Cracks appear in SL's coalition govt after sacking of 2 Cabinet ministers

Sri Lanka's Water Supply Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara on Monday said he will boycott cabinet meetings to protest the sacking of his two colleagues by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa during a snap cabinet reshuffle last week, underlining the deep-rooted fissures within the ruling coalition government.

On Thursday, Rajapaksa sacked two high-ranking cabinet ministers — Udaya Gammanpila from the energy minister portfolio and Wimal Weerawansa, industries minister — after they openly criticised his younger brother and Minister of Finance Basil Rajapaksa, accusing him of having a rigid working style that caused the island nation's ongoing economic woes.

Sri Lanka is reeling from a foreign exchange crisis with falling reserves.

Saudi Arabia’s first movie chain plans landmark IPO

A Saudi Arabian firm is weighing an initial public offering that will make it the first movie chain to list in the kingdom, people familiar with the matter said. Muvi Cinemas has hired the investment banking arm of Banque Saudi Fransi to manage a direct listing and expects to be valued at as much as $800 million, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. The chain may list on the smaller Nomu market as soon as this month, they said.  Muvi Cinemas and Fransi Capital declined to comment. 

Saudi Arabia removed a decades-long ban on public cinemas four years ago, as part plans to overhaul its economy. Founded in 2019, Muvi is Saudi Arabia’s first homegrown cinema brand. According to its website, the firm has operations in about 10 cities and about 200 screens. 

(Bloomberg)

China defence budget rises 7.1%,  fastest pace in three years

China projected defence spending growth of 7.1 per cent this year, the fastest pace since 2019 as President Joe Biden moves to strengthen the US’s position in the Indo-Pacific region.  Military expenditure is expected to rise to 1.45 trillion yuan ($229 billion) in the coming year. The figure was released in the Ministry of Finance’s annual report. A Bloomberg calculation of the latest numbers shows spending for this year will actually rise 7 per cent.  The boost in defence spending came after the US last month unveiled its long-awaited Indo-Pacific strategy to counter China’s growing economic and military clout.

(Bloomberg)

Oz to build $7.4-bn base for N-subs

The Australian government will spend at least A$10 billion ($7.4 billion) building a new base to house a future fleet of nuclear submarines, as PM Scott Morrison warns the Ukraine war will “inevitably stretch” to the Indo-Pacific. The Defence Department has selected three possible east coast locations for the submarine facility — Newcastle and Port Kembla in the state of New South Wales and the Queensland capital of Brisbane.  Australia is planning to build and begin operating a fleet of nuclear submarines in the coming decades with the assistance of the U.S. and the UK, under the landmark AUKUS agreement which was signed in September last year.

(Bloomberg)