Economic

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Imports by UAE up 179%, moves up to 4th position
Purchases by Iran drop 25%
Imports by China up 33%

The Central Bank yesterday announced multiple moves to tighten monetary policy, becoming the first in Asia to do so since and despite the worsening COVID pandemic, but justified its stance saying it will help macroeconomic stability and revive growth.

කොවිඩ් වසංගත තත්වය හමුවේ ඕනෑම ව්‍යාපාරිකයෙකුට සිය අභිමතය පරිදි ව්‍යාපාරික ස්ථානය වසා දැමිය හැකි බව වෙළද අමාත්‍ය බන්දුල ගුණවර්ධන මහතා පවසනවා. කෙසේ නමුත් අත්‍යවශ්‍ය සේවා අඛණ්ඩව පත්වාගෙන යාමේ අරමුණින් පි‍ටකොටුව තොග වෙළඳාම් සහ බෙදාහැරීම් කිසිදු හේතුවක් මත නතර නොකරන බවයි ඇමතිවරයා පවසන්නේ.

Marks second month of over $ 1 b figure in 2021; first seven months performance up 22% to $ 6.6 b

The Central Bank (CB) said yesterday that it will inquire into commercial banks’ move to hike credit and debit card charges on overseas transactions.

The Supreme Court has suggested certain amendments to the proposed Finance Bill which seeks to grant tax amenities and indemnify persons who voluntarily disclose taxable supply, income, or assets, against liability from investigation, prosecution, and penalties.

සති කිහිපයක් තිස්සේ සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම නැවතී තිබුණු ලාෆ්ස් ගෑස් සමාගමේ නිෂ්පාදන සහ බෙදාහැරීමේ කටයුතු මේ වනවිට යළිත් යථා තත්වයට පත්ව ඇති බව එම සමාගම පවසයි.

Sampath Bank plc yesterday announced the introduction of touchless cash withdrawals at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) for the first time in Sri Lanka, and possibly the first time in the region.

The Government has declared three additional bank holidays for next year. An extraordinary gazette notification declaring the three bank holidays — 2 May, 10 October and 26 December – was issued on Monday. These three days have been declared in addition to the existing bank holidays for 2022.

The Central Bank yesterday issued a clarification on the use of Electronic Fund Transfer Cards for payments in foreign exchange following various reports on the matter.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) yesterday, in a statement, denied reports to the effect that the monetary regulatory had asked commercial banks to devalue the rupee with immediate effect.

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce yesterday said it expected a “tight” Budget 2022 given the tough macro conditions consequent to the ongoing pandemic and its impact on the economy.

REUTERS: Shares ended lower on Friday after the Government announced a 10-day lockdown as COVID-19 infections and deaths overwhelmed the island nation’s health system.

The Government has decided to expand the Ceylon Tea Global Promotion Program offering financial support to include private brands as well.

Hatton National Bank (HNB PLC) continued to demonstrate resilience amidst volatile conditions, posting a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of Rs 10.9 Bn and a Profit After Tax (PAT) of Rs 9.1 Bn. The Group profits also improved in line, with PBT and PAT at Rs 12 Bn and Rs 9.8 Bn respectively.

කාඩ්පත් මගින් මුදල් ගෙවීමේ දී ‘සීමා පනවයිද ?

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) said yesterday that it had showcased a strong growth trajectory in capital raised by Sri Lankan corporates of all scales during the first seven months of 2021.

Abans PLC has reported a commendable performance in Q1 FY22 despite the pandemic-induced economic slow-down intensified by a month-long island wide lockdown. Abans generated revenue of Rs. 10.6 billion in Q1 FY22 against Rs. 6.7 billion in Q1 of previous year.