Economic

Rs. 6.9 b worth of applications submitted to CB; only those worth Rs. 2.6 b approved so far Rs. 1.6 b lent to date under CB refinance scheme, Rs. 11 b outside

The Colombo stock market, for the second consecutive day, remained bearish though closing the week positive thanks to early gains.

Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has started the production of lubricant oil and supplies it to the market last week enabling motorists to buy lube oil made in Sri Lanka

With the 52 day protracted countywide curfew lock down pushing the Sri Lankan economy into recession in the current fiscal, the dwindling revenue and increasing public expenditure further downside risks to the economic outlook.

Cabinet approval given to continue procurements without competitive bidding process for one year

Dubai (Reuters): Emirates laid off more pilots and cabin crew on Wednesday in a second day of redundancies at one of the world’s biggest long-haul airlines, three company sources said.

Sri Lanka’s coir and coir product export industry is gradually gaining momentum amidst the COVID-19 crises as most of the fibre mills and processing factories resume production within weeks of the virus outbreak.

මෙතෙක් අප රටට ආනයනය කළ වාහන ලිහිසිතෙල් වෙනුවට, ඒවා අප රටේම නිපදවීම ලංකා ඛනිජතෙල් සංස්ථාව විසින් පසුගිය සතියේ සිට ආරම්භ කර තිබේ.

Sri Lanka Embassy in Oman has initiated the first ever export of Sri Lankan poultry products to the Sultanate of Oman under the Economic Diplomacy Program of the Ministry of Foreign Relations, the Ministry said in a statement yesterday.

Government is to approach popular worldwide online system PayPal to start the inward money transferring service to facilitate the e-market place enabling Sri Lankan brands, entrepreneurs and companies to have more opportunities.

Sampath Bank yesterday (11) admitted before the Kaduwela Magistrate that their customers had faced errors and shortcomings at the hands of the bank.

The apparel industry yesterday voiced concern over the absence of fall season orders for August and September, which are usually locked in by June, and warned it could prolong the COVID-19 impact on the industry and deepen revenue losses.

A large number of small and medium businesses are on the verge of winding up as those SMEs now face financial constraints due to loss of business as a result of corona virus lock down during 52 day countrywide curfew, Labour Department survey observed

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday charged that the Central Bank has failed in its duty over the collapse of ETI Investments and cannot shy away from the responsibility.

The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) yesterday expressed mixed sentiments over the new conditions outlined by the Government to re-open Sri Lanka for global tourists post-COVID-19.

අගෝස්තු මස 01 වනදා හෝ ඊට පෙර දිනයක දී සංචාරකයින් සඳහා යලි කටුනායක ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළ විවෘත කිරීමට අපේක්ෂා කරන බව අමාත්‍ය ප්‍රසන්න රණතුංග මහතා පවසයි.

Colombo City Tourist Hotels Association (CCTHA) yesterday welcomed moves to open the country for tourists from 1 August, but expressed concern over the high visa fee of $ 100 per person, to partly cover the cost of PCR tests and other health safety measures.

The Colombo stock market sustained sharp gains for the second consecutive day on the back of strong buying reflecting improved investor sentiments.