19th Annual General Meeting

The 19th Annual General Meeting of the Trade Finance Association of Bankers (TFAB) was held recently in Colombo amidst a large gathering of trade staff of all banks in Sri Lanka. The following were elected as new office bearers for the Year 2016/2017: Manjula Gunawardana (NDB Bank) – President, Susantha Fernando (Seylan Bank) – Senior Vice President, Manoji Hettigoda (Sampath Bank) – Vice President, Shyam De Silva (HNB) – Secretary General, Lawrian Somanader (Commercial Bank) – Treasurer, Sanjeewa Jayasooriya (Standard Chartered Bank – Assistant Secretary, A.S.M.W. Kumarasiri (People’s Bank) – Assistant Treasurer. The following were elected as Council Members: Gaya Manamperi (Past President – formerly at Sampath Bank), Ranjith Haputhanthiri (Past President – Bank of Ceylon), Chatura Rudesh (Sampath Bank), Kasun Muthukuda (Nations Trust Bank), Senaka De Silva (NDB Bank), Neil Handapangoda (Citi Bank), Tharusha Mahawaduge (HSBC), Jehan Perera (Pan Asia Bank), Waruna Senanayake (DFCC Bank), K.R. Naguleswaran (Public Bank), Kanchana Liyanage (Union Bank), J.A.J. Sudarshana (Bank of Ceylon), Susantha Weerasinghe (People’s Bank). Ex-officio – Thushy David (Immediate Past President – Deutsche Bank AG).

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WTO halves trade growth forecast for 2023

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has halved its growth forecast for global goods trade this year, dropping it to 0.8% from 1.7%. "The trade slowdown appears to be broad-based, involving a large number of countries and a wide array of goods, specifically certain categories of manufactures such as iron and steel, office and telecom equipment, textiles, and clothing," the WTO says in its updated Global Trade Outlook for October 2023.

World's first carbon border tax enters into force in EU

The EU brought its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) into force on 1 October. It’s designed to equalize carbon costs for producers whether inside or outside of the EU. The CBAM will at first apply to imports of goods with particularly carbon-intensive production processes, such as cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilizers, electricity and hydrogen. For now, importers only have to collect and report data on the emissions generated in producing the products they buy. But from the start of 2026, they will need to declare annual imports and their "embedded greenhouse gases", then submit sufficient CBAM certificates to cover the emissions.

World Trade Report 2023 makes case for “re-globalization” amid early signs of fragmentation

The 2023 edition of the WTO’s World Trade Report presents new evidence of the benefits of broader, more inclusive economic integration as early indications of trade fragmentation threaten to unwind growth and development. The flagship publication, launched on 12 September, features findings on how re-globalization — or increased international cooperation and broader integration — can support security, inclusiveness, and environmental sustainability.

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