Mar 7 (FT) Young business leader and electronic media fame Rayynor Silva on Friday increased his stake in Sampath Bank to over 6% by picking up 20 million shares for Rs. 1 billion. As at 31 Dec 2022, Rayynor via his investment arm Phantom Investments, held 32.5 million shares or 2.84%. On Friday he bought 1.7% stake or 20 million shares at Rs. 54.50 per share. Seller was Phoenix Ventures, which held 25 million shares or 2%. Confirming the purchase, Rayynor said that the decision to more..

Mar 7 (FT) Commercial High Court, presided over by High Court Judge Pradeep Hettiarachchi, confirmed on 22 Feb that it had received evidence obtained for it by the Supreme Court of Singapore under the very first request for foreign judicial assistance in a civil matter made by the Commercial High Court (CHC) under the Hague Evidence Convention of 1970 to which SL and Singapore are both parties. This first request by the CHC for judicial assistance under the Hague Evidence Convention was made more..

Mar 7 (FT) Tourism industry has managed to rebound with earnings exceeding $ 330 million in tandem with the boost in arrivals in 2023. The industry hit by multiple challenges post-Easter Sunday was the most vulnerable to COVID-pandemic and then to the adverse publicity of political and economic crises ‒ but it has proven again its resilience with a remarkable resurgence. Tourism earnings in the first two months of more..

Mar 7 (CT) The first Test between World Test Champions NZ and SL is scheduled to get underway at the Hagley Oval, Christchurch on 9 March. The tourists played a warm up two-day game against a NZ XI, and at the end of the match SL captain Dimuth Karunaratne�s views regarding the impending two-Test series against the Black Caps. Karunaratne said that the short rubber against the New Zealanders would be an ideal opportunity for his men to qualify for the ICC World more..

Mar 7 (FT) The gold price has come down significantly, as a result of the rupees appreciation against the dollar, SL Gem and Jewellery Association said. A 24-karat gold sovereign which was at Rs. 185,000 last week has reduced by Rs. 14,500, whilst a 22-karat sovereign which was at Rs. 172,000 last week has come down by Rs. 15,000 - Rs. 17,000 at present. �The going rate for 24-karat sovereign is now at Rs. 170,500 and for 22-karat sovereign is at Rs. 157,500,� more..

Mar 7 (FT) Central Bank of SL (CBSL) on Friday declared it was ready for the $ 2.9 billion four-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) Program of the IMF having completed all due prior actions. �We have done all prior actions required and we stand ready for the IMF program,� CBSL Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe told journalists following the Monetary Policy Review meeting on Friday at which policy rates were increased by 1%. more..

Mar 7 (FT) Former Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy described new Central Bank Act as a win-win for all stakeholders, hence much welcomed. His comments follow economist Dr. Howard Nicholas raised concerns over too much independence to the monetary authority via the new CBSL Act, bill for which was gazetted by the Govt recently and is slated to be tabled in Parliament this month. �The elected Govt sets the inflation target which provides the framework/objective of more..

Mar 7 (DM) Windforce PLC has flagged further cost increases in the two wind power plants it is setting up in Mannar. In May, last year, the company informed the CSE that the total project cost of the 10MW+5MW wind power plants would amount to Rs.6.65 billion, due to the rupee devaluation and cost increase in local material and services. Last week, the company informed to the CSE that the cost would go up further to Rs.7.45 billion, due to a toppling of a crane on the project site. more..

Mar 7 (ST) The vociferous former head of Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL), and the current President of Negombo Football League, Ranjith Rodrigo, surprisingly struck his ally, the incumbent FFSL President J. Sri Ranga, for failing the sport, in the background of an ongoing ban from FIFA. Rodrigo, who supported Ranga at the FFSL elections held on Jan 14, now alleged Ranga of being self-centered and not standing up for football, considered in SL as the poor man�s game. more..

Mar 7 (FT) The Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers which was founded in London in the year 1911 and Royal Charter awarded in 1920, has conferred its Lifetime Chartered Shipbroker�s Medal to Aitken Spence Deputy Chairman Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake. Dr. Dissanayake pioneered Commercial Maritime Education in SL through the Institution�s branch in SL as Founder/Secretary/Chairman. He was appointed as the first non-British International President more..

Mar 7 (TM) The IUSF is to hold a protest in Colombo today based on several demands, including the conduct of the LG election as scheduled, the abolition of the PTA and Executive Presidency, taxing of the rich and providing relief to the people, and the release of university student union leaders and members who have been arrested and remanded for what the IUSF claims to be are unjust reasons. more..

Mar 7 (CT) A crucial discussion, between the Election Commission (EC) and the Finance Ministry Secretary, will take place today on holding of the LG Election 2023. A proposal on holding the election in several stages will be forwarded during this discussion. According to highly placed EC sources, the election will be held in stages according to the Finance Ministry�s ability to release the required funds. Therefore, the election would take place in different districts on different dates. more..

Mar 7 (Island) Opposition expected the Election Commission (EC) to go ahead with preparations for the Local Government polls in line with the Supreme Court directive to Finance Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana and Attorney General Sanjay Rajaratnam, PC, Prof. G.L. Peiris, MP, said. He emphasized that there couldn�t be any issue as the SC had prevented them from withholding funds allocated for LG elections. Declaring that EC couldn�t fail under any circumstances to act more..

Mar 7 (TM) The appointment of Sarath Ekanayake as the SLFP Acting General Secretary by SLFP Chairman, former Prez and incumbent MP Maithripala Sirisena has led to a controversy, with reports having come to light of an alleged conflict between Sirisena and the Party's General Secretary, Opposition MP Dayasiri Jayasekara, which has however, since been denied by Sirisena and the Party. Ekanayake was appointed by Sirisena as SLFP Acting General Secretary more..

Mar 7 (MFA) SL�s 6th Periodic Review under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) will be held on 8 and 9 March 2023 in Geneva. It is recalled that Sri Lanka acceded to the ICCPR on 11 June 1980. Currently, 173 countries have ratified the ICCPR. In addition to the implementation of the Covenant, all States Parties to the Covenant have undertaken a voluntary obligation to submit periodic reports to the Committee & participate in periodic reviews. more..

Mar 7 (TM) Responding to the recent recommendations made by the Human Rights Commission of SL (HRCSL) that the Northern people are agreeable to an internal mechanism provided that the Truth Commission comprises members of competency and integrity, Tamil political parties in the Northern Province stated yesterday that this does not fairly correspond to what the people in the North have been saying and more..

Mar 7 (AD) Police have arrested a couple residing in the Bandaragama area for allegedly sheltering wanted murder suspect, notoriously known as Booru Muna, who is currently evading arrest in relation to 13 murders including the shooting and killing of a shop owner in Hanwella. The arrested male suspect is an active serving member of the SL Navy. Wanted criminal Booru Moona, who is said to be involved in 13 murders including killing the owner of a shop in Hanwella on Dec 18, 2022, more..

Mar 7 (DM) At least eight police officers and two civilians were injured following a clash when residents at Aththanayala in Weeraketiya obstructed police from carrying out their duties. Police said a group of officers of the Weerakatiya Police had checked several people who were staying on the road in the Aththanayala while they were returning from a illicit liquor raid at Gonadeniya in Weeraketiya. An argument with police officers by a group of men during the search more..

Mar 7 (TM) Although Opposition political parties stated on 5 March in a letter to Election Commission (EC) that they do not see any reason for the EC to consult Secretary to the Treasury Mahinda Siriwardana or anyone else, now that the EC are bound to comply with the interim order issued by Supreme Court (SC), EC Chairman Nimal Punchihewa said that he will meet Siriwardana today (7) since the consultation is important as more..

Mar 7 (Island) Dissident SLPP MP Weerasumana Weerasinghe alleges that Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe is behaving like a dictator in and outside Parliament. Matara District MP said that the sabotaging of the scheduled LG polls was just one glaring example of Wickremesinghe�s authoritarian tendencies. Responding to The Island queries, Weerasinghe said Wickremesinghe seemed to have forgotten he was elected by Parliament to complete the remainder of Prez Rajapaksa�s 5-yr term. more..

Mar 7 (FT) While Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe (RW), his cabinet of ministers and the Governor of CBSL are awaiting anxiously to the early release of IMF�s $ 2.9 billion Extended Funding Facility (EFF), in spite of China�s reluctance to offer financing assurance on SL�s debt, the question remains whether that facility and in consequence of it an expected inflow of another $ 5 billion or so from the World Bank, ADB and other sources would be sufficient to cure the country�s systemic malaise. more..

Mar 7 (AD) A decision on whether or not the writ petition filed by former Prez Maithripala Sirisena, pertaining to the personal complaint filed against him over the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, will be taken up for hearing in court has been fixed to be announced on 14 March. The relevant order was issued this morning by an Appellate Court bench comprising of Court of Appeal President Justice Nissanka Karunaratne and Justice A. Marikkar. On a previous occasion when the facts pertaining more..

Mar 7 (DM) There are no plans to increase the prices of bakery items other than decreasing them, and it was further said that the price of a loaf of bread is expected to be reduced to 100 rupees, All Ceylon Bakery Owners' Association (ACBOA) chairman N.K. Jayawardena said. He said that the support of the government is expected for this and that the bakery industry, which is currently stalled, can be restored only if the prices of bakery products including bread buns are reduced. more..

Mar 7 (EN) Election Commission has recommended April 25 as the most suitable date for the LG elections that were originally scheduled to be held on March 9. Commission said that district secretaries who serve as returning officers have been instructed to announce April 25 as the new election date. Statement attributed the delay in the LG polls to �unexpected and unavoidable circumstances relating to more..

Mar 7 (FT) Ministry of Finance has released the new central banking bill, drafted by the Central Bank and to be presented to Parliament as a Gazette notification for the information of the public. This is the third time that a new central banking bill has been released by the Ministry of Finance during the last two decades. Ironically, on all these occasions it was Ranil Wickremesinghe who was the head of the state, on the first two occasions as the PM and, on this third occasion, as the Prez. more..

Mar 7 (EN) SL will present its deal with the IMF once agreement has been reached, after which the legislature can either accept it or propose an alternative, Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe said. �Once the IMF agreement is reached, the agreement would be tabled in Parliament. I request the House to accept it or give an alternative,� he said in a special statement made to parliament on Tuesday March 07. Wickremesinghe announced that Sri Lanka had signed a letter of intent on the IMF deal more..

Mar 7 (EN) Sri Lanka expects to raise an ambitious $4.5 billion from selling both profitable and loss-making state-owned enterprises, two officials said, as the crisis-hit nation is desperately looking for foreign inflows to come out of an unprecedented economic crisis. �The list includes Sri Lanka Telecom, Litro Gas, Sri Lankan Catering, Airport Ground handling, Hilton Hotel, and many others,� one source said. more..

Mar 7 (CT) Around Rs 500 million in income loss has been incurred by the private bus sector, due to the anti-Govt protests held in the Western Province since Jan 2023, LPBOA Chairman Gemunu Wijeratne claimed. He said when there is a protest, a they lose around Rs 10 million daily. �Due to protests, we had to reduce the daily bus trips and a large volume of fuel was wasted on the road waiting in traffic. Including this fuel wastage, the total loss is closer to Rs 10 million per day more..

Mar 7 (AD) Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesting university students near the Uni of Colombo, today. The protest march has been organized by the IUSF based on several demands, including the conduct of LG election as scheduled, abolition of PTA and Executive Presidency, taxing of the rich and providing relief to the people, and the release of uni student union leaders and members who have been arrested and remanded for what the IUSF claims to be are unjust reasons. more..

Mar 7 (EN) SL has signed a Letter of Intent covering the deal with the IMF to be submitted to its Executive Board for approval, Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament. SL got a second letter from China yesterday and the same night the letter of intent was signed and sent to the IMF for approval, he said. �We expect Board Approval in the third or fourth week of March,� Prez Wickremesinghe said. The approval of the IMF deal will also allow the World Bank and ADB to give loans, he said. more..

Mar 7 (DN) An 80-year-old woman has won first place in the 100 metres race at the Alumni Sports Day at Victoria College, Jaffna beating several competitors in their forties and fifties. The 100 metres final saw six women under 45 years of age and four women under 55 years taking part and ultimately the winner was the oldest competitor in the race. The winner 80-year-old Muttani Punitawathi who hails from Jaffna is a retired govt clerk. In addition to the prize that was more..

Mar 7 (ORF) The reported Indian proposal for licensed fishing for southern TN fisher-folks in SL waters may have come to a naught following stiff resistance from the nation�s Tamil fishers in the Northern Province, backed by their politicians, starting with MPs cutting across party-lines. This followed a meeting of fishers from the two countries, at Kachchativu islet during the annual St Anthony�s Church feast on 3-4 March, more..

Mar 7 (TM) A fire that broke out at a furniture showroom in Kotagala Town, Hatton left three shops belonging to the same showroom completely destroyed. The fire had broken out on the ground floor of the showroom at around 10 p.m. on Sunday night, while the shop owner and his wife were on the upper floor of the shop. The fire was later brought under control by traders of Kotagala Town together with officers of the Dimbula Pathana Police, troops of Kotagala army camp & plantation workers. more..

Mar 7 (DM) Heated arguments erupted in Parliament over the appointment of UNP MP Wajira Abeywardhane as the acting Chairman of the Committee on Public Finance. SJB MP Lakshman Kiriella objected to Abeywardene�s appointment saying it is against Standing Orders. �The Acting Chairman should also be from the opposition as per the standing orders. The speaker should not allow this violation,� he said. MP Nimal Lanza said opposition Member Champika Ranawaka more..

Mar 7 (Reuters) SL expects final approval from the IMF for a $2.9 billion loan in the third or fourth week of this month, the president said on Tuesday, adding that new support from China means all funding requirements had been met. The country of 22 million people is struggling with its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948. Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament there were signs the economy more..