Economic

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

In a progressive move President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has stepped in to complete the multi-billion rupee and the city’s iconic high rise property development Altair which is three years behind schedule and facing legal battle between overseas promoters.

Sri Lanka’s Central Bank (CB) is entering a new era of encouraging growth in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

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.

The Colombo stock market began a new week on a positive note thanks to renewed buying interest from local investors on select blue chips.

ආනයන සීමා දැඩි කර නිකුත් කළ ගැසට් නිවේදනය හේතුවෙන් ඒ වන විට ඇනවුම් කර තිබූ භාණ්ඩ පිරවූ කන්ටේනර් හාරදහසකට වැඩි ප්‍රමාණයක් සති තුනක් තිස්සේ කොළඹ වරායේ ගොඩ ගැසී ඇති බව අත්‍යවශ්‍ය භාණ්ඩ ආනයන ව්‍යාපාරිකයෝ පවසති.

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.

People’s Bank has reduced the interest rate of the Aswenna loan scheme, a unique product that is aimed at creating a self-sufficient nation, with immediate effect.

දින දෙකකට පසුව රට පුරා විශේෂිත ආර්ථික මධ්‍යස්ථාන අද යළි විවෘත කෙරුණා.

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.

In an effort to boost confidence levels, the Central Bank yesterday assured Sri Lanka’s financial system remains resilient and insisted license cancellations of finance companies were done to protect the interests of depositors and should not be construed as sector-wide instability.

A minimum 5-night stay in Sri Lanka will be required for tourists from August, Sri Lanka Tourism said yesterday.

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.

Sri Lanka’s export-oriented coconut by-products industry hit by COVID-19 for around two months will be back on track within the next few months, industry leaders said while demanding more edible oil imports to make available coconuts for the indudtry .

Sri Lanka’s construction sector is expected to demonstrate resilience compared to other economic sectors largely due to the existence of sufficient projects, reasonably priced raw materials and funding, a report by ICRA Lanka said yesterday, but warned profitability will moderate due to lockdown and new projects will be less in the medium term.

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

In the quest for an industrial renaissance despite the protracted coronavirus lockdown, the government has reopened the once- abandoned Valachchenai paper mill which was considered an asset to the country more than six decades ago.

The Central Bank yesterday said it would begin payments to depositors of The Finance Company from Sunday and has appointed the People’s Bank as the agent bank to carry out the compensation process.