Economic

Sri Lanka is now striving to expand the economy allowing the commercial banks to make more loans to consumers and businesses in the face of a cash crunch during the week ending Friday 14, economic analysts said.

Reuters: The decision to cancel a major telecoms conference in Barcelona slated for later this month, after mass withdrawals due to fears over a coronavirus outbreak, was motivated only by a desire to protect people’s health and safety, organisers said on Thursday.

The cash-strapped government has cut the monthly allowances and other facilities of chairmen and directors of 422 State Owned Enterprises (SOE) while issuing guidelines for streamlining public sector administration.

SriLankan Airlines Chief Executive Officer Vipula Gunatilleka says the focus is on to bring the loss-making National Carrier to a break-even stage.

The Sri Lanka apparel industry yesterday called for a number of measures from the Government, including electronic documentation, e-commerce mechanisms, law reforms, and the introduction of a relatively new model of business enhancing offshore activities.

The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) urged the Government to consider extending the relief package for the tourism industry after the Easter Sunday attacks by a further period of one year as all expectations of recovery had been adversely affected by the outbreak of novel coronavirus.

The Colombo stock market yesterday experienced mixed fortunes with the two indices moving in opposite directions.

In calculating the pollution level of a country, assign how much of it is due to domestic consumption and how much due to exports (including tourism). This can help us ascertain the ‘real’ cost of foreign exchange earnings to a country. Local populations (and their environments) can suffer in many ways due to ‘over tourism’ and excessive export production.

The liabilities of the Skyrise Grand Hyatt Colombo are seemingly rising sky high in light of its defeats in the Arbitration held in Singapore as well as in the court action instituted in local courts to enforce the Arbitral Award.

The Government will present an amendment to the Vote on Account 2020 to Parliament next week, seeking Parliamentary approval to increase the debt ceiling from Rs. 721 billion to Rs. 1,078 billion.

The Colombo Chamber of Commerce (CCC) yesterday commended the Government’s decision to remove Withholding Tax (WHT) to ease doing business of micro, small, and medium enterprises.

Central Bank Governor Prof. W.D. Lakshman yesterday said a fresh International Monetary Fund (IMF) program could be on the cards in the future, provided it has a homegrown implementation framework, as experts agreed Sri Lanka will have to chart a careful course balancing growth and stability in 2020.

The revenue of Rs. 240.6 billion realized from tea exports for January to December 2019 is the highest ever surpassing the previous best of Rs. 233.3 billion realized in 2017, Chairman of the Tea Exporters Association Sanjaya Herath said.

A revival in economic activity can be anticipated in 2020 with the support of better fiscal and monetary measures, Central Bank Governor Prof W D Lakshman said.

All licensed banks have agreed to provide a special Credit Support Scheme to eligible Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) borrowers by way of suspending capital repayment for one year in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Central Bank.

The Hayleys Group, Sri Lanka’s most diversified conglomerate, demonstrated strong resilience in the third quarter of 2019/20 to achieve a 41% growth in profit-after-tax.

Reflecting a strong turnaround delivering an impressive surge in Q3 profits for the year 2019/20, the Singer Group posted consolidated profit after tax of Rs. 341.4 million, compared to Rs.17.4 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Construction work on major projects in Colombo as well as highway projects which employ Chinese workers remain stalled since the coronavirus outbreak, with Sri Lankan workers refusing to report to work while Chinese workers have been asked to stay indoors, construction industry sources said.