Economic

Sri Lanka’s growth prospects for 2021 had dimmed from the 5 percent levels expected in October amid a surge in Corona virus and with the Census and statistics latest controversial data released with much delay, economic analysts said.

Reuters: Shares fell the most in a month on Thursday, dragged down by losses in consumer staples and industrial stocks.

The Government yesterday confirmed that the reopening of Sri Lanka’s borders on 26 December is a pilot project and not a formal opening to welcome international travellers post-COVID, with the official lifting of restrictions slated for January.

Uber yesterday (18) announced the installation of safety screens or safety ‘cockpits,’ a protective ceiling-to-floor transparent plastic screen between the passenger and the driver, in over 1,500 cars and tuks, setting a new standard of safety in the ‘new normal.’ Additionally, these safety screens are being scaled up across product categories immediately.

නීතිවිරෝධී අන්දමින් ස්පා ආයතන පවත්වාගෙන යාම හා තාවකාලික කාමර සේවාවන් සැපයීම හේතුවෙන් ඉදිරියේදී ස්පා පොකුරු හා කාමර පොකුරු මතුවීමේ දැඩි අවදානමක් මතුව ඇතැයි මහජන සෞඛ්‍ය පරීක්ෂකවරුන්ගේ සංගමයේ ලේකම් මහේන්ද්‍ර බාලසූරිය පැවසීය.

Cabinet yesterday approved Rs. 365 million to construct an International Gem and Jewellery Trade Centre in Ratnapura to develop the industry.

Low growth, macroeconomic issues, muted private sector growth to impact banks
Despite projections of 4.9% growth in 2021 underlying vulnerabilities and COVID-19 to affect profitability
Growth expected to contract 6.7% in 2020
Despite spate of relief measures by CB, impaired loan ratios on the rise

Growth rebounded to 1.5% in the 3Q after a severe contraction of 16.3% in 2Q, the Census and Statistics Department (CSD) said yesterday, releasing long-awaited data, which also revised slightly down the 1Q growth from -1.6% to -1.7%. The latest data indicates that Sri Lanka’s growth contracted 5.3% for the first three quarters for 2020 and could end the year with further downward growth given the partial curfews imposed due to the second COVID-19 wave in October. In its mid-year forecast the Central Bank predicted a contraction of 1.7% for the entire year while Budget 2021 has predicted a robust turnaround of 5.5% growth for next year.

Suresh de Mel, a well-known entrepreneur, assumed duties as the new Chairman of the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) yesterday.

SriLankan Catering yesterday confirmed media reports stating that eight employees of the airline at SriLankan Catering operations division at the Bandaranaike International Airport had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.

The Manufacturing sector rebounded in November with an increase of 17 index points as concerns of COVID-19 eased but even though the Services sector edged up compared to the previous month, it remained below the threshold level, the latest Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) released by the Central Bank said yesterday.

Workers’ remittances recorded a growth of 3.9% in October 2020, year-on-year, to $ 631 million, the Central Bank said yesterday.

ලංකා ඛණිජ තෙල් නීතිගත සංස්ථාවේ ඉන්ධන අළෙවිය මේ වසරේ මුල් මාස 8 තුළදී 20% කින් පහත වැටී ඇතැයි රාජ්‍ය මූල්‍ය කළමණාකරණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව වාර්තා කරයි. මෙම කාලය තුළදී සංස්ථාවේ අලාභය රුපියල් බිලියන 4.4 ක් හෙවත් කෝටි 440 කි.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has bac-ked the Board of Investment (BoI) and Power Ministry to combine forces to attract investment into the electricity generation sector, particularly renewables, calling for expeditious implementation of projects, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said in a statement yesterday.

Cumulative net outflow from rupee-denominated Government securities rose to $ 523 million in October, the Central Bank said yesterday, but emphasised exposure remained low.

The development of the Port City took a significant step yesterday, with Browns Investments PLC entering into a landmark agreement with China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) to commence the Colombo International Finance Centre mixed development project, which will involve an investment of $ 450 million.

Reuters: Shares ended lower on Tuesday, after 15 straight sessions of gains, dragged down by losses in financial stocks.

The National Carrier of Sri Lanka and a member of the oneworld Alliance, SriLankan Airlines is set to increase the frequency of passenger flights from Colombo to Singapore from once a week to thrice a week, commencing 18 December.