Dec 15 (CT) Executive Board of the IMF this week concluded the first review under its EFF arrangement for Sri Lanka and released the second tranche. This has caught the attention of both local and foreign investors who are now closely monitoring the country�s economy. Alongside this, international donor communities like the ADB and WB are working on their own funding plans for SL. Moreover, as the entire process of restructuring public debt wraps up, Sri Lanka hopes for more..

Dec 15 (DN) National Chamber of Commerce of SL launched the 19th edition of the National Business Excellence Awards 2024, flagship event of the chamber yesterday. The event will be held in June in Shangri La Colombo. �Initiated as way back as 2004 by NCCSL, NBEA has maintained its highest standards and gained much recognition amongst the business community in view of recognizing the SL business community that contributes to the economic development with exemplary more..

Dec 15 (FT) SL Chamber of Garment Exporters (SLCGE) commended the remarkable resilience of its apparel SME membership for rapidly adapting to tough global market conditions and ending the year with zero closures. As the apex body for SMEs in the apparel sector, the SLCGE comprises 76 members � all of which operate outside of SL�s Free Trade Zones (FTZ). �Over the past year, our industry has been hit hard with more..

Dec 15 (FT) Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka hosted the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) in Sri Lanka for the second consecutive year, from 13 to 19 Nov. Themed Entrepreneurs Thrive Here, GEW 2023 in Sri Lanka accentuated the ecosystems, education, inclusion, and policy, aiming to celebrate and empower entrepreneurs across various industries by fostering collaboration among local entrepreneurs, investors, and researchers. more..

Dec 15 (FT) Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) said it welcomes the Board approval of the IMF's completion of its first review under the 48-month EFF with SL. �This milestone, granting SL access to approximately $ 337 million, underscores the nation�s commitment to fulfilling key performance criteria and benchmarks,� CCC said. �Notably, this includes the release of the Governance Diagnostic Report and initiating debt restructuring agreements with key international creditors. more..

Dec 15 (FT) NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake disclosed that at least 1183 Small and Medium Scale (SME) businesses were repossessed and auctioned by banking institutions through Parate Executions this year. He noted that SMEs are often set up with bank loans and have now lost their businesses due to the govt�s misguided decisions. �The economic challenges faced by the people require solutions. Unfortunately, banks have auctioned off SMEs through Parate Executions. more..

Dec 15 (FT) Two collapsed companies belonging to the defunct conglomerate Ceylinco Group namely Finance & Guar-antee Real Estate Company, and Finance & Guarantee Property Developers (PDL) have now been taken over by ZRA Company, a privately owned Company, under the directives of the Supreme Court. Being one of the 3 bidders ZRA Holdings succeeded in clinching the deal under the supervision of the Central Bank and filtration by KPMG Public Accountants & more..

Dec 15 (DN) SL U-19 team poor performances in the Asia Cup has come in for criticism by cricketing experts. They beat Japan but unfortunately lost to UAE and Bangladesh and knocked out from the semi finals and returned home yesterday. UAE and Bangladesh entered the semi finals and UAE for the first time got this great opportunity for their country. SL team led by Sineth Jayawardena had a poor record especially more..

Dec 15 (DN) �As the former Chairman of Selectors, I had to make many hard and unpopular decisions and I would like to reiterate that these decisions were made with the best interest of Sri Lanka Cricket in mind,� said outgoing Cricket Chief selector Pramodya Wickramasighe. He further added that he had to go through a challenging period during his tenure. Former SL fast bowler Wickramasinghe, who ended his tenure at the post last week has made his expressions via a statement. more..

Dec 15 (ST) The continuous rains will have an impact on the physical and mental health of many active elderly persons who, on other days, would enjoy an evening stroll, spend time gardening, and meet with friends during this festive season. �The fear of slips and falls can trigger anxiety as well as the fear of contracting coughs and pneumonia,� said Dr. Anuprabha Wickremasinghe, Consultant Psychiatrist at the National Hospital, Colombo. In the first eight months of the year, more..

Dec 15 (TM) Ministry of Trade, Commerce, and Food Security said that it will take steps to import eggs and chicken if any kind of shortage is noticed in the days to come, said the Secretary to the Ministry, A.M.P.M.B. Atapattu. In the eve of the Christmas festive season, a shortage of eggs and chicken has been reported in the domestic market since last week. The media reported that eggs and chicken are out of stock in mainstream more..

Dec 15 (Island) It�s supposed to be the time of year that�s full of glitter and gladness, bells chiming, bulky Santas outside laden shops and bright sparkling days. Glitter may be there in shops and hotels but not in our hearts, not at all. Gladness may come later when the spirit of the Christmas season catches us in its thrall. We will have church bells ringing out soon enough and even now Christmas carols are lustily sung. The hearts of us Ordinaries, however, are mired in misery. more..

Dec 15 (FT) PublicFinance.lk has announced the launch of its latest research brief Backwards in blacklisting: Gaps in SL�s procurement framework enable corruption. This report identifies two critical gaps within SL�s public procurement system, particularly the inadequacies in blacklisting mechanisms against corruption. It also shows how backward Sri Lanka is compared to other South Asian countries in this respect. PublicFinance.lk which is part of Verite research, more..

Dec 15 (DN) After a pause lasting five years, Sri Lanka Gymnastic Association preparing to bring back the thrill with the Junior National Gymnastic Championship, scheduled for Dec 17 and 18. The event is set to take place at two venues, Torrington Indoor Stadium and the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium. The absence of the National Junior Gymnastic Championship since 2018 was attributed to power struggles among the previous gymnastic association officials. more..

Dec 15 (CT) Backed by record high taxes and utility rates, Govt's face value money printing (FVMP) debt recorded its fourth highest year on year (YoY) fall on Wednesday, declining by at least Rs 3,011,608.11 million (Rs 3.0116 trillion/50.12%) to Rs 2,996,609.63 million (Rs 2.9966 trillion/50.053%), thereby sharply reducing demand pull inflationary pressure. The previous fourth highest YoY fall in GoSL�s FVMP debt was recorded last Friday with a value of Rs 2.9878 trillion, more..

Dec 15 (TM) A future JVP led NPP Govt will look into the best interests of the people when negotiating with the IMF according to a transparent programme, said NPP MP Dr. Harini Amarasuriya. Speaking to The Daily Morning following the Budget being passed by the majority of MPs, Dr. Amarasuriya said that many monetary policies that are to be implemented following the Budget would contract the country�s economy despite more..

Dec 15 (CT) At least 80% of the annual deaths in SL are due to Non-communicable Disead-long-overdue-elections/more..

Dec 15 (CT) At least 80% of the annual deaths in SL are due to Non-communicable Diseases (NCD) and their complications, Ministry of Health revealed. Releasing statistics during the inauguration of the new Physical Wellness Unit (PWU) in the Health Ministry, a Senior Spokesman said that 15% of the population under the age of 35 suffered from diabetes while 35% from high blood pressure. Survey data in 2021-2022 has made it clear that the main cause for the interest in physical health. more..

Dec 15 (FT) Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the BOI recently concluded a series of meetings and fact-finding visits to BOI zones to seek new opportunities for fruitful long-term bilateral relationships. The NetZero commitment of the nations and industries and sustainable strategic planning of the BOI has paved the way to develop its zone�s management to attract green and digital FDIs to the country as it is evident that SL needs world-class collaborators to reach these more..

Dec 15 (EN) Sri Lanka�s Constitutional Council is making rules to select and appoint commissioners to CIABOC and IMF report said. Sri Lanka has �committed to ambitious governance reforms based on key recommendations from the Governance Diagnostic (GD) report to help restore and sustain economic, social and political stability,� an IMF report said. �A govt action plan will inform next steps in the implementation of recommendations.� The reports said considering the limitation of approved more..

Dec 15 (Island) Former TNA MP Suresh Premachandran has demanded to know who represented SL at talks in Kathmandu, Nepal in April this year, which led to the so-called Himalaya Declaration jointly prepared by the Sangha for a Better SL and the Global Tamil Forum (GTF). It was presented to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena on 12 Dec., in Parliament. Premachandran has questioned the validity of the GTF�s initiative. more..

Dec 15 (DM) The minority allies of SJB - Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) - remain disappointed after its leader Sajith Premadasa said in Parliament that he would not patch up with President Ranil Wickremesinghe in view of future elections, an informed source said. These two allies backed by some SJB MPs have tried hard to form an alliance between the SJB and the United National Party (UNP) led by the Prez to face the elections pending next year. more..

Dec 15 (CT) The doctors, at the National Eye Hospital in Colombo, called off their token strike that was initiated yesterday morning. Senior spokesman of the Health Ministry said the strike had been called off following the Health Ministry Secretary�s intervention. National Eye Hospital doctors, headed by the GMOA branch union, on Wednesday declared a strike in protest against the failure by authorities to so far take action regarding the misconduct of the Administrative Officer more..

Dec 15 (CT) Four categories of medicinal drugs, falsely portrayed as imported from India and lacking registration with NMRA, have been identified, with no disclosed information about their actual manufacturing location, medical trade unions alleged. Accordingly, it has been revealed that the medicinal drugs, which were currently being used in hospitals, had been supplied to the State Health Service by the supplier involved in more..

Dec 15 (FT) Any rational resident of SL will take the time to assess the potential increase in personal tax obligations beginning on 1 Jan, 2024. There will be a significant escalation in both direct and indirect tax liabilities following this date. I have done this exercise, and the results are startling. On an aggregate, the state will be taking 30% of my earnings each month. This is in several components. On my primary earnings I would be paying 14% as tax. I am also in the highest tax bracket more..

Dec 15 (FT) IMF Executive Board after much speculation completed the first review under the 48-month EFF with SL, providing the country with access to SDR 254 million (about $ 337 million). This brings the total IMF financial support disbursed so far to SDR 508 million (about $ 670 million) out of the total amount of SDR 2.286 billion (about $ 3 billion). IMF program according to an IMF statement will continue to support SL�s efforts to restore macroeconomic stability more..

Dec 15 (FT) SL born film producer and travel and tourism enthusiast Jason Rajasinghe bagged his first Emmy award for his work on Season 1 of Uniquely Wisconsin Farm to Table Pizzas at the 65th Annual Chicago/Midwest Emmy Awards held recently in the USA. The category was Outstanding Achievement for Lifestyle � Official Videographer for Season 1, Episode �Farm to table pizzas: The little red barn� with the media company Discover Mediaworks for their new show Uniquely Wisconsin more..

Dec 15 (EN) Ministry of Fisheries said it plans to revise the fisheries act after consultation with stakeholders and field experts. �A collaborative approach is taken to seek expert opinions and improve the draft of the new amended Act on Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda said on Wednesday (12). He also called for support from domestic and foreign private investments to further boost the marine industry. more..

Dec 15 (FT) Readers have evinced a lot of interest in the contents of the first part of this article published last week. This article�s focus on the fraudulent attempt to promote an impostor as Thuvaraka the daughter of LTTE leader Veluppillai Prabhakaran has evoked much response from readers. The feedback I have been getting is basically of two types. The first kind of response is from readers who were unaware or knew more..

Dec 15 (DM) The reason behind the increase in egg prices in the local market is due to the collection and stocking of eggs for use in bakery and biscuits production targeting the Christmas season, the All Island Egg Producers' Association (AIEPA) said. AIEPA treasurer Wijeya Alwis said that at least 20% of the chickens from every poultry farm have died due to the current rainy weather and therefore egg production has decreased. "Many large-scale and small-scale bakeries and biscuit companies more..

Dec 15 (AD) Lanka Sathosa, on Friday announced the price reduction of 10 commodities. The relevant price reduction will be in effect from 15 to 31 Dec, in view of the festive season. Meanwhile, Lanka Sathosa also reported that eggs, sugar and onions will be sold at Rs. 35 (each), Rs. 275 (per kg) and Rs. 400 (per kg), respectively, throughout the festive season. This price slash comes against a backdrop where egg vendors have refused to sell eggs below Rs. 55, and the prices of onions, too, more..

Dec 15 (AD) The Court of Appeal has terminated consideration of the petition filed against the gazette notification issued by former Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe to appoint an interim committee for SLC. President of the national cricket governing body Shammi Silva had put forward the petition. However, the judge bench has decided to allow the petitioners to reconvene their application if a legal need that is deemed reasonable more..

Dec 15 (EN) Amidst global demand for the king coconut grown in Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Agriculture and Plantation Industries is now taking steps to cultivate it as an export crop. �There is demand in the United Arab Emirates for king coconut from Sri Lanka. 200 containers of king coconuts are exported to the country a month,� Minister of Agriculture, Mahinda Amaraweera has said. A king coconut from SL sells for the equivalent of 2,500 rupees in the UAE coastal regions, more..

Dec 15 (ET) TN Chief Minister M K Stalin requested the Centre on Thursday to immediately take up through appropriate diplomatic channels the apprehension of fishermen from the state with SL and secure the release of 45 fishermen and 138 boats. Expressing a deep sense of anguish on yet another incident of apprehension of six Indian fishermen by the SL Navy on Dec 13, he said this was the third such occurrence in a week. "Six fishermen from Jegathapattinam fishing more..