Good chance to reflect on Lanka’s performances
The three-match Test series, which begins on December 31 in the desert sands, provides a good opportunity to reflect on the last two series between Test-starved Sri Lanka and the comparatively busier Pakistan. Two players, one on either side, sparkled above all else. Kumar Sangakkara accumulated 1006 runs (490 and 516) in the six Tests. [...]
Five SDPs including Krrish still at ‘identification’ stage
Though Sri Lankans can challenge strategic development projects (SDPs) which include Shangri La, Crown (Casino project) and Krrish when the first gazette is issued, there hasn’t been any such opposition. People are not exercising their right of making written objections or representations regarding such projects due to lack of awareness or apathy, a top government [...]
Open Palaly airport to import trade
Sri Lanka’s northern traders are to request the Government to open the military-controlled Palaly airport and the KKS harbour for trading purposes particularly import export activity. The request was made during a discussion held at the chamber of commerce Jaffna hall on Thursday in view of the need to speed up economic activity in the [...]
Union Bank to sell off its finance arm
Union Bank has plans to dispose of its finance arm, UB Finance, officials said. “The primary objective of acquiring this was to dispose of the entity after restructuring efforts are carried out,” a senior official told the Business Times, adding that the bank is expected to gradually dispose its stake in the medium term, thereby [...]
Dipped Products moving Weliweriya factory to Biyagama zone
Dipped Products Plc, struggling to reopen its controversial factory at Weliweriya since its temporary closure in July, is investing in a new facility at the Biyagama zone. In an announcement to the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) this week, the company said a decision has been made to invest in a new manufacturing facility at the [...]
Chemanex gets new Chairman
In another CSE announcement, Chemanex Plc said its long-standing chairman B.R. L. Fernando is retiring with effect from December 31, 2013. M.D. Wickramasinghe, an independent Non-Executive Director of the Company has been elected as acting Chairman from January 1. The other directors of the company are A. Mapalagama (Managing Director/CEO), A.V.P. Silva, D. Chandrasekera, S.P.S. [...]
Sri Lanka to curb number of finance companies
Sri Lanka’s number of finance companies is to be restricted to around 25 from the existing 48 on guidelines to be announced early next year, official sources said. These new guidelines have been devised in accordance with 2014 budget which proposed to merge or absorb finance companies with subsidiary finance companies and banks having subsidiary [...]
Contribution of science and technology for a sustainable natural rubber economy
It had been forecasted by a global rubber group that by 2012, a glut of Natural Rubber (NR) would be produced in the world, possibly by the new clearings coming in to bearing mainly in Vietnam and Thailand while the consumption of NR was expected to decline due to the ongoing recession in US and [...]
People’s right to information
The Government this week gave three projects strategic development status through a gazette notification, providing them special tax concessions. The projects cited as mixed development or integrated resorts are Lake Leisure Holdings jointly by Australian casino tycoon James Packer and local businessman/casino owner Ravi Wijeratne, Queensbury Leisure by businessman Dhammika Perera and Waterfront Poperties by [...]
Economy – Fantasy vs Reality
The Sri Lanka Economic Association (SLEA) recently held its annual sessions on the theme “The Way Forward for Sustained Growth”. The theme was important and timely; presentations during the sessions were analytical, revealing and filled with rich data; discussions were live and contributory. Discussions were revolved round the relationship between (a) fiscal deficit, public debt [...]
“Nation Lanka shelves deposit-to-shares conversion plan”
With reference to the article under the above headline in the Business Times last week, the Nation Lanka Finance PLC (NLF) wishes to clarify sections of the report as follows: “The original plan was to convert the remaining balance of Rs. 97 million (as at May 2013) of the legacy borrowings inherited from the Ceylinco [...]
National Chamber Signs MOU with CCPIT, China
The National Chamber of Commerce signed a MOU with CCPIT, Gansu Provincial Committee during the CCPIT delegation visit to Sri Lanka, led by Ms. Wu Lixia, Vice Chairman, CCPIT , Gansu Province at the chamber.
IFS Scholarship Programme empowers Sri Lankan university students
Global enterprise software developer IFS, in an effort to support Sri Lanka’s IT student base, is investing over Rs. 10 million during 2013-2014 on a scholarship programme for IT students in Sri Lankan universities. Under the programme IFS will be providing living allowances for underprivileged students at all the major universities in Sri Lanka. By [...]
SJMS enriching under-privileged communities in the North
The Welfare and CSR Society of SJMS Associates, a firm of chartered accountants, following up on the firm’s initiative in August this year conducting a series of seminars for Year 5 Scholarship exam students of Padavi-Sripura and Kokkilai, with the aid of teachers from D S Senanayake Vidyalaya and Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya of Colombo, has [...]
Key Central Bank statement on Jan 2 on economic and fiscal expectations
A broad guidance of economic and fiscal policies relating to interest rates trends, banking developments, the inflation scenario and GDP growth prospects for 2014 will be spelled out in the Central Bank Road Map: Monetary and Financial Sector Policies fo 2014 and beyond, to be announced on January 2. Also included will be guidelines on [...]
Expolanka Holdings PLC divests 38% in APIIT for Rs.663 mln
Expolanka Holdings PLC is divesting its 38 per cent stake in subsidiary Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology (Pvt) Ltd (APIIT) to LANDAS BIJAK SDN BHD, a subsidiary of Ekuiti Nasional Berhad (Ekuinas), Malaysia for a sum of Rs.663 million. However Expolanka and other existing shareholders will continue to remain as minority shareholders, the local [...]
Association of Compliance Officers of Banks – Sri Lanka Office bearers and General Membership 2013/14
The Association of Compliance Officers of Banks in Sri Lanka (ACOB – SL) announced the newly elected office bearers and its members for the year 2013/2014. Seated from left: Ms. Chaya Gunarathne – Compliance Officer – Union Bank of Colombo PLC (Treasurer – ACOB); Panduka Abeysinghe – Head of Compliance – ICICI Bank Ltd (Assistant [...]
Construction industry, lead sector for economic growth, says Dr. Amunugama
The government considers the construction industry as a lead sector for economic growth, says Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Minister of International Monetary Cooperation and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning. Speaking at the launch of the Build SL 2014 held at the Taj Samudra in Colombo last week, he said: “During the last six years the [...]
150 million Euro investment doubles capacity at European DHL Hub in Leipzig
Bonn -: DHL Express, the world’s leading international express services provider, said last week that it will double the operational footprint of its main European hub in Leipzig, Germany to accommodate future shipment volume growth. The company plans to invest EUR 150 million to construct additional warehousing, sorting and office facilities with a territory of [...]
Closer look at the fiscal dynamics of Budget 2014
Sri Lanka stands at important crossroads as it makes a decisive transition into a middle-income economy. With GDP growth targeted at 7.5 – 8 per cent over the medium term, the need for effective fiscal consolidation cannot be overemphasised. In this light, recent budgets have shown concentrated efforts to address fiscal management by pursuing the [...]
Respected pharma dealers bitterly criticise rogue traders
Illegal and unethical activities recently exposed in the pharmaceutical sector have shocked some members of the trade. One company, Citihealth, which markets the reputed Cipla brand of drugs, said it watched with dismay media reports on the violation of the basic ethics of the pharmaceutical trade of attempts to alter dates of expiry and a [...]
Indians intrude into Sri Lankan labour markets
Indians working in Sri Lankan paddy fields has become a bone of contention with experts pointing out that lack of local labour has certainly become an issue. These observations were made by outgoing CIC Chairman B.R.L. Fernando during his address at the Postgraduate Institute of Management’s (PIM) awards ceremony in Colombo on Wednesday. Army Commander [...]
H-Mark promotes value added cinnamon products
A Sri Lankan company is promoting the use of high-value added products from cinnamon, banking on the world-class cinnamon that is produced here. Sri Lanka is the largest producer of true Cinnamon in the world accounting for about 70 per cent of global production and holding more than 85 per cent of the world market [...]
Saberion launches Cloud Computing from Amazon Web Services in SL
Amazon Web Services (AWS), the world leader in cloud hosting solutions, was officially launched in Sri Lanka recently by its local implementation and consulting partner Saberion (Pvt) Ltd. Launched in 2006, Jeff Bezos‘s Amazon eCommerce business, AWS has gone on to re-invent and dominate cloud infrastructure solutions. Today Amazon Web Services provides a highly reliable, [...]
Documentary to promote Hambantota as a developing hub of tourism in Asia
A documentary has been prepared to profile the benefits of Hambantota and develop it as a tourism hub in Asia, its promoters said. The concept was envisaged by Presidential award winner for tourism in 2009 – Ralph Gunawardane and initiated by a team including Ex Banker and tourism promoter Nishan Herath and prominent media personality [...]
CA Sri Lanka and Jaffna University to enhance accounting education
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) and the Department of Accounting of the University of Jaffna entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) recently to develop and strengthen the accounting education and the profession across Sri Lanka. Signed between CA Sri Lanka President Sujeewa Rajapakse and Vice Chancellor of the [...]
Brandix-MIT Global Startup Labs-SLASSCOM partner to drive start-ups
Brandix, Sri Lanka’s single largest apparel exporter, is combining with the Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies (SLASSCOM) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to offer 6-month incubation programmes twice a year from January 2014 to the country’s most innovative undergraduates and recent graduates under the MIT Global Startup Labs’ (MIT-GSL) Sri [...]
Dialog buys ThePapare.com
Dialog is heavily investing in expanding infrastructure for data business, while increasing its ‘infortainment’ segment, which is the next key driver of growth, officials said. Apart from the expansion of the multifaceted ICT infrastructures of the Dialog Group, including 4G and 3G high speed broadband, fibre optic, fixed telecommunication and international telecommunication networks, the company [...]
IndustriALL Global Union passes resolution on Ansell Sri Lanka
The Executive Committee of Geneva-based IndustriALL Global Union has passed a resolution supporting striking workers dismissed at Ansell Lanka’s Biyagama factory. The rubber-products manufacturer has been grappling with a labour dispute for several months now. In a letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, IndustriALL General Secretary Jyrki Raina, also presented the resolution which urges the Executive [...]
Spice exports do well
Export of Spices in 2013 up to October increased sharply by 40.38 per cent compared to the 10 months in 2012. Pepper and Cloves showing a significant increase of 81.82 per cent and 223.35 per cent, Cinnamon performed better while Essential Oil also increased by 22.55 percent according to a media release by the Spices [...]
Global Shippers’ Forum welcomes SL reforms
The Global Shippers’ Forum (GSF) has welcomed the recent intervention by the Sri Lankan government in introducing reforms to ensure fair trading practices. In response to protracted lobbying by the Sri Lanka Shippers’ Council to address unfair trade practices prevailing in the shipping industry in Sri Lanka over many years, the government acted to strengthen [...]
Workshop on acquaculture
The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce with its partners, AB Partners AS in the Sri Lanka-Norway Business Matchmaking Progamme (BMMP) organised a workshop at the CCC boardroom in Colombo recently on aquaculture in Sri Lanka. Aquaculture is considered to be the predominant sector for future growth internationally and represents an interesting business opportunities for the private [...]
AGM of the Asian- Oceanian Standard- Setters Group hosted by CA Sri Lanka
The annual meeting of the regional accounting grouping, the Asian-Oceanian Standard-Setters Group (AOSSG) hosted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) concluded in Colombo recently with representation from 26 regional bodies. Delivering the welcome address at the AOSSG 5th annual meeting, CA Sri Lanka President Sujeewa Rajapakse spoke on the [...]
CSE steps up popularising debentures
The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), in a bid to promote debt securities such as debentures, has allowed primary dealers (those who trade in treasury bills and bonds) to be direct intermediaries in these securities, officials said. “We introduced this initiative recently,” a CSE official told the Business Times. Popularity He added that the primary dealers [...]
Mergers and acquisitions to set the stage for shaping large banks
The global financial landscape has changed considerably over the recent past with boundaries between banking and non bank sectors fading and financial deregulation and liberalization paving way for mergers and acquisitions, leading to the formation of intitutions of global scale, according to experts. “Rapid product innovations have occurred through development in technology, while close integration [...]
Senkadagala Finance debenture issue oversubscribed in no time
The initial public offering of the Senkadagala Finance PLC Debenture Issuance, which was formally opened for subscription on December 6 closed on the same day, due to positive investor response. Both the initial tranche of Rs.1 billion and the second tranche of Rs.250 million being oversubscribed in no time, the company said. A total of [...]
CSE on the way to being shareholder-owned
Demutualisation, the process through which a member-owned company becomes shareholder-owned will be finally true for the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), with authorities banding together to establish Central Counterparty, according to stock market sources. A central counterparty (CCP) works between counterparties to financial contracts traded in one or more markets, becoming the buyer to every seller [...]
Indian Companies Act, 2013 – Implications to Sri Lankan businesses in India
KPMG in Sri Lanka recently conducted a round table discussion on the recently enacted Companies Act, 2013, which is a landmark piece of legislation and likely to have far reaching consequences on all companies incorporated in India. The fundamental aim f this legislation is said to achieve the objective of ‘Raising the Bar on Governance’. [...]
SEC says listed companies show high standards of financial reporting
Listed companies on the Colombo Stock Exchange have shown high standards of financial reporting, Sri Lanka’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said last week. The capital markets regulator commended Commercial Bank of Ceylon for winning the prestigious Overall Excellence in Annual Financial Reporting at the 49th Annual Report Awards Competition organized by CA Sri Lanka. [...]
Airtel ploughs over Rs. 2 bln on 3G network expansion in Sri Lanka
Bharti Airtel, a global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, this week announced the launch of the initial phase of a comprehensive network expansion costing over Rs 2 billion across 250 plus sites across theisland. This would see Airtel Lanka increasing its 3G presence beyond 1000 towers and 2G presence [...]
Aitken Spence introduces new concept luxury villas at Negombo
At least seven luxury villas have been sold while a number of inquiries have been received for the new 140 luxury villas at the Heritage Grove complex by the Aitken Spence group. Dr. Rohan M Fernando, Director/Head, Business Development and Plantations, Aitken Spence Group, told Business Times, on the sidelines of the launch of this [...]
Debacle of finance companies, stock market crisis focus at new public interest seminars
A chain of public interest seminars planned by public interest activists, experts, eminent professionals, academics, and other such personalities are to be had in 2014, at the ‘Winchester Hall’, The Kingsbury. The topics and issues listed to be discussed are as follows: – Repetitive Debacles of Finance Companies? – Draconian Debt Recovery Law & Supreme [...]
Aitken Spence Hotels winners again at National Business Excellence Awards
Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC emerged winners at the National Business Excellence Awards presented by the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka, being adjudged the winner in the hospitality sector. A pioneer in the local tourism industry, Aitken Spence Hotels which has continually been in the forefront of developing efficient hotel energy management systems [...]
Revitalising the co-operative sector in the North
The Jaffna Managers Forum recently presented a set of proposals to the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran on the role of the co-operative society and what should be its future direction. The proposals emerged after the forum organised a series of discussions on the co-operative sector which in the period prior to [...]
World’s tallest vertical garden in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is certainly not short of many firsts in the world, with many dubious distinctions during the conflict and now some, more respectable ones. The latest is a brand new apartment complex, Clear Point Residencies, being touted as the tallest vertical garden in the world. It is being built at Rajagiriya at a cost [...]
