By Rathindra Kuruwita Dissident Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) MP, Dayasiri Jayasekera, has expressed concern over a potential 50% drop in the revenue of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) due to the entry of foreign companies into the petroleum market. Jayasekera highlighted the adverse impact of the policies of successive governments on the CPC. “The […]

by Harim Peiris As we approach the end of 2023 and with about a year to go for the next presidential election due before end 2024, President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s frequent refrain and indeed the rationale for his administration is the revival of the national economy after it was spectacularly

Minister of Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reform, Wijayadasa Rajapakse, unveiled plans to introduce a new legislative framework aimed at regulating microfinance institutions operating within the country. Expressing deep concern regarding the unregulated status of certain microfinance entities, Minister Rajapakse emphasized the necessity for decisive measures. He underscored the intent...

by Ifham Nizam Political instability is one of the biggest stumbling blocks when it comes to managing climate vulnerability, a senior climate scientist has warned. Speaking at a recent symposium titled ‘Poverty Alleviation in an Era of Economic Crisis’, former Director of the Natural Resources Management Centre (NRMC) of the Ministry of Agriculture Dr. Ranjith […]

‘Politicians and public must behave better’ by Rathindra Kuruwita  Sri Lanka has done extremely well on the economic front during the last 18 months, says former Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy. Dr. Coomaraswamy revealed his assessment of the country’s economic recovery process while addressing a Centre of Poverty […]

What has been widely described as the “historic” Supreme Court judgment which by a majority 4-1 decision of a five-judge bench held the Rajapaksa brothers, Mahinda, Gotabaya and Basil and other unelected officials including two past Governors of the Central Bank, a former Secretary to the President, a former Treasury Secretary and some members of […]

ECONOMYNEXT –Sri Lanka’s non-performing loans after the latest currency crisis is showing signs of having peaked but some sectors are hit worse than others with problem loans dating back from Coronavirus moratoriums, a banking official said. Hotels, transport and arts and entertainment sectors had bad loans of 30 to 20 percent, while the overall level […]

Headline inflation, as measured by the year-on-year (Y-o-Y) change in the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI, 2021=100)1 increased to 3.4% in November 2023 from 1.5% in October 2023. This increase in the headline inflation is mostly in line with the projections envisaged by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) in November 2023. The Food […]

The French Development Agency’s (Agence Française de Développement also known as AFD) Regional Directorate is strengthening its base in Sri Lanka in line with the commemoration of 75 years of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and France. It also marks the enduring partnership between AFD Group and its Sri Lankan partners, which began in 2005 […]

SLPP leader Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday (28) hit back at critics, claiming that a robust economy had been built under his presidency. He said the UNP-SLFP government which ruled the country during the 2015-2019 period should be held responsible for the current economic crisis. The following

By Hiran H.Senewiratne ‘Since local inflation has declined faster than expected, the CBSL Monetary Board has decided to reduce policy interest rates by 100 basis points to enable the economy to reach its true potential, CBSL Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe said at the monthly monetary policy

by Jehan Perera The government is facing an uphill task to rebuild the country which continues to be in a state of economic and moral decline which was evident in parliamentary proceedings last week. The initial hopes of a quick transition from the economic and moral decline that accompanied the pre-Aragalaya period ended with the […]

Monday 27th November, 2023 The SJB has commenced collecting signatures for a public petition as part of a campaign to have those who are responsible for the current economic crisis stripped of their civic rights. Given public resentment, which is palpable, the SJB may be able to obtain hundreds of thousands of signatures for its […]

The Monetary Policy Board of the Central Bank, at its meeting held on Thursday (23), decided to reduce the Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and the Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) of the Central Bank by 100 basis points (bps) to 9.00 percent and 10.00 percent, respectively, CB said in a press release. It said: […]

By Shamindra Ferdinando Foreign Minister Ali Sabry, PC, yesterday said that Parliament like other institutions should bear responsibility for the unprecedented economic crisis caused during President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s administration. Minister Sabry said so when The Island sought his response as regards the responsibility of Parliament for the developing situation against the backdrop of the cou...