Cash-strapped Pakistan is poised to receive a $1.1bn loan tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after a key meeting of the international lender’s executive board on Monday, even as economists have warned that the country needs deep reforms to reduce its dependence on overseas financial assistance. Late on Monday night, Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance […]

May Day rallies: by Chaminda Silva Colombo Municipal Council Commissioner Bhadrani Jayawardena said political parties, including the UNP, SLPP, SJB and JVP/NPP and many civil organisations, have reserved public grounds and places in the city for the upcoming May Day celebrations. She said that the Municipal authorities expect around 500,000 persons to arrive in Colombo […]

The Annual Economic Review and Financial Statements and Operations of the Central Bank for the Year 2023 points out that backtracking from the implemented and planned critical reforms will tip the economy to a state of instability. Thus, continuing with the broader political and social consensus on economic reforms will be critical to avoid recurring […]

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has opened up a world of new opportunities for Sri Lankan businesses, by becoming the first bank in Sri Lanka to enable Alipay QR Code payments under unified Lanka QR. Alipay e-wallet holders, currently numbering over 1 billion, can now scan the Commercial Bank LankaPay unified QR code issued to […]

Sri Lanka Insurance Life (SLICLL) further strengthening its Bancassurance partnership with Regional Development Bank (RDB) opened a dedicated counter for the Bancassurance operation at the RDB head office in Kelaniya recently. This strategic initiative underscores SLICLL’s commitment to delivering seamless insurance solutions in collaboration with RDB. The occasion was graced by the corporat...

Sri Lanka’s efforts to attract and leverage international investment into exploration and commercialisation of two blocks adding to over 5,000 square kilometers with potential oil and gas resources in the Mannar Basin have once again been gridlocked by legal challenges in the Court of Appeal. According to the latest developments in the CA (Writ) Application […]

By Rathindra Kuruwita The problems facing 17,000 families, affected by the negative environmental impacts of the Uma Oya project, have not yet been solved, Sajeewa Chamikara of the Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform (MONLAR) told The Island. In December 2014, a leak sprang up in its 15.2 km tunnel and due to that thousands of houses […]

Iranian President Dr. Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi and President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday (24) inaugurated the Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project (UOMDP). The Iranian leader arrived in Sri Lanka under tight security via the Mattala International Airport, where he was accorded a warm welcome by Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena. President Wickremesinghe invited Dr. Raisi though some interested ...

The stock market serves as a nexus where millions of buyers and sellers converge to engage in transactions. At its core, each transaction represents an agreement between a buyer and a seller, with the central element being the price. This price is not static; it fluctuates continuously, reflecting the equilibrium between supply and demand. The […]

The chairman of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), Dilshan Wirasekera, discusses opportunities for capital raising and the stock market outlook for 2024 in the following interview: Give us an overview of the current market landscape and discuss the CSE’s overall outlook for the year 2024. We believe the overall outlook of the CSE, for the […]

ECONOMYNEXT –The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s investment arm emphasized the importance of the private sector engagement in the recovery of the crisis-hit Sri Lanka’s economic growth. Riccardo Puliti, the IFC’s Vice President for Asia and the Pacific said this when he met State Finance Minister Shehan Semasinghe and the island nation’s Central […]

Engineer advocates for increased funding to meet safety goals By Rathindra Kuruwita The number of deaths in road accidents in Sri Lanka has been decreasing since 2020, Kamala Gunawardena, a highway consultant with over 20 years of experience and consultant to the World Bank on road safety, says. Sri Lankan police categorised accidents into four […]

As a collective body of exporters, we have been at the forefront of sustaining employment and ensuring a steady flow of foreign exchange, even amidst the most severe economic downturns faced by our nation. Our membership covers the majority of merchandise exports, which account for some 13% of Sri Lanka’s GDP. Today, we stand united […]