Last post for much-loved theatre
Is this the last post for the once-venerated John de Silva Memorial Theatre, a much-sought after place for Sinhala drama? This bare land next to the Nelum Pokuna is where the Theatre stood before being razed to the ground.
Super-rich escapes proposed wealth tax
Pressure by highly influential persons saw the Government withdrawing a proposal, planned in the budget, to impose a tax on the super-rich, authoritative sources said. However, the tax is expected to be introduced later through a different process. Instead, to raise revenue, a series of new taxes were introduced in addition to increasing import duties [...]
Reducing number of fincos. welcome, BT poll shows
Last week’s budget proposal for companies and banks to absorb subsidiaries operating as finance company has won near unanimous approval in a Business Times poll this week. Asked whether the government’s proposal asking companies to take under their wing finance companies subsidiaries, 90 per cent of the respondents said it was a good proposal. More [...]
SL used car importers eye business in Africa
Sri Lanka’s reconditioned vehicle importers should consider the option of shifting their business to a growing African market if they cannot survive locally due to heavy taxes on used car imports, authoritative government sources said. If these motor vehicle importers think that the country’s second hand car market will collapse as result of government’s taxation, [...]
Tax-free designer ties planned in 2013 budget
The removal of import duties on designer brands of apparel including footwear and neckties and designer pens had been planned for inclusion in the 2013 budget presented in November 2012, but was missed out. It was included in next year’s budget in an effort to promote international shopping, according to Treasury officials. They said that [...]
Dilemma over allocating CHOGM Benz cars
The government is in a dilemma in allocating 54 luxury Benz S400 vehicles that were imported to the country for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in Colombo recently, informed sources said. All these Benz cars are now parked at the DIMO vehicle yard at Weweldeniya and the government can take it away [...]
Reforms to strengthen finance sector next year
A major shake-up in the finance company sector is in the offing with guidelines being prepared by the Central Bank (CB) to reduce the number of firms. Separately, smaller, shaky, companies are to be encouraged to merge or be acquired by their bigger counterparts, officials said. The planned reforms, aimed at strengthening and consolidating the [...]
Sri Lankans less optimistic of the economic future now compared to 2011, new survey reveals
The cost of living, from an economic perspective, is what confronts most people in Sri Lanka, a survey by the Social Indicator-Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) has said. The ‘Survey on democracy in post-war Sri Lanka’ released this month says that a reduction in the cost of living is what most Sri Lankans would like [...]
Acquisitions in the finance sector
Last week’s budget proposal for smaller finance companies (if part of a group or bank) to be absorbed by their main company or bank is likely to trigger mergers and acquisitions in this sector next year. The plan, initiated by the Central Bank (CB), is intended to consolidate operations of this sector but more importantly, [...]
Dr. Gamani Corea – an exemplary and all round human being
On 4th November 2013, his 88th birthday, Dr. Gamani Corea, Sri Lanka’s most senior and most distinguished economist parted from us all for good, leaving a void that could hardly be filled in the foreseeable time. Many long glittering tributes have been pouring in from all quarters, since his death, including very eloquent ones from [...]
21-member Pay Commission to work out wage structure for public/private sectors
A 21-member national pay commission has been appointed, for the first time, to formulate a national policy on wages of employees applicable to both the public and private sectors. The commission has been appointed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to devise this national policy and settle salary anomalies of employees, government officials said adding that the [...]
Seylan pre-tax profits reach Rs. 2.2 bln
Seylan Bank reported a pre-tax profit of Rs. 2,269 million for the 9 months ended 30th September 2013 while post-tax profit reached Rs. 1,536 million, down a 3.9 per cent from the earlier year corresponding months. Post-tax profit for the third quarter 2013 was Rs. 534 million against Rs. 638 million for the same period [...]
Year 2016 will be a decisive one for SL
The year 2016 is slated to be a ‘decisive’ one for the country as Sri Lankans gear to face new challenges such as current, fiscal and democratic deficits faced by the country, according to N.R. Gajendran, Senior Partner, Gajma Tax Consultants. “2016 has been defined as a strategic year for Sri Lanka, the year that [...]
Post-budget process is budget review, not budget debate
The budget presentation has become only a formality while its debate is a farce. Just like previous budgets, all kinds of fancy claims and assurances have been made calling this a development oriented budget, etc. Anything can be said as there is no accountability. What actually happens after will be completely different. Budget proposals submitted [...]
NDB to issue Rs. 10 bln Debentures
National Development Bank PLC (NDB) said on Friday it plans to issue upto 100 Million Rated Unsecured Subordinated Redeemable Debentures at a par value of Rs. 100 each, raising a total of upto Rs.10 billion. In a statement, the bank said the initial issue will be Rs. 5 billion with an option to issue upto [...]
Janashakthi wins silver award at SLITAD People Development Awards
Janashakthi Insurance plc won the Silver Award at the Sri Lanka Institute of Training And Development (SLITAD) People Development Awards, showcasing the companies commitment towards its employees. The award ceremony, held on November 22 at Waters Edge near Colombo, saw many top corporates coming together to celebrate their contribution to people development. “At Janashakthi, we [...]
Amãna Bank goes public, seeks CSE listing
Amãna Bank, Sri Lanka’s premier licensed commercial bank operating in full compliance with Islamic banking principles, has received the green light from the Colombo Stock Exchange to be listed on the bourse through an IPO. The bank which is expected to be listed on the Diri Savi Board, will issue 214,300,000 new Ordinary Shares at [...]
Sri Lanka unit aims to sell doctors’ appointments via SMS skills overseas
A Sri Lankan company which pioneered the development of doctors’ appointment though mobile phone SMS is now planning to deploy its skills aboard. ECL Soft (Pvt) Ltd (ECLS), subsidiary of eChannelling PLC has entered into a Business Cooperation Agreement with SMS Marketing System Asia (P) Ltd (SMS), to develop and run hospital / doctor appointment [...]
Bank of Ceylon records back-to-back hat-trick wins
Bank of Ceylon won three awards to record a double hat-trick at the National Business Excellence awards ceremony held on 27th November 2013 at Colombo Hilton. Last year also Bank of Ceylon recorded a hat-trick win by receiving three awards at the National Business Excellence awards ceremony, according to a bank media release. This event [...]
DMS Electronics becomes Lanka’s first HP ServiceONE Expert Partner
DMS Electronics (DMSE) has been appointed at the first HP ServiceONE Expert Partner in Sri Lanka. This exclusive appointment has now put Sri Lanka on the HP map as a country with a service provider that is able to provide the highest level of service to its customers, according to a DMS media release. HPServiceONE [...]
Charitable thoughts from Hameedia this Christmas
Hameedia, Sri Lanka’s leading men’s wear brand has launched its iconic campaign ‘Dress 2 Win’ under this year’s “A Charismatic Christmas”, at all its outlets this festive season starting from the 25th of November all the way till the 31st of December. Any customer spending Rs. 5000 or more at any Hameedia’s retail outlet is [...]
Public investment would exceed budget deficit in 2016, says Treasury head
Public investment since 2006 to date is the journey of bringing down the budget deficit step by step to the current level of 5.8 per cent. Within the next three years the public investment would exceed the budget deficit, according to Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B Jayasundara. Speaking at the CA Sri Lanka post-budget seminar in [...]
Expolanka Freight reduces carbon footprint by 10 %
Expo Freight (EFL) recently was re-certified with CarbonNeutral by the Carbon Consulting Company (CCC) for the year 2013/14 furthering a commitment to reducing its carbon footprint. Since becoming Sri Lanka’s first-ever CarbonNeutral freight and logistics company in 2012, EFL has been working in the forefront of this evolving environmental issue. The company managed to reduce [...]
Poultry producers concerned over pricing formula proposed twice in 2013 and 2014 budgets
Despite the government’s move of introducing a pricing formula replacing price control on chicken through a 2014 budget proposal, the viability of poultry industry is at stake due to its dependency on feed prices, as it is the dominant production cost, leading poultry industrialists said. The very same proposal of a pricing formula was made [...]
Fonterra welcomes NZ-Sri Lanka dairy cooperation arrangement
Fonterra has welcomed a new Dairy Cooperation arrangement between the New Zealand Government and Sri Lankan Government signed by Sri Lankan Minister for External Affairs G.L. Peiris and New Zealand Minister for Foreign Affairs Murray McCully on the sidelnes of the recently-held Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Colombo. Fonterra Director and farmer-shareholder John Monaghan, [...]
Post CHOGM global funding for Green Initiatives
The Sri Lankan Hub of the Commonwealth Environmental Investment Platform [CEIP] was launched recently in Colombo during the Commonwealth leaders’ summit. The Sri Lanka hub will also cover the Maldives, and is operated by Motha Capital Investments [MCI], part of the GE Group. The MCI team leading this hub are Roshan Motha head of Motha [...]
Marinas to give strong boost to yachting in Sri Lanka
Yachting in Sri Lanka is about to get a strong boost with the establishment of Marinas to service this global pleasure sport. Sri Lankan entrepreneur Indhra Kaushal Rajapaksa has teamed up with marina professional Simon Arrol and Sebastian Devonshire to launch Marina Lanka – a new company dedicated to servicing the pleasure boating industry. “Sri [...]
ESET launches mobile security app for Android
Slovakian computer antivirus company ESET recently launched its mobile security application (app) for the Android operating system in Sri Lanka. This app, which has both a paid and a free version, enters Sri Lanka following its August 2013 worldwide unveiling. Speaking at the launch, Shihan Annon, Director of DCS International, the sole agent for ESET [...]
Sri Lanka, New Zealand cricket teams stay at Dambula’s newest leisure property
Green Paradise Resort of Browns Investments PLC played host to the Sri Lankan and New Zealand Cricket Teams, when they played in Dambulla in September. The hotel gave a warm and traditional Sri Lankan welcome to the two teams in the presence of Susantha Bandara, Resident Manager and staff members of the hotel. During their [...]
Depreciation value revision sends Sri Lanka re-conditioned car market crashing
Sri Lanka’s reconditioned car business is heading towards the doldrums due to the government’s inconsistent monetary policies and ad hoc decisions of taxation on vehicle imports, motor traders warned. Sector insiders said many reconditioned car traders are planning to diversify their business to more lucrative trades such as pharmaceuticals or fast moving commodities while others [...]
Sri Lanka’s modern Mercedes- Benz car centre to be opened next month
Sri Lanka’s state of the art modern Mercedes- Benz car centre is to be opened next month catering to all requirements of luxury Benz customers, Ranjith Pandithage, Chairman and the Managing Director of Diesel and Motor Engineering Company Plc (DIMO) said. The construction of the Mercedes-Benz show room, workshop and facility at Thotalanga has been [...]
Range Rover Sport sets fastest recorded time in desert crossing
The new Range Rover Sport has set the fastest recorded time for a land vehicle crossing of the ‘Empty Quarter’ – one of the harshest and most challenging desert environments on the planet, a media release from the company disclosed. The media release quoted Managing Director, SML Frontier Automotive, Sheran Fernando. as saying, “This feat [...]
Spot fines soon on motorists violating seat belt rules
Spot fines will soon be imposed on motorists violating seat belt regulations through amendments to the Motor Traffic Act, Transport Minister Kumar Welgama said. “Implementation of these fines is now being carried out by the courts and the public has been inconvenienced,” he said stressing the need to amend the law to impose spot fines. [...]
German luxury car producer Porsche expects boost in sales here
German luxury car producer Porsche is anticipating a boost in sales in Sri Lanka as they see a maturing market and a lot of interest in the Porsche brand and model. Eurocars (PVT) Ltd, the agent for Porsche vehicles in Sri Lanka, said that despite the challenging market they are optimistic that “both turnover and [...]
SL motor traders worry over additional taxes on vehicle safety options, other features
Sri Lanka Customs is now imposing additional taxes on options of the vehicle such as safety features including more air bags and security alarms etc, motor traders revealed. The newly appointed valuation committee of the customs is levying high taxes on vehicles with additional features and options in an arbitrary manner, they complained. A decision [...]
Government urged to ban used car imports,
Franchise motor traders are to request the Treasury to completely ban re-conditioned vehicle imports and reduce import duty on hybrid and small cars if it wants to increase customs duty revenue as more people will start buying such new vehicles. Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera has stressed the need to stop a revenue leakage due [...]
DIMO powers ‘Beefy’s’ Sri Lanka Walk
Diesel and Motor Engineering PLC (DIMO) was the official logistics partner for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation organised Beefy’s BIG Walk in Sri Lanka last month. Named Beefy’s Big Sri Lanka Walk, the event saw Sir Ian Botham walk 160 miles in eight days from Kilinochchi in the North to Galle in the South [...]
Standard Chartered Bank hosts breakfast meeting with global leaders
Principal Sponsor of the Commonwealth Business Forum 2013, Standard Chartered, together with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), hosted a breakfast meeting for global business and government leaders. Held on November 13, the session was chaired b S. Gopalakrishnan, President, CII and Co-Founder and Executive Vice Chairman, Infosys Ltd. The panel of speakers included Khumbo [...]
Sri Lanka Shippers’ Council welcomes shipping proposals in budget
The Sri Lanka Shippers’ Council, the apex body which represents the interest of the shippers, has welcomed what it calls ‘timely reforms’ presented in the budget pertaining to the shipping sector. Reforms that will become law effective from January 2014 have been highlighted since the late 1990′s by the Shippers’ Council together with the Exporters’ [...]
230 Interactive wins Silver for Cinnamon Hotels at W3 Awards in New York
Sri Lanka-based Internet marketing firm, 230 Interactive (230i) has been internationally recognised once again with a Silver for website design excellence at the recently held W3 Awards in New York. This award comes on the heels of 230 Interactive’s previous achievements of winning Silver in the W3 Awards in 2010 and 2011. Sanctioned by the [...]
Netherlands looks beyond dykes for flood protection
We braced ourselves against the biting wind and followed the guide down to the river. “Don’t worry about the gear,” she said, pointing to her neon orange jacket and hardhat. “This is just procedure. It’s perfectly safe out here.”It was drizzling again. They hadn’t been kidding when they said it always rained in the Netherlands. [...]
WSO2 eyes Asia Pacific software market
WSO2, a Colombo-based global ICT software company, last week moved into a new spacious office at Palm Grove, Kollupitiya after being located in several places in Colombo. Devaka Randeniya, Vice President, Sales, WSO2, during the get-together celebrating the new premises, told the Business Times that they are a software company providing ‘middle-ware’ sources or the [...]
Lanka Hospitals adjudged 1st runner up at CIMA Business Case Awards 2013
Lanka Hospitals was adjudged 1st runner up at the recent CIMA Business Case Awards 2013 held in Colombo, for its case study on ‘A Thriving Business Model in the State Sector – the Lanka Hospitals Story.’ Chaaminda Kumarasiri – Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Dinupa Peiris – Management Accountant and Ms. Gayani Kahandawala – Management Accountant [...]
Social Business – a new way of doing CSR and funding for NGOs
Prior to the 1960s, the main source of funding for social causes was charity. This changed around the 1960s with NGOs emerging as an instrument for funding social issues. NGOs formed in the ‘60s and ‘70s such as BRAC, Grameen in Bangladesh and Sarvodaya made a major contribution to social causes. For example, Sarvodaya revived [...]
Vallibel Finance sustains strong growth
Vallibel Finance PLC recently announced an interest income of Rs 1.2 billion for the six months ending September 2013, up 44.5 per cent from the same period in the preceding year. Part of the Vallibel Group, this finance company saw its fixed deposits swell by 21 per cent to Rs.7.6 billion from Rs. 6.3 billion [...]
Huawei No 3 in global smartphone market in Q3
Huawei Technologies Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, the local office of the leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider Huawei, has said that the global company has risen to the number 3 position in the global smartphone market. Huwei Smartphones gained a 5.1 per cent share, as it grew shipments 67 per cent annually to [...]
Finance company auditors have become lap dogs, BT poll respondents say
While there was wide support for the Government’s proposal to reduce the number of finance companies operating as subsidiaries of larger companies, a Business Times poll shows respondents were mixed on whether the risk element would be reduced.Here are comments received in the poll which is published on Page 1: – Consolidated financial strength through [...]
India and Canada vie for largest FDI projects post CHOGM
The two largest investments into the country post Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) are from India and Canada even though their heads of governments boycotted the event, according to a senior Cabinet Minister. “India is coming to Sri Lanka with big tourism and mixed development projects, while Canada is investing in a major road [...]
Commercial Bank to start rep office in Myanmar in 1Q 2014
The Commercial Bank is awaiting final approval to open a representative office in Myanmar while making some progress in venturing into Nepal and Indonesia, in a bid to expand into new markets, officials said. “We applied for a ‘rep’ office in Myanmar six months ago and the final approval process is on. We will have [...]
MBSL Insurance’s management crisis in new twist
The MBSL Insurance Co Ltd’s management crisis took a new turn with the reinstatement of Managing Director Sydney Gajanayake and the resignation of company chairman M.R. Shah with both levelling allegations and counter allegations against each other. Sashika Senarath has been appointed as the acting chairman till the appointment of a new chairman to the [...]
