (SASSRI) successfully concluded its high-level Strategic Panel Discussion titled “Drones, Deterrence, and Defence: Rethinking Security Strategies for Small States with Focus on Sri Lanka” at the Royal Colombo Golf Club on 7 May 2026, bringing together an influential gathering of policymakers, defence officials, academics, legal experts, cybersecurity…
Against the backdrop of growing global economic uncertainty, rising debt vulnerabilities, and increasing climate-related risks, senior policymakers, public debt managers, economists, and representatives from leading international financial institutions gathered in Colombo yesterday for the 2026 Asian Regional Public Debt Management Forum, held under the theme “Climate Resilience and Debt Sustainability in Asia.” The high-level regional…
Reuters – Samsung Electronics plans to invest 39 trillion dong ($1.5 billion) in Vietnam to build a semiconductor testing plant, its proposal document showed, an expansion that will help ease a global shortage of memory chips driven by surging AI demand. The new factory, for which construction has already begun in an industrial park 60 kilometres…
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