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Bangladesh forms wage board as garment workers demand pay be more than doubled
Workers want 30,000 taka a month, up from 12,500. About 30 factories near Dhaka shut and police fired tear gas as protests ran into a second day.
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CAA finds 98 suspected violations in islandwide lubricant and grease raids
Four days of inspections targeted engine oil and grease sold without the government agreement number required under CAA Direction No. 88.
Business
Petrol and diesel prices raised in November revision; kerosene unchanged
CEYPETCO lifted four fuel grades from midnight, with Octane 95 and Super Diesel up Rs 15 a litre. Kerosene stays at Rs 285.
Business
Rights group counts 12 tax revisions in two years, urges Budget relief on food and medicine
The Center for Human Rights and Research lists 12 tax changes since January 2025 and asks the next Budget to spare food, medicine and school supplies.
Business
Record exports, and the current account still slipped back into deficit in September
A US$128mn September deficit ended August's one-month surplus. Remittances of US$734mn covered most of a US$732mn trade gap, but not quite all of it.
Business
Customs clears a tenth straight monthly target with two days to spare — exactly as the arithmetic predicted
Customs took Rs. 193.5bn in October's first 29 days against a Rs. 193.3bn target, reaching 105.4% of its full-year goal. EconomyNext's headline misdates the month.
Business
Sri Lanka's fuel bill is on course for an all-time record — and September was the first month it fell year-on-year
Nine-month fuel imports hit US$4,487.2mn, up 51.5%. But September's US$415.1mn was below last September, the first such fall this year.
Business
Litro threatens to cancel dealerships over gas hoarding and overcharging
A special notice to all Litro dealers bans hoarding, sales limits, overcharging above the maximum retail price and unapproved extra fees.
Business
Government weighs filling Laugfs cylinders with Litro gas if the private supplier cannot keep supplying
Deputy Minister R.M. Jayawardena says talks are under way on cross-filling a rival's cylinders. Litro has lifted daily output from 1,100 to 1,600 tonnes.
Business
Litro holds LP gas prices for November, leaving the 12.5 kg cylinder at Rs. 4,365
The state supplier says there will be no revision for the month, extending September's reduced price card into a third full month.
Business
Registrar of Companies issues final notice on beneficial ownership filings
Companies that missed the October 21 deadline face prosecution, with penalties of up to Rs 1 million, up to 10 years in prison, or both.
Business
Motor Traffic Department restores online appointments at Narahenpita from November 2
The DMT reopens online booking for vehicle registrations, ownership transfers and technical matters at Narahenpita, aiming to cut early-morning queues.
Business
Electricity unions call the blackout report unclear and demand an answer on coal quality
Trade unions say the National System Operator's report on the 17 October collapse does not address whether substandard coal disabled the Lakvijaya units.
Business
Foreign investors sell Sri Lanka rupee bonds for a second week, this time at triple the pace
Offshore investors sold a net Rs 8.6 billion of rupee bonds in the latest week, against Rs 2.8 billion the week before, as the rupee's fall reached 6.8 per cent.
Business
Gold breaks below $4,000 to a one-year low as silver suffers a sharper fall
Spot gold slid to its weakest level since October 2025 and silver dropped below $50. In Colombo, a 24-carat sovereign was quoted at Rs. 355,000.
Business
Fire Breaks Out at Hambantota Port Premises
A fire broke out in a section of the Hambantota Port premises on Saturday night. Port sources say the cause has not yet been determined.
Business
Litro expects a further 3,900-tonne gas cargo on Sunday and has ordered 44,000 tonnes for November
The company says daily demand is covered, with three million cylinders due to reach the market next month as unloading begins from a vessel already docked.
Business
No water tariff revision until January, minister says
Water Supply Minister Susil Ranasinghe says tariffs will not change before the next scheduled review in January 2027, which will weigh purification costs.
Business
Blackout report points to Lakvijaya, not Upper Kotmale; grid fell in under a minute
The National System Operator's preliminary report traces the 17 October islandwide failure to a sudden generation loss at Lakvijaya Unit 1.
Business
Prasakthi commissions 3.5 MW Wilachchiya biomass plant, approved almost four years ago
The dendro plant in Anuradhapura burns woody biomass. State records show it was approved in January 2023.
Business
President says further tax cuts are coming in the 2027 Budget
Anura Kumara Dissanayake says some taxes will be cut again on November 12 without putting revenue targets at risk, citing a primary surplus.
Business
Three airlines to add Sri Lanka flights for the European winter season
Azur Air starts Russia-Mattala services on November 2, with French Bee and S7 Airlines due to begin flights to Katunayake in December, News 1st reports.
Business
British High Commission and EU switch on joint Colombo solar array, with the Mayor present
Some 240 kWp of solar across the High Commission estate is projected to generate 365,000 kWh a year, avoiding about 193 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Business
Sri Lanka launches AgriConnect plan with $665 million in World Bank and IFAD backing
Plan targets 900,000 farmers by 2030 with $550m from World Bank, $115m from IFAD and up to $170m in private sector capital.