By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): Japanese Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Komura Masahiro stated that his country would continue to support Sri Lanka’s economic recovery process and lauded the government for stabilizing the economy during a short span of time and making further progress.

He has also expressed confidence that structural reforms undertaken by the government would improve the conducive atmosphere for foreign investments.

During his discussion with Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at the Temple Trees on (Oct 10), the Japanese Vice-Minister said that his visit to Sri Lanka to attend the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) has given him an opportunity to interact with Sri Lankan leadership regarding bilateral cooperation.

He assured fullest support to Sri Lanka at IORA, during its 2-year tenure as Chairman.

The Prime Minister, referring to the fact that Sri Lanka is situated at strategic juncture along the sea lanes of the Indian Ocean and an important partner in realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific policy, emphasized the importance of close cooperation between the two countries with common principles.

Expressing deep concern over escalation of conflict in Gaza Stripe, he said that the Covid-19 pandemic had resulted in global economic downturn and the world, especially the developing countries could not face another such disaster over a military conflict.

Furthermore, he urged the two sides involved in the conflict to cease violence immediately, the PM’s Office said in a statement.

The Prime Minister thanked the Japanese Vice-Minister for the support extended to Sri Lanka for the debt restructuring process and assured that Sri Lanka is committed to a transparent and comparable debt restructuring process.

Masahiro commended Sri Lanka’s efforts in implementing the policy making process in accordance with the agreement with the IMF, and expressed his hope that Sri Lanka will bring itself back on track for development as soon as possible.

Japan, one of Sri Lanka’s main creditors, will back the South Asian nation as it seeks to restructure about $30 billion of its foreign debt and find a way out of a crippling economic crisis.

“Japan stands by Sri Lanka in support of the debt restructuring negotiation process so that Sri Lanka can reach the final agreement with the IMF,” he said.

Japan holds around $3.5 billion of Sri Lanka’s total bilateral debt of about $10 billion, amounting to 4.4% of the island’s GDP, according to government and IMF data.

“Japan intends to play a constructive role with other creditor countries, including China and India.”

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): The pharmaceutical Sector has been identified as one of the promising and emerging sectors in Sri Lanka is set to enter into the East Asian Market with Export Development Board (EDB) facilitation.

EDB will continue facilitating the pharmaceutical industry to create more avenues in the international market in order to enhance the visibility of the industry globally whilst establishing an enabling environment locally to facilitate the manufacturers.

Sri Lanka pharmaceutical Sector has been earmarked by the EDB not only as an import substitution industry but also an export oriented industry which could earn and save foreign currency.

Sri Lanka Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (SLPMA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Cambodia Pharmaceutical Distributor Association (CPDA).

The MOU sigining ceremony was held at the seminar programme of the 6th Phar- Med Cambodia 2 exhibition on 20th September 2023 with the coordination of EDB.

Considering the importance of strengthening the Pharmaceutical industry and increasing the sector’s contribution to the economy, EDB has organized a first-ever Sri Lanka Pharmaceutical presence at the 6th Phar- Med Cambodia 2023 held from 20th to 22nd September 2023 Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

This initiative has been launched with the help of the Sri Lanka Embassy in Thailand and Sri Lanka Embassy in Vietnam

Cambodia is a country which is spending more on healthcare with economic development. Both the government and the development partners from all over the world are committed for improving health system.

Cambodia has a potential economic gateway to the pharmaceutical market of over fifteen million consumers. Cambodia is a dynamic crossroad linking Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.

“Phar- Med 2023” Cambodia is one of the established exhibitions of the healthcare industry in Cambodia with 60+ exhibitors, showcasing the latest and fast-moving products of leading multinational and regional companies.\

These companies are dealing with pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals , Drug Materials, Medical Devices & Equipment, Laboratory equipment and devices.

This annual exhibition provides a powerful platform to connect across the globe, market verticals including contract manufacturing opportunities, gain industry insights and technical innovations.

Sri Lanka’s business delegation to 6th Par- Med 2023 , comprised three (03) Sri Lankan pharmaceutical companies; M/s Gammainterpharm (Private) Limited, M/s Astron Limited, M/s Emergen Life Sciences (Private) Limited .

The country pavilion of Sri Lanka showcased many pharmaceutical finished formulations such as antibiotics, vitamins, nutraceuticals and respiratory care products etc. with the guidance of EDB.

The companies that participated at the 6th Phar Med Exhibition stated that this show has provided an excellent platform for Sri Lankan pharmaceutical manufacturers to initiate business contacts with various foreign distributors and to explore the new trends available in the international market.

This year, more than 2,000 visitors from pharmaceutical distributors, hospitals and retailer pharmacies have visited the exhibition. Further, more than 60 exhibitors from Germany, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Japan etc. also participated in the exhibition.

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says despite early signs of stabilization, a full recovery is not yet assured.

Daniel Leigh, a senior official in the International Monetary Fund’s research department said that the people of Sri Lanka have shown remarkable resilience.

“In the face of enormous challenges, Sri Lanka has made commendable progress in implementing difficult but much‑needed reforms.

And these reforms are already bearing fruit, as the economy is showing tentative signs of stabilization.

Inflation is down from a peak of about 70 percent a year ago, in September 2022, down to below 2 percent in September 2023. Gross international reserves have increased. And shortages of essentials have eased,” he said.

Daniel Leigh also said that despite early signs of the stabilization, a full recovery is not yet assured

Meanwhile Finance State Minister Shehan Semasinghe, who is in Morocco to attend the IMF-World Bank 2023 Annual Meetings, has held bilateral talks with senior officials of several global organizations.

In a meeting with Patricia Scotland, the Secretary General of the Commonwealth Secretariat, Semasinghe discussed matters of mutual interest including frameworks for debt management, anti-corruption and government performance management.

The state minister has also had a productive dialogue with Martin Raiser, the World Bank’s Vice President for the South Asia Region.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Semasinghe said the meeting focused on the World Bank-supported reforms carried out by Sri Lanka.

Raiser has expressed the World Bank’s fullest commitment to assisting Sri Lanka. The two sides have also discussed the enhancement of support in modernizing agricultural and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sectors, among other areas of ongoing collaboration.

On Monday (Oct. 09), Semasinghe engaged in a discussion with World Bank’s Executive Director, Parameswaran Iyer about the World Bank-supported programs for Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan side has expressed its gratitude for the support provided by the World Bank to the economic stability and the success of the island’s reform efforts.

Semasinghe also met with the IMD’s Executive Director, K. Subramaniam to discuss the progress of the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Sri Lanka and the current economic conditions including the challenges and opportunities faced by the island’s economy.

The annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Word Bank are taking place from October 09-15 in Marrakech, Morocco, where a recent nearby earthquake in September killed more than 2,900 people.

The Boards of Governors of the IMF and World Bank Group (WBG) normally meet once a year to discuss the work of their respective institutions.

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): The Ceylon Electricity Board’s (CEB) cash flow operation is not sufficient to cover its interest obligations this year, despite a 150 percent tariff increase, Fitch Ratings announced yesterday

“This is due to the reduced contribution from low-cost hydro power generation during the year, which compelled CEB to purchase emergency power at higher costs to meet the shortfall,” the rating agency said in a rating report.

“At the same time, energy demand has risen with the gradual recovery of economic activity. CEB has requested an off-cycle tariff hike to cover its increased costs, but it is yet to be approved,” it added.

Fitch Ratings has upgraded CEB’s National Long-Term Rating and the rating on CEB’s senior unsecured debentures to ‘BB+(lka)’, from ‘B(lka)’ with a Stable Outlook.

The upgrade follows the 28 September 2023 upgrade of the Sri Lankan sovereign’s Long-Term Local-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘CCC-’, from ‘Restricted Default (RD)’.

“CEB’s ratings are equalized with that of its parent, the Sri Lankan sovereign, based on our assessment of a ‘Very Strong’ likelihood of state support under our Government-Related Entities (GRE) Rating Criteria,” Fitch Ratings said.

CEB is Sri Lanka’s monopoly electricity transmitter and distributor and accounts for around 75 percent of the country’s power generation. CEB had Rs.288 billion of debt as at end-June 2023, after the government took over almost Rs.200 billion of projects loans in 2022.

Fitch expects CEB to generate negative free cash flow in the medium term, despite the cost-reflective tariff mechanism, and to depend on the state for expansion and refinancing.

As of end-August 2023, CEB owed Rs.212 billion (June 2023: Rs.208 billion) to state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), IPPs and non-conventional renewable energy (NCRE) generators.

The government plans to take over 70 percent of the dues to CPC and the IPPs by end-2023 to ease the burden on CEB. Dues to NCREs stand at 10-11 months at present, and CEB plans to settle them gradually with operating cash flow.

“CEB’s payables may rise in the short-term if the proposed off-cycle tariff hike is not approved,” Fitch noted.

The government plans to unbundle CEB’s generation, transmission and distribution assets across 14 companies established under the Companies Act, as part of Sri Lanka’s energy sector reforms.

Fitch said the bill proposing the restructuring will be presented to parliament in October 2023 for approval.

“We expect the unbundling to provide CEB with autonomy and flexibility, while improving its efficiency and competitiveness.

However, it is too early to ascertain how the restructuring will affect CEB’s credit profile, as the plan’s details are still vague,” it added.