The growing COVID-19 crisis threatens to hit developing countries disproportionately , not only as a health crisis in the short term but as a devastating economic crisis over the months and years to come. In moments like these, it’s natural to think only about the immediate challenges, but we also need to think about the…
According to the daily exchange report of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), the current buying rate of the US Dollar today (08) stands at Rs. 193.95 and selling rate of the US dollar stands at Rs. 200.46. This is the first time in history that the selling rate of a US dollar has exceeded…
Fitch Ratings believes that the extraordinary regulatory measures announced by the central bank – focusing on the relaxation of capital expectations and classification of loans for banks – should relieve immediate pressure on the banks’ financial profiles, but will not prevent medium-term deterioration. Fitch recently revised the sector outlook for Sri Lanka to negative from…
Bunkering vessel Mt. Melody docked at the Hambantota International Port (HIP) last week to discharge approximately 25,000 MT of oil into the port’s newly furbished tanks. With the first shipment of Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO) 380 CST in their tanks, HIP will soon begin bunkering for ships that call at the port, providing…
Sri Lanka’s telecommunication giants SLT, Dialog, Mobitel and Hutch agree to whitelist the video conferencing platform introduced for the public sector of sri Lanka by the information and communication technology agency of Sri Lanka meet.gov.lk To ensure the reduction of the spread of the deadly virus COVID-19 the Government of Sri Lanka instructed both the…
The government has taken steps to suspend Sri Lankan residents from making payments through Outdraw Investment Accounts (OIA) for overseas investments for a period of three months. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Economic and Policy Development, has made this Order under the Foreign Exchange Act, No. 12 of…
Sri Lanka’s limiting and banning of imports of non-essential items is a welcome step in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic-and more so for the revival of the country’s agri-SME sector. “Government’s limiting and ban on imports of non-essential items shall help local enterprises looking to get into in the production and processing of these…
Bloomberg – The International Monetary Fund may launch a new program to help address the global shortage of dollars, providing a backup to the Federal Reserve’s campaign to keep greenbacks flowing around the world economy. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva is preparing to offer short-term dollar loans to countries that lack enough Treasuries to participate in…
In the light of recent developments caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, following consensus among the stakeholders of the tea industry and with the support of the Chairmen of the Sri Lanka Tea Board, the Colombo Tea Traders’ Association successfully concluded the weekly tea auction on March 18th and 19th, at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce,…
The ADB in its latest report, Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2020 released on Friday (3) forecasted significant headwinds for Sri Lanka’s economy as it fights the spread of COVID-19, which comes less than 12 months after the terror attacks in April 2019. ADB projects Sri Lanka’s economic growth to fall to 2.2% in 2020 and…
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