Economic

ද ෆිනෑන්ස් කම්පනි පීඑල්සී (ටීඑෆ්සී) හි තැන්පත්කරුවන්ට ගෙවන වන්දි ගෙවීමේ දෙවන අදියර 2016.07.02 දින සිට ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීමට මහ බැංකුව පියවර ගෙන තිබේ.

The Central Bank has approved 13,861 loan applications under the Phase-I of the refinancing scheme, totalling Rs. 27.9 billion, the Central Bank said yesterday.

Workers’ remittances declined by 32.3% in April year-on-year, amounting to $ 375 million as Sri Lanka underwent a curfew to reduce COVID-19 spread, the Central Bank said yesterday.

The Central Bank (CBSL) yesterday took a fresh move to set the record straight on the regulation of finance and leasing companies in an apparent response to the recent criticism by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Local liquor manufacturers continue to express concerns over the quality and safety of products manufactured using locally-made ethanol, following the Government-imposed ban on the import of ethanol.

A net outflow of foreign investment amounting to $ 90 million was recorded from the rupee denominated Government securities market in April, resulting in a cumulative net outflow of $ 451 million during the first four months of 2020.

The sole shareholder Secretary to the Treasury has decided to de-list Hotel Developers (Lanka) PLC, the owning company of Hilton Colombo. The move is by way of a Special Resolution subject to the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Colombo stock market remained bullish for the seventh consecutive day amidst healthy turnover whilst investor cheer for John Keells Holdings (JKH) securing new low cost foreign funding boosted the indices.

State-owned industry leader Bank of Ceylon is stepping up support to the private sector especially the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to spur revival of businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, thereby ensuring the country’s economy returns to normalcy at its earliest with the active support of the financial giant.

The Central Bank yesterday sought to brighten its COVID-19 track record, insisting it had done all it could within its mandate in reducing rates to historic lows to increase liquidity, and insisted that while the stimulus will help in the short term, complete economic recovery will take all stakeholders of the economy and reforms. Being the apex financial institution of the country, the Central Bank provided its full scope of essential services to the economy and the financial system during the lockdown, it said in an extensive statement released yesterday.

The Central Bank said yesterday that it had formally requested the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) to investigate allegations against its staff and take necessary legal action if there is any evidence of wrongdoing. The Central Bank said the move followed reports in some print and online media accusing 50 senior officers of CBSL of obtaining monetary and other benefits from finance, leasing and micro finance companies.

Secretary to the President Dr. P.B. Jayasundera has summoned the banking sector for another meeting this morning.

In line with the Government’s development program and with the aim of uplifting the small and medium businesses adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, People’s Bank has introduced a special loan scheme with an interest rate of just 6%.

The Colombo stock market continued to sustain the positive momentum for the sixth consecutive day amidst healthy turnover.

People’s Bank said yesterday it has introduced multiple loan schemes to boost the Government’s development program.

Cabinet has approved extending limits on outflow of foreign exchange for another six months and has also backed amending the Gazette to set up Special Deposit Accounts so that it falls in line with the Foreign Exchange Act No. 12 of 2017 and minimises dangers of money laundering.

SriLankan Airlines has secured a saving of $ 30 million per annum via multiple measures on human resource management amidst the impact from COVID-19.

Sri Lanka Gross domestic product (GDP) growth is expected to contract to around 1.0–1.5 percent in 2020