Economic

The Colombo stock market bounced back thanks to renewed buying yesterday after multiple sessions of uncertainty whilst turnover slightly above the daily average.

The 2021 Budget announced tax concessions to encourage listing of companies on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) may not ensure a spike in new PLCs in the country, as highlighted at the Daily FT-Colombo Uni. MBAA organised forum on Friday.

The International Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka (ICCSL) yesterday welcomed the proposals presented in Parliament by the Prime Minister and Finance Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in the Budget 2021.

Sri Lanka’s Foremost Economic Summit will be inaugurated by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the Chief Guest on 1 December.

The Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) said yesterday it will target more strategic investments following the tremendous opportunities provided by 2021 Budget, which was approved in Parliament on Saturday (21 November).

Budget 2021 encompasses the business-friendly outlook of the Government and embeds stability, inclusivity and consistency in its myriad proposals, a top official said yesterday, insisting the key policy document anchored growth as the foundation of Sri Lanka’s future development.

The Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) yesterday expressed confidence in revival of the country’s biggest export sector next year onwards aided by policy direction and support outlined in the Budget 2021 as well as recovery in key markets post-COVID-19.

The Central Bank said its operations remain uninterrupted despite the detection of a COVID-positive case last week.

The motor industry yesterday claimed that price reduction of spare parts was unlikely, despite Prime Minister and Finance Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa signalling it during the 2021 Budget presentation on Tuesday.

The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) yesterday said the servicing of vessels has normalised, though clearing the backlog of containers accumulated for several weeks will take a little longer.

‘ඇවන්ට් ඇග්‍රෝ’ පෞද්ගලික සමාගම වෙත රජයේ ලබාදීම සඳහා කෘෂිකර්ම දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව එකඟත්වය පළ කර ඇති බව වාර්තාවේ.බඩ ඉරිඟු වගා කිරීමේ නියමු ව්‍යාපෘතියක් වෙනුවෙන් අදාල ඉඩම් එම සමාගම වෙත මුදා හැරීමට අනුමැතිය ලබාදී ඇතැයි කෘෂිකර්ම දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවට සම්බන්ධ ආරංචි මාර්ග පවසා සිටී.කෙසේ නමුත්න් එම සමාගම රජයෙන් ඉල්ලා ඇති අක්කර 40000ක වෙනුවට මුල් වටයේදී නියමු ව්‍යාපෘතියක් ලෙස අක්කර 5000ක් පමණක් ලබාදීමට කෘෂිකර්ම අමාත්‍යාංශය විසින් අනුමැතිය ලබා දී තිබේ.

The Free Trade Zone Manufacturers Association (FTZMA) has urged the Government to properly study the pros and cons of the proposed raise in retirement age to 60 before implementation of the 2021 Budget move.

The Government has complicated commodities trading by slashing the Special Commodity Levy (SCL) on some essential commodities to 25 cents from Rs.50 and enforcing the maximum retail price (MRP/controlled price) without considering tax revenue implications and market dynamics, consumer affairs experts divulged.

- අග්නිදිග ආසියාවේ විශාලතම ටයර් නිෂ්පාදනාගාරය වන රිජිඩ් ටයර් කෝපරේෂන් කර්මාන්තශාලා පරිශ්‍රය නිරීක්‍ෂණයෙන් අනතුරුව ඇමති විමල් කියයි.

The Board of Investment of Sri Lanka yesterday signed an agreement with world-leading Chinese tyre manufacturer, Shandong Haohua Tire Co. Ltd., to set up a project to manufacture tyres for the export market.

The Colombo Stock Market opened a fresh week on a negative note, after having failed to rise sharply over a Government touted “development-oriented and investor-friendly” Budget 2021, prompting analysts to claim investor sentiments are bruised more than invigorated.

Reuters: Sri Lanka’s main stock index closed higher yesterday and eked out a slight gain for the week, helped by advances in stocks of consumer staples companies.

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce said yesterday it welcomed the proposals put forward by the Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in the National Budget 2021 which it termed as business friendly, production-oriented and demonstrative of policy continuity.