Economic

LOLC Finance PLC (LOFC) has got, in principle, approval from the Central Bank for the planned amalgamation of itself with Commercial Leasing and Finance PLC (CLC).

Department of Census and Statistics reveal food inflation up 21.5% in December from 17% in November
Headline inflation up 14% in December as opposed to 11% in November
SL suffers spike amidst decline in food prices globally in December according to the FAO

Locals’ optimism propels market capitalisation to over Rs. 6 t
Persistent negativity sees net foreign selling cross Rs. 2 b mark within weeks of New Year

The Colombo stock market yesterday posted a one-year high turnover of Rs. 18.4 billion owing to an internal transfer within the single largest shareholder in JKH, though overall investor sentiment remained somewhat erratic.

Six importers have already been granted approval to import Molnupiravir, the oral antiviral pill to treat Covid patients, Dr. Saman Ratnayake, Secretary to the State Ministry of Drug Production, Supply and Regulation said yesterday.

Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal has commended the outgoing Secretary to the President Dr. P.B. Jayasundera.

Ceylon Association of Shipping Agents reveal over 640 TEUs of imports currently lying at Colombo Port
Nearly 130 TEUs have been lying for over 3 years; most of which are either detained, abandoned or subject to court cases
Warns exchange crisis, delays in obtaining import control licenses, SLSI clearance etc. further delaying clearing of container build-up
Delay in resolution will impact exports and transhipment biz as well
CASA’s concerns amidst 2021 seeing record $ 20.6 b in imports and $ 12.4 b in exports
Ships calling at Colombo Port in first 11 months of 2021 down 4.4%
Total container handling up by 4.8% to 6.6 million TEUs; transhipment up 3% to 5.3 million TEUs

Ups policy rates by 50 basis points; first time after August last year
Expects corresponding increase in interest rates, particularly in deposit rates, thereby encouraging savings while discouraging excessive consumption, which also fuels imports
Says anticipated adjustment in market interest rates will facilitate reduction in Treasury bill holdings of Central Bank through increased market subscriptions
Allows private banks to finance essential import bills for fuel purchases in proportion to their foreign exchange inflows
Mandates all registered tourist establishments to accept forex only in respect of services rendered to persons residing outside Sri Lanka
Extends ongoing Rs. 10 per dollar incentive for channelling remittances via banking channels till end-April; to reimburse Rs. 1,000 per remittance transaction
To offer higher interest rates for both foreign currency and rupee-denominated deposits of migrant workers
Estimates economy grew by 4% in 2021; forecasts 5% growth this year
Exports hit a record of $ 12.4 b in 2021; imports swell to $ 20.6 b

Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal yesterday called on the banking sector to be agile in order to “stay the course” and fuel confidence and economic stability to steer through the challenging times.

The holding of Government Securities by the Central Bank by Friday had crossed the Rs. 1.5 trillion mark for the first time.

Dr. Prasantha Jayamanna yesterday assumed duties as the Chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) following the appointment by Ports and Shipping Minister Rohitha Abeygu-nawardena.

The Colombo stock market opened a fresh week on a positive note with both indices up on robust turnover.

ලෝක බැංකුව ඇතුළු ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය ආයතන කුමක් පැවසුවද, වත්මන් ආර්ථික තත්ත්වය තුළ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ප්‍රගතියක් ඇතිවෙමින් පවතින බවත්, මෙම වසර තුළ සියයට පහක පමණ වර්ධනයක් දක්නට අති බවත් මහ බැංකු අධිපති අජිත් නිවාර්ඩ් කබ්රාල් මහතා සඳහන් කරයි.

The tourism industry yesterday welcomed the Central Bank’s decision to allow registered tourist establishments to accept foreign currency for services.

Boosts services with 26 weekly flights
Emirates Area Manager Chandana De Silva says Sri Lanka is a key market, proud to support trade and tourism recovery
Opines additional flights will provide more space for export cargo, essential imports like pharmaceuticals

The Colombo stock market nearly struggled its way to close marginally on the up this week with mixed investor sentiment keeping turnover lower.

Access Group has been selected by the Government for a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) deal for a logistics facility in Ekala – Ja-Ela.

Tourism Minister overwhelmed by rebound in arrivals despite Omicron fears
Russia, India, Ukraine, UK, Germany, France, Maldives, Australia, Poland, US among top source markets
Says Global Communication Campaign will be rolled out before end of Q1