Colombo (LNW): The Sri Lanka Rupee (LKR) today (11) indicates appreciation against the US Dollar at leading commercial banks in the country, compared to last week’s Friday.
Accordingly, Peoples Bank reveals that the buying price of the US Dollar has dropped to Rs. 313.85 from last week’s Rs. 314.34, and the selling price to Rs. 328.60 from Rs. 329.11.
At Commercial Bank, the buying price of the US Dollar has dropped to Rs. 314.24 from last week’s Rs. 314.73, and the selling price to Rs. 325.50 from Rs. 326.
At Sampath Bank, the buying and selling prices of the US Dollar remain steady at Rs. 317 and Rs. 327, respectively.
Colombo (LNW): Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is funding the cabinet appointed senior Lead advisor’s assignment as the Head of Power Sector Reform Secretariat, to provide Strategies to coordinate activities pertaining to the implementation of the reform process of the Power Sector.
This Senior Lead advisor’s assignment is funded by JICA, as a grant in JICA’s technical cooperation.
In March 2023, the IMF Extended Fund Facility program (IMF program) was approved, and reform of state-owned enterprises, including the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), is one of the top prioritized issues in the IMF program.
Sri Lanka’s Power Sector Reforms Secretariat (PSRS) is now functioning at the power and energy ministry to kick start Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) restructuring process next month.
All CEB institutions will be unbundled instead of running all the related entities under one institution in accordance with these structural reforms.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank (WB), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) were the other international agencies stepped into support the CEB restructuring process.
Dr. Pradeep Perera an electrical engineer by profession and a former Energy Specialist at the ADB has already been appointed by JICA as its consultant to assist the PSRS. He is the head of the secretariat.
In this context, the government has embarked on power sector reform process to improve efficiency, consumer service, enhance migration to renewable energy and mobilization of private investments to the sector.
JICA as a long-term development partner and funding agency to the power sector is committed to supporting the power sector reforms in Sri Lanka, and this Technical Cooperation will finance the consulting services on the Power Sector Reforms by the Senior Lead advisor for the MOPE (Ministry of Power and Energy).
The said consulting service will not be financed out of the proceeds of the loan facility, and this will be compensated as one of JICA’s Technical Cooperation Projects (TCP) “Grant” where there is no cost to the Government or citizens of Sri Lanka.
The appointed Senior Lead advisor who is having more than 25 years’ experience in number of Asian countries as a senior expert in Asian Development Bank and the World Bank group is expected to play a leading role in the Power Sector Reforms.
These reforms included providing strategic direction to the reform process, coordinating the technical assistance from development agencies, and offering inputs pertaining to technical, energy policy and regulation issues and undertaking stakeholder consultations.
Colombo (LNW): Several ministerial portfolios are likely to be reshuffled within this months, sources closer to the government disclosed.
The reshuffle said to be taking place in light of President Wickremesinghe’s preparations to travel overseas soon will see some of the government Ministers and State Ministers having disputes being changed, whilst some of them who have failed to achieve their designated targets being shifted, according to sources.
Although the final decision is yet to be made in this regard, discussions are already underway within those political parties affiliated with the Ruling Party, they added.
Colombo (LNW): A minor earthquake of 4.65 magnitude in the Richter Scale has been reported in the seas about 300 kilometres North-East of Batticaloa this (11) morning, the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau said.
The earthquake occurred at around 1.30 am in the morning, according to the Bureau.
Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka’s businesses perform below expectations up to now this year as there was a significant anxiety on economic resurgence among them.
This was largely attributable to the fact that businesses started to show signs of slow recovery, amidst the economic crisis in the first half of this year amidst high interest rates until recently.
Several CEOs indicate that their businesses performed up to some expectations with the highest optimistic outlook signifying that some industries weathered the storm and performed well, despite a challenging macro environment in 2023 up to now.
Pioneering business magazine LMD reported, in its September edition: “Once again, the one-of-kind LMD-NielsenIQ Business Confidence Index (BCI) survey highlights the steep decline in economic sentiment in business circles.”
NielsenIQ’s Market Leader – Sri Lanka Adrian Hakel added: “A large majority of businesspeople feel there is still no conducive environment for investment while the economic climate is poor.”
He explained: “Inflation and taxes are highlighted as the most pressing issues for doing business in the current context, followed by interest rates and the financial instability of both businesses and consumers.”
In the most recent BCI survey, the percentage of businesspeople expressing optimism about the economy ‘improving’ in the next 12 months dropped by 13% (down to 13% in August, from 26% in the preceding month).
“A quarter (25%) envision the economy remaining steady although expectations of a turnaround were short-lived: a notable 62% of poll participants now anticipate a decline – that’s a 17% uptick from July,” LMD noted.
The magazine also reported that: “The lack of optimism about sales volumes in the 12 months ahead continues with one-in-three (31%) expecting an ‘improvement’ as opposed to the 40% recorded in July.”
LMD’s report also revealed: “Slightly more than one-in-five (22%) survey participants foresee sales volumes ‘staying the same,’ marking a fall from 28% in the month prior.
Meanwhile, expectations of sales ‘worsening’ surged to nearly half (47%) – up from 32% in July.”
LMD’s publisher, Media Services, said the latest edition of the magazine will be released shortly. Its digital edition is shared on WhatsApp and the publisher’s social media platforms.
Central Bank will endeavour to attain the projected return for the members of the Superannuation funds
By: Staff Writer
Colombo (LNW): It reveals discussions are ongoing to explore possibility of Treasury intervening to ensure promised returns until 2025 claiming domestic debt restructuring DDR would cause EPF bond portfolio to lose approximately 4%.
The Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill secured approval through a majority vote during the Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) meeting held in Parliament under the chairmanship of MP Dr. Harsha De Silvalast week.
During the CoPF sitting, officials from the Central Bank clarified that the 30% tax increase, as outlined in the Internal Revenue (Amendment) Bill, specifically pertains to the interest income generated from the bond portfolio.
Additionally, it was highlighted that this tax rate would be lowered to 14% in cases where pension funds engage in the domestic debt restructuring process.
During the session, the committee also raised inquiries regarding the Central Bank’s capacity to assure a 12% return until 2025 and a 9% return thereafter to pension funds involved in domestic debt restructuring.
In response, the Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe expressed their commitment to endeavour to attain the projected return, though they could not provide a guarantee for every member.
He also noted that there were ongoing discussions about the Treasury intervening to ensure the promised benefit is upheld until 2025 if it becomes challenging to maintain this rate.
The Committee suggested that an inflation-adjusted interest rate should be explored to guarantee a positive return for members of the Employees’ Provident Fund.
The Central Bank Governor disclosed that if the Employees’ Provident Fund engages in the local debt restructuring, the opportunity loss for the EPF bond portfolio would be approximately 4%.
Nevertheless, he said if the EPF opts not to partake, the opportunity loss for the bond portfolio would escalate to 21%, primarily due to the elevated tax rate of 30%, as per the recent amendment to the Inland Revenue Bill. Furthermore, it has been noted that all pension funds not qualified for domestic debt restructuring (DDO) would be subjected to a 30% tax increase. This could potentially discourage the creation of new pension funds in the future.
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.
Colombo (LNW): Showers will occur at times in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts, and fairly heavy showers about 50mm are likely at some places in Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in Puttalam, Galle and Matara districts, the Department of Meteorology said in its daily weather forecast today (11).
A few showers may occur in Mannar, Vavuniya and Anuradhapura districts, and showers or thundershowers may occur at a few places in Uva province and in Batticaloa, Ampara districts during the evening or night, the statement added.
Fairly strong winds about (40-45) kmph can be expected at times in western slopes of the central hills, Northern, North-central, and North-western provinces and in Trincomalee and Hambantota districts.
General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimise damages caused by temporary localised strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
Marine Weather:
Condition of Rain:
Showers or thundershowers will occur at several places in the sea areas off the coast extending from Puttalam to Matara via Colombo and Galle.
Winds:
Winds will be south-westerly and speed will be (30-40) kmph. Wind speed can increase up to (50-55) kmph at times in the sea areas off the coast extending from Chilaw to Trincomalee via Mannar and Kankasanthurai and in the sea areas extending from Hambantota to Pottuvil.
State of Sea:
The sea areas off the coast extending from Chilaw to Trincomalee via Mannar and Kankasanthurai, and in the sea areas extending from Hambantota to Pottuvil can be rough at times. Temporarily strong gusty winds and very rough seas can be expected during thundershowers.
Colombo (LNW): A severe data loss affecting all government offices using the ‘gov.lk’ email domain has recently occurred, confirmed the The Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) in a statement.
A number of government offices using the ‘govt.lk’ email domain including the Cabinet office was affected by the data loss, and the crisis is believed to have been caused by a large-scale ransomware attack between May 17 and August 26, the Director for Strategic Communications of ICTA said in a statement.
Approximately 5,000 email addresses were impacted by the ransomware attack, and as there was neither an offline nor online backup system for a critical period of two months, several emails that were lost due to the attack are now irrecoverable, the statement added.
In the backdrop, ICTA has taken a measure to institute daily offline backup process, with other application processes being upgraded to the latest version with enhanced defences against malware attacks.
Efforts are being made to recover the lost data in a joint effort by ICTA and the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SLCERT).
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is appalled by the mistreatment in detention of two Vietnamese journalists who both received heavy sentences in 2021, and urges the authorities to release them immediately.
On 3 September 2023, Vietnamese freelance journalist Lê Trong Hungbegan a hunger strike to protest against his detention conditions in a prison in Nghe An province, in the north-central part of Vietnam. A week prior, freelance journalist Pham Chi Dung informed his family that he had also stopped eating in protest to the mistreatment inside his prison in Dong Nai province, in the south of the country.
“These two journalists did not commit any crime and have instead courageously risked their lives to expose the corruption within the Vietnamese regime. They should never have been arrested, let alone subjected to a harsh prison sentence. We call upon the international community to step up pressure on the regime to obtain the release of the 41 detained journalists and press freedom defenders in Vietnam.”
Cédric Alviani RSF Asia-Pacific Bureau Director
It is not the first time Pham Chi Dung has gone on hunger strike. In January 2023, he was hospitalized after having stopped eating for eight months to protest against the lack of access to medical care in detention. As the president of the outlawed Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam (IJAVN), he was arrested in November 2019 and sentenced two years later to 15 years in prison for spreading “anti-state propaganda”, a criminal charge regularly used by the Vietnamese regime to suppress journalists.
Lê Trong Hung, a freelance journalist who investigated corruption and contributed to the creation of the media Chân Hung Viêt Nam TV (CHTV), was arrested in March 2021 and sentenced nine months later to 5 years in prison, under the same charge of spreading “anti-state propaganda”.
In Vietnam, jailed journalists are almost systematically subjected to mistreatment and denied medical care. On August 2 2022, Do Cong Duongdied in detention, at the age of 58, as a result of mistreatment in the detention. More recently, in August 2023, the family of detained journalist Le Huu Minh Tuan revealed that he is suffering from a severe scabies infection for which he is still denied medical treatment.
Vietnam ranks 178th out of 180 countries and territories in the 2023 RSF World Press Freedom Index and is among the world’s worst jailers of journalists.
REPORTERS SANS FRONTIÈRES / REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS (RSF)
