Business

Rs. 5000 allowance for low income families seen as potentially destabilizing

Published

2 years ago

2022/03/30

By Hiran H.Senewiratne

The government is not interested in resolving the current burning macro and micro economic issues. A Cabinet proposal to provide a Rs 5000 allowance to 3.1 million identified low-income families as a bonus for the upcoming Sinhala and Tamil New Year will make the situation worse. Because printing further rupees/money to provide this amount, will once again create inflationary and foreign reserve pressure in the country, stock market analysts.

Yesterday the CSE commenced its trading with a marginal gain but did not sustain it for a long period. At 1 pm S and P SL20 was down by less than five per cent, thus, triggering a circuit breaker for about half an hour, stock market analysts said. Investor sentiment is dwindling due to weak macroeconomic conditions with the unprecedented depreciation of the rupee against the dollar, stock market analysts said.

Amid those developments both indices moved downwards. The All- Share Price Index went down by 442 points and S and P SL20 declined by 153.5 points. Turnover stood at Rs 2.7 billion with two crossings. Those crossings were in Seylan Bank, which crossed three million shares to the tune of Rs 106.8 million, its shares traded at Rs 35.5 and Melstacorp 750,000 shares crossed to the tune of Rs 33.7 million, its shares traded at Rs 45.

In the retail market, top seven companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were; Expolanka Holdings Rs 543 million (2.1 million shares traded), Browns Investments Rs 202 million (21.7 million shares traded), LOLC Holdings Rs 192 million (259,000 shares traded), LOLC Finance Rs 163 million (14.1 million shares traded), Royal Ceramic Rs 121..3 million (2.5 million shares traded), JKH Rs 92 million (596,000 shares traded) and CT Holdings Rs 77.5 million (500,000 shares traded). During the day 265 million shares changed hands in 29000 transactions.

The Sri Lanka rupee was quoted at 285/310 to the US dollar in the spot market yesterday, while bond markets were mostly inactive with the ongoing bond auction, dealers said.

Commercial Banks were offering to sell dollars for telegraphic transfers at Rs 299 rupees and buying between Rs 275/289 .The Central Bank indicative spot rate was Rs 294.98 flat from the previous day.

Sri Lanka’s rupee has been made more flexible but a clean float has not yet been established. Economists and analysts have urged the Central Bank to raise rates and halt a surrender rule that is taking dollars away from the banking system and creating rupees.

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Business

President outlines a bold vision for Sri Lanka tourism at THASL’s 58th AGM

Published

2 hours ago

2023/11/28

Priyan

Addressing the 58th Annual General Meeting of The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) held on Monday (27) at Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo, President Ranil Wickremesinghe outlined a comprehensive strategy to propel the country’s tourism sector to new heights. Focused on surpassing the target of 5 million tourists and redefining traditional approaches, the President’s vision extends to achieving 7.5 million visitors in the coming years. The President emphasized the need for innovative thinking and collaboration within the industry to ensure sustainable growth.

“When I took over the government, I realized that sustainability alone is not sufficient. How are we going to earn foreign exchange? How are we going to have a positive balance of trade? In that, there were many suggestions. But what is the low-hanging fruit? And one of the low-hanging fruits was tourism. Let’s promote tourism fully,” President Wickremesinghe declared.

The President acknowledged the need to move beyond the existing framework and embrace competition to elevate Sri Lanka’s standing in the global tourism market. Drawing parallels with countries like Vietnam, he questioned why they had more tourists despite being in the industry for a shorter period. President Wickremesinghe stressed the importance of increasing the number of tourists to 2.5 million in the upcoming year and subsequently expanding on this figure.

(PMD)

Business

Free visas for nationals of China, India, Indonesia, Russsia, Thailand, Malaysia and Japan from Monday (27)

Published

5 hours ago

2023/11/28

Priyan

The Controller General of Immigration and Emigration has stated that nationals of China, India, Indonesia, Russsia, Thailand, Malaysia and Japan will be granted free visas from Monday 27-11-2023 to 31-03-2024 as a pilot program to rebuild the tourism industry.

Nationals of the above nominated countries possessing, Diplomatic, Official, Public Affairs, Services and Ordinary Passports are eligible to enjoy a visa free regime under this scheme.

The above mentioned nationals should apply for Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) before arriving in Sri Lanka subject to granting / issuing free of charge up to 31-03-2024.

Under this scheme tourists can enjoy a 30 days free visa period and a double entry facility is permitted within 30 days from the date of first arrival in Sri Lanka.

Free ETA under this scheme can be applied up to 31-03-2024.

The free ETA cannot be extended further and is limited only to thirty (30) days. In case the free ETA period of 30 days expires after 31-03-2024, an extension of visa could be applied subject to paying the appropriate fee.

Business

Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia prioritize economic ties in apparel and tourism sectors

Published

15 hours ago

2023/11/28

Priyan

The Minister of Economy and Planning for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Faisal F. Alibrahim, met with President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday (27) at the Presidential Secretariat.

During the discussions, Minister Faisal F. Alibrahim emphasized Saudi Arabia’s keen interest in strengthening economic ties with Sri Lanka across various sectors, including apparels and tourism. He elucidated that his government was focused on expanding economic relations within the region and regarded Sri Lanka with significant importance.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe welcomed the Minister’s comments, asserting that Sri Lanka is actively promoting enhanced cooperation in Asia, including West Asia. He further highlighted that the tourism and agriculture sectors were areas open to greater investment, as the country is committed to modernizing these domains.

(PMD)