by Neville Ladduwahetty What Sri Lanka has achieved since it declared itself insolvent is hailed by some with much optimism. The “relative stability” currently experienced is presented by the Governor of the Central Bank “as the outcome of a united effort from the outset” (The Island, December 26, 2023). The focus of that collaborative effort […]

Turmoil in China’s housing market, coupled with weak consumer sentiment, is weighing on the nation’s economy. Once the country’s largest property developer, Evergrande is now facing a lawsuit that may end with its liquidation, while Dalian Wanda Group, China’s largest mall

by Sivamohan Sumathy And I wish to speak of a poet here. Kurinjith Thennavan is an auto-didact. He did not learn to become a writer in our schools or university. He is a worker. He was shut out of our free education mandate even as he and others like him were enabling it. He was […]

Today, the collective misery we experience as a society has nothing positive to show for the promotion of the so-called ‘positive thinking’, which encourages us to rise individually, and not collectively as people. Positive thinkers, who are dime a dozen, flourish in market-oriented, consumerist societies where ill-mannered rulers and their business cronies feed on millions […]

The strained balance sheets of the household and the corporate sectors in the backdrop of the severe economic crisis which resulted in an erosion of real income levels amid elevated price levels, hindered the debt repayment capacities of households and corporates, the Central Bank said in its Financial Stability Review for the Year 2023. Households […]

The banking sector has recovered less than 0.5% of total loans with the help of Parate execution, the governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe said on Friday (29) at a press conference in Colombo. Dr. Weerasinghe said that a previous Supreme Court decision had prevented banks from using Parate laws […]

by Dr Upul Wijayawardhana Reading “From heyday to ‘hay day’”, the hard-hitting editorial laced with sarcasm (The Island, 18 December) and “Declining power and challenges before SLPP” by Shamindra Ferdinando in the Midweek Review of 20th December, I began wondering whether the recently concluded SLPP convention was the final flicker before the flame was extinguished […...

Wijeyadasa pushes for suspension of Parate executions: ‘Country paying heavy price for not having proper tax regime, favourable treatment to some’ By Shamindra Ferdinando Justice, Prisons Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, PC, has assured the local business community, troubled by parate executions, that laws will be brought in to regulate the practice. The [̷...

Banks exercise their legally-enshrined right to Parate Execution as a last resort and the overarching objective is the protection of depositors’ funds that have been lent to borrowers, the Sri Lanka Banks Association (SLBA) has said in a statement to the media. Responding to what it termed as lobbying by a group of defaulting borrowers […]

The Inland Revenue Department yesterday (21) issued the list of goods and services that would be exempted from the enhanced Value Added Tax (VAT) regime that comes into effect from 01 January 2024. The list of items included Wheat and wheat flour; infant milk powder; Pharmaceutical Products and Drugs (other than cosmetics) whose end use […]

The SJB has cautioned the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government against counting loans received from the IMF, World Bank and ADB as external buffers as they have to be paid back. SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva said loans secured from whatever sources weren’t earned reserves. The former UNP State Minister and economist said so when we sought […]

The World Bank has released 250 million U.S. dollars as the second tranche of the Resilience, Stability and Economic Turnaround (RESET) Development Policy Operation (DPO), the international lender said in a statement on Wednesday (20). In June, the World Bank announced 500 million dollars for the RESET Development Policy Operation, which supports reforms that improve […]

In actual fact the foundation for the current economic chaos was laid under the Yahapalana rule when they borrowed as much as USD 12 billion from the international bond market, at high interest rates, with them not even undertaking any developmental works, like the Rajapaksas, or, for that matter, any worthwhile economic activity. We certainly […]

[An article based on the Keynote Address delivered by Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, recently at the Annual Research Symposium 2023 of the University of Colombo] Introduction Inflation affects every aspect of our lives; it is a force that shapes our purchasing power, influences our financial decisions, and […]

… explains how Parliament enacted harmful laws By Shamindra Ferdinando Veteran lawyer Kalyananda Thiranagama said that the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peremuna (SLPP) should be held responsible for backing President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s economic strategy meant to privatise the remaining state enterprises. Addressing a public gathering in Colombo, the liberal civil society activist emphasised that ...