The International Monetary Fund did not reach a staff-level agreement with Sri Lanka in its first review under a $2.9bn bailout package, due to a potential shortfall in government revenue generation, Al Jazeera has reported, quoting the lender. Speaking after a two-week visit to the country, IMF delegation head Peter Breuer on Wednesday said a […]

Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda who is to complete his tenure in Delhi shortly, paid a farewell call on the Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of India Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman today (27) at the Finance Ministry in New Delhi. During the call, the High Commissioner expressed his appreciation to Minister Sitharaman […]

by SALIYA WEERAKOON and Prof. ALEX LIN CHEE LOK In 1914, Cambridge-educated D. R Wijewardena, arguably one of the most recognised entrepreneurs in the country, bought the Sinhala daily Dinamina. History also records that he purchased the English daily, Ceylon Daily News, in 1917. Consequently, Wijewardena is known as the press baron of the pre-independence of Ceylon. He […]

By Rathindra Kuruwita President Ranil Wickremesinghe and the representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will today (26) discuss the progress Sri Lanka has made on its reform programme. This is the final discussion IMF representatives, who are here to review the loan before approving its second tranche, will hold in Sri Lanka. The IMF team arrived on 14 September. The […]

By Shamindra Ferdinando Governor of the Central Bank Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe yesterday (25) questioned the conduct of some MPs who sought to direct public anger at officials over the economic crisis. Alleging that such an attempt had been made last year in the wake of attacks on politicians’ properties, Dr. Weerasinghe said that problems couldn’t […]

Over 200 corporate leaders attended the second Economic Forum sponsored by HSBC recently which was to discuss and share insights into the latest global trends and opportunities emerging for economic growth in Sri Lanka. Frederic Neumann, HSBC’s Chief Asia Economist and Co-Head of Global Research for HSBC Asia along with Aayushi Chaudhary, HSBC Economist for […]

by Shihar Aneez State revenue has seen a shortfall of Rs. 100 billion as of now compared to the revenue target agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), State Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said.Tax cuts for political reasons in December 2019 has resulted in a sharp fall in Sri Lanka’s tax revenue to GDP ratio, […]

By Hiran H.Senewiratne The overall business sentiment at the CSE improved yesterday following the Department of Census and Statistics announcement that Sri Lanka’s national inflation rate has come down to 2.1 percent, which at one time moved up close to 70 percent last year, market analysts said. Further, the market also got a boost when […]

President Ranil Wickremesinghe addressed the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday (21)  on the theme “Rebuilding trust and reigniting solidarity” and its relevance to Sri Lanka’s recent challenges. He mentioned how Sri Lanka faced significant social, economic and political challenges in the past year, including threats to democratic traditions but has managed to […]

Acting Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya during a press conference held today (21) at the Presidential Media Center, focusing on the theme of ‘Collective Path to a Stable Country’ said that over the past year, the government successfully increased the country’s foreign reserves from 1.8 billion dollars to 3.8 billion dollars. He added that in August […]

President Ranil Wickremesinghe, speaking at the Climate Ambition Summit on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday (20), affirmed Sri Lanka’s commitment to the Secretary General’s accelerated climate agenda. He highlighted the importance of tangible climate actions and commended the delegates for their valuable suggestions. President Wickremesinghe drew attention to the significant e...

Divaina Business and Finance Editor Shyam Nuwan Ganewatta’s latest book Arthika Gathanaya (economic assassination) will be launched at 11.30 am at the 2023 Colombo International Book Fair at the BMICH on 25 Sept. The book reveals how the Sri Lankan economy crashed in 2022

Recognises Bank for highest number of transactions in country’s trade and supply chain finance domain between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023 The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has once again been declared the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB’s) ‘Leading Partner Bank’ in Sri Lanka for trade and finance transactions, in a significant reaffirmation of the […]

Piyumi Ranadewa is a Research Assistant working on migration and urbanisation policy research at IPS. She holds a BSc (Hons) in Agriculture, specialising in Agriculture Economics and Business (First Class) from Wayamba University of Sri Lanka, graduating with Dean’s Honours. She also holds a Master of Agri-Enterprise and Technology Management from Wayamba University of Sri […]

Former State Minister Dr. Nalaka Godahewa, MP yesterday pointed out that a careful look at the Central Bank’s 2023 data revealed that the much-touted promise to build a thriving export-oriented economy under the current government was only a pipedream. Addressing the media at the Nidahasa office

Iran has released five American prisoners, moving them to Tehran’s airport for a flight to the Qatari capital, Doha, as part of a prisoner exchange with the United States. Four of the five were moved to house arrest last month as part of the deal. The fifth prisoner had been moved to house arrest earlier. […]