Economic

Cabinet has approved the appointing of an Expert Committee to formulate a National Trade Policy.

The Central Bank continues to maintain its year-end inflation range at the original mid-single digit levels—4 percent to 6 percent—as the economy is growing far below its potential due to the coronavirus impact which undermines demand-driven price pressures.

Against a trans-formative and competitive regional backdrop, Sri Lanka aspires to become South Asia’s logistics hub, Export Development Board announced.

To meet the “clamour for capital” the Government will work to develop markets, including venture capital, bond and equity segments, promote better debt management and introduce fresh risk reduction regulations to attract new investors, a top official said yesterday.

The Colombo stock market had a mixed day yesterday but ended August with welcome gains by both indices as investors turned optimistic following the election of a strong Government earlier on.

කොවිඩ්-19 වසංගත තත්ත්වය හේතුවෙන් වසා දැමුණු ගුවන්තොටුපළ නැවත විවෘත කිරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් රජයේ අවධානය යොමුව තිබේ.

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE)will be revamping its listing requirements to cater to an ever-evolving business landscape in Sri Lanka consisting of modern and dynamic business models, which are particularly seen in the technology space.

The Vehicle Importers Association of Sri Lanka (VIASL) yesterday said it had a host of concerns in satisfying the new directive for permit holders and called on the Government to provide greater clarity and a firm timeline on when it planned to recommence imports.

The committee appointed to investigate alleged irregularities and malpractices that occurred in State banks during the past five years, yesterday called on the public to submit any complaints.

Sri Lanka foreign missions are to be actively involved in export promotion campaigns to increase exports of made in Sri Lanka products enhancing revenue and mitigate the negative impact of the COVID-19 on the industry, official sources said.

මෝටර් රථ ආනයනය සඳහා රජය සීමා පැනවීම හේතුවෙන් මේ වනවිට මෝටර් රථවල මිල අසීමිත ලෙස ඉහළ ගොස් ඇති බව සමස්ත ලංකා වාහන ආනයනකරුවන්ගේ සංගමයේ සභාපති ඉන්දික සම්පත් මෙරෙන්චිගේ මහතා පවසනවා.

REUTERS: Shares closed lower for a fourth session on Friday, dragged down by losses in communication services and consumer staples stocks.

පරිසර හිතකාමී යෝගට් කෝප්පය’ හඳුන්වා දීමට හා ස්මාර්ට් නිවාස පද්ධති, ස්මාර්ට් කාර්යාල පද්ධති’ උපාංග සඳහා වෙළෙඳපොළක් නිර්මාණය කර දීමට කර්මාන්ත ඇමති නිලධාරීන් මගින් අවශ්‍ය සහයෝගය ලබා දීමට පියවර ගෙන තිබේ.

Banking sector giant Bank of Ceylon has concluded the first half of the year once again earning industry leadership in terms of assets, deposits, advances and revenue.

Government plans for a rapid or V-shaped economic recovery for Sri Lanka after the effects of COVID-19 is becoming a reality, State Minister of Finance, Capital Markets and State Enterprise Reforms Ajith Nivard Cabral told Parliament yesterday.

In a bid to assess the status and what measures are needed to develop capital markets, subject Minister Nivard Cabraal will engage with promoters and regulators tomorrow in what would be his first meeting since assuming office fortnight ago.

The Government has allocated Rs. 167.64 million to develop tourist attractions in several parts of the country over the next four months.

Ceylon Artisan Network (CAN) Market, the first three-day weekend market, will kick off today at the Colombo City Centre Atrium starting at 4.30 p.m.