Political News

Maldives declare public holidays to battle water crisis

Saturday December 6, 2014 5:45 am

MALÉ, Maldives, Dec 6, 2014 (AFP) – The upmarket honeymoon destination of Maldives Saturday declared two days of public holidays in bid to manage fraying tempers and ration supplies following a drinking water crisis caused when a fire crippled a key desalination plant.

President Abdulla Yameen ordered the closure of government offices Sunday and Monday as engineers struggled to repair the fire-damaged main water purification facility in the capital island of Male.

The two days of holidays were announced to "alleviate difficulties faced by the public due to ‎the current water shortage" in the densely populated capital, a presidential statement said.

Much of the capital was still without drinking water Saturday, two days after the fire, the cause of which police are still investigating.

Yameen appealed to Maldivians to remain "patient and united, while working with the government to resolve the national crisis."

India and Sri Lanka began airlifting bottled water to the capital of the holiday destination Friday as taps ran dry while China and the United States were also rushing help, the government said.

India has also sent ships with desalination capabilities to boost supplies.

Street scuffles erupted Friday in Male at many places where authorities were distributing bottled water under a strict rationing system.

The government said Saturday it would distribute water free to some 120,000 residents, including thousands of expatriate workers from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The announcement followed reports the foreign labourers were being denied water at some distribution centres.

Former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom also urged Maldivians to stay calm.

"Govt working hard to solve Male water crisis asap. Let us keep calm till it is solved!" tweeted Gayoom, half-brother of president Yameen.

Officials say it could take up to five days to repair the desalination plant and restore normal water supply.

Over a third of the local population of 330,000 Sunni Muslims live in Male, which covers a just one-square-mile (two-square-kilometre) area, putting huge pressure on drinking water and electricity.

Low-lying Male island relies heavily on treated sea-water for drinking supplies.

Many restaurants and shops were closed and some residents travelled to neighbouring islands where there is water for drinking and washing.

The crisis has not hit the atoll nation’s luxury tourist resorts located on other islands, which have their own power generation and desalination plants.

Over one million tourists annually visit the pristine white-sand beaches of the Maldives.

FILED UNDER: Maldives,water

Markets

Stocks down on Monday, banks lead turnover

Monday September 14, 2026 4:13 pm

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Colombo Stock Exchange closed down on Monday trading, CSE data showed, with the benchmark All Share Price Index moving down 0.32 percent.

The ASPI was down 68.82 points at 21,313.92, while the more liquid S&P SL20 was down 0.14 percent, or 8.13 points, at 5,994.33.

Positive contributors to the ASPI were Carson Cumberbatch (up 2.05 percent at 735.00 rupees), Commercial Bank of Ceylon (up 0.24 percent at 205.00 rupees), Central Finance Company (up 0.68 percent at 221.50 rupees), and Watawala Plantations (up 1.60 percent at 44.50 rupees).

Dialog Axiata (down 1.04 percent at 47.40 rupees), Aitken Spence (down 2.12 percent at 138.75 rupees), LOLC Holdings (down 1.40 percent at 459.25 rupees), and Ceylon Cold Stores (down 2.07 percent at 118.25 rupees) were top negative contributors.

Market turnover was 1.55 billion rupees. Banks led turnover with 309.87 million rupees.

Anilana Hotels and Properties informed the Colombo Stock Exchange that its hotel properties in Nilaveli, Trincomalee, and Pasikudah were acquired by Sampath Bank under the Recovery of Loans by Banks (Special Provisions) Act No. 4 of 1990.

The company stated it has challenged the bank’s resolution in court and has also filed an application in the Commercial High Court regarding a prospective investor who offered 1.2 billion rupees for the hotel properties in an attempt to reach a compromise with Sampath Bank. (Colombo/September14/2026)

Bonds & Forex

Foreign investors buy over US$8.5mn worth of Sri Lanka rupee bonds

Monday September 14, 2026 3:31 pm

ECONOMYNEXT – Foreign investors bought a net 2,750 million rupees (US$8.5 million) worth of Sri Lanka rupee bonds in the week ended on September 11, Central Bank data showed, amid a steady rupee currency.

The latest buying boosted the foreign buying in the government securities to 92 billion (US$280 million) in the last 13 straight weeks since June 19.

The inflows boosted foreign holding to 213.4 billion rupees, the highest figure the Central Bank has published in its Weekly Economic Indicators.

Officials at the Central Bank, however, could not verify if that is the record high figure as it changes daily with economic volatility.

The net inflows came after the rupee started to stabilize, analysts said.

The rupee currency’s selling rate fell to a near three-year low of 354 against the U.S. dollar on May 21 before recovering and gaining to the 332 level.

The rupee had been steady for more than three years before the sharp depreciation in May with the Central Bank citing higher oil and vehicle imports amid a lingering conflict in the Middle East. The rupee has fallen 5.7 percent through September 11 this year.

Globally, investors are cautious about economic growth due to the impact of the latest Middle East escalation.

The island nation enjoyed a total inflow of around 72.1 billion rupees into rupee bonds so far this year, following a net inflow of 71.5 billion rupees last year.

Analysts said Sri Lanka’s deflationary policies in the past helped inflows amid curtailed imports.

However, the island nation has seen an uptick in inflation in the last five months after a nearly 50 percent hike in fuel prices gradually.

The government reduced fuel prices twice – in the last weeks of June and August.

The Central Bank raised its key monetary policy rate by 100 basis points in May to curb inflationary pressure stemming from higher demand.

Before the May rate hike, the Central Bank kept its key policy rates steady since May 2025 after reducing them by 825 basis points over 24 months since June 2023 and foreign investors have been buying rupee bonds despite slight depreciation in the local currency. (Colombo/September 14/2026)

Economy

Sri Lanka worker remittances up 10-pct to US$748.6mn in August 2026

Monday September 14, 2026 12:58 pm

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s official remittances from expatriate workers rose 10 percent to US$ 748.6 million in August 2026, while they reached US$6,131 million in the first eight months of the year with a 19.8 percent growth, Central Bank data showed.

The remittances hit a seven-month low in June following the rupee’s depreciation after escalation in the Middle East, the largest foreign job market for Sri Lankans. They have recovered since then.

The rupee has been largely stable and showed a slight appreciating trend since July though it has shown some downside pressure this month, currency dealers say.

When there is an uncertainty over the exchange rate, market analysts say, expatriates switch to informal remittance methods like Hawala and Undiyal, which do not go through the formal banking system.

The island nation saw a record monthly remittance of US$879.1 million in December last year and a historically high annual worker remittance of US$ 8,076.2 million in 2025. Analysts say the remittances could reach a new annual record high this year.

Higher worker remittances follow a higher number of the island nation’s labour force leaving the country to search for foreign jobs amid Sri Lanka’s recovery from an unprecedented 2022 economic crisis, official data showed.

Remittances have risen continuously after the central bank abandoned a parallel exchange rate regime in 2022, which compelled most expatriates to switch from informal Undiyal and Hawala money transfer methods.

The island nation has been in the process of sending more migrant workers focusing on professionals to bring in higher foreign exchange since the country declared bankruptcy in 2022.

Worker remittances through official channels fell sharply in 2021 after many expatriates switched to informal money transferring channels because they were offered higher rates than formal banking channels.

The move followed the Central Bank printing money to sterilize interventions and keep a policy rate down, which triggered parallel exchange rates settled outside the formal banking system.

From April 2022, the interest rates were raised by unprecedented levels, slowing credit and the need to print money to keep rates down. Later, the Central Bank started its dovish monetary policy until May this year. (Colombo/September 14/2026)

World

Severe equity price shock scenario would entail US recession: Fitch Ratings

Monday September 14, 2026 12:12 pm

Fitch Ratings: A severe AI-related equity price shock, combined with a retrenchment in capex, would entail a US recession according to a ‘What if?’ scenario analysis published by Fitch Ratings.

A sharp decline in US equity prices is not our base case, but it is an important downside risk to our global economic forecasts. Fitch’s scenario analysis – developed using Oxford Economics’ Global Economic Model – shows that a major correction in equity prices and a fall in AI-related capex would result in a very sharp slowdown in global GDP growth.

The adverse scenario we develop envisages a fall of around 35% in US share prices over six months, a decline of around 15% in other regions’ share prices and an additional confidence shock affecting US investment. In this scenario, the US economy would go into recession, US GDP would decline by 0.6% in 2027 (with private capital spending falling by more than 6%) and year-on-year GDP growth would fall to -1.5% in 2Q27.

The much weaker US outlook would hit global growth. World GDP growth (measured by the Fitch-20 average) would fall below 1.0% in 2027 in this scenario, consistent with global stagnation. The hit to growth for China and the eurozone would be 0.8pp. Countries with stronger trade links with the US see larger hits to growth – for example, Canada and Mexico would see an impact of more than 2% on their GDP.

Lower global demand in this scenario implies lower inflation, which would allow central banks to loosen policy to support activity, with the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates by 325bp. But if financial conditions were to tighten over and above scenario assumptions, the impact on GDP would be larger. If tighter financial conditions offset Fed rate cuts, and emerging market bond spreads and US government bond yields were 100bp higher, the additional shortfall for US GDP would be 0.5% over four quarters (0.2% for world GDP).

Stocks & Companies

Sampath Bank acquires Anilana hotels under parate execution

Monday September 14, 2026 11:00 am

ECONOMYNEXT – Anilana Hotels and Properties has said that its hotels in Nilaweli, Trincomalee and Passikudah were acquired by Sampath Bank under the provisions of Recovery of Loans by Banks (Special Provisions) Act No.
04 of 1990.

The company said it had initiated two cases challenging the resolution by Sampath Bank to acquire the properties.

Anilana has also made an application to compromise under and in terms of the Companies Act No. 07 of 2OO7 informing Court of a prospective investor who had offered 1.2 billion rupees for the hotels.

“In the event a compromise is reached between the Bank and us in the Commercial High Court, we will disclose the same.” (Colombo/Sep14/2026)

Stocks & Companies

Sri Lanka’s Asia Asset Finance lists new shares after Rs1.5bn in rights issue

Monday September 14, 2026 10:39 am

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Asia Asset Finance has listed 45,162,012 ordinary voting shares after a rights issue that raised 1.5 billion rupees, the company said in a market filing.

The issue offered 4 new ordinary voting shares for every 11 existing at Rs.33.30 per share.

The issue raised 1,503,894,999.60 rupees.

The funds are to “strengthen the Tier 1 Capital to be compliant with the CBSL Regulatory requirement, thereby enabling the company to expand its business volumes, based on the expected fund utilization over the next two months,” the company has said.

Shares were trading down 60 cents at 46.90 rupees. (Colombo/Sep14/2026)