Business

SMEs and entities serving domestic and foreign markets worst hit in COVID-19 crisis

Published

6 years ago

2020/08/1

By Lynn Ockersz

SMEs and businesses serving domestic and foreign markets were the worst-hit sectors at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey titled ‘An Initial Assessment of the Impact of COVID-19 on Employers’, carried out by The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC) reveals.

‘While the hospitality and food service sector recorded the highest economic losses in terms of revenue, foreign exchange earnings and investment, exporters employing more than 250 employees lost all their earnings, the survey report goes on to disclose. Commenting on the latter finding, the assessment states that, ‘Since large scale companies account for about 95% of total export earnings, the impact on the balance of trade will be devastating.’

The survey report was presented to the media on July 30 at the EFC auditorium, Rajagiriya by a panel of experts headed by Director General EFC Kanishka Weerasinghe. The survey period was April-May 2020 and covered 100 firms, employing 125,000+ employees. Highlights of the report were presented by Advisor HR & Coordinator Research of the EFC Dinesh Ruwan Kumara. The EFC intends using the study findings to ‘inform policy makers about the interventions necessary to help companies to manage the crisis and grow out of it.’

In his opening remarks EFC DG Weerasinghe said, among other things, that the pandemic was ‘like shifting sands’ and that the world needs to ‘prepare for future pandemic waves’ and their aftermath. He added that the adverse fallout from the crisis on local companies was contained by the EFC-formulated Tripartite Agreement on Wages. The latter ensured that local livelihoods were retained and helped guard against ‘mass unemployment’. The EFC has submitted a 10 point policy to the government on issues growing out of the pandemic and their containment.

Some other crucial findings of the survey are:

* More than half of all responding companies were faced with serious cash flow problems in meeting day-to-day expenses. The cash flow of about 18% of the companies was sufficient only for one month while another 39% stated that they could survive for about three months.

* Subjective estimates of job losses by responding companies averaged at 7% and 9% for executive and non-executive staff respectively, across the sample. The highest job losses among non-executive staff were reported in the finance and insurance and manufacturing (15%) subsectors, followed by hospitality and food services (11%), agriculture (6%), and wholesale and retail trade (5%). Among executive staff, the highest job losses were reported in manufacturing(10%), finance and insurance (8.3%) and information and communication (7.5%).

*All responding companies identified workforce protection to be the most important coping strategy at organizational level, while Work from Home(WfH) was the second most important measure, particularly in sub-sectors dominated by office-type occupations in the service sector.

* Labour market-related policies were identified by respondents as the most important area that the government needs to address. Sri Lanka’s existing labour laws do not provide for pandemic-like situations, leaving a huge gap in institutional mechanisms to manage crises of this kind.

* Among monetary and fiscal policy remedial measures, employers suggested the reduction of interest rates, extension of debt moratoria and granting credit and other financial support for firms to re-start operations.

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Business

Super El Niño threatens to deepen Sri Lanka’s drought and economic woes

Published

21 hours ago

2026/09/4

Thilina Walpola

By Ifham Nizam

A potentially dangerous El Niño is gathering strength across the Pacific, with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warning that the climate event is expected to become very strong and continue into February 2027, raising the risks of drought, floods, extreme heat and major disruptions to rainfall patterns worldwide.

The warning has particular significance for Sri Lanka, where communities in several agricultural districts are already facing severe drought, depleted water sources and shrinking farm incomes.

The WMO said yesterday that forecasts from its Global Producing Centres show an “exceptionally high likelihood of nearly 100%” that El Niño will persist through February next year. The organisation said this is the first time one of its El Niño/La Niña updates has been so unequivocal, reflecting strong agreement among forecasting systems.

The event, driven by exceptionally warm waters in the tropical Pacific, is expected to strengthen further in the coming months, reach very strong intensity and peak towards the end of this year. Its climate impacts, however, are expected to continue well into 2027.

According to Meteorological Organization

Sri Lanka is already experiencing the consequences.

A Reuters report published on Wednesday from drought-affected areas said rainfall deficits of between 85% and 100% have been recorded in important farming regions including Ampara and Monaragala.

Wells, tanks, rivers and lakes have dried up, while tens of thousands of people are depending on government water deliveries, with some remote communities reportedly waiting up to 23 days for supplies.

The drought is also rapidly becoming an economic problem for rural communities. Croplands have withered, livestock operations have been affected and farmers who have lost their harvests are being forced to seek daily-paid employment to survive.

The latest WMO outlook also warns that the consequences of El Niño will not necessarily be uniform. The severity and timing of impacts in individual countries depend on geography, season and other climate drivers, including conditions in the Indian and Atlantic oceans.

For Sri Lanka, the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) will therefore be crucial. The WMO expects a positive IOD to develop, with a September-November seasonal mean of about 0.9°C. This could modify the normal influence of El Niño on rainfall over the region.

That creates another potential risk for Sri Lanka: the country may have to prepare not only for continued drought but also for episodes of intense rainfall, flooding and landslides later in the year. Climate variability increasingly means that a prolonged water shortage can be followed by sudden and destructive rainfall rather than a gradual return to normal conditions.

For Sri Lanka, the warning should therefore be viewed as an economic and national-planning issue, not simply a meteorological forecast. Agriculture, drinking water, electricity generation, food imports, public expenditure and rural livelihoods could all be affected.

Business

ABC Trade & Investment – All-China Environment Federation partner to drive Sri Lanka’s green infrastructure and investment

Published

21 hours ago

2026/09/4

Thilina Walpola

ABC Trade & Investments (Pvt) Ltd, a leading homegrown conglomerate in Sri Lanka’s ICT distribution and diversified business landscape, has formally entered into a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the All-China Environment Federation (ACEF). The partnership establishes a collaborative framework aimed at accelerating new-energy development, water management, and environmental protection projects across Sri Lanka.

The agreement bridges advanced Chinese engineering capabilities, equipment, technical expertise, and investment resources with ABC Trade & Investments’ local operational strength, market insight, and project implementation skills. By pairing international technology with on-the-ground execution, the initiative is designed to address Sri Lanka’s long-term environmental and civil infrastructure priorities.

The MoU was signed by Amalrajah Jayaseelan, Director/CEO of ABC Trade & Investment (Pvt) Ltd, and Shi Xiang, Secretary-General of the Belt & Road Eco-Industry Cooperation Working Committee of ACEF. The signing took place during the China–Sri Lanka Environmental & Energy Exchange and Cooperation Meeting at the Nondescripts Cricket Club Grounds in Colombo, held under the theme “Empower Green Development, Jointly Build a New Pattern of China–Sri Lanka Environmental & Energy Industry.”

Business

Heavy buying interest slows down stock trading

Published

21 hours ago

2026/09/4

Thilina Walpola

By Hiran H. Senewiratne

The CSE yesterday was very active at the outset but later slowed down due to heavy buying interest noted for select stocks.Amid those developments both indices moved upwards. The S and P SL20 went up by 23.73 points. Turnover stood at Rs 2.44 billion with 10 crossings.

The crossings were: Renuka Foods 19 million shares crossed for Rs 502 million; its shares traded at Rs 25.30, Dipped Products 1.9 million shares crossed to the tune of Rs 117 million; its shares traded at Rs 60.50, JKH 3.9 million shares crossed for Rs 78 million; its shares sold at Rs 19.70, Dialog Axiata 1 million shares crossed to the tune of Rs 46.6 million; its shares traded at Rs 46.40, Tokyo Cement 500,000 shares crossed for Rs 39.5 million; its shares sold at Rs 79 and Watawela Plantations 800,000 shares crossed for Rs 34 million; its shares were Rs 42.50 each.

In the retail market companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were; Vallibel Finance Rs 281 million (3.3 million shares traded), Dipped Products Rs 114 million (1.9 million shares traded), Haycarb Rs 90 million (424,000 shares traded), Alumax Rs 42 million (2.6 million shares traded), HNB Rs 38.5 million (102,000 shares traded), Swisstec Rs 30 million (506,000 shares traded) and Sierra Cables Rs 34 million (880,000 shares traded). During the day 118 million share volumes changed hands in 17802 transactions.

It is said that mixed market reactions were noted during the day. Financial sector, especially Vallibel Finance, performed well, while the manufacturing sector, especially JKH and Hayleys , performed significantly.

Meanwhile, Co-operative Insurance Company announced the redemption of 1,100,000 cumulative redeemable preference shares issued in December 2020 to the Health Department Co-Operative Thrift & Credit Society.

The total redemption consideration of Rs 16.61 million, including a 9 percent per annum cumulative dividend, is set for settlement on August 31, 2026.

Yesterday the rupee was quoted at Rs 328.25/35 to the US dollar in the spot market, stronger from Rs 328.30/60 the previous day, while bond yields were somewhat steady, dealers said.