China’s first internally developed large cruise ship ‘Adora Magic City’ is ready to sail (323.6 M in length, 72.2 M in height, gross weight 135,500 tonnes, capacity to accommodate approx. 5250 passengers in 2125 guest rooms).The ship will operate from Shanghai managed by an international crew of approx. 1300. It is expected to take routes…
The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority reports that the number of foreign tourists who visited Sri Lanka in the first 10 days of December 2023 is 57,394. Consequently, the total count of foreign tourists arriving in the country in 2023 has been documented as 1,334,345. On December 10th, a group of 8,696 tourists visited Sri…
The IMF Board completed the first review under the 48-month Extended Fund Facility with Sri Lanka, providing the country with access to SDR 254 million (about US$337 million) to support its economic policies and reforms. Sri Lanka’s performance under the program was satisfactory. All but one performance criteria and all but one indicative targets were…
In a pioneering breakthrough, 1990 Suwa Seriya, Sri Lanka’s national pre-hospital emergency ambulance service, is ushering in a new era in emergency healthcare through its innovative Connected Ambulance. Powered by state-of-the-art Mixed Reality and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, this groundbreaking initiative is set to revolutionise the landscape of pre-hospital care emergency medical response, not only…
Sri Lanka’s largest private sector bank, the Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC was recently issued an Authorised Person (AP) license to offer offshore banking services within the Colombo Port City, the 269-hectare special economic zone (SEZ), tasked with establishing a premier multi-currency international business and financial services hub that will transform the country’s economic landscape….
Citrus Leisure PLC, in a groundbreaking collaboration with Colombo Lotus Tower Management Company, proudly unveiled Sri Lanka’s first-ever revolving restaurant, ‘Blue Orbit,’ on the 27th floor of the majestic Colombo Lotus Tower, South Asia’s tallest self-supported structure. Two landmark launch events were held on the 09 and 10 December to mark this significant milestone in…
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has raised Rs 12 billion in capital with its Debenture issue closing after over subscription on its opening day, Tuesday 12th December 2023. The Bank offered an initial issue of 60 million Basel III Compliant – Tier 2 Listed Rated Unsecured Subordinated Redeemable Debentures with a Non-Viability Conversion feature, at…
The Cabinet of Ministers, at its meeting on Monday (Dec.11), has granted approval to reduce the Value-Added Tax (VAT) registration threshold. As such, the VAT registration threshold is expected to be slashed from Rs.80 million per annum to Rs.60 million per annum with effect from January 01, 2024. The Third Reading of the VAT (Amendment)…
Cabinet of Ministers has green-lighted a proposal seeking to enter into a Power Purchase Agreement with the Australia-based company United Solar Group. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Power & Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said through this deal, an investment would be made in a 700MW Solar Power Project with a 1,500MW of Battery Energy Storage…
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is set to take up for consideration the first review of the 48-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) Arrangement for Sri Lanka on today (Dec12). This was previously mentioned in the global lender’s Executive Board’s calendar, which mentioned that the first review of Sri Lanka’s extended arrangement…
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