As communist China turns 75, can Xi fix its economy?
As China prepared to celebrate its Golden Week holiday and mark the 75th anniversary of the People’s Republic, the ruling Communist Party rolled out a raft of measures aimed at boosting its ailing economy. The plans included help for the country’s crisis-hit property industry, support for the stock market, cash handouts for the poor and […]
IMF delegation, government’s economic team review IMF programme
A high-level delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that arrived in Sri Lanka held discussions with the economic team of the new government where they reviewed the IMF programme thus far, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said. The PMD said the IMF delegation arrived in Sri Lanka to engage with the newly formed government […]
IMF in town this week
A delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka on Wednesday, October 2, to assess the progress of the ongoing IMF programme. The team, led by the IMF’s Asia-Pacific Department Director Krishna Srinivasan is set to engage in discussions with Minister of Foreign Affairs Vijitha Herath. Last week, the IMF […]
Fitch Affirms Sri Lanka at ‘RD’
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Sri Lanka’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘RD’ (Restricted Default) and Long-Term Local-Currency IDR at ‘CCC-‘. Fitch typically does not assign Outlooks to issuers with a rating of ‘CCC+’ or below.
US accuses Visa of debit card monopoly
The US has filed a lawsuit against Visa, accusing the financial giant of illegally stifling competition to maintain a monopoly over the debit card market. It said Visa had punished companies that wanted to use alternative payment networks and paid off potential competitors to keep its hold over the market. The Department of Justice said the […]
Air China to begin daily flights to Sri Lanka
Air China, one of China’s largest airlines, is set to launch daily flight operations to Sri Lanka, starting from October 2024. The announcement was made by former Tourism Minister Harin Fernando on X (formerly Twitter). The airline’s move represents a significant increase in connectivity between the two nations, as Air China only recently resumed its flights […]
German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs explores opportunities at HIP
Tobias Pierlings, Director and Head of Division for South Asia and Southeast Asia at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Berlin and a delegation from the German Embassy in Sri Lanka visited the Hambantota International Port (HIP). The visit aimed to explore the potential business opportunities in Sri Lanka and assess […]
Colombo Port sees fourth consecutive month of declining transshipment volumes
Transshipment volumes at the Port of Colombo continued their decline for the fourth consecutive month in August, despite a notable reduction in congestion at the port. In August, the transshipment volumes handled by the port declined by 1.7 percent year-on-year (YoY) to 510,045 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), slightly recovering from the 6 percent drop recorded […]
Cordelia cruises to begin 2025 season at HIP in June
Cordelia Cruise Lines completed its second season of calls at the Hambantota International Port (HIP) in September 2024. The scheduled six visits between July and September brought in over 5,000 tourists to the country. The next season of Cordelia cruises, which will also include six calls at the HIP, is scheduled to begin in June […]
Sri Lanka’s tea production likely to hit rock bottom this year
Sri Lanka’s tea production is expected to fall to its lowest levels in recent history this year, dropping well below the target of 300 million kilograms, according to the Planters’ Association of Ceylon (PA). Newly elected PA Chairman Sunil Poholiyadde warned that tea output could decline to below 250 million kilograms in 2024. In 2022, […]