Economic

Reuters: Shares fell the most in a month on Thursday, dragged down by losses in consumer staples and industrial stocks.

The Government yesterday confirmed that the reopening of Sri Lanka’s borders on 26 December is a pilot project and not a formal opening to welcome international travellers post-COVID, with the official lifting of restrictions slated for January.

Central Bank has directed all licensed commercial banks and National Savings Bank to suspend the purchase of Sri Lanka International Sovereign Bonds (ISBs) for six months unless such purchase is funded by new foreign currency inflows sourced from abroad.

නීතිවිරෝධී අන්දමින් ස්පා ආයතන පවත්වාගෙන යාම හා තාවකාලික කාමර සේවාවන් සැපයීම හේතුවෙන් ඉදිරියේදී ස්පා පොකුරු හා කාමර පොකුරු මතුවීමේ දැඩි අවදානමක් මතුව ඇතැයි මහජන සෞඛ්‍ය පරීක්ෂකවරුන්ගේ සංගමයේ ලේකම් මහේන්ද්‍ර බාලසූරිය පැවසීය.

Cabinet yesterday approved Rs. 365 million to construct an International Gem and Jewellery Trade Centre in Ratnapura to develop the industry.

The Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) has allocated Rs. 450 million for several fresh development initiatives hoping for a gradual shift towards enhancing the yield and quality of Ceylon Tea by encouraging additional 50 million new plants by next year.

Growth rebounded to 1.5% in the 3Q after a severe contraction of 16.3% in 2Q, the Census and Statistics Department (CSD) said yesterday, releasing long-awaited data, which also revised slightly down the 1Q growth from -1.6% to -1.7%. The latest data indicates that Sri Lanka’s growth contracted 5.3% for the first three quarters for 2020 and could end the year with further downward growth given the partial curfews imposed due to the second COVID-19 wave in October. In its mid-year forecast the Central Bank predicted a contraction of 1.7% for the entire year while Budget 2021 has predicted a robust turnaround of 5.5% growth for next year.

Suresh de Mel, a well-known entrepreneur, assumed duties as the new Chairman of the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) yesterday.

Local importers have expressed their concerns over the Cabinet’s decision to extend the validity period of the order issued under the Foreign Exchange Act regarding the restriction on outflows of foreign exchange by six months.

The Manufacturing sector rebounded in November with an increase of 17 index points as concerns of COVID-19 eased but even though the Services sector edged up compared to the previous month, it remained below the threshold level, the latest Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) released by the Central Bank said yesterday.

Workers’ remittances recorded a growth of 3.9% in October 2020, year-on-year, to $ 631 million, the Central Bank said yesterday.

Launching a broadside against multiple agencies warning of Sri Lanka’s debt sustainability, State Minister of Money and Capital Markets and State Enterprise Reforms Ajith Nivard Cabraal yesterday questioned their independence and expressed confidence investors would not be distracted by their “ill-advised and subjective” statements.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has bac-ked the Board of Investment (BoI) and Power Ministry to combine forces to attract investment into the electricity generation sector, particularly renewables, calling for expeditious implementation of projects, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said in a statement yesterday.

Cumulative net outflow from rupee-denominated Government securities rose to $ 523 million in October, the Central Bank said yesterday, but emphasised exposure remained low.

Signalling intent to turnaround sluggish growth by boosting demand the Finance Ministry yesterday said it would immediately begin implementing a slew of Budget proposals targeted at providing relief to public sector workers, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), youth, dairy farmers and students.

Reuters: Shares ended lower on Tuesday, after 15 straight sessions of gains, dragged down by losses in financial stocks.

The National Carrier of Sri Lanka and a member of the oneworld Alliance, SriLankan Airlines is set to increase the frequency of passenger flights from Colombo to Singapore from once a week to thrice a week, commencing 18 December.

Markets are showing mounting concern about Sri Lanka’s ability to manage debt loads, amid financial deterioration that sparked a downgrade deeper into junk Friday.