Economic

Sri Lanka’s construction sector is expected to demonstrate resilience compared to other economic sectors largely due to the existence of sufficient projects, reasonably priced raw materials and funding, a report by ICRA Lanka said yesterday, but warned profitability will moderate due to lockdown and new projects will be less in the medium term.

Standard Chartered announced yesterday that MAS Intimates Ltd., a division of MAS Holdings, became the first company in South Asia to complete a drawdown under the bank’s $ 1 billion COVID-19 financing commitment.

The Government has decided to introduce a COVID-19 safety standard compliance certification for star class hotels, as a move to reassure tourists considering Sri Lanka for their next holiday post-pandemic.

The Central Bank yesterday said it would begin payments to depositors of The Finance Company from Sunday and has appointed the People’s Bank as the agent bank to carry out the compensation process.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) has approved amendments to the Stockbroker Rules, Central Depository Systems (CDS) Rules and Listing Rules submitted by the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), which will enable the stock market to transition from a paper-based to an electronic-based environment.

In keeping with the Government’s guidelines to uplift local entrepreneurs, and with the aim of uplifting businesses that are struggling as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, People’s Bank has embraced the responsibility of a state bank and taken steps to immediately reduce the interest rates of industries that contribute directly to the local economy.

The Government yesterday appealed to the public to be cautious when investing in non-Bank financial institutions and not be enticed by higher interest rates to deposit their hard-earned savings in unsound companies.

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) will trade on Thursday 4 June despite countrywide curfew on account of Poson holidays and COVID-19 mitigation measures.

Four experts yesterday were unanimous that valuations at the Colombo stock market remain very attractive from a long-term perspective despite the impact of COVID-19, suggesting the time was ideal to buy fundamentally strong listed equities.

The Colombo stock market ended yesterday on a mixed note with indices moving at different directions amidst low turnover on restricted trading hours on account of the public holiday and curfew.

Amidst unprecedented challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, the travel trade is moving to unite to create ‘one industry, one voice’, to better strengthen its lobbying and enhance future prospects.

Dubai (Reuters): Emirates airline said on Sunday it had made some staff redundant due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, with two company sources saying trainee pilots and cabin crew had been affected.

2019 වර්ෂය සඳහා වන මහජන බැංකු වාර්තාව ඊයේ(03) අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා වෙත භාරදෙනු ලැබිණි.

 සංචාරක සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියේ ලියාපදිංචි සංචාරක නියෝජිතයන් විසින් රට තුළට ගෙන එන සංචාර සදහා සේවා සැපයීම වැට් බද්දෙන් නිදහස් කර තිබෙනවා.

Former Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) Chairman and veteran banker Nihal Fonseka and Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Executive Director Dr. Dushni Weerakoon have submitted their resignation from the Central Bank’s Monetary Board, which is responsible for monetary policy decision-making.

The Colombo stock market turned negative yesterday with both indices down though turnover was a healthy Rs. 1.3 billion.

Proving its resilience as a prudent and stable financial institution, LB Finance has recorded a strong performance for the financial year ended 31 March with an exceptional Rs. 5.2 billion profit after tax.

With the objective to encourage foreign income earners in the country, Bank of Ceylon (BOC) is promoting the Special Deposit Account (SDA) including those who receive their foreign remittances both in foreign currency and/or in Sri Lankan Rupees.