Economic

Since their introduction in April the accounts have attracted $ 87 m
New regulations increase amount of forex that can be retained from $ 10,000 to $ 15,000
SDAs can now be used to collateral for loans

As gold prices increased last week, the gold reserves of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) have dropped by almost $ 600 million this year.

The cost of imports into the country have, for the first time in decades, dropped below export earnings in June 2020 leading to a rare trade surplus, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa informed the Cabinet this week.

Monetary Board decision made after companies failed to find investors
Companies not in a position to repay depositors by themselves
CB says 75% of ETI depositors can be paid in full from Insurance Fund
89% of Swarnamahal Financial Services depositors to be covered as well
Others will get Rs. 600,000 minimum payments with rest to be settled later

The Commercial High Court Judge Sampath Wijeratne yesterday 2020 dissolved the Enjoin Order and refused the application for interim Injunction by N & A Engineering Services Ltd. seeking to prevent the three Defendant partners of Spencer Towers from encasing the advance guarantee issued in favour of Spencer Tower by N & A Engineering Services.

People’s Bank is currently negotiating to raise around $ 300 million in long-term funding from multiple institutional sources abroad to boost its resource base to help customers, especially SMEs and women.

Workers’ remittances declined by 23.2% in May, year-on-year, to $ 432 million, the Central Bank said yesterday.

Speculation over fears of a second wave of COVID-19 dragged down sentiments at the Colombo stock market with both indices declining but turnover was relatively high.

SLPP says no Budget for 2020, third VoA to cover public finances for rest of year

Crucial working capital at concessionary rate of interest for COVID-hit enterprises and individuals has gathered pace with over Rs. 60 billion approved and half of it disbursed to thousands of customers of banks.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka defended its money printing and stated that the bank has the necessary instruments to mop up excess liquidity if the need arises.

The Committee appointed to probe into finance and leasing company irregularities and illegal activities has identified that the activities of this sector mainly revolve around ten main areas.
These areas included problems related to the recovery of possession of equipment, abuse of the terms and conditions in the finance lease agreements entered into Communications Department between the lessor and the lessee, as well as certain loopholes in the provisions of the Finance Leasing Act, No. 56 of 2000.

Tourism and Aviation Minister Prasanna Ranatunga yesterday said the reopening of the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) will be pushed back further from previously planned mid-August.

ජාතික ගමනාගමන කොමිසම විසින් මගී ජනතාවට ප්‍රවාහණ පහසුකම් ලබා ගැනීමේ ක්‍රමවේදය නව තාක්ෂණය යටතේ සිදු කර ගැනීමට අවස්ථාවන් ලබා දීම පුලුල් කරමින් ජංගම දුරකථන යෙදවුමක් හඳුන්වා
දෙනු ලැබීය.

One of the leading media giants in the world, the BBC recently extended its valuable support to Sri Lanka Tourism during the challenging time of COVID-19 by entering into a no-cost partnership with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) through a comprehensive advertising campaign.

The country’s number one banking brand Bank of Ceylon has been yet again reaffirmed its place among the Top 1000 Banks in the World with the country rank as number one denoted by The Banker UK Magazine.

Putting its main focus on ensuring a growth rebound in the second half, the Central Bank yesterday reduced rates by 100 basis points and called on banks to ensure the market rates are slashed rapidly, to boost consumption and keep the economy on target to achieve 1% to 1.5% growth in 2020.

The Colombo stock market remained positive for the second consecutive day amidst improved turnover.