Economic
Signs-up 75 projects with investment commitment of $ 1.29 b YTD
1Q FDI realisation at $ 228 m
BOI Director-General Renuka Weerakone confident of achieving investment proposals to reach $ 2 b target for 2022
Woos investments despite multiple economic, political crises
Opines higher number of expansion projects reflect confidence among existing investors in SL
Says multiple investors keen on renewable energy projects
BOI focuses on vigorous investment facilitation, solving process bottlenecks, strengthening digital transformation to streamline services
Sets up Stakeholder Engagement Committee replacing Monetary Policy Consultative Committee and the Financial System Stability Consultative Committee
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), with a view to broadening its engagement with key stakeholders of the economy, established the Stakeholder Engagement Committee (SEC) by replacing the Monetary Policy Consultative Committee (MPCC) and the Financial System Stability Consultative Committee (FSSCC) of the CBSL that were in operation previously.
Main shipping lines raise concerns of law and order and move to alternative routes
As a result, transshipment volumes decline by 4.5% YoY to 483,070 TEUs
Transshipment volumes up by just 1% YoY to 2.89mn TEUs in first half
Both export and import container handling down considerably
Transshipment container volumes at the Port of Colombo in June took a blow from the political crisis and social unrest that prevailed in the country, which raised law and order concerns among main shipping lines.
In June, the container transshipment volumes declined by 4.5 percent Year-on-Year (YoY) to 483,070 TEUs, as the main shipping lines moved to alternative routes avoiding Port of Colombo, as they were disturbed by political crisis and social unrest prevailed in the country.
Dr. Roshan Perera says stable macroeconomic policies more effective to attract FDIs
Opines SL lost a lot of revenue in implementation which could have been put into social welfare
Insists on conducting a cost-benefit analysis to evaluate transparency of investments and tax exemptions
Points to resource misallocation, implementation, administration complexities encouraged corruption
Claims system created opportunities for rent-seeking, misuse of discretionary powers vested to multiple agencies
Suggests tax exemption policies must be taken as a strategic decision, not at the discretion of a bureaucrat
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Total Operating income doubles to Rs. 63.3 b
Impairment for 1H exceeds Rs. 40 b
Net Stage III loan ratio improves to 2.46%
Tier I capital ratio at 11.39% and total capital ratio at 14.54%
Liquid Coverage ratio at 210% well above statutory minimum of 90%
The Cabinet of Ministers at its meeting on Monday agreed on awarding the insurance coverage for all four categories of SriLankan Airlines from Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation.
Despite a fair track record of privatisations or restructuring of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) via the Colombo stock market in the past, new President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday ruffled many feathers by questioning the CSE’s neutrality and beneficiaries.
The Colombo stock market yesterday saw a hive of activity boosting the turnover to over a six-month high whilst the benchmark index reached a psychologically important new level.
ජුලි මාසය අවසන් වනවිට ශ්රී ලංකා මහබැංකුව සතු නිළ සංචිත වත්කම් ප්රමාණය ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් බිලියන 1.815 කි. එය ජුනි මාසය අවසන් වනවිට පැවති වත්කම් ප්රමාණය වූ ඩොලර් බිලියන 1.854 ට සාපේක්ෂව 2.1% ක පහළ යාමකි.
Sampath Bank navigates economic crisis with confidence backed by strong capital, liquidity positions
Sampath Bank said yesterday it continued to maintain a solid capital base and stable liquidity profile in the first half of 2022 notwithstanding multiple economic challenges.
The facility to be operated by two of world’s leading DF operators to showcase Sri Lanka as a world-class dining destination
Key regulations been drafted prioritising strategically-important businesses backed by an expedited approval system
As the construction of Colombo Port City’s downtown duty-free (DF) Mall steams ahead, the Colombo Port City Economic Commission (CPCEC) awaits the Cabinet nod for the drafted duty-free regulations for South Asia’s first downtown duty-free mall, which is to be operated by two global operators, positioning Colombo Port City (CPC) as a regional shopping destination.
According to CPCEC’s biannual progress report, the infrastructure work of the mall has been completed and the interior fit work is scheduled to begin shortly.
“Colombo Port City Duty-Free Regulations have been drafted and are awaiting Cabinet approval. The facility will be operated by two of the world’s leading DF operators, positioning Colombo Port City as a regional shopping destination,” CPCEC biannual progress report said.
Further, negotiations are also ongoing to introduce a leading global food & beverage operator into CPC, offering a range of East, West, and fusion cuisine, creating a ‘watering hole’ concept for DF shopping, while positioning the facility as a world-class dining destination in Colombo.
In order to streamline the shopping experience for departing overseas travellers, the CPCEC is also drawing up a feasibility plan on ‘remote check-in process’ and ‘checked-in baggage hauling’.
Meanwhile, CPCEC highlighted that the drafting of key regulations has already been completed in prioritising strategically-important businesses backed by an expedited approval system.
“Key regulations have been finalised which are Businesses of Strategic Importance, Offshore Companies, Authorised persons, Duty-Free retail operations, Fees and Development Control Regulations (DCR). These key regulations were completed, together with international consultants, with the development of suitable draft policies and procedures for identified thrust sectors, designed with extensive benchmarking studies to best-in-class regulations in fiscal and non-fiscal areas,” the report stated.
Moreover, CPCEC in collaboration with the Department of Immigration and Emigration has also begun streamlining and automating the visa application and approval process for three defined visa types under the CPC law.
The three visa categories are: investor visa (10 years), employment visas (dependent on the contract tenure), and long-term residence visas (dependent on lease tenure) and include all dependents.
Ahead of the much-awaited tourism roadshows in India, the Government has ramped-up the visa processes to boost arrivals thereby enable a faster recovery of the triple-hit leisure industry.
While there is an ever-so-slight uptick in economic perceptions, despite the state of the State, the big picture is that Sri Lanka’s economic prospects continue to be viewed with anxiousness by the business community, says leading business magazine LMD, in its August edition.
The SriLankan Airlines categorically denied the assertion on the unavailability of meals in the Business Class and cites this as a deliberate misrepresentation of facts to prompt public dislike towards the airline.
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