NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose in afternoon trading on Wall Street Friday, keeping the market on track for its fifth gain in a row. The S&P 500 was up 0.4% and is solidly on track for a weekly gain that will erase most of last week's loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 351 points, or 0.8%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2% as of 1:03 p.m. Eastern. Markets have been volatile over the last few weeks, losing ground in the runup to elections in November, then surging following Donald Trump's victory, before falling again. The S&P 500 has been steadily rising throughout this week to within close range of its record. “Overall, market behavior has normalized following an intense few weeks,” said Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide, in a statement. Several retailers jumped after giving Wall Street encouraging financial updates. Gap soared 10.6% after handily beating analysts' third-quarter earnings and revenue expectations, while raising its own revenue forecast for the year. Discount retailer Ross Stores rose 3.1% after raising its earnings forecast for the year. EchoStar fell 3.4% after DirecTV called off its purchase of that company's Dish Network unit. Smaller company stocks had some of the biggest gains. The Russell 2000 index rose 1.7%. A majority of stocks in the S&P 500 were gaining ground, but those gains were kept in check by slumps for several big technology companies. Nvidia fell 3.2%. Its pricey valuation makes it among the heaviest influences on whether the broader market gains or loses ground. The company has grown into a nearly $3.6 trillion behemoth because of demand for its chips used in artificial-intelligence technology. Intuit, which makes TurboTax and other accounting software, fell 4.1%. It gave investors a quarterly earnings forecast that fell short of analysts’ expectations. Facebook owner Meta Platforms fell 0.4% following a decision by the Supreme Court to allow a multibillion-dollar class action investors’ lawsuit to proceed against the company. It stems from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm. European markets were mostly higher and Asian markets ended mixed. Crude oil prices rose. Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.41% from 4.42% late Thursday. In the crypto market, Bitcoin hovered around $99,000, according to CoinDesk. It has more than doubled this year and first surpassed the $99,000 level on Thursday. Retailers remained a big focus for investors this week amid close scrutiny on consumer spending habits headed into the holiday shopping season. Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, reported a quarter of strong sales and gave investors an encouraging financial forecast. Target, though, reported weaker earnings than analysts' expected and its forecast disappointed Wall Street. Consumer spending has fueled economic growth, despite a persistent squeeze from inflation and high borrowing costs. Inflation has been easing and the Federal Reserve has started trimming its benchmark interest rates. That is likely to help relieve pressure on consumers, but any major shift in spending could prompt the Fed to reassess its path ahead on interest rates. Also, any big reversals on the rate of inflation could curtail spending. Consumer sentiment remains strong, according to the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index. It revised its latest figure for November to 71.8 from an initial reading of 73 earlier this month, though economists expected a slight increase. It's still up from 70.5 in October. The survey also showed that consumers' inflation expectations for the year ahead fell slightly to 2.6%, which is the lowest reading since December of 2020. Wall Street will get another update on how consumers feel when the business group The Conference Board releases its monthly consumer confidence survey on Tuesday. A key inflation update will come on Wednesday when the U.S. releases its October personal consumption expenditures index. The PCE is the Fed's preferred measure of inflation and this will be the last PCE reading prior to the central bank's meeting in December.The shares of Canara Bank, India’s fourth-largest PSU Bank by loan book, have been on a bull run ever since the rebound after Covid-lows. From the lows of March 2020 to the recent highs in early June this year, the stock has grown about 8.5 times at a staggering CAGR of 66 per cent. This comes on the back of balance sheet clean-up, resulting in improvements in asset quality. The gross NPA (GNPA) ratio, which was at 8.8 per cent as of FY19 and peaked at 8.9 per cent in FY21, has declined to 3.7 per cent as of Q2 FY25. The return on equity (RoE) also has improved in due course from 1.4 per cent as of FY19 to 20.4 per cent (H1 FY25 annualised). The stock has corrected from its recent peak of ₹128.25 (June 3, 2024) by 22 per cent and now trades at ₹100.40. At the said peak, the stock commanded a price-to-book value (P/B) multiple of 1.2 times. It now trades at a P/B multiple of 0.9 times. A conservative sum-of-the-parts (SOTP) valuation reveals a target price of ₹113, showing limited upside. At this price, the P/B multiple (on a consolidated basis) works out to 1x. The standalone banking business constitutes 93 per cent of the target price and we have valued it at a conservative 1x P/B. This is because PSU peers, such as SBI, have better asset quality metrics for a similar RoE. SBI trades at a P/B multiple of 1.6 times with an RoE of 21.8 per cent (H1 FY25 annualised) and a GNPA ratio of 2.1 per cent. Other key group entities included in the SOTP valuation are Canara Robeco AMC, Canara HSBC Life Insurance and Can Fin Homes. The AMC and life insurance entities are smaller compared with their key listed peers. Hence, their multiples in the SOTP valuation are assigned at a 30 per cent discount to the average multiples of their respective listed peers. Can Fin homes is valued on an actual basis, as it is a listed entity. A 30 per cent holding company discount is ascribed to all the group entities. The bank recently announced that it has received regulatory clearances for divestment of 13 per cent and 14.5 per cent respectively in its AMC and life insurance entities. Per regulations, the bank is supposed to bring down stake in these entities to under 30 per cent by October 2029 through IPOs. The loan book constitutes 19 per cent retail loans, 24 per cent agriculture loans, 14 per cent MSME loans and corporate loans - 43 per cent. Like its PSU peers, the bank has streamlined its underwriting standards and has cleaned up its balance sheet of legacy asset-quality issues. These with respect to the corporate portfolio are noteworthy. The GNPA ratio of the corporate book was at 12.6 per cent in FY19. It has been brought down to 3.7 per cent as of Q2 FY25. This has been made possible by increasing credit to quality borrowers. The share of loans advanced to borrowers rated A and above has been taken up to 78 per cent as of Q2 FY25 from 66 per cent as of FY19. There has been an improvement in the GNPA ratio of the rest of the book as well. Retail/ Agri/ MSME GNPA ratios as of FY19 – 1.8 per cent/ 5.5 per cent/ 9.6 per cent have improved to 1.1 per cent/ 3.7 per cent/ 7.7 per cent as of Q2 FY25. While asset quality was focused on, growth wasn’t left behind. Between FY19 and FY24, the banking system (all commercial banks combined) grew its advances and deposits at CAGRs of 12 per cent and 11 per cent respectively. Canara Bank surpassed the system-level growth with CAGRs of 17 per cent each. In H1 FY25, the system-level growth in advances and deposits has been 13 per cent and 12 per cent respectively. But the same for Canara Bank has been 9.5 per cent and 9.3 per cent. The management notes that the slow growth in advances is primarily due to the shedding of low-yield corporate advances. Of such advances identified, the bank has withdrawn sanctions for about ₹40,000-crore worth loans. For FY25, the management has guided for a 11 per cent growth in loans, after accounting for such adjustments, with a focus on higher retail growth. Though this may be closer to what the system has grown so far, this fiscal, the bank’s peers SBI and Bank of Baroda (BoB) have guided for higher growth rates. SBI has guided for a 15 per cent growth, while BoB has guided for up to 14 per cent. Deposit growth, too, has been sub-system-level growth, despite the bank’s cost of deposits being a good 50 basis points higher compared with its PSU peers. Though shedding of low-yield loans and its effect on slow growth in advances can be a short-term phenomenon, inability to mobilise deposits can weigh on the growth in advances in the long term. For the full year FY25, the management has guided for a GNPA ratio of 3.5 per cent, net NPA ratio of 1.1 per cent, provision coverage ratio (PCR) of 90 per cent and credit cost of 1.1 per cent. The bank has either already achieved these metrics or is well poised to achieve them comfortably. The metrics as of Q2 FY25 stand as – 3.7 per cent, 1 per cent, 91 per cent and 1 per cent. However, the fact that such numbers are still on the higher side, compared with its peers such as SBI and BoB, justifies the absence of a premium valuation. Given the track record of the management in achieving the guided figures, long-term investors can accumulate the stock on dips. At lower levels from current price, there is more comfort in the valuation and the stock offers higher margin of safety. There can be a positive rerating as and when the management executes its guidance. Comments
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Apple has taken the step of halting the sale of its iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, and iPhone SE (3rd generation) in 29 countries, Northern Ireland. As such, this decision conforms to a recent European Union regulation on the adoption of the USB-C charging standard by all electronic devices, including smartphones before 28th of December, 2024. ET Year-end Special Reads Take That: The gamechanger weapon's India acquired in 2024 10 big-bang policy moves Modi government made in 2024 How governments tried to rein in the social media beast The mandate has the goal of decreasing electronic debris, and of homogenizing charging ports, which Apple contested, claiming it. Even though resistance, Apple moved to USB-C with the debut of the iPhone 15 series as well as with other products - such as iPads and AirPods. Due to this, the previous generations of iPhone models that used the Lightning connector may no longer meet the requirements of the EU regulations and have beenremoved from the market in the EU states, Switzerland, and Northern Ireland. Also Read : Magnus Carlsen Walks Out of World Rapid and Blitz Championships Over Jeans Dispute While Apple has removed these models from its official store, third-party retailers may still sell remaining stocks in some regions, such as Amazon Spain. However, this is expected to be a temporary solution. The discontinuation also coincides with reports of declining iPhone SE sales as anticipation builds for a new model in Spring 2025. Beyond Europe, the directive's impact remains limited for now, with other nations unlikely to implement similar legislation before the iPhone 14 is naturally phased out later this year. 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Taylor Swift has solidified her relationship with Travis Kelce by taking this big initiative, here's all about it FAQs: Can I still buy these iPhones in Europe? Yes, but only through third-party resellers while existing stocks last. Apple has officially removed the iPhone 14 and SE from its European stores. Does this ban apply outside Europe? No, the ban is limited to Europe. However, other countries may observe and implement similar regulations in the future. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel )
The Arab Union for International Exhibitions and Conferences (AUIEC) announced during its recent meeting in Cairo the launch of a major exhibition for Arab industries, set to take place in Iraq in 2025. This initiative underscores the Union’s dedication to fostering Arab industrial collaboration and enhancing trade across the region. According to Mahmoud Jarrah, Secretary-General of AUIEC, the exhibition will serve as a comprehensive platform to showcase cutting-edge industrial products and technologies from Arab countries. It will highlight the vast potential of Arab industries across various sectors while promoting intra-Arab trade and facilitating the exchange of expertise and innovation. Jarrah outlined several key goals for the exhibition: In tandem with the exhibition, AUIEC will organize an intensive training course on event and exhibition management. The program will target exhibition organizers from various Arab countries, aiming to enhance their professional skills and capacity to deliver world-class events. Jarrah also issued a warning about fraudulent activities by entities impersonating the Union. He urged companies and institutions to verify information through official AUIEC channels to avoid falling victim to scams. The Secretary-General extended an open invitation to Arab industrial companies and institutions to participate in this landmark event. He emphasized the importance of collaboration to ensure the exhibition’s success, calling for support and the provision of necessary resources. Earlier this month, Jarrah led a delegation to visit the Food Africa and Pacprocess exhibitions. He noted these events demonstrate the potential for Arab countries to host world-class exhibitions, citing Egypt’s success in attracting nearly 1,000 local and international exhibitors. This upcoming exhibition in Iraq is positioned to further cement the region’s reputation as a hub for industrial innovation and trade. The AUIEC’s announcement reflects a strategic vision for Arab industrial advancement, offering unparalleled opportunities for businesses to network, expand their reach, and contribute to regional economic growth.Rangers 1-1 Tottenham: Spurs escape Ibrox cauldron with a point in Europa League Battle of Britain Click here to visit the Scotland home page for the latest news and sport By STEPHEN MCGOWAN Published: 23:32, 12 December 2024 | Updated: 23:51, 12 December 2024 e-mail View comments In days of old, they would bill these cross-border bunfights as a ‘Battle of Britain’. Since 2006, Scottish teams have turned up bearing a water pistol to a gun fight. They’ve been outspent, outgunned and outplayed. Celtic ’s win over Manchester United remains the last time a team from the SPFL claimed the upper hand. That was 18 years ago. How close Rangers came here to bucking that trend. Until the 75th minute, the ‘pub league’ led the ‘tourist league’ thanks to a clinical strike from the talismanic Hamza Igamane. When the Moroccan scored his fifth goal in five games, the Rangers support belted out a chorus of ‘sacked in the morning’ as their former Celtic bete noire Ange Postecoglou stood motionless, hands buried deep in his pockets. It wasn’t to be in the end. While a point propels Philippe Clement’s team one step closer to the knock-out stage of the Europa League , they deserved more. Hamza Igamane fires home the opening goal in Rangers' 1-1 draw with Tottenham at Ibrox Substitute Dejan Kulusevski's goal earned Spurs a Europa League point they barely merited Under-fire Ange Postecoglou found himself under more pressure when Spurs fell behind Igamane was a force of nature, Nico Raskin had his best game in a Rangers shirt, while Vaclav Cerny’s energy was relentless. For well over an hour, Postecoglou’s lacklustre team performed like day trippers on a stag do. Substitute Dejan Kulusevski earned a point they barely merited with a clinical finish past Jack Butland with 15 minutes to play and even then they clung on. In the final moments of a breathless game, the much-maligned Rangers substitute Cyriel Dessers could have won it twice, a late strike ruled out for offside. A month or so ago, the soundtrack to an Ibrox day out was boos at the final whistle. The applause which followed a performance of courage, intensity and endeavour from most of a 48,064 crowd reflected the rapidly changing mood around the club. After weeks of dreading a double-header against Spurs and Celtic, Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup final against their oldest rivals no longer provokes a sense of foreboding. What impact this gargantuan effort against English Premier League opponents has upon events at Hampden remains to be seen, an injury to central defender John Souttar a source of legitimate concern. They have significantly less time to rest and recuperate than their rivals, but if Rangers can find a way to replicate the energy and spirit they summoned here, Postecoglou’s former team — like his current one — will know they’re in a game. Over the last five years, Tottenham have been the fourth biggest net spenders in a league where money is no object. For all the brickbats coming his way — and there were more from his own supporters here — Daniel Levy has lavished £460million on players. Dominic Solanke, alone, cost £64m. You wouldn’t have known it for large chunks of a game when Rangers made their wealthier opponents look ordinary. Bluntly, they were the better team. Postecoglou will cite the biggest injury crisis of his 25 years in management. The loss of his first-choice goalkeeper teed former Celtic stopper Fraser Forster up for a night of relentless booing, exacerbated by his participation in a pre-match huddle reminiscent of the Parkhead trademark in front of the away support. The loss of central defenders Ben Davies, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero added, meanwhile, to the air of vulnerability around a team with one win in their last eight games. Smelling blood, Rangers went for the kill, Forster the busier of the two keepers in a 90 minutes when they deserved the breakthrough before it came from the irrepressible Igamane, fast becoming a revelation. Click here to visit the Scotland home page for the latest news and sport Advertisement A sign of things to come arrived when Nedim Bajrami overlapped the lively, hungry Cerny and thumped a fizzing shot at goal. Forster did brilliantly to tip the ball over the bar and we were off and running. The gun had sounded. When Igamane’s first-time pass picked out the Czech winger on the right side of the area, Forster was forced down low to save. Moments later, Jefte rolled the most enticing ball along the face of goal and it was crying out for the boot of Bajrami to stretch out and prod Ibrox into orbit. Tottenham’s vulnerability was there for the world to see. Delighted by the opening half hour and the intensity of their team, the home support revelled in every raucous minute. The 2,500 Spurs supporters in a far corner of Ibrox stood in pensive silence. Mohamed Diomande’s needless yellow card for deliberate handball rules the midfielder out of the next game against Manchester United in January. Of more importance to Rangers was the sight of Souttar dropping to the turf with no one near him 10 minutes before the interval. When a player with Souttar’s injury record goes down, it’s rarely good news. The central defender limped gingerly from the fray after 35 minutes with what looked like a groin issue, Leon Balogun taking his place. With one eye on Sunday’s cup final the apprehensive hush belonged, this time, to the Rangers support. Their concern was misplaced. It took 39 minutes for a shapeless, dishevelled Spurs side to give Butland a save to make from James Maddison, before the offside flag was raised high in the air. Butland couldn’t have known that, of course. When Cerny forced Forster into a block with his legs before half-time, Spurs were lucky to get in at the break goalless. They’d barely been at the races. It was natural to expect a reaction of some kind. Postecoglou threw Kulusevski on for the lamentable Timo Werner. The change didn’t have quite the impact intended. Making his 53rd appearance in the Europa League, James Tavernier marked the occasion with the cross which almost took the roof off Ibrox two minutes into the second half. Bouncing all the way through to Igamane, the Moroccan slammed the ball past Forster and the reaction at Ibrox felt like the equivalent of a tremor at the earth’s core. For Spurs to find a way back in to the contest, they had to up their game. While Tottenham drew energy from the arrival of Solanke, Pape Sarr and Lucas Bergvall, Rangers began to tire. The intensity of the opening hour came at a price. Butland made a big save to deny Pedro Porro at the back post. When the team in white cut Rangers open with their most incisive move of the match, he could do nothing to prevent Kulusevski reversing a low shot into the net from 14 yards. Dazzling skill and a characteristically duff finish and then an offside flag denied Dessers the final say. Not for the first time on a torrid night, Tottenham had earned a let-off they barely merited. Share or comment on this article: Rangers 1-1 Tottenham: Spurs escape Ibrox cauldron with a point in Europa League Battle of Britain e-mail Add comment
The railway community in Sri Lanka and all national-minded islanders commemorate 27 December as the day on which the inaugural Ceylon Government Railway (CGR) train ran between Colombo Fort and Ambepussa (34 miles on the main line) in 1864. One day prior to it, the same folks remember with pain and anguish the devastating effect of the 2004 tsunami which destroyed a 1,500 passenger train at Peraliya on 26 December, taking over 1,000 lives in an island-wide cataclysm that resulted in 30,000 deaths. But Sri Lanka Railways endeavoured to restore the stricken locomotive – a Class M2a EMD-G12 (‘Manitoba’), imported under the Colombo Plan in 1956 – and a few years later, it makes a regular run on ‘D-Day’ every year, heading the now-iconic Train No. 8051 (‘51). And in a trifecta of rail happenings, this December’s media has been rife with reports of how the Government of Sri Lanka is in talks with its counterparts in Japan to get back on track the much vaunted Light Rail Transit (LRT) project that was arbitrarily derailed by the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration in 2021. Then Sri Lanka’s so-called “LRT fiasco” and the international fallout from a former regime’s ad-hoc policy decision is much in the news these days... for the right reasons, for a change. So much so that the case study of an arbitrary cancellation of the Japan-funded Light Rail Transit project in the context of international relations in an emerging geopolitical milieu may make interesting reading for all of SLR’s swains and stakeholders in good governance being restored. Ergo, this two-part piece on Sri Lanka’s ill-fated LRT project, on which fortune and the Government of Japan seem to be smiling again. [CONTINUED FROM A PREVIOUS ISSUE] Two further items in the same news report also signal salutary indications for Sri Lanka in general and the LRT project in particular. First, as regards the partnership of Japan, which was the original donor nation associated with the LRT project, and its ongoing support: “The President also conveyed appreciation for continued support provided by the Government of Japan and JICA.” (Colombo Gazette) Second, as regards the all-important factor of funding on the same or similar concessionary basis as below for the resumption and completion of at least the first planned phase of the pilot project of the LRT involving Line 1 and Line 4 in the road map: “Dr Tanaka Akihiko, the President of Japan International Cooperation Agency, called on President Wickremesinghe in Colombo. ... Dr. Akihiko elaborated on JICA’s efforts, highlighting the priority of concluding debt restructuring while also aiming for the resumption of stalled projects” (emphasis added). The sustainable role played by JICA is much in evidence in the Japanese agency’s rationalisation of the LRT project in its analyses and assessments of the scope of the work. JICA has long since affirmed on its website that “the project falls into the railways sector under the JICA guidelines for environmental and social considerations” per its mandate as of long ago as April 2010 (Japan International Cooperation Agency, ‘Project for Establishment of New Light Rail Transit System in Colombo’). JICA in its project outline affirms and undergirds the value of the LRT’s contribution to Sri Lanka’s national developmental agenda: “The objectives of the project are to alleviate traffic congestion, provide better connectivity and mitigate air pollution in the Western Region by constructing [a] mass rapid transit system, thereby contributing to the economic and social development of the Western Region and improvement of [the] urban environment” (JICA). And the same portal, by dint of its publication of ‘past’ and ‘latest’ monitoring reports spanning May, September and December 2019, not only indicates its commitment to the project but the ongoing interest shown and acted upon by JICA until the abrupt unilateral termination of the project by the Government of Sri Lanka under the then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in September 2021. The ramifications of such an arbitrary action, although ostensibly taken at the behest of a single individual at the uppermost echelon of executive power, had consequences that affected not only personal relationships but also impacted on Sri Lanka at the sovereign state level. As an Echelon Media Company report commented editorially: “Sri Lanka is in the process to mend severed ties with Japan after the island nation unilaterally cancelled a 1.5 billion US Dollar Light Rail Transit (LRT) and East Container Terminal (ECT) projects as the crisis-hit South Asian nation is seeking international help to come out of its economic down turn amid a political crisis. Higher government officials and ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) members have told Economy Next that most foreign countries were unwilling to help Sri Lanka unlike in the past because of some harsh ‘undiplomatic’ experiences. A former SLPP cabinet minister has said some countries have indirectly told the government that they would not help until [what was meant is ‘as long as’] President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family members are in power” (EconomyNext, ‘Crisis-hit Sri Lanka in process to mend Japanese ties after cancelling LRT, ECT projects’, 16 June 2022). The cancellation of the LRT project in particular hamstrung Sri Lanka’s longstanding relationship with Japan, according to the then Deputy Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Pieris, who affirmed that “the relationship with Japan is vital for Sri Lanka” (Economy Next), who also noted that the Japanese contribution to the island nation spanned decades – ever since the South Asian nation stood up for the defeated World War II country at the San Francisco Conference in 1945, after the conclusion of hostilities – and included substantial aid, loans, technological assistance and support for numerous projects spanning the gamut from the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) and the Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital (SJH) to sundry helps in terms of skills development, computer technology, construction industry initiatives, and medical and pharmaceutical items, in a milieu where Japan was allied to the US’ post-Cold War interests. In addition, the souring of relations between the two sovereign nations, which were celebrating their 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations at the time (2022), would come with attendant opportunity costs as “Sri Lanka wished to expand cooperation with Japan in the areas of digitalisation, carbon credit, and ocean-related activities including coast conservation, fisheries and global warming”, according to the Deputy Foreign Minister, who added: “Reference was also made to exploring cooperation in areas coming under the purview of the World Trade Organization.” Unsaid was the steps away from Chinese debt-trap diplomacy these would take, where previously the People’s Republic had wrested control of Hambantota Port from Sri Lanka. These costs and opportunity costs could be construed as not only a severe setback for international relations between the two previously harmoniously allied nation states but also an impediment to aid for Sri Lanka as “Japan has been the top lender for Sri Lanka under its concessionary funding and has poured billions of yens (sic) into Sri Lanka’s main Colombo port and many other infrastructure projects”, in addition to the fact that “Japan played a key role when Sri Lanka faced an economic collapse in 2001.” Further underlining the severity of the impact that the LRT project cancellation had was the recollection in 2022 that in 2003, Japan “helped to host a donor forum for Sri Lanka and raise 4.5 billion US Dollars ... to rebuild war ravaged infrastructure during a ceasefire agreement in the island nation’s civil war.” In December 2022, after the abovementioned developments took place between Japan and Sri Lanka on the sidelines of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) meeting, the island’s new head of state President Ranil Wickremesinghe announced that his government was intent on mending fences with the East Asian giant that had been supportive of Sri Lanka over the decades, with a special emphasis on trying to get the abandoned LRT project back on the track (Wikipedia, ‘Western Region Megapolis Light Rail Transit’). “However ... and even a few months later, the Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka at the time (March 2023) told a forum in Colombo that “a decision has not been made as yet about the revival of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-funded Light Rail Transit (LRT) project stretching from Colombo Fort to Malabe”, as quoted in a media report (NewsWire, ‘Japan yet to consider revival of Light Rail project’, 30 March 2023). The Japanese official intimated that “the decision about the project depends on the reforms of the Sri Lankan government, and if Sri Lanka can regain the trust of the Japanese government and business community”...”the revival of the project will be considered when those conditions are met.” In a post-Cold War milieu where until recently at least Russia was marginalised in an increasingly multi-polar world, the emergence of China as a contender against US economic hegemony was to some extent counterbalanced by the role played by American ally Japan in Asian region development. As a news report on the cancelled LRT project observed: “Sri Lanka, which lies along key shipping routes in the Indian Ocean, has become a hotspot for influence between India and Japan on the one side and China on the other” (Reuters, ‘Sri Lanka suspends Japanese-funded rail project over costs’, 24 September 2020). With Japan out of the equation for the LRT project, there was growing concern that China might step in once again. The poor governance ethos of arbitrary policy making and summary decision taking was thereafter to be compounded by other issues of governance such as covering up mistakes made. The project that was due to commence with land acquisition in 2020 and be concluded in 2024 with an LRT that would have trains running along an elevated track at four-minute intervals during rush hour and 10-minute intervals at off-peak times ended in ignominy for the Sri Lankan Government when the project was arbitrarily terminated by the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration citing the ongoing economic crisis at the time (Janaka Ratnasiri, ‘Cancellation of Light Rail Project: Some alternatives to reduce congestion’, 7 October 2020) – but that was not to be all. The Government of Sri Lanka later claimed that the LRT project was not terminated per se but only temporarily halted (Wikipedia, ‘Western Region Megapolis Light Rail Transit’). Three months after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa terminated the project unilaterally in a letter issued through the Secretary to the President as written proof of cancellation, a government minister claimed that “the Light Rail Transit (LRT) system funded by Japan has not been cancelled, but is under review” (NewsWire, ‘LRT project not cancelled, but under review – Minister’, 17 February 2021); with that government official, the State Minister of Urban Development among other ministries asserting: “The construction of a 15.8 km LRT track between the Colombo Fort area and Malabe is under review.” The minister in question had attempted in his statement to the media to explain the perceived cancellation in terms of the suspension of one of the four lanes (at US$ 2 billion compared to 400 million US dollars) of the two-line project, citing a cost discrepancy on which grounds it was allegedly temporarily suspended. Also claiming that the project was still up and running, the Secretary to the Ministry of Transport had previously, as much as a year after the cancellation (that is in September 2022), stated that since Cabinet had approved the project, it required termination by the Cabinet, and that a letter issued by the Secretary to the President was insufficient grounds to terminate the project (The Morning, ‘Colombo Light Rail Transit project still alive’, 27 September 2020). This attempt at political spin cast further shadows over poor governance and deepened the dark cloud over the goodwill between Sri Lanka and one of its longest-standing allies and international developmental partners in a multi-polar world – one where post-Cold War realities had brought China as a rival to Russia in the conflict with the superpower US. The proposed LRT project, formerly known as the Colombo Light Railway (Wikipedia, ‘Western Region Megapolis Light Rail Transit’), was an integral part of the Western Region Megapolis plan, and was “developed encompassing all aspects of transportation to provide a framework for urban transport development in the Western Region up to 2035” (Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development, ‘Western Region Megapolis Transport Master Plan: Final Report’, November 2016) and was therefore a visionary, timely and strategically outlined project. Its “development plan priorities” [were] “prepared based on the urgency of the [need] to resolve the critical urban transport problems” (Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development, ‘Western Region Megapolis Transport Master Plan: Final Report’, November 2016); and as a project of not only local, capital or regional but also national importance, because of the international cooperation dimension involving sovereign states and bilateral donor relations in a geopolitical milieu, it was “based on a logical sequence of implementation in order to maximize the outcomes in achieving the urban mobility objectives”. But in what was widely perceived as an arbitrary move and even a blasé exercise of authoritarian power, the then incumbent President Gotabaya Rajapaksa ordered the Ministry of Transport to “terminate this project and close the project office with immediate effect” (AFP, ‘Sri Lanka scraps $1.5bn Japan funded light rail system’, 24 September 2020), bringing to an abrupt halt the project that “commenced during the presidency of Maithripala Sirisena, in 2017, and was regarded as the largest single foreign-funded infrastructure project in Sri Lanka”. It was a terminal move that received Cabinet approval for cancellation on 29 September 2020, on the grounds that it would cause “huge environmental damage” (Janaka Ratnasiri, ‘Cancellation of Light Rail Project: Some alternatives to reduce congestion’, 7 October 2020, The Island Online) and come at “a very high cost”, although “Cabinet approval had been granted previously, both on environmental and financial grounds”. And yet, it was the decision to unilaterally terminate the project – and not the implementation of the project itself – that came at a very high set of costs. Firstly, financial: as “a Japan-based firm involved in a scrapped light rail transit project had claimed 5,896 billion rupees from Sri Lanka” (EconomyNext, ‘Japan firm claims damages of Rs.5.8bn from Sri Lanka after LRT deal scrapped’, 18 June 2021) as a result of termination of the US$130 million dollar contract with that consultancy, according to a revelation by the country’s Auditor-General. Secondly, fiscal: the suspension of a Japanese Government 30 billion yen concessionary loan signed with Sri Lanka in March 2020. Thirdly, reputational: the souring of relations between Sri Lanka and its long-time supporter, the nation, government and people of Japan. Fourthly, political: the fallout from this policy imbroglio as well as other political fiascoes such as a short-sighted chemical fertiliser ban and myopic monetary policies saw the regime of Gotabaya Rajapaksa coming to an ignominious end in July 2022 through the exercise of popular sovereignty vested in the people instrumentalising a citizens’ movement. Fifthly, social: the ongoing predicament of millions of commuters who continue to literally take their lives in their hands on inadequate and outdated railway infrastructure that is subject to delays, derailments and railroad union strikes. Finally (last not least), geopolitical: naïve governmental approaches to honouring international agreements and blasé cancellation of the deal between sovereign states that had partnered in development, which could precariously affect the balance of a post-Cold War regional order. In an emerging, complex and potentially threatening geopolitical milieu, the greatest fallout from the LRT fiasco was – over and above sovereign state-level displeasure – a realignment of allies, whereby Sri Lanka, ostensibly abandoned and at Japan’s displeasure, could slide towards China. A vision to develop Sri Lanka’s railway infrastructure is the need of the hour even now, over four years after the island nation arbitrarily terminated a project that would meet its creaking infrastructural needs at concessionary terms from a friendly nation’s government. It must be a vision that is ably backed up by the precise planning and meticulous attention to detail that the aborted LRT system that was funded by JICA and the Government of Japan displayed. But it would serve the national interest better if the type of bureaucratic bungling that was brought on by a regime change could be pre-empted, perhaps by the simple expedient of a parliamentary act to prevent successive governments from undoing the good work attempted by their administrative predecessors. This is by no means an easy task in a parliament where remnants of regimes can hold the executive arm of government to ransom or take the people’s will hostage because of bitter political rivalries that trump the national interest. It will take not only a regime change but a paradigm shift in the Standard Operating Procedure of ensuing Sri Lankan governments to enable the emergence of such a set of principles whereby the sovereign commitments of the state do not get derailed by the whims and fancies of authoritarian chief executives or any arbitrary bureaucratic decisions. There needs to be a radical redrafting of the social contract for this to eventuate whereby there is a better check and balance between the executive and the legislature, as well as between the government and state bureaucracy, and the people’s will versus wilful presidents. Such a reality will not eventuate without the awareness of the general populace about the international-level costs to the national interest. So especially in a global milieu where the old world order of bipolarity has changed so drastically that in an increasingly multi-polar world, even the (albeit arbitrary) cancellation of a developmental project can cause a regional geopolitical shift by driving a strategically important small country such as Sri Lanka away from US allies to China. It is in the context of all of the above that the mutual interest of and initiative shown by the governments of Japan and Sri Lanka to get the long-abandoned LRT project back on the track is to be welcomed and wholeheartedly endorsed by the public – especially commuters but also all stakeholders in growth, development, progress under a renascent good governance.Why Grocers Need to Adopt Strategies for a Seamless Customer ExperienceVICTORIA — A Vancouver Island First Nation whose people were the first to greet European explorers in the region almost 250 years ago is taking British Columbia to court, seeking title to its traditional territories and financial compensation. The Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation filed a claim Thursday in B.C. Supreme Court seeking a return of decision-making, resource and ecological stewardship, said Chief Mike Maquinna, a descendent of the former Chief Maquinna who met British explorer Capt. James Cook in 1776. Crown-authorized forest industry activities approved by the province without the consent of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation have resulted in cultural, economic and environmental impacts, he said at a news conference on Thursday. "Our people, the Mowachaht/Muchalaht, have endured many hardships since first meeting Capt. Cook, who was the explorer who first came into our territory," said Maquinna. "As a result of the explorations of our territory, the natural resources of our lands have been taken. We want to correct rights and wrongs here and hopefully as time goes on this will show that Mowachaht/Muchalaht has been infringed upon since time of contact." Capt. Cook and Chief Maquinna met in March 1776 at the traditional Mowachaht/Muchalaht whale-hunting village of Yuquot, later named Friendly Cove by Cook. The Parks Canada website says Yuquot was designated a national historic site in 1923 as the ancestral home of the First Nation, which was continuously occupied for more than 4,300 years and the centre of their social, political and economic world. The Parks Canada website says the village became the capital for all 17 tribes of the Nootka Sound region. Maquinna said the province has been acting as the sole decision-making authority in the Gold River-Tahsis areas of northern Vancouver Island, especially with regards to the forest resource, without the consent of his nation. Hereditary Chief Jerry Jack said the claim seeks title to about 430,000 hectares of land on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island and an amount of financial compensation to be determined by the court. "It is common knowledge we were here long before Capt. Cook and now we have to go to court and definitively prove that," he said. "I don't like that we have to prove that we owned it before he showed up to my territory, to my beach." The land title case does not make any claims against private land owners, homeowners or recreational hunting and fishing operators, said Jack. Premier David Eby said the B.C. government prefers negotiated land-claims settlements rather than become involved in lengthy, expensive court cases, but the Mowachaht/Muchalaht have the right to take that route. "We have no problem with them doing that," he said at an unrelated news conference in Langley. "We'd rather sit down and find a path forward." The 15-page notice of claim seeks declarations that the First Nation has Aboriginal title to its lands and that B.C.'s Forest Act and Land Act will no longer apply to Mowachaht/Muchalaht lands once title is declared. Jack said the nation decided against pursuing formal treaty talks with the federal and provincial government years ago and has been planning the land title court case "for many decades." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 12, 2024. Dirk Meissner, The Canadian Press
