20-rupee note
The Central Bank has recently put into circulation 20-rupee banknotes dated September 15, 2021 with the signatures of former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa and former Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, four months after both resigned in early April, according to numismatist Dr. Kavan Ratnatunga. The 20-rupee note however seems worthless nowadays and not enough even to [...]
Sri Lanka shelves plan to procure fuel direct from Russia
Politically and financially affected-Sri Lanka is running out of options in importing discounted fuel directly from Russia following the refusal of the two of its companies sanctioned by the Russian Ambassador Yury Materiy to enter into procurement agreements with local authorities this week. The Energy Ministry had taken every possible step to convince the two [...]
Welfare boost by cutting ministry allocations
Sri Lanka’s welfare and social security spending will be boosted by way of financial transfers by making substantial cuts from the allocations to ministries till the end of this year and more allocations will be made next year as well, Finance Ministry sources said. It is crucial to support the sections of the population who [...]
Restructuring rupee-denominated domestic debt under fire
The suggested restructure of the rupee-denominated domestic debt by the president has come under fire by many quarters in the country from bankers to economists who warn that a fresh can of worms will be opened if the country decides to do this. Instead of addressing the symptoms, Sri Lanka should be addressing the cause [...]
24 years on, another effort to restructure debt-ridden CEB
Sri Lankan authorities have been struggling for 24 years since 1998 to restructure the debt-laden Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and many efforts over the years to push through much-needed reforms have failed due to stiff opposition from workers and other quarters. Now, another effort is being made and whether it would succeed is anybody’s guess. [...]
Prez comments on listing SOEs unwelcome by industry
President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s recent take on listing State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) on the Colombo stock market is giving mixed signals in pivoting the country’s economic reform agenda. Industry officials are quite upset about this noting that in any industry one needs controls and if the stock market hasn’t reflected what it should be, the regulator should [...]
SOEs: Bleeding money
Some years ago during the tenure of the Yahapalanaya (Good Governance) regime, a Business Times poll on the future of SriLankan Airlines drew the attention of the government. The poll found a majority of Sri Lankans saying the debt-ridden national carrier should remain in state hands and not privatised. Some ministers supported the poll’s contention [...]
Crisis and the end of “cheap politics”
Nuwan was present for an interview as he had applied for a Postgraduate Degree programme, while I was there as a member of the interview panel. It’s customary to ask questions about the educational and professional background of the candidates. I asked him: “What are you doing?” He answered: “I am a Development Officer.” I [...]
Domestic debt restructuring raises fiscal sustainability issues
The Government is now considering domestic debt restructuring as a part of a broader policy package to address massive debt vulnerability running up to trillions of rupees, Finance Ministry sources said. Total outstanding domestic debt was Rs. 12 trillion as at the end of March 2022 while the gross domestic borrowings of the Government surpassed [...]
SEC launching final phase of digitalisation
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is to launch the third phase of its digitalisation programme on Wednesday August 17. Coinciding with the 35th anniversary of the regulator, it will mark a special occasion, Viraj Dayaratna, Chairman SEC told the Business Times on Thursday. He said the Central Counterparty system (CCP) will also be formally [...]
SL’s positioning remains unmatched in high-end apparel manufacture
Globally successful manufacturing destinations for high-end apparel have three defining characteristics. Firstly, they have robust secondary supply chains – which are critical to ensuring the timely availability of all required inputs. The importance of this becomes apparent once you consider that to manufacture an item like a bra, producers may need up to 20 components. [...]
Faizal Salieh re-elected Chairman SLID
Faizal Salieh was unanimously re-elected as Chairman of the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors (SLID) for the year 2022/23 at the Institute’s Annual General Meeting held recently in Colombo. Ms. Aroshi Nanayakkara and Dinesh Weerakkody were elected as Senior Vice Chairperson and Vice Chairman respectively. Prakash Schaffter, Dilshan Rodrigo, Aruni Rajakarier, Ravi Abeysuriya, Manohari Abeyesekera, [...]
Sampath Bank pre-tax profit marginally down in 1H2022
Sampath Bank continued to maintain a solid capital base and stable liquidity profile in the first half of 2022 notwithstanding multiple economic challenges. However the bank posted a post-tax profit (PAT) of Rs.7.1 billion and pre-tax profit (PBT) of Rs.9 billion, for the period ended 30th June 2022, reflecting a marginal increase of 0.3 per [...]
Challenging period in April-June 2022 for SLT
The Sri Lanka Telecom Group (SLT), the country’s largest telecom operator, has posted stable growth for the first half of 2022, with revenues increasing by 6 per cent to Rs 52.9 billion and a 19.8 per cent increase in profit before tax (PBT) at Rs. 7.2 billion against the same period last year, the company [...]