Economic
Sri Lanka Telecom PLC (SLT) said on Friday it has concluded the financial year 2019 on a high note, with 28% YoY growth in Profit After Tax (PAT) at Rs. 6.3 billion. The impressive growth was strongly underpinned by the increase in revenues by 6% YoY recorded at Rs. 86 billion.
The posts of General Manager at the State banks are speculated to be changing, as the new Government is keen to re-energise key agencies as part of kick-starting the economy and supporting the private sector, especially the small and medium enterprises.
Hatton National Bank (HNB) Plc weathered external headwinds in 2019 to post Rs. 15 billion in Group Profit After Taxes (PAT) and Rs. 14 billion in Bank PAT, remaining the best capitalised bank in the sector.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Director General (DG) Vajira Wijegunawardane has been removed from the post with immediate effect.
The Colombo stock market bounced back yesterday after being bearish most part of the week. The ASPI increased by 0.43% or 24.25 points and the S&P SL20 Index also increased by 0.17% or 4.44 points.
Headline inflation as measured by the year on-year (Y-o-Y) change in the Colombo Consumer Price Index increased to 6.2 per cent in February 2020 from 5.7 per cent in January 2020.
Sri Lanka’s gold price has risen to a new high of Rs. 80,000 per sovereign gold, Colombo sea street jewelers said.
The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka decided to discontinue the compilation and publication of Sri Lanka Inter Bank Offered Rate (SLIBOR) with effect from 1 July, the Monetary Institution said in a statement yesterday.
Geneva/Beijing (Reuters): Countries on three continents reported their first cases of the coronavirus on Friday as the world prepared for a pandemic, and investors dumped equities in expectation of a global recession.
Popular Indian low-cost carrier GoAir yesterday announced Colombo as its first international destination for 2020, and 10th in its network, with plans to start flights to and from Sri Lanka from Delhi and Bangalore from 20 March. The airline is working in partnership with the aviation sector of iconic Sri Lankan multinational conglomerate Aitken Spence PLC as its General Sales Agent (GSA) in Colombo.
The Commercial Bank Group ended 2019 with the performance milestone of gross income surpassing Rs. 150 billion for the first time, but substantially higher impairment charges and the impact of a full year of Debt Repayment Levy (DRL) in a year the bank describes as “difficult for the bank and the country” saw declines in profit indicators.
Cabinet on Thursday gave approval to a proposal by the Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation Prasanna Ranatunga to extend the grace period given for the payment of the Tourism Development Levy for another four months up to 30 April.
The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) and Board of Investment (BOI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance cooperation between the two agencies.
In the backdrop of challenging external environment, Seylan Bank said yesterday it recorded a profit after tax of Rs. 3.68 billion for the year ended 31 December 2019.
The Colombo stock market ended yesterday and the week on a negative note as investors turned bearish amidst global concerns over the rapid spread of coronavirus.
Business Today recognised the top 30 best-performing corporates in Sri Lanka for 2018-2019, a year in which resilience, innovation and the search for new markets played a vastly important role.
DFCC Bank said yesterday it was continuing with its growth strategy despite the turbulent macro situation which had resulted in dip in profit though top-line saw improvement.
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