Economic
The Colombo stock market yesterday snapped a three-week upward trend as investor sentiment remained bearish.
රට අර්බුදයෙන් ගොඩ ගැනීමට නම් ණය ලබා ගැනීමට උත්සාහ කිරීම වෙනුවට ඩොලර් උපයා ගැනීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් අවධානය යොමුකළ යුතු බව ප්රකට ව්යාපාරික ධම්මික පෙරේරා මහතා පවසනවා. තවදුරටත් ලෝකයට ණයවීමෙන් මෙම අර්බුදය විසඳා ගත නොහැකි බවයි ඔහු අවධාරණය කරන්නේ.
BOI Director General Renuka Weerakoon (second from right) presents the agreement to Brown and Company Group CEO T. Sanakan. Textile venture specialists Prithiv Dorai (third from left) and Kenneth Wijesuriya (left), Aruldas Nicholas and Charitha Jayasingha (right) are also present
Cabinet Co-Spokesman Minister Bandula Gunawardena says Govt. to reduce capital expenditure via interim Budget
Opines some of the deeper realities are unavoidable as SL is trapped in multiple crises
Says no decision taken to increase State sector salaries
Affirms Govt. not keen on imposing price control on goods as it will create shortages in the market
Generalises goods price hikes and inflation as a global phenomenon
Shrugging off concerns raised by various parties that the restrictions imposed on Open Account Payment Terms would lead to a large-scale shortage of essential food items, the Central Bank yesterday assured the public that it would ensure availability of foreign exchange through the banking system for the importation of essential goods, including food items.
Furore over Govt. agreeing for dollar based tariff at a time SL facing its worst forex crisis
Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers Union, Wind Power and Grid Connected Solar Power Energy Associations against the deal; warn legal action
Says staff-level agreement with IMF likely in next four to five weeks
Stresses bridge financing key but multilateral agencies cannot repurpose till IMF deal is finalised
Hints at Sri Lanka getting as much as $ 6 b support from India
Insists painful yet critical structural reforms must be pursued to avoid future crises
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Saturday assured Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe that the Central Bank will be fully supported to conduct its duties independently. He gave this assurance during a meeting with Dr. Weerasinghe and Monetary Board member PC Sanjeewa Jayawardena.
Says such a move will enable industry to play its part support ailing economy
Proposes govt. to liberalise industry to strengthen smallholder investment and trigger rural development
Reports consolidated post-tax profit of Rs. 7.4 b for Q1-22
Maintains industry’s highest CAR of 15.7% on a bank solo basis and 16.1% on a Group basis at 31 March 2022
Consolidated assets, deposits and customers advances expand by 10.6%, 6.2% and 1.1% to reach Rs. 3.1 t, Rs. 2.3 t and Rs. 2.0 t respectively
Overall operating costs maintained at near Q1-21 levels despite inflationary pressures
Bank further strengthens its digital reach where over 70.0% of all customer transactions are now carried out digitally as compared with 64.0% at end Q1-21
People’s Bank today announced the results for the quarter ended 31 March 2022 with consolidated total operating income growing by 51.9% to reach Rs. 42.6 billion, whilst total operating expenses increased by only 0.3% to Rs. 13.1 billion despite inflationary pressures; reflecting sound cost control and efficiency improvements being undertaken on an ongoing basis.
Consolidated pre-tax profit amounted to Rs. 11.0 billion; representing a growth of 9.8% over the same period of 2021.
Net interest income, which accounted for 71.4% of the Group’s total operating income during Q1-22, grew by 29.2% to reach Rs. 30.4 billion reflecting both asset growth and net interest margin improvements to 4.1% from 3.6% in Q1-21.
Excluding the Rs. 3.4 billion in foreign exchange net gains recognised during the period as a result of the rupee devaluation, non-interest-based income accounted for over 20.0% of total consolidated operating income during Q1-22 as compared with 13.0% in Q1-21; reflecting efforts to also improve other sources of income.
From a cost to income perspective, primarily reflecting top line growth and cost control, the Group’s cost to income ratio was 38.2% during Q1-22 as compared with 54.9% during the same period of 2021.
Consolidated impairment charges rose during the period reflecting macro-economic developments, including – amongst other – the negative impact arising from the rupee devaluation and the higher expected credit losses from key customer segments of the Group.
Consolidated profit after tax was Rs. 7.4 billion, dropping by 12.9% over the same period 2021 whilst, on a bank standalone basis, profit after tax was Rs. 5.5 billion up 1.1% over Q1-21. Consolidated return on assets was 1.48% during the period as compared with 1.42% during Q1-21.
Says following restrictions imposed on payment terms and introduction of the exchange rate determination mechanism, there has been significant moderation of activity in grey market resulting in forex inflows routing through banking system
Essential Food Commodities Importers and Traders Association assures CBSL it would not resort to engage in grey market activity
Preliminary assessment underway to identify availability of stocks of essential goods at present and monthly requirement
CBSL humbly requests trading community and public to act responsibly
Says over-importation and stock piling and any over-purchasing would be undesirable
Stresses duty of all stakeholders to manage scarce foreign exchange liquidity in a calculated manner
Business leader Dhammika Perera has unveiled 12 strategies that can boost much-needed dollar earnings and help Sri Lanka come out of the prolonged foreign exchange shortage which has triggered an economic crisis leading to political instability and social unrest.
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