Ajith Nivard Cabraal appointed CBSL Governor once again.

Former State Minister of Finance Ajith Nivard Cabraal has been appointed as the new Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL). President Gotabaya Rajapaksa presented Cabraal with his new appointment a short while ago today (13th), President’s Media Division stated. The…

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Sri Lanka-Malaysia Business Council’s 27th AGM held virtually.

The Sri Lanka - Malaysia Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce held its 27th Annual General Meeting Virtually.  His Excellency Tan Yang Thai the High Commissioner of Malaysia to Sri Lanka graced the occasion as the Chief Guest.  Mr. Khalid Farouk was elected as t…

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El Salvador becomes first country to adopt bitcoin as National Currency.

El Salvador has become the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender. Lawmakers in the Central American country’s Congress voted by a “supermajority” in favor of the Bitcoin Law, receiving 62 out of 84 of the legislature’s vote. The price of bitcoin was up 5% to $34,239.…

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Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and South Africa launch cenbank digital currency scheme.

Central banks in Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and South Africa will conduct a cross border payments trial using different central bank digital currencies (CBDC) to assess if this allows transactions to be settled more cheaply and easily. Many governments and central banks …

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The New Development Bank has approved new memberships.

The New Development Bank (NDB), established by BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) in 2015, has approved Bangladesh as a new member. The NDB Board of Governors took this decision in a meeting held on 20 August 2021. NDB’s Board of Governors authorised the B…

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South Korea bans app payment monopolies by Apple and Google.

South Korean MPs on Tuesday passed a law banning Apple and Google from forcing app developers to use the tech giants’ payment systems, effectively declaring their lucrative App Store and Play Store monopolies illegal. The bill was approved by 180 votes to nil in the National…

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Actor Sidharth Shukla dies at age 40.

Actor Sidharth Shukla had always defied the odds when it came to his career. For many in the TV and film industry, appearing in the popular reality show Bigg Boss is a last-ditch — and often futile — effort to arrest a slide into irrelevance. But Shukla, who won the 13th ed…

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Sri Lanka receives USD 787 Million SDR from IMF.

Sri Lanka receives Special Drawing Rights (SDR) Allocation of International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Initial Disbursements under the Currency Swap Arrangement with the Bangladesh Bank During August 2021, Sri Lanka received its share of the global SDR allocation by the IMF…

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China clamps new rules to regulate foreign ships in its waters.

China on Sunday (29) notified new maritime rules warranting vessels carrying radioactive materials, bulk oil, chemicals and a host of other supplies to report the details of the cargos upon their entry into Chinese waters. The new rules are expected to increase tensions if C…

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CCPI based Inflation increased to 6.0 per cent in August 2021.

Headline inflation, as measured by the year-on-year (Y-o-Y) change in the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI, 2013=100), increased to 6.0 per cent in August 2021 from 5.7 per cent in July 2021. This was driven by monthly increases of prices of items in both Food and Non-foo…

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CSE’s ASPI closes above 9,000 points for first time in history.

The Colombo Stock Exchange’s All Share Price Index (ASPI) surpassed 9,000 points today (Sep. 01). The ASPI closed at 9,163.13 points as at the end of the day, marking an increase of 165.53 points (1.84%) compared to yesterday’s trading, according to the country’s main stock …

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Cuba’s central bank now recognizes cryptocurrencies.

Cuba will now recognize and regulate cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, citing “reasons of socioeconomic interest.” Resolution 215, which was published in the state-run Official Gazette, says the central bank will set new rules for how to deal with digital currencies. Commerc…

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Philippines approves GMO 'golden rice' for commercial production.

The Philippines became the world's first country to approve the commercial production of genetically modified "golden rice" that experts hope will combat childhood blindness and save lives in the developing world. A biosafety permit issued by government regulat…

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Safe Cities Index 2021

The Safe Cities Index 2021 is a report from The Economist Intelligence Unit, sponsored by NEC Corporation. The report is based on the fourth iteration of the index, which ranks 60 cities across 76 indicators covering digital, health, infrastructure, personal and environment…

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Colombo Stock Exchange’s ASPI reaches all time high.

The benchmark All share Price Index (ASPI) hit an all-time high of 8,920.71 points today (26), surpassing the previous record of 8,812.01 points on 27 january 2021. The ASPI surged 164.08 points (or 1.87%) to close at 8,920.71. The day’s trading recorded a turnover of Rs.10.4…

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Global Manufacturing Risk Index - 2021.

Cushman & Wakefield’s 2021 Global Manufacturing Risk Index assesses the most advantageous locations for global manufacturing among 47 countries in Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific. Within the Risk Index Report, countries are assessed based on following four key area…

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World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Development Impact Summit 2021.

The World Economic Forum’s annual Sustainable Development Impact Summit will take place on September 20-23, 2021 in Geneva, Switzerland. This year’s event will focus strongly on inclusively revitalizing economies. The United Nations General Assembly, the summit convenes und…

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PayPal Holdings launches crypto transactions in the UK.

PayPal Holdings will allow customers in the UK to buy, sell and hold bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies starting this week. The roll-out, which marks the first international expansion of PayPal's cryptocurrencies services outside of the United States, could inspire furth…

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Hurun Global 500 most valuable companies list 2021.

The Hurun Research Institute today in association with Jiaxing City in East China released the 2021 Hurun Global 500, a list of the 500 most valuable non-state-controlled companies in the world, ranked according to their value, defined as market capitalisation for listed co…

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The 2021 Global Crypto Adoption Index.

Vietnam  has ranked first in terms of crypto adoption worldwide according to the 2021 Global Crypto Adoption Index by blockchain data platform Chainalysis.  This comes even as worldwide crypto adoption grew by 880% between June 2020 and July 2021, according to the report. A re…

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