Economic
Multiple proposals in Budget 2022 is to bite off over Rs. 90 billion from the banking and finance sector, according to estimates by NDB Securities whilst Ernst & Young said taxation on banks would soar to 70%.
MAS Holdings yesterday announced that one of its subsidiaries, MAS Brands, which owns and operates the retail lingerie business under the brand amanté, was acquired by Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd., a subsidiary of the Ambani-owned Reliance Industries. The amanté business, which was established by MAS in 2007/8, engages in the retail and wholesale distribution of premium lingerie brands amanté, Ultimo and every dé by amanté. The company sells its product through its own stores and multi-brand outlets, as well as through its e-commerce channels across India and Sri Lanka.
The Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal yesterday expressed confidence in Budget 2022 ushering growth with stability in 2022 aided by stronger policy implementation.
Proposals from VIASL include viable long-term solution for vehicle importation, prevention of tax evasion by vehicle manufacturing and assembling industries, introduction of GAAI certificate and control of local vehicle prices
Achievement undeterred by exceptional role played in economic recovery
PBT for 3Q at Rs. 35.6 b
Total assets exceed Rs. 3.5 t
Deposit and Advance base over Rs. 2 t
The Colombo stock market yesterday closed on a negative note ahead of the presentation of the 2022 Budget in Parliament.
Ceylon Tobacco Company PLC (CTC) yesterday announced a 28% reduction in third quarter top and bottom line due to the COVID pandemic third wave-induced restrictions.
The Board of Directors of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) yesterday approved the revision of the index calculation methodology of the All Share Price Index (ASPI).
මේවනවිට රට මුහුණ පා ඇති ඩොලර් ප්රශ්නයට මෙවර අයවැයෙන් පැහැදිළි වැඩපිලිවෙළක් සහිත විසඳුමක් ලැබී නැතැයි ආර්ථික විශේලේෂකයින් පවසනවා. ඔවුන් පෙන්වා දෙන්නේ එක් එක් ක්ෂේත්රවලට සහන දෙනවා වෙනුවට පොදු, ස්ථිර වැඩපිළිවෙළක අවශ්යතාව දැන් රට හමුවේ ඇති බවයි.
Hemas Holdings PLC said yesterday it delivered a strong first half amidst a challenging operating environment with half of the second quarter being under lockdown.
The Central Bank (CBSL) has decided to securitise the foreign currency receipts component from migrant workers and has called for Request for Proposals (RFPs) by the end of the month for the appointment of arrangers.
The Colombo stock market remained buoyant yesterday ahead of the Budget 2022 presentation today, with the benchmark index gaining amidst high turnover.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) yesterday presented its latest assessment of the Port City’s economic impact to the Economic Commission. The assessment evaluates the potential impact of the Port City Colombo across five key macroeconomic variables: Employment, Gross Domestic Product, Foreign Direct Investment, Balance of Payments and Government Revenue.
The Central Bank yesterday denied speculation that worker remittances will be forcibly converted into rupees under the proposed Securitised Financing Arrangement (SFA) as “completely unfounded”.
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is expecting over 200,000 tourists in the last two months of the year, banking on greater air connectivity, promotional activities, eased travel restrictions and successful vaccination rollout efforts.
“We are expecting around 200,000 tourists from November to December,” Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga told the Daily FT.
He also said that the industry had earned over $ 130 million since the reopening of the borders on 21 January.
“We are pushing forward all efforts targeting a surge in winter traffic after a lapse of two years and hope the industry will rebound to normalcy by the end of next year,” he pointed out.
The Minister also said National Carrier SriLankan Airlines was keen to expand its frequency between Colombo and Paris, given the favourable response received from French travellers.
SriLankan Airlines commenced its scheduled flights to the French capital on 30 October, after a lapse of six years. Currently, it operates non-stop flights to France every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday using a fleet of Airbus A330-300 aircraft.
The Tourism Minister said the introduction of direct flight services between Colombo and Paris would assist a faster revival of the tourism in the country and more tourists from France were expected in coming months due to the commencement of the winter season in Europe.
After nearly 30 years, the French flag carrier, Air France, also returned to Sri Lanka last week, with three weekly direct flights between Paris and Colombo. In addition, Swiss International Airlines, a member of Lufthansa Group, began weekly direct flights to Sri Lanka on 5 November, after a lapse of two years.
In a related development, Sri Lanka Tourism has stepped up its efforts by launching a new promotional event to woo more French travellers this winter, and a meeting in this regard was held recently in France led by the Tourism Minister, Ambassador/Permanent Delegate of Sri Lanka to UNESCO Prof. Kshanika Hirimburegama, Sri Lanka Tourism Chairperson Kimarli Fernando and Airport and Aviation Services (Lanka) Ltd. Chairman Major General (Retd.) G.A. Chandrasiri.
The officials met with French media personnel, tour operators and travel agents at a meeting held on 9 November at the Shangri-La Hotel in France.
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