- President’s office announces that President Ranil Wickremesinghe is to appoint a Committee chaired by a retired Supreme Court Judge to inquire into the allegations made by UK’s Channel 4 on the Easter Sunday bombings: also says Govt will appoint a Parliamentary Select Committee to investigate the allegation levelled by a former Attorney General that there is a “mastermind” behind the Easter attack.
- Ceylon Chamber of Commerce asks the Govt to reconsider the S-VAT abolition: analysts point out that it was the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce that made vociferous representations for the increase of taxes, and the present request is a complete turnaround from its previous stand.
- President Ranil Wickremasinghe says plans have been made to establish the 1st Non-Govt Medical Faculty in Sri Lanka in order to expand medical education opportunities and find solutions to the challenges posed by the shortage of doctors: highlights the allocation of the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) to the Moratuwa University.
- CB Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe says the EPF Bond Portfolio “opportunity loss” will be only 4% if it participates in the Domestic Debt Optimisation: warns the “opportunity loss” to the Bond Portfolio will increase to 21% due to the higher tax rate of 30% as per the latest amendment to the Inland Revenue Bill: Trade Union leaders and representatives dismiss these claims as being blatantly false.
- Head of the State-Owned Enterprise Restructuring Unit of the Ministry of Finance Suresh Shah says “Expressions of Interest” will be called from potential investors for the divestment of the Treasury’s stake in Hotel Developers Lanka Ltd. (Hilton, Colombo) & Canwill Holdings (Pvt) Ltd. (Grand Hyatt, Colombo) by the end of this month: Shah is a former Director of Carsons & Lion Brewery and has also been a strong advocate of the sovereign debt default.
- SLPP rebel MP and member of the “Nidahasa” group Dr Nalaka Godahewa express alarm about the deepening debt crisis: highlights the critical need for comprehensive reform: says that instead of making progress towards escaping the debt trap, the nation appears to be sinking further into it.
- Govt sources say a mini reshuffle of Cabinet and State Ministers will take place soon and that the reshuffle will see some of the Ministers and State Ministers having disputes being changed, and some of the Ministers who have failed to achieve targets, being shifted.
- Securities & Exchange Commission says Listed Companies will come under tighter Corporate Governance rules which are in line with international standards, from October 2023: also says high standards of Corporate Governance with accountability and transparency are critical to building investor confidence in the capital market and is therefore a priority on the SEC’s regulatory agenda.
- Information & Communication Technology Agency confirms a severe data loss incident affecting all Govt offices using the “gov.lk” email domain, including the Cabinet Office, due to a large-scale ransomware attack between May 17 and August 26, 2023.
- St. Peter’s College beat Isipathana College 25-16 to win the Schools Rugby President’s Trophy Knock-out Tournament: accordingly, St. Peter’s emerges as undisputed Champions of both the League Championship as well as the Knock-out Championship.
