SL’s International Bond prices fall on news that Zambia has suffered a major setback in its debt restructuring efforts due to objections from Official Creditors, including China: disagreement mainly on whether the initial deal with a group of bond-holders in Oct’23 offers comparable debt relief from bilateral & commercial lenders: Zambia defaulted 3 years ago and its restructuring has been beset by delays, while SL defaulted one and a half years ago.
Trade Minister Nalin Fernando says Cabinet has decided that the Govt takes over stocks of sugar which were cleared from the Port before the sugar import tax was hiked from 25 cents to Rs.50 per kg: also says the Cabinet decided to distribute the sugar via Lanka Sathosa to selected markets to be sold at Rs.275 per kg.
Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera says the Cabinet has approved the proposed Electricity sector reforms and the new Bill will be gazetted & presented in Parliament for approval.
Women & Child Affairs Minister Geetha Kumarasinghe says a staggering number of 2,087 teenage mothers have been reported in SL.
Trade Minister Nalin Fernando says the Cabinet has consented to the import of 100,000 MT of rice due to the prevailing shortage of Keeri Samba rice in the market.
Health Ministry Medical Supplies Division Director Dr Kapila Wickramanayake, Assistant Director, Accountant-Supplies & Stock Controller arrested by the CID pertaining to the alleged importation of sub-standard Immunoglobulins: remanded until 29th November.
Management Faculty of the Sri Jayawardenepura University closed indefinitely, after a protest was staged at the university premises against the suspension of 6-students: suspension was due to an alleged incident of ragging, say the University authorities.
Fitch Ratings says the rising gold-backed lending among SL’s Non-Bank Financial Institutions sector is exposing financiers to higher collateral price risk & making them more susceptible to any adverse movements in gold prices: SL NBFIs have grown gold-backed loans rapidly in the past several years amid shrinking demand for their core “vehicle financing business”: gold-backed loan balances more than quadruple in the sector’s gross loans, up from 4% at the end of FY19 to 18% now.
Govt revenue in the first 8 months increases by 43.5%: but the budget deficit increases even higher, forcing the Govt to impose more taxes to deliver the IMF targets: IMF has already cited the “limited progress on the revenue front” & held back the release of the 2nd tranche.
Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera instructs the Tea Small Holdings Development Authority to promote a high-density tea cultivation system & use new technology to increase yields.
W.M.G. Kumaratunge, Director of the Presidential Secretariat Economic Development Stabilization Unit, revealed that as of last Friday, the Government had amassed Rs. 2,394 billion in revenue. With nearly 30 working days remaining in the year, the projection is to surpass the unprecedented Rs. 3,000 billion mark, setting an all-time record.
During a special post-Budget session organized by the State Ministry of Finance, Kumaratunge attributed this milestone to the adoption of new IMF guidelines, an expanded taxpayer base, enhanced operational efficiency, and rigorous government oversight.
Highlighting the revenue contributors, Kumaratunge noted that the Inland Revenue Department led the collection, accounting for Rs. 1,415 billion, constituting 84 percent of the total tax revenue. Sri Lanka Customs followed with Rs. 1,667 billion, and the Excise Department with Rs. 217 billion.
Expanding on revenue generation, he projected the government’s total tax and revenue collection to exceed Rs. 3,063 billion by year-end, aiming for even stronger revenue figures in the coming year.
In a related context, State Minister for Finance Shehan Semasinghe clarified that while individuals are required to initiate a tax file during specific transactions like vehicle registration, land transactions, or obtaining revenue licenses, not all will continuously pay taxes. The Inland Revenue Department will assess and exempt certain individuals from tax obligations.
Adding to the discussion, Dr. P.K.G. Harischandra, Director of the Central Bank Economic Research Department, forecasted a positive economic growth rate of approximately 1.6 percent for Sri Lanka starting from the third quarter of 2023. This follows a period of negative growth, around 6.8 percent, in the initial two quarters of the year.
Popular international vlogger ‘Nas Daily’ formalized a collaboration with Sri Lanka’s Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The renowned vlogger, currently visiting Sri Lanka at the invitation of the SLTPB, signed the agreement aimed at leveraging his platform to promote Sri Lanka’s tourism industry.
The Ministry of Tourism issued a statement emphasizing the strategic partnership with ‘Nas Daily’ as a means to enhance the visibility of Sri Lanka as a tourist destination.
Minister of Tourism Harin Fernando, speaking on ‘X’, confirmed the agreement and revealed plans for ‘Nas Daily’ to create three specialized videos showcasing Sri Lanka’s tourism offerings.
Nuseir Yassin, widely recognized as ‘Nas Daily’, is an Israeli-Palestinian-Kittitian vlogger renowned for his daily one-minute videos, amassing a significant following across Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram, with over 1,000 videos to his credit.
The Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce (FMSC) at Sri Jayawardenepura University has been temporarily shut down in response to student protests held near the Vice Chancellor’s office.
Senior Professor Pathmalal M. Manage, the university’s Vice Chancellor, confirmed that the closure was a result of demonstrations staged by students. The protests were triggered by the suspension of six students due to disciplinary matters, prompting a reaction from a group of students.
Showers or thundershowers will occur at several places in most provinces of the island after 01.00 p.m.Fairly heavy showers above 75 mm are likely at some places in Central, Sabaragamuwa, North-western and Uva provinces.Showers may occur at some places in Northern and Eastern provinces and in Hambantota district during the morning too.Misty conditions can be expected at some places in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central and Uva provinces during the morning.
The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
Colombo (LNW): The Agriculture Ministry has announced a subsidy of 40 litres of diesel per hectare for farmers who suffered crop damage in the last Yala season.
The fuel vouchers were distributed to eligible farmers in the Walawe zone, Hambantota, and Kurunegala districts, covering at least 65,000 acres of paddy affected by drought.
Minister Mahinda Amaraweera directed the Department of Agricultural Development to provide this subsidy to assist farmers in harvesting their paddy during the current Maha season.
The diesel, originally provided by the Chinese government for free distribution during the last Maha season, had a surplus of 2 million litres.
Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka experiences approximately one million hospital admissions and 12,000 deaths annually due to various accidents, Health Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana disclosed.
This substantial figure underscores the critical nature and urgency of the issue, as emphasised by the Minister, addressing the International Conference on Injury Prevention at the Waters Edge.
The Minister the alarming statistics, noting that the accidents lead to an average of 1,000 deaths per month or nearly 35 deaths daily. Traffic accidents alone contribute to around 3,000 annual fatalities, while suffocation, drowning, falls, poisoning, electrocution, burns, and animal attacks collectively result in thousands more deaths, he noted.
Individuals aged between 15-44 are particularly vulnerable to these accidents, with accidents ranking among the leading causes of fatalities, Pathirana emphasised.
Recognising the gravity of this trend, the Health Minister pointed out that immediate attention should be paid and action taken, focusing on addressing the social impacts.
Thereby, preventive measures should be implemented and remedial actions should be taken, with a focus on enhancing the collaboration of various sectors involved in managing these issues, Dr. Pathirana stressed.
The Minister expressed his full commitment to implementing effective policy actions to address this crisis.
Colombo (LNW): Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and Chairman of the Committee on Public Enterprises (CoPE) Prof. Ranjith Bandara engaged in a contentious exchange in Parliament, trading fresh allegations against each other.
Premadasa accused Prof. Bandara of impropriety, asserting that the Colombo Business School, owned by the professor, prepared corporate plans for state enterprises summoned before CoPE, charging them a fee. Specifically, he cited the Sri Lanka Vocational Training Authority as an example.
This allegation was in response to Bandara’s claim that CoPE would investigate fraud in the Central Cultural Fund and a land deal involving a prominent opposition MP.
Bandara asserted that funds from the Central Cultural Fund were spent without the approval of former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe during the ‘Good Governance’ government.
The Opposition Leader expressed apprehensions about Bandara overseeing a CoPE meeting regarding Sri Lanka Cricket, citing a potential conflict of interest.
Highlighting Bandara’s leadership role in a private campus that had provided services to SLC, Premadasa questioned the legality of individuals with such affiliations heading Parliamentary committees. He called for a transparent report detailing the transactions between SLC and Bandara.
In response to the allegations, Bandara stated he would resign if proven true.
The Ruling Party lawmaker also said that he denies sexual harassment allegations made by Opposition MP Hesha Withanage, declaring the accusation false and thereby requesting the Speaker to refer the matter to the Parliamentary Privileges Committee for discussion.
He pledged to resign if found guilty but insisted on consequences for Withanage if the allegation is proven to be untrue.
Colombo (LNW): The Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR) indicates a slight appreciation against the US Dollar today (20) in comparison to last week’s Friday, as per the official exchange rates by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL).
Accordingly, the buying price of the US Dollar has dropped to Rs. 322.79 from Rs. 322.83, and the selling price to Rs. 333.20 from Rs. 333.25.
However, the Sri Lankan Rupee indicates depreciation against several other foreign currencies, including Gulf currencies.
Colombo (LNW): Four senior officials from the Medical Supply Division have been arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) a short while ago, in connection with the procurement of substandard immunoglobulin injection vials.
The individuals apprehended include Dr. Kapila Wickramanayake, Director of the Medical Supply Division, Assistant Director Devasantha Solomon, Accountant (Supply) Neran Dhananjaya, and Stock Controller Sujith Kumara, confirmed the Police Media Spokesman.
