A donation of Rs. 38.43 million collected by Sri Lankans working in South Korea has been handed over to support disaster-affected communities in Sri Lanka. The funds were officially presented today (09) to Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya. The initiative was led by 34-year-old Rashintha Gnanendra, a Sri Lankan, who works as a supervisor at a factory in Jeonju, South Korea. Gnanendra said the funds were raised in just 48 hours through donations made by Sri Lankan migrant workers and business owners in South Korea who trusted his personal call for support. (Newswire) The post Sri Lankans in South Korea…
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ECONOMYNEXT – Average daily foreign visitors into Sri Lanka reduced in the first eight days of December, official data showed, as the island nation’s tourism industry has seen some cancellation after the Cyclone Ditwah-hit devastation that killed more than 600 people across the country. The devastation has hit Sri Lanka’s key tourist hotspots in the central hill region’s Kandy and Nuwara Eliya districts. Sri Lanka’s peak tourism season is from mid-November to mid-March. The daily tourist arrival in the first eight days of December 2025 has fallen to 6,278 compared to 8,019 in the full month of December last year,…
NOLIMIT has pledged Rs. 60 million to support disaster relief and recovery efforts in the wake of Cyclone Ditwah, which triggered severe flooding and landslides across Sri Lanka and displaced large numbers of families. The company announced that its contribution includes both financial assistance to the government and extensive on-ground support in affected areas. As part of the pledge, Rs. 15 million has been officially donated to the Government of Sri Lanka to assist urgent national recovery initiatives. The cheque was handed over to Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya at the Prime Minister’s Office on 8 December. The Prime Minister…
ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s rupee closed at 308.64/66 to the US dollar in the spot market Tuesday, from 308.63/68 the previous day, dealers said, while bond yields dropped. A bond maturing on 15.12.2026 closed at 8.34/44 percent, up from 8.30/40 percent. A bond maturing on 15.02.2028 closed at 9.16/22 percent. A bond maturing on 15.12.2029 closed at 9.55/60 percent, down from 9.60/65 percent. A bond maturing on 01.07.2030 closed at 9.65/69 percent A bond maturing on 15.12.2032 closed at 10.25/29 percent, down from 10.34/44 percent. A bond maturing on 01.11.2033 closed at 10.48/52 percent. (Colombo/Dec9/2025)
The post 147 schools will not open on December 16; full list released appeared first on Newswire.
ECONOMYNEXT – The United Nations has allocated USD 4.5 million for Sri Lanka’s ongoing relief efforts in Sri Lanka in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah, the island nation’s Foreign Minister said. In his X-account, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath thanked the UN Resident Coordinator (UNRC) in Sri Lanka, Marc-André Franche, for the UN’s decision to allocate USD 4.5 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) for the ongoing relief efforts. “The UN Resident Coordinator confirmed that the UN’s future assistance will focus on food security, housing, drinking water, education, health, agriculture and fisheries,” Minister Herath said. “He (UNRC) also informed…
The Ministry of Education has announced that the postponed 2025 GCE Advanced Level Examination will be held in January 2026. According to the ministry, the remaining subjects of the examination, which were previously postponed due to adverse weather, will be held from 12-20 January next year. The Education Ministry further said that the 2025 GCE Ordinary Level Examination will be held from 14 February to 02 March 2026. Meanwhile, school term tests from Grade 05 -Grade 10 have been cancelled, and a decision has been made to promote students to the next grade. The Education Ministry added that, however, exam…
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake says Sri Lanka will have to service debt while simultaneously rebuilding from climate disasters, emphasizing that this was why debt sustainability frameworks for climate-vulnerable countries must change. “We just completed a historic debt restructuring process, only to face yet another disaster, Cyclone Ditwah. Initial estimates indicate that the damage may well be beyond any natural disaster that our island has endured,” President Dissanayake told American media, Newsweek. In a candid conversation with Newsweek at the President’s Secretariat in Colombo, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake laid out the realities Sri Lanka faces in the wake of a devastating…
ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Colombo Stock Exchange bounced back on Tuesday, mainly due to retail interest in construction and index heavy weight bank stocks, brokers said. The All Share Price Index was up 2.04 percent, or 439.46 points, at 22,034.32; while the S&P SL20 closed up 1.31 percent, 77.47 points, at 6,004.11. “There was retail investor interest in all companies, with construction shares most active due to the rebuilding,” Ranjan Ranatunga, Assistant Vice President – Research at First Capital said. Tokyo Cement was up 1.50 rupees at 105. Access Engineering was up 1.70 at 73.70 rupees. Bank stocks were also…
The year 2025 has been disastrous for Sri Lanka’s agriculture, especially after Cyclone Ditwah caused severe destruction through heavy rains, landslides, and crop damages in different agro-ecological zones. While the immediate physical devastation was evident in the destruction of houses and infrastructure, the deeper and far-reaching consequence are the hidden agricultural toll which will shape food availability and farm incomes well into 2026. The cyclone came when the Yala crop had been harvested and most of the Maha season crops were either just emerging or were still young at a stage of high vulnerability. Young plants either got buried or…
Photo courtesy of Dawn While climate change is a long term global challenge, its impact on Sri Lanka is both severe and immediate. Researchers point out that the increase in sea surface temperatures in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea caused by global warming has significantly raised the frequency and intensity of cyclones. Due to its geography and population density, Sri Lanka’s terrain is highly vulnerable to monsoon related floods and landslides. In recent decades, the frequency and magnitude of flood and landslide disasters in the central hill region have increased. For instance, data from the National Building Research Organization (NBRO) confirms that several parts of the…
ECONOMYNEXT – Cyclone Ditwah had inundated 1.1 million hectares or 20 percent of the island and triggered 1,200 landslides, a study by the United Nations Development Program has round. “The floodwaters reached nearly 720,000 buildings, about one in every twelve buildings in the country,” the report said. “Over 16,000 kilometres of roads, enough to circle the island’s coastline more than twelve times, were exposed to flooding. Similarly, over 278 km of railway tracks and 480 bridges were located in flooded areas.” Sri Lanka has 12,000 kilomtres of main road (A and B grade) under the Road Development Authority but many…
Fitch Ratings-London-08 December 2025: Fitch Ratings has maintained its deteriorating outlook for the global shipping sector, reflecting geopolitical and policy risks, according to an Outlook report released today. The sector will also be affected by the lower GDP growth we expect across most major economies in 2026 compared to 2025, with downside risk from any correction in financial markets. A key event risk across shipping segments is a resumption of Red Sea transits leading to a reduction in tonne-mile demand, although there is limited visibility on this possible development. Tariff disputes have moderated expectations for volume growth, particularly for container…
ECONOMYNEXT – 635 Sri Lanka exporters have made VAT refund claims by November 30, the parliamentary Committee on Public Finance (COPF) was told. “Of this, 23 have been issued cheque refunds, and 41 were issued credit voucher refunds,” an Inland Revenue Department official told the committee. Cheques are ready for another verified 45 claims, he said. Credit voucher refunds were for imported inputs. These refunds were for the October 2025 period, for which claims were filed before the November 30 deadline, he said. Another 322 claims were in progress, the officer said. The refunds will be made within 45 days…
Photo courtesy of Sri Lanka Air Force Sri Lanka’s armed forces have long functioned in many roles. In addition to their core defence responsibilities, they are involved in disaster management, humanitarian assistance, civil administration support and the protection of critical national situations. Yet public attention and appreciation often surface only during moments of crisis when military personnel are seen on the front lines supporting communities. It is important to remember that the armed forces have saved countless lives time and again while repeatedly placing themselves at risk to protect others. To the armed forces, we remain eternally grateful. As a…
ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s rupee was quoted at 308.63/67 to the US dollar in the spot market Tuesday, from 308.63/68 the previous day, dealers said, while bond yields were broadly steady. A bond maturing on 15.02.2028 was quoted at 9.18/22 percent. A bond maturing on 15.12.2029 was quoted at 9.60/70 percent, up from 9.60/65 percent. A bond maturing on 15.12.2032 was quoted at 10.35/45 percent, up from 10.34/44 percent. The telegraphic transfer rates for the American dollar were 305.1000 buying, 312.1000 selling; the British pound was 405.7098 buying, and 417.0716 selling, and the euro was 353.0374 buying, 364.4006 selling. On…
ECONOMYNEXT – Reconstruction of key roads and bridges in the island after Cyclone Ditwah, which are under the Road Development Authority, is estimated to cost 190 billion rupees, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has said. “The preliminary estimate by the Road Development Authority is 190 billion rupees for the entire country,” President Dissanayake told a meeting of officials in Nuwara Eliya. “There is an idea that about 40 billion rupees can be used from existing allocations. We have to find 150 billion rupees. We can provide that.” In the Nuwara Eliya District, around 100 million rupees was needed for urgent repairs,…
A massive earthquake measuring 7.6 in magnitude has struck off the north-east coast of Japan. The quake, on Monday afternoon (December 8), has prompted fears of an incoming tsunami in the Aomori district.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake stressed that the aim of the Government is to ensure a safe life for every citizen and that it is everyone’s responsibility to act with proper supervision during the resettlement of the people. The President instructed the relevant sectors to complete all necessary repairs before 31 December by utilising the allocations given by the Government for infrastructure development for this year and not to return any part of those allocations under any circumstances. The President said that there is no shortage of funds required for relief to the people and for restoring normal life and that…
A new strain of mpox, previously called monkeypox, has been detected in a person in England, say UK health officials.