President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday (28) called for unconditional support from bilateral and multilateral official lenders for developing countries. “As this is a crisis beyond the control of government and business, international support by way of unconditional budget support and compensatory debt deferment facilities for official debt will have to come from multilateral and bilateral official lenders…
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksha in his capacity as the Finance Minister presented the Interim Trade and Customs based Tax Policy Framework to the cabinet, prepared in accordance with the recommendations of a committee on Interim Trade and Customs based Tax Policies, appointed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Accordingly, items imported are categorized as follows: Essential items that…
The cumulative debt of the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) was Rs.14 billion by end of December 2019. Hence, currently there are problems with importing pharmaceuticals. Accordingly, Cabinet on Wednesday (28) approved the proposal presented by Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi to provide a long-term loan to the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation through People’s Bank and Bank of Ceylon and to…
Report says, The asset quality of the NBFI sector has not recovered following the Easter attacks incident. The LFCs’ funding profiles are dominated by deposits, which leave them wide open for “flight-to-safety” behavior of depositors. About 13 LFCs were already operating below the minimum core capital requirement as of March 2020. The outlook for the Non-Bank…
COVID-19 and the Sri Lankan Stock Market: Looking Ahead with Confidence The Colombo Stock Exchange resumed stock market operations on 11 May 2020, following an extended closure as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this interview, Mr. Ray Abeywardena, the Chairman of CSE comprehensively discusses the efforts of the CSE amidst the COVID-19…
Fitch Ratings says that it has recalibrated its Sri Lanka National Rating scale to reflect changes in the relative creditworthiness among Sri Lankan issuers following Fitch’s downgrade of the country’s sovereign rating to ‘B-‘ from ‘B’ on 24 April 2020. The Outlook on Sri Lanka’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating is Negative. The recalibration will result…
LONDON (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s finances were fragile long before the coronavirus delivered its blow, but unless the country can secure aid from allies like China, economists say it may have to make a fresh appeal to the IMF or default on its debt. All the tell-tale crisis signs are there: a tumbling currency, credit…
FY20 Highlights Consolidated revenue of Rs.20.8 billion, a decrease of 8.0% YoY Boosts stake in Watawala Tea Ceylon to 100% PAT amounted to Rs. 1.8 billion, up 60.0% YoY, due to strong healthcare sector results Healthcare revenue up 19.7% YoY to Rs. 11.2 billion Consumer Goods revenue contracted 7.0% YoY to Rs 5.4 billion Agri…
In an effort to provide new employment opportunities for the 36 Sri Lankan workers who were stranded at the Bucharest Airport in Romania on 24 May, the Romanian Minister of Labour Violeta Alexandru had intervened and arranged to safeguard and retain the job opportunities for the Sri Lankan workers. The Sri Lankan workers had earlier…
The Advocata Institute recommends that the government removes the tax levied on menstrual hygiene products for women, this Menstrual Hygiene Day. The female population in Sri Lanka is 52% of the total population, with approximately 4.2 million menstruating women. However, for many Sri Lankan women, access to safe and affordable menstrual hygiene products has become a…
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