Courtesy fibre2fashion Katubedda, Sri Lanka laboratory of Bureau Veritas, a leading testing, inspection and certification provider for consumer goods and healthcare industry, has got ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation for testing medical/surgical face masks. This will help face mask buyers and suppliers worldwide to test medical masks, including full EU market entry scope, in this lab. With […]

Courtesy WEBWIRE Colombo – WEBWIRE – Wednesday, July 15, 2020 Standard Chartered Sri Lanka announced today that Brandix is the latest company to complete a drawdown from the Bank’s global USD1 billion COVID-19 financing commitment, underscoring its ongoing efforts to support local businesses in the pandemic response. Standard Chartered’s extension of USD12 million funding will assist the production switch […]

By Feizal Samath Courtesy TTG Asia The reopening of Sri Lanka’s Colombo International Airport has been delayed indefinitely, after repatriation flights were suspended due to a spike in Covid-19 infections last week. This marks the second postponement of the reopening of the country’s main international airport, after authorities announced last month that its initial August 1 reopening would […]

Courtesy People’s Daily Online Ms. Lyu, please tell me your mother’s name. I’ll pray for her at the temple,” a Sri Lankan engineer said to his Chinese colleague, Lyu Zeying. Lyu is a high-pressure welder with China Machinery Engineering Corporation, the Chinese contractor of the Puttalam coal-fired power plant in Sri Lanka. The power plant […]

Courtesy Ada Derana Minister Prasanna Ranatunga says that the complete reopening of airports may be delayed due to the increased number of registrations to arrive in the country. Previously it was targeted to reopen the airports in Sri Lanka from August 01 and the country will be open for tourists. Considering that situation, the date […]

උපුටා ගැන්ම  හිරු පුවත් ශ්‍රී ලංකා මහ බැංකුවේ මුදල් මණ්ඩලයට ආචාර්ය රාණි ජයමහ සහ සමන්ත කුමාරසිංහ පත් කිරීමට අද රැස්වූ ව්‍යවස්ථාදායක සභාවේ අනුමැතිය හිමිවී තිබෙනවා. මුදල් මණ්ඩලයේ පුරප්පාඩුව පැවති සාමාජිකයන් දෙදෙනා සඳහායි මෙම පත්කිරීම් සිදුවන්නේ .

Courtesy Adaderana The Constitutional Council has approved the appointment of Dr. Ranee Jayamaha and Samantha Kumarasinghe to the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL). A Constitutional Council meeting was held today (24) at the Speaker’s Residence under the patronage of its Chairman and former Speaker of the Eighth Parliament Karu Jayasuriya. […]

Courtesy Adaderana President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has given one year’s time to Lanka Salt Limited which runs at a loss since 2018 to earn profit, the President’s Media Division said. The profit earned by the Lanka Salt Limited in 2016 stood at Rs. 70 million. In 2017 it declined to Rs. 32 million. The organization made […]

Courtesy Adaderana Having identified the urgent need of reviving the businesses adversely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak and thereby to promote economic activity in the country, the Central Bank and the Government of Sri Lanka launched a novel refinance facility under the Saubagya (Prosperity) Loan Scheme, as announced today (24). The Central Bank has approved […]

Courtesy Gulf Times Sri Lanka’s Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) is planning to launch a long-awaited multi-million-dollar global tourism promotion campaign in January 2021 if tourism does not bounce back to the pre-Covid level in two years, local media reported.Currently, the final terms of references (TOR) of the five-year campaign are being reviewed by an appointed […]

ABU DHABI, Courtesy Trade Arabia Effective June 20, Etihad Airways will operate twice-weekly scheduled services for outbound passengers from Colombo to key destinations on its global network via Abu Dhabi. EY265 will depart Colombo on Thursdays and Saturdays at 1.35am, landing in Abu Dhabi at 4.30am local time. From Abu Dhabi, the service connects to […]

Courtesy Adaderana A three-member committee has been appointed to inquire into illegal activities of finance leasing businesses and unauthorized finance bodies, says the President’s Media Division (PMD). The committee is chaired by the Director General of Legal Affairs of the Presidential Secretariat, Attorney-at-Law Harigupta Rohanadeera. Director of Legal and Compliance Department of CBSL K.G. Sirikumara, […]

Courtesy Adaderana Growth of the Sri Lankan economy has fallen to dismal levels over the past few years, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic may result in severe stress on economic and financial system stability in the period ahead unless immediate remedial actions are taken. In this context, in support of the government’s efforts […]

Courtesy Adaderana The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), at its meeting held today (16), decided to reduce the Statutory Reserve Ratio (SRR) applicable on all rupee deposit liabilities of licensed commercial banks (LCBs) by 200 basis points to 2.00 per cent, with effect from the reserve maintenance period that commenced […]

Courtesy Hiru News The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, has decided to reduce the Statutory Reserve Ratio (SRR) applicable on all rupee deposit liabilities of licensed commercial banks (LCBs) by 200 basis points to 2.00 per cent, with effect from 16 June 2020. <br /><br />This reduction in the SRR injects […]

Courtesy Hiru News – Growth of the Sri Lankan economy has fallen to dismal levels over the past few years, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic may result in severe stress on economic and financial system stability in the period ahead unless immediate remedial actions are taken. In this context, in support of the […]

Pathfinder foundation Now that Sri Lanka has achieved notable success in containing the danger posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to the health of the nation, the time has come for a concerted and decisive focus on reviving the economy.  This is particularly timely now that the economy has been removed from its induced coma” with […]

Courtesy Adaderana The Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake is expected to be reopened for tourists from August 01, says Minister of Tourism and Aviation Prasanna Ranatunga. The same procedure that is applied to tourists will be exercised on Sri Lankans returning to the country, however, prior to August 01, returnees will be quarantined upon arrival, […]

Courtesy The Island President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said the Central Bank has failed in its duty and cannot evade responsibility for the alleged irregularities in ETI Investments, the Presidential Media Division said. The inquiring committee appointed to investigate alleged irregularities in ETI Investments met with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat on Thursday. The Committee […]

Courtesy The Daily Mirror The Cabinet has decided to provide relief to the tourist industry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said. He said this at a discussion held at Temple Trees on the problems faced by the tourist and hotel industries and on how best to resuscitate the tourist […]

V Sajeev Kumar  Kochi Courtesy The Hindu Business Line The availability of imported Sri Lankan pepper in the consuming markets of Delhi and Mumbai seem to have perked up some demand from end-users. Traders in these markets are reported to have covered Sri Lankan produce from Tamil Nadu dealers at ₹300 + GST+ freight and this […]

Courtesy matador network SRI LANKA IS planning to welcome tourists back starting on August 1, 2020, but it’s taking this step with a serious safety protocol. Many countries are now requiring a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival, administering them at the airports, but Sri Lanka is requiring four tests. According to Sri Lanka Tourism, the first test must be […]

Courtesy Adaderana BEIJING: China has suspended debt repayment for 77 developing countries as part of its efforts to help underprivileged nations in the fight against Covid-19. However, it did not reveal the nations that would be benefitting from this move. Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ma Zhaoxu, made the announcement at a press conference […]

Courtesy Hindustan Times Ratnayake, a cafe owner in Ella, a former colonial hill station in Sri Lankan tea country, organized free food and shelter for dozens of stranded tourists. COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The tourists came to see the magical waterfalls and mountain views of the lowland jungle and rainforest. But then the pandemic […]

Courtesy nitravelnews.com Sri Lanka hopes to reopen to tourists in August, subject to new measures to guard against new coronavirus cases. The country plans to open to small groups, staying in approved accommodation that meets strict Covid health and safety guidelines.Kimali Fernando, Chair of Sri Lanka’s Tourism Promotion Bureau confirmed visitors would be required to […]

Courtesy the national.ae Tourists will be required to carry a ‘Covid-19-free certificate,’ says tourism ministry secretary . Sri Lanka plans to reopen its tourism sector in mid-June by allowing only small groups of visitors to begin with, a local newspaper quoted a senior tourism ministry official as saying. A limited number of small groups from […]

Courtesy NewsIn.Asia India eager to participate in Lanka’s post COVID economic recovery, through development projects and cooperation as per Lanka’s requirements. Colombo, May 29 (newsin.asia): The High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka, Gopal Baglay, paid a courtesy call on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat on Friday. Pointing out the contribution of Indian […]

Courtesy Blue Swan Daily Sri Lanka‘s COVID-19 Prevention Task Force Committee reportedly submitted a proposal to Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to permit Sri Lankan airports to resume handling international tourist arrivals from 01-Aug-2020 (Colombo Page/Lanka Business Online/Daily Mirror, 26/27-May-2020). As previously reported by CAPA, scheduled arriving international passenger services have been prohibited in Sri […]

Kelum Bandara Courtesy The Daily Mirror The government has worked out a roadmap for reopening the Bandaranaike International Airport for inbound and outbound passengers with guidelines that include the setting up of a laboratory to test them for COVID-19, Civil Aviation Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said today. He made these remarks regarding the inauguration of a […]

Courtesy The Daily Mirror Brandix Apparel Limited has started to export 200 million face masks to the United States, the company said.    Issuing a statement Brandix said that Special Representative of the President and Head of the Presidential Task Force on Economic Revival and Poverty Eradication, Basil Rajapaksa, symbolically handed over the first batch […]