President Anura Kumara has increased the Aswesuma (Relief) benefits as a Christmas gift, according to a social media post by his Media Director General, MP Najith Indika. Aswesuma refers to a transitional assistance provided to alleviate poverty using the taxes collected from the public, and not a gift distributed by politicians. Welfare benefits should not…
The number of tourists who visited Sri Lanka this year surpassed 2 million as of today. Today, 53-year-old Prasan Inokanunt, a journalist from Thailand, and his wife arrived in Sri Lanka, marking the milestone of the 2 millionth tourist this year. A special ceremony was held at Bandaranaike International Airport Katunayake to welcome the couple….
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country has shown a positive growth of 5.5% in the third quarter of 2024, according to the Department of Census and Statistics. The GDP, which stood at Rs. 2,987,544 million at constant prices (2015) in the third quarter of 2023, increased to Rs. 3,151,941 million in the corresponding…
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal for the restructuring of international sovereign bonds by way of swapping existing bonds for new bonds in accordance with the parameters indicated in the debt sustainability analysis conducted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In June 2024, the Government of Sri Lanka reached a final agreement on…
Sri Lanka’s entrepreneurship rate stands at just 3% of the working population, significantly trailing regional counterparts, according to Dhanuka Liyanagamage, Director of the National Enterprise Development Authority (NEDA). He addressed the issue at the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) 2024 launch event held at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. “Only about 3% of the working population…
Mastercard Country Manager for Sri Lanka and Maldives, Sandun Hapugoda, emphasized the critical role of digital transformation for micro, small, and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs) in Sri Lanka, which make up 19% of the country’s establishments. Speaking at the launch event of Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) 2024, organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Hapugoda underlined…
On 19th November, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $200 million policy-based loan to further help the Government of Sri Lanka strengthen its financial sector. This second subprogram of ADB’s Financial Sector Stability and Reforms Program builds on the stabilization and crisis management measures put in place under the first subprogram approved in 2023. “Sri…
The new Sri Lankan government has reaffirmed its commitment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)-supported program, in-terms of achieving fiscal and debt targets, said Krishna Srinivasan, the IMF Director for the Asia Pacific Department. Srinivasan noted that following the new government’s inauguration, an IMF mission visited Sri Lanka and held productive discussions with the president…
The Chinese government has decided to further provide a batch of Emergency Humanitarian materials to Sri Lanka, worth RMB 10 million (approximately LKR 400 million). The donation comes in addition to a recent Emergency Assistance of USD 100,000 (approximately LKR 30 million) in cash handed over to the President of Sri Lanka – Anura Kumara…
The Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Qi Zhenhong, met with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake this afternoon (22) at the Presidential Secretariat. During their meeting, Ambassador Qi made a donation of LKR 30 million (USD 100,000) as emergency flood relief to assist those affected by the recent flooding in the country. In addition to immediate relief…
