Economic

Despite the adverse impact on business, the tourism industry yesterday supported the decision taken by the Government to impose stricter travel guidelines considering the current spike in COVID-19 cases. The leading tourism organisations — The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) and Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) – assured that they would abide by the protocols in place to support the country to overcome the current COVID-19 situation.

Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) to BOI companies, including loans, in 2020 have declined by 42.2% to $ 687 million compared to $ 1.18 billion in the previous year, according to the Central Bank.

The recovery at the Colombo stock market continued for the second consecutive day with indices on the up on improved turnover.

ත්‍රිපෝෂ නිෂ්පාදනයට අවශ්‍ය බඩඉරිඟු‍ මෙට්‍රික් ටොන් 2500ක් සොයා ගැනීමට නොහැකිව ත්‍රිපෝෂ නිෂ්පාදනය නතර වීමේ අවදානමක් මතුව තිබේ. පාලන මිල ඉක්මවා බඩඉරිඟු අලෙවි කිරීම හේතුවෙන් මෙම තත්ත්වය උදා වී ඇත.

Employees in the front line of the aviation and airports sector will get their second dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine from today.

The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has met 98% of the tax revenue target of Rs. 575.5 million given by the Ministry of Finance for the first three months of this year, the Committee on Public Finance informed.

The Consumer Affairs Authority has been instructed not to proceed with legal action relating to the new hybrid 18-litre cylinder introduced by Litro Gas Lanka, a top official of the CAA revealed yesterday.

The Central Bank will begin paying additional compensation from today for the eligible depositors/relevant legal beneficiaries of deposits of Swarnamahal Financial Services PLC.

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has performed exceptionally well in the past 12 months with the All Share Price Index (ASPI) appreciating more than 55% and the S&P SL 20 Index appreciating more than 44%. In 2021, the Average Daily Turnover of the CSE stands at Rs. 4.8 billion as against Rs. 1.8 billion in 2020.

The Colombo stock market yesterday managed to close marginally on the up as investor sentiment struggled amidst worsening COVID-19 situation in the country.

The Government has started the issuance of special licences for the import of ‘RPD palm olein,’ a key ingredient for bakery, confectionery and food processing industries.

Sri Lanka Tourism yesterday notified all ‘Safe and Secure’ travel agents and Level 1 hotels of the ‘limited’ excursions for international travellers considering the spike in COVID-19 cases in the country.

As the third COVID-19 wave continues to sweep across Sri Lanka, Central Bank Governor Prof W.D. Lakshman yesterday said growth projections for 2021 may need to be reassessed and the monetary institution was closely monitoring the evolving situation.

Plantations Minister Ramesh Pathirana has introduced regulations to ensure the quality standard of green tea.

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) said yesterday that total market turnover in April demonstrated a growth of 29.43% compared to the previous month.

Reuters: Shares closed lower on Monday, weighed by financial, industrial and consumer staple stocks, as a jump in domestic COVID-19 cases dented investor sentiment.

The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) through its Security Division has facilitated its port users and customers to obtain port entry permits only via its online system.

HSBC yesterday said it has become the first to offer ‘LiveSign,’ a cloud-based service that replaces the paper and ink signature process, in Sri Lanka.