Message or massage?
Reading from the Sunday Times to the audience attending the Central Bank road map forum, Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal was seen commenting on a newspaper analysis relating to the 2016 per capita income projection. While denying general newspaper reports on ‘massaged’ economic data, he expressed optimism that Sri Lanka will achieve per capita income of [...]
10-20 tonnes of Lankan coins in Indian temple tills
The Central Bank (CB) is considering bringing back 10 to 20 tonnes (10-20,000 kg) of Sri Lankan coins lying in tills of temples in India, Governor of the Bank Ajith Nivard Cabraal said. Sri Lankan devotees regularly put local coins as ‘panduru’ meritorious offerings into tills in Buddhist temples and Hindu kovils during Dambadiva pilgrimages [...]
Foreign investor concludes due diligence in Union Bank
TPG, a US-based global private investment firm with a US$ 70 billion balance sheet, has finalised its due diligence pertaining to their ‘indication of interest’ in the Union Bank, sources close to the deal said. The bank in an earlier announcement said that the indication of interest is not an offer of whatever nature relating [...]
Motor traders relieved by removal of margin deposit requirement
Sri Lanka motor traders, battered by increasing import duty on vehicles, spare parts and tightening of depreciation allowance on used car imports, heaved a sigh of relief after it was announced that the 100 per cent margin deposit requirement against the Letters of Credit opened with the commercial banks would be removed. The announcement by [...]
Lankan garment exporters eye bullish 2014
Sri Lanka’s apparel industry is hoping to dress up the Chinese by firming up the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) mid this year with a 2014 forecast of around US$4.6 billion in total trade even as the sector continues to struggle with limited access to the European Union (EU). Apparel exports were estimated to top $4.2 [...]
SriLankan Airlines to borrow $250 mln
National carrier, SriLankan Airlines is gearing to borrow US$250 million overseas in an effort to raise capital, officials said. “We raised $150 million with Mashreq Bank in 2012 and we want to raise another $200 to $250 million this year,” Kapila Chandrasena, Director /CEO SriLankan Airlines told the Business Times. He said this has been [...]
CSE’s biggest event was JKH Rs 40 bln rights issue
The biggest event in Colombo’s stock market calendar last year was the Rs 40 billion-rupee worth rights issue by the John Keells Holdings (JKH), which was raised for the group’s new integrated development project on its former headquarters property at Slave Island in Colombo, analysts said. “This was the largest rights issue in the history [...]
Sri Lankan diaspora – An extended family?
(Encyclopedia of the Sri Lankan Diaspora – Editors Peter Reeves, Rajesh Rai, Hema Kiruppalini. (Published by Editions Didier Millet in association with the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, 2013) 200 pages. Price – U.S. $50.00) .Reviewed by Leelananda De Silva The word diaspora has Jewish origins, and it means the dispersion [...]
Volunteering Sri Lankans
During Sri Lanka’s peace process in 2002-03, an effort was made to garner the support of (a section of) the Tamil diaspora to craft a development plan for the north. It was coordinated by the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO), widely perceived at the time as a pro-LTTE organisation and later decreed by the Government as [...]
Mergers and acquisition of banks, finance cos. in 2014
Sri Lanka’s banking and financial sector will undergo far reaching structural reforms with mergers of banks and finance companies to steer the country towards the goal of a US$ 100 billion economy by 2016, Governor of the Central Bank (CB) Ajith Nivard Cabraal revealed. Unveiling the 8th road map 2014 containing monetary and financial sector [...]
Dual Currency Deposits from DFCC Vardhana Bank
Dual Currency Deposits (DCDs) are being offered by DFCC Vardhana Bank adding to the bank’s wide range of financial solutions. In order to help customers maximise their returns on investment, the bank offers eight major currencies on DCD’s – AUD, EUR, GBP, USD, CAD, CHF, JPY and SGD with the ability to choose any preferred [...]
CSE – SLFEB encourage personal financial planning for skilled migrant workers
The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) together with the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau (SLFEB) recently conducted awareness programmes for skilled migrant workers from across the island, on the “potential value of the market and the importance of personal financial planning”. The seminars were held at the SLFEB regional training centres in Bogawanthalawa and Athurugiriya targeting [...]
Sri Lanka’s economy to rebound this year, says CB Governor
Sri Lanka’s current US$67 billion economy is expected to grow 7.8 per cent this year, with an inflation target of between 4-6 per cent and a lower interest rate regime, Governor of the Central Bank Ajith Nivard Cabraal told a packed audience of ministry secretaries, senior government officials, bankers, heads of finance companies and top [...]
Adieu 2013 – the Year of the “VVIP Citizen”
I guess for most of us the year has seen the customary “uneven curves” of regularly fluctuating variables on the horizontal axis of LIFE, when plotted on the vertical axis of politico-socio-economic (or “polisocionomic” as we called it) gains or losses, not that dissimilar to other recent years; of course I speak of my “ordinary” [...]
Changes in Central Bank monetary policy based on stable econ situation
The Monetary Board of the Central Bank (CB) which includes the CB Governor and the Treasury Secretary, has introduced new changes to the country’s monetary policy based on a stable economic situation, the CB said in a statement issued on Wednesday.The board at its 27th December 2013 meeting decided to adopt the following monetary policy [...]
44% of the world’s population set to travel abroad in 2014
January 1, 2014 marked exactly 100 years since the birth of commercial aviation with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) launching a new programme to mark this event. The year will also see the number of travellers totalling 3.3 billion in 2014, equivalent to 44 per cent of the world’s population. The IATA in a [...]
SriLankan CEO urges critics not to compare apples with oranges
One of the major issues national carrier SriLankan Airlines faces is that its critics view it in isolation when dishing out the brickbats. “It should be compared to the industry that it’s in,” says Kapila Chandrasena, Director/CEO SriLankan. Explaining some statistics which the airline’s detractors often ignore or aren’t aware of, he says that aviation [...]
Insurance industry initiates career guidance workshop for undergraduates
The Human Resources Sub-committee of the Insurance Association of Sri Lanka (IASL) organised a workshop at the Sabaragamuwa University some months back aimed at providing undergraduates with the necessary tools to develop their careers. The aim of the workshop was to help the undergrads to enhance their soft skills, in order to provide them with [...]
SilkAir launches wireless inflight entertainment trial
SilkAir, the regional wing of Singapore Airlines, has commenced a wireless inflight entertainment (IFE) system trial on one of its Airbus A320 aircraft1. During this trial, customers will be able to stream a wide variety of multimedia content such as movies, TV programmes and music directly onto their personal devices while onboard their flight, the [...]
Car Mart undergoes pragmatic transformation, focus on modernisation
Car Mart Ltd is now undergoing a pragmatic transformation focusing on modernisation whilst offering exceptional personalised services for customers under the management of the second and third generation of Car Mart founder Clarence Amerasinghe. The company was founded in 1948 as a used car mart and it was incorporated in 1953 entering into distributor agreement [...]
“Audi Colombo” seen changing auto retailing in Sri Lanka
Senok Automobiles opened its state of the art, super luxury landmark showroom, Audi Colombo recently. Redefining sophistication and craftsmanship in each aspect of this showroom it is designed and sourced to match the standards of Audi dealerships, worldwide, a media release issued by the company said. The new showroom is located along R.A. De Mel [...]
New long wheelbase Range Rover to hit the streets in early 2014
A new long wheelbase Range Rover will arrive in Sri Lanka in early 2014 extending the customer appeal of its family of luxury SUV vehicles in the island. The first Range Rover long wheelbase in 20 years, this new model will cater to a growing group of consumers looking for the ultimate SUV, and an [...]
Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid set to storm Sri Lankan shores
Eurocars (Pvt) Ltd, agent for Porsche vehicles in Sri Lanka, is gearing to boost Porsche Hybrid vehicle sales in the country, despite a challenging market and high taxation. Anticipating a substantial increase in turnover and sales in 2014, the company has introduced the new Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid, the world’s first plug-in hybrid in the [...]
Rural bridges seen benefiting 300,000 people in Kegalle
Work on a number of rural bridges out of a total of 26 under construction in the Kegalle district is already nearing completion under the programme to build 210 bridges country-wide for linking villages with towns and cities. Launched under Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa’s direction, these rural bridges coming up in 11 Divisional Secretariat [...]
New Jaguar F-Type unveiled in Colombo
Cars evolve and they undergo a process of continuous improvement or they fade away, superseded by something better and more successful. Clearly understanding all the facts about automotive evolution, Jaguar has introduced its F-type sports car because it hasn’t built a proper two-seater sports car since it launched the E-Type back in 1961, 52 years [...]
Emirates NBD to offer more loans for local firms
Emirates NBD, the largest banking group in the Middle East in terms of assets which sealed a deal for US$50 million syndicated loan recently with People’s Leasing and Finance Plc (PLC). has met with some major local corporates in a similar attempt to lend money, officials said. “They met with about 10 companies, two months [...]
Siyapatha Finance wins Gold for Annual Report 2013
Siyapatha Finance Ltd, formerly known as Sampath Leasing and Factoring Ltd prior to obtaining a finance company licence, recently won the Gold award in the Specialised Leasing Company category at the Annual Report Awards 2013 competition organized by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka. Arthur Senanayake, Chairman of Siyapatha Finance Ltd received the [...]
Keerthi Gunawardane takes over as new Chairman of ICC
Sri Lanka’s Keerthi Gunawardane has been elected as the Chairman, of the International Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (ICCSL) at the annual general meeting held recently, taking over the reins from past Chairman Tissa Jayaweera. Mr. Gunawardane is an old boy of Kingswood College, Kandy, St Thomas College Gurutalawa and Central College, Welimada, and [...]
Sampath Bank joins JAAF initiative in Smart Card for apparel sector workers
Sampath Bank has joined a new programme, Ransalu Pranaama, aimed at recognising and rewarding all those in the apparel sector for their contribution to the industry. In association with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and Sri Lanka Apparel, this scheme has been developed to give economic relief by way of privilege offers and price [...]
Paying ‘Ceylinco VIP’ Insurance Premiums through eZ Cash
VIP policyholders of Ceylinco Insurance have been offered the option of paying their premiums via eZ Cash, Sri Lanka’s largest mobile money gateway. Under a new agreement, over a million Ceylinco VIP policyholders now can pay their premium payments via eZ Cash from Dialog mobiles or at any of the 14,000 plus eZ Cash merchants [...]
National programme to encourage ethnic harmony launched
Sri Lanka’s National Programme for Ethnic Harmony, a group working towards fostering harmony between ethnic groups, recently launched a programme on Sinhala –Muslim harmony. The event was held in Colombo under the patronage of the President/National Organiser of the programme, Ven. Prof Kumburupitiye Vajira Thero and the President of Muslim Affairs, Dr. Abdul Cader Mashoor [...]
Virtusa makes 4th FinTech 100 List appearance, now ranked 58th
US-based Virtusa, which has a software development centre in Sri Lanka, announced recently that it had once again appeared on the FinTech 100 List of global leaders in financial services technology. This is the fourth consecutive year the company has made the list, while also climbing the ranking 30 places to its current 58th place [...]
Re-claiming the skyline: Saga of high-rise developments in Colombo
The Sri Lankan real estate market has been through a few stumbling blocks over the years but it is now showing signs of stability and sustained growth. However, the turbulence of the past has had its casualties and turning these projects around is no easy task, according to the latest research by the Colombo-based Research [...]
Lanka’s corruption buster Nihal Sri Ameresekere on US international financial management board
The US- based International Consortium on Governmental Financial Management (ICGFM) has appointed Sri Lankan corruption buster and good governance specialist Nihal Sri Ameresekere, as a director of its Board of Directors. The ICGFM, established in 1997 by a distinguished and international group of financial management professionals from government and academia, is the only international organization [...]
Commercial Bank’s e-Exchange promoted in UAE
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon promoted its e-Exchange remittance service in a colourful year-end campaign in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by organising a ‘Road show’ and ‘Sri Lankan Night’ in December. Branches of Al Ahalia Exchange, one of the main business partners of Commercial Bank in UAE in five Emirates– Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, [...]
Japan’s INOAC to set up automotive component production facility here
INOAC, a top Japanese conglomerate, has expressed willingness to set up a world class automotive component manufacturing facility in Sri Lanka, CEO of the company Soichi Inoue revealed, at the launch of an advanced soft foam production plant of INOAC Polmer Lanka at the BOI Industrial Zone, Horana recently. He was of the view that [...]
Airtel publishes 2014 calendar with social media competition entries
Bharti Airtel Lanka, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, has published the first ever social media calendar in Sri Lanka for the year 2014, with a collection o entries from their own subscribers. The winners, whose entries qualified for the calendar, recently [...]
MBSL’s stock market index has 10 new inclusions
Ten companies have been included in the 2014 MBSL MIDCAP Index which measures the aggregate price level and price movements of medium size companies listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). They are Asiri Surgical Hospital PLC, Browns Investments PLC, Hemas Holdings PLC, Lanka IOC PLC, Overseas Realty (Ceylon) PLC, Royal Ceramics Lanka PLC, Tokyo [...]
