Govt.-doctors’ messages on milk confusing, poll shows
Most Sri Lankans drink milk and believe the government and sections of the medical profession are responsible for confusing signals on the consumption of milk, a Business Times –Research Consultancy Bureau (BT-RCB) poll found this week. The poll was conducted on the street and by email with over 800 respondents and, asked whether milk is [...]
The Raux Brothers lifestyle stores make a home for inspiration and interaction
Raux Brother’s the nation’s niche specialty boutique stores for handcrafted and contemporary furniture and accents recently employed Pyxle, the country’s leading web solutions developer, to grow its customer base through the use of social media tools. With a rich history spanning nearly half a century, Raux Brothers, renowned for its intricate unique craftsmanship and attention [...]
Shangri-La Hotel project at a standstill
Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Asia’s super luxury hotel project in Colombo is at a standstill owing to some unexpected obstacles. Construction work on the 497-room Shangri-La Hotel Colombo located between the Galle Face green promenade and Beira Lake, has been suspended as the government is demanding the company to make the US$ 200 million investment promised [...]
People’s Leasing seeks $50 mln from ME banks
The People’s Leasing and Finance (PLC) which has been negotiating with some Middle Eastern banks in a bid to raise US$ 50 million has cleared all approvals with the Gulf bank credit committees and is awaiting a final set of approvals from the banks, officials said. “The Gulf banks have agreed to this loan and [...]
CSE, SEC entice firms to go public
The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) along with the Securities and Exchange Commission is discussing with unlisted firms the potential to go public, officials said. CSE Chairman Krishan Balendra, on the sidelines of launching CSE’s guide to the listing procedure to help prospective corporates who want to explore going public on Thursday, told the Business Times [...]
NSB US dollar bond on roadshow within the next few weeks
The National Savings Bank’s (NSB) delayed roadshow overseas aimed at raising a US$500 million bond is slated to kick off in the week, sources close to NSB said. “NSB is planning a roadshow with lead managers, Barclays, Citigroup and HSBC. The lead managers are arranging investor meetings in the US, Europe and Asia,” a source [...]
All-electric Nissan Leaf hits Lankan roads
The first 100 per cent electric Nissan Leaf will hit Sri Lankan roads promoting the green concept and ensuring significant fuel savings. EV Lanka (Pvt) Ltd is the direct importer of these vehicles to Sri Lanka and it has already brought down five Nissan Leaf cars as an initial step towards popularising the electric models [...]
Building global competitiveness answer to our economic problems
The competitiveness of Sri Lankan products and services has assumed great importance in view of the fact that the country has been burdened with rising balance of payments deficits and external debt. These have become serious problems since Sri Lanka (SL) cannot hope to solve them in the near future by following import substitution policies [...]
Food for thought on food safety
In recent weeks, Sri Lankan consumers have been bombarded with mixed and confusing messages about the safety of the food they consume. While this in particular refers to the raging milk powder debate, efforts are now underway to also test a range of food items include imported fruits and other products. One may ask why [...]
Concept of a free port
The ports of Colombo and Hambantota will be the island’s futuristic Free Ports and the government’s strategic vision can benefit Sri Lanka in converting it as a gateway for goods and services to the ISC-Region if pursued on the right path. The strategy is to provide secure, reliable, faster and more efficient services for the [...]
Nation Lanka Finance aims for profit of Rs. 200 mln in 2014 and Rs. 400 mln in 2015
Nation Lanka Finance is forecasting a profit of Rs. 200 million and Rs. 400 million for the financial years 2014 and 2015, respectively, Asanga Seneviratne, Director of Nation Lanka Finance PLC told reporters in Colombo this week. He was speaking at a company-organised media briefing. “We have many plans for the future which includes, taking [...]
Drive in bill payment scheme
Dehiwela Subscribers of the Ceylon Electricity Board in the Dehiwela area have been offered a range of services including drive-in (while the subscriber is in his vehicle) electricity bill payments and getting new electricity connections at the doorstep of a subscriber on the same day of submitting the application. Such information to subscribers in this [...]
NDB Capital Holdings says 1st half 2013 revenues sharply up at Rs. 466 mln
NDB Capital Holdings PLC (NCAP) has reported revenue of Rs. 466 million in the first half of 2013 against Rs. 152 million in the same 2012 period, which is a three-fold increase in growth. This increased revenue translated to a profit of Rs. 424 million at company level for the first half compared to Rs. [...]
Turkish Airlines covers the world more than any other airline
Turkish Airlines CEO Temel Kotil is a man with a vision. Looking ahead to 2020, the year in which Istanbul has lodged a bid to host the Olympic Games, he sees the centres of the airline industry shifting from West to East with cities like Istanbul, Doha, Abu Dhabi and Dubai at the heart of [...]
Deepal to deliver the ‘Leadership Code’; harnessing the best of both worlds in leadership development
“What makes a great leader?” Dave Ulrich, Norm Smallwood, and Kate Sweetman set out to answer this question- to crack the code of leadership. Drawing on decades of research experience, the authors conducted extensive interviews with the thought leaders in this field- and heard the same five essentials repeated again and again. These five rules [...]
Dilmah issue: ‘I didn’t send any letter’ – tax lawyer N.R. Gajendran says
N.R. Gajendran, the well-known tax lawyer, has informed the Business Times that a letter published last week headlined “Merrill’s 25 year journey with Dilmah tea” from Mr. N. Gajendran of Colombo was not sent by him. “I didn’t send you any such letter,” he said.
United Holidays rebranded as Abercrombie & Kent Sri Lanka
United Holidays has been rebranded Abercrombie & Kent Sri Lanka with Ms. Gayangi Wirasinha appointed as its Managing Director. The 50 year-old Abercrombie & Kent, the world’s foremost luxury travel company with a global network of 51 offices, has taken a controlling interest in United Holidays. Afghar Mohideen, owner and founder of United Holidays remains [...]
CIC overseas expansion on hold due to delay in subsidy payments
CIC Holdings PLC is reconsidering plans of expanding overseas on the back of a delay in fertilizer subsidy payments which has impacted its finance cost, sources close to the company said. The company whose agriculture and livestock arm contributes nearly 63 per cent of the group’s revenue was finalising parties in African locations to forge [...]
SLT receives licence to launch NBN operations
Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) has been given the licence as the National Backbone Network (NBN) Service Provider in Sri Lanka. Under this new licence, SLT will function as the NBN operator, delivering NBN services via the company’s advanced fibre optic based nation-wide communication backbone. The licence was formally presented to Lalith De Silva, Group CEO [...]
Expolanka Holdings wins 2 Gold Awards at US annual reports’ event
Expolanka Holdings PLC was awarded with the Gold Award in the Non- Traditional Annual Report category for conglomerates and another Gold award for Printing and Production in the same category from among a record-breaking 2,260 entries from 34 countries at the Academy Awards of Annual Reports at the 27th ARC Awards International in New York [...]
New President of SLANZBC wants to boost trade and investment
The 18th Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka-Australia-New Zealand Business Council (SLANZBC) of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce was held recently at the Cinnamon Lakeside. Its newly-elected President and Chairman, Lidechsi Group of Companies, Lionel D.C. Silva said the Council will engage in bi-lateral trade promotion activities with the support of High Commission of [...]
SLT awarded world renowned ISO 9001:2008 certification
Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), the national telecommunication service provider, was recently awarded ISO 9001:2008 certification for its Quality Management System (QMS) by the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI). This certification covers all the local and international services provided by SLT and the operations of its branch offices located island wide. In a media statement, SLT [...]
Lanka’s balance sheet, banking and investor-friendliness key : ex Georgian FM
Investors in any country, whether it is Georgia or Sri Lanka, look for a stable sovereign balance sheet, a resilient banking sector and pro-business regulation, according to former Georgian Finance Minister Dimitri Gvindadze. Speaking on Friday as a part of a quarterly lecture series, held at the government’s MILODA financial studies academy in Colombo, Mr. [...]
Motor Traffic Department to crack down on motorists causing noise pollution
Wary of the ever-increasing traffic and the resulting noise pollution caused by tooting of horns, the Motor Traffic Department is to crack down on motorists tooting vehicle horns causing public nuisance, Motor Traffic Commissioner General S. H. Harischandra said. Accordingly, drivers cannot sound their horns, exceeding 105 decibels within a five-metre range, and it should [...]
Ideal Motors embarks on a major expansion drive in Ratmalana
Ideal Motors Ltd, the sole automobile franchise partner of India’s Mahindra & Mahindra in Sri Lanka is embarking on a major expansion of its entire range of business, by foraying into further diversified activities including the setting up of a fully fledged modern workshop, motor mechanic training centre and after sales unit in Ratmalana area, [...]
DIMO ties up with LeeBoy India to supply Backhoe loaders
Diesel & Motor Engineering PLC (DIMO) has tied up with LeeBoy India Construction Equipment Ltd (LeeBoy India) to market their products as their exclusive distributor in Sri Lanka, a media release issued by the company said. Initially DIMO will be promoting the LeeBoy Backhoe Loader 699 to help companies in the road construction and excavation [...]
Porsche Asia Pacific considers Sri Lanka an emerging market
Porsche Asia Pacific Pvt Ltd considers Sri Lanka an important emerging market although car sales have slowed down due to recent import duty hike on motor vehicles, a top official of the company said. There were continued development of positive sales in countries in the Asian region including Sri Lanka and India, Carl Isenbeck , [...]
Vehicle registrations continue to slide despite a surge last month
Sri Lanka’s motor car registrations plunged to 16,067 in the first seven months of 2013, down 47.6 per cent from 21, 707 a year earlier despite the surge in July 2013 to a new high, Motor Traffic Department official said. Car registrations have surged to a new high of 2,911 in July 2013, up 41 [...]
Need for government to support young SL entrepreneurs
While the private sector, banks and other institutions progressively support young people to succeed in business ideas and put them into action, a top government official at a media conference in Colombo last week conceded that they do not have a tangible programme to support young people to become entrepreneurs. At a media briefing held [...]
UTE backs Sri Lanka’s largest construction exhibition for the 5th consecutive year
United Tractor & Equipment (UTE), for the fifth time, was the main sponsor at Sri Lanka’s largest construction exhibition held in Colombo recently. Organised by the National Construction Association of Sri Lanka, ‘Construct’ is a key event in the regional industry calendar. Now in its 13th consecutive year, ‘Construct’ drew participants from Malaysia, India, Pakistan [...]
STBC AGM on Tuesday
The annual general meeting of the Sunday Times Business Club (STBC) will be held on Tuesday, August 27 at the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel. A new set of office bearers will be elected to steer the club for the 2013-2014 year. Etisalat is the main sponsor of the club.
DFCC collects several metals at the bestweb.lk awards 2013
www.DFCC.lk secured Gold for the Best Corporate, Banking and Insurance website and the Silver award for the overall ‘Best Website’ at the recently concluded Best Website Competition organised by the LK Domain Registry. They also won a Silver and Bronze for their Sinhala and Tamil websites respectively. DFCC partnered with Pyxle, a leading web developer, [...]
Seylan Bank Annual Report wins Silver Awards at US event
The Seylan Bank 2012 Annual Report, “It works!”, won Silver Awards each at the recently concluded ARC International Awards and League of American Communications Professionals (LACP) Vision Awards. The bank’s 2012 Annual Report won a Silver Award for Printing & Production in the Banking Category at the ARC International Awards held recently, the bank said. [...]
Globe-trotting BOI chairman should be removed, says union
Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment (BOI) Chairman Lakshman Jayaweera is likely to be removed or asked to resign amidst accusations from workers that he was neglecting his duties and responsibilities, informed sources said. Treasury Secretary Dr P.B. Jayasundera was not satisfied with the performance of the BOI Chief who failed to attract any substantial foreign [...]
Ceylinco Shriram high-end depositors urge equal treatment in repayment process
Urging equal treatment, high-end depositors of Ceylinco Shriram complain that they are yet to receive a substantial amount of their dues to fall in line with their low end counterparts in accordance with the Supreme Court approved repayment plan. The initial payment as per the repayment plan was limited up to Rs.900,000 or 60 per [...]
Malwatte Valley profits rise despite gloom in tea sector
Malwatte Valley, despite the gloom for tea production companies, has reported solid profits for the first half 2013. The company said that while the April – June quarter was dominated by an inflexible wage hike and escalating costs of power, fertilizer, etc, Malwatte with its innovative management changes achieved the highest prices for its quality [...]
Ravindran first Sri Lankan to head Rotary International
Respected business leader and CEO of Printcare Plc, K.R. Ravindran has been selected as President of Rotary International – one of the world’s largest service organisations, for the years 2015-16. He is the first Sri Lankan and only the 10th Asian to hold this prestigious office in the 108 year history of the organization, it [...]
Amãna Takaful sustains turn-around momentum into 2013 1st half
Amãna Takaful Insurance, sustaining its growth momentum, posted a profit of Rs. 25.92 million in the six months to June 2013. A company statement said at group level, the profit of Rs 76.66 million was a significant upside of 65 per cent over the same period last year. Consolidated revenue was Rs. 892.16 million, up [...]
Aklit Constructions wins global award for quality leadership
Aklit Constructions (Pvt) Ltd, a reputed company the Sri Lankan constructions industry, was recently awarded the International Star in Leadership in Quality (ISLQ) Award in the Gold Category for 2013 by Business Initiative Directions in France. The ISLQ Award recognizes TQM QC100 based total quality management and Aklit Constructions (Pvt) Ltd was recognized in the [...]
CB says good housekeeping will see surplus current account by 2016
The Central Bank (CB) hopes to have a current account surplus in the balance of payments after 2016, CB Governor Nivard Cabraal told a forum organised by Standard & Poor’s on ‘Sri Lanka’s Issuers: A Global Perspective’, last week. “Sri Lanka will have inflows and next year we want to have mid single digit inflation [...]
Rising demand for new Aloe Vera Jelly Drink
A delicious drink prepared using the jelly substance in Aloe Vera plant is growing in popularity, the company said. The Bio Care Institute in Kaludewala, Panadura has prepared and introduced the “Active Aloe” Aloe Vera Jelly drink three years ago to the market. This has been initially sold in and around Colombo City and other [...]
HNB 10 year Senior Debt Issue oversubscribed
Hatton National Bank PLC’s 10 year Senior Debt issue was oversubscribed shortly after it was opened on Thursday and hence the issue was closed on the same day. This was an issue of 20 million Unsecured Senior Redeemable Debentures with the option to issue up to a further 10 million Debentures in the event the [...]
Richard Pieris records Q1 turnover of Rs.8.2 billion
The Richard Pieris Group recorded a turnover of Rs. 8.2 billion during the quarter ended 30th June 2013 with a pre-tax profit of Rs. 330 million, the company said this week. The retail sector had a very robust performance during the first quarter with many exciting marketing campaigns. Three new showrooms were opened in the [...]
Sri Lanka’s external trade position stable, says Central Bank
Sri Lanka’s external sector remained stable with continued inflows being recorded in the balance of payments (BOP), the Central Bank (CB) said this week. Cumulative foreign inflows to the country in the form of earnings from tourism, workers’ remittances, foreign direct investments (FDI) and investments in Government securities showed a noteworthy growth during the first [...]
Bharti Airtel in talks to sell Sri Lankan operations to Etisalat, Indian newspaper says
NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel, the world’s fourth largest telecom operator by subscribers, is in advanced discussions to sell off its Sri Lankan operations to Abu Dhabi’s Etisalat, said two persons aware of the development, according to Indian newspaper, Econmic Times. The paper said Standard Chartered Bank was advising the Indian company in the transaction. Bharti [...]
Metro Monorail Project sees Chinese, Japanese and Malaysian interest
The Ministry of Transport is pursuing three financial proposals for the mega Metro Monorail Project by China’s Shandong Construction Engineering, Malaysia’s Scomi Rail and a proposal from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Ministry of Transport sources said. They added that in a bid to deal with the ever mounting traffic congestion in Pettah and Colombo [...]
Fonterra says committed to Sri Lanka despite suspension of operations
Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited said on Friday it had taken the precautionary step of temporarily suspending its consumer operations in Sri Lanka because of the unstable situation at the moment. Chief Executive Theo Spierings said Fonterra has two immediate priorities: protecting its people, and protecting its farmer shareholders’ assets. “The temporary suspension is the right [...]
