Budgets not for the people, BT-RCB survey reveals
Most Sri Lankans say budgets don’t benefit the people while inflation and cost of living is still high contrary to Government pronouncements, a pre-budget poll jointly conducted by the Business Times (BT) and Research and Consultancy Bureau (RCB) shows. Asked whether budgets are designed to serve the people and their aspirations, more than 60 per [...]
Unauthorised apartments grab tourist traffic, hotel occupancy impacted
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry hopes of finding a solution to unauthorised tourist accommodation units mushrooming through apartments have been dashed by inadequate legislation to deal with the problem. Sri Lanka Hoteliers Association President M. Shanthikumar told the Business Times that they raised the issue with the authorities of new apartments giving out their rooms for [...]
LAUGFS to strike int’l partnerships in shipping
Laugfs Gas PLC’s new subsidiary, Laugfs Maritime Services (P) Ltd (LMS) has plans to strike partnerships in international shipping, logistics and maritime services, officials said. “Many international firms are talking to us,” an official told the Business Times, adding that they are in discussion mostly with British and Middle East firms. “A Memorandum of Agreement [...]
UDA in mega land-lease deals
The Urban Development Authority (UDA) is continuing to lease out prime land in the Colombo suburbs and main cities including Kandy for mixed and other development projects based on various financial arrangements including annual payments or royalties, official sources revealed. The aim is to earn a steady stream of income for the UDA. The Authority [...]
Bala, Sri Lanka’s quintessential unionist
The last fleeting glimpse of Bala Tampoe, the doughty trade unionist who one might say died with his boots on, was sitting on the pillion of a motor cycle on his way to address a May Day rally this year. Here was a man who had negotiated with all the country’s prime ministers and heads [...]
Comparison of post war development in Nepal and Sri Lanka
In both Nepal and Sri Lanka the transition from war to durable peace has been painful and is ongoing and not devoid of pitfalls as has been the case elsewhere in the World as well. In the case of Nepal underdevelopment of the vast hinterland has been widely acknowledged as the primary cause of [...]
Melbourne; Kunming, China on the cards
SriLankan Airlines is gearing to go to Africa, in a bid to leverage on Chinese transit passengers via Colombo, officials said. “We’re looking to go to Africa primarily to support the Chinese transit passengers there,” Kapila Chandrasena, CEO SriLankan told the Business Times. He said currently the national carrier is doing the analysis and modelling [...]
Mangala P. B. Yapa appointed as Ceylon Chamber new Secretary General / CEO
Mangala P. B. Yapa, who recently retired as Managing Director of Colombo Dockyard, was on Thursday appointed as CEO / Secretary General of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce with effect from 1st October 2014. His appointment follows the retirement of Harin Malwatte, who served as the Secretary General/CEO of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce for [...]
PwC fined $25 mln for altering bank sanctions report
BLOOMBERG, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP has been fined US$25 million after sanitising a report to regulators on sanctions and money-laundering controls for Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd, New York’s top bank regulator has said. The bank persuaded PwC Regulatory Advisory Services to change a compliance report related to financial transactions with sanctioned countries including Iran and Sudan [...]
Sarasavi Exports acquires Isabella, largest producer of hosiery products in Sri Lanka
Sarasavi Exports (Pvt) Ltd, a supplier to major high street retailers in the UK, has acquired Isabella (Pvt) Ltd from the DBApparel Group, a market leader in branded intimate apparel and hosiery in Europe. The value of the net assets acquired is approximtely Rs. 650 million, the new owner said in a media release. DBApparel, [...]
CA Sri Lanka launches Job Bank
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) has launched a ‘Job Bank’ which features the best and latest vacancies in the market specifically targeting accountants and financial professionals. The CA Sri Lanka Job Bank also advertises the latest vacancies for students who are seeking various career prospects as interns among leading [...]
Sri Lanka opens trade and tourism flood gates for China
BEIJING – Sri Lanka will soon be experiencing a new boom in Chinese travellers and traders with the launch of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) this month between the two countries aimed at attracting foreign exchange as a stimulus to economic growth. Officials in China are optimistic that China will open the gates of trade [...]
On’ally Holdings sees Rs 89 mn PBT
On’ally Holdings PLC posted a strong growth during the financial year 2013/2014, through registering a profit before tax of Rs. 88.86 million excluding the gain on revaluation of investment properties of Rs. 235.49 million, its Chairman, Nimal Perera has said in his annual statement. In the year under review, turnover of the company grew by [...]
Think big and the results will be bigger, says EDB Chairman
With the Global Rubber Conference 2014 taking place for the first time in Sri Lanka, rubber industrialists are enthusiastic about the recognition Sri Lankan rubber would gain in the world market. Export Development Board (EDB) Chairman and CEO Bandula Egodage speaking to the Business Times on the sidelines of the launch of the conference in [...]
Brandix adds apparel-specific award to SL Robotics Challenge
Brandix has introduced a new, apparel industry-specific Innovation Award into the mix at the 2014 Sri Lanka Robotics Challenge, which is organised annually by the E-Club of the Department of Electronic and Telecommunication Engineering of the University of Moratuwa, and being held this year on December 12. According to Brandix, it has set “contenders the [...]
Growers urge SL government to formulate proper local production plan to produce pulses
Food, specially that of pulses, has to be produced in a systematic way to be of quality that should match international standards, Sunanda Weerasinghe, President, Sri Lanka Food Processors Association said at the opening of Profood, Propack Exhibition 2014 held last week at the BMICH Colombo. She appealed to Basil Rajapaksa, Minister of Economic Development [...]
SME Board on the stock exchange likely by this year
Now that a separate trading board for Board of Investment (BOI) companies will be a reality, plans by the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) to create a similar board for Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) is taking shape. The CSE together with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a joint initiative have made far reaching [...]
Delays in EPF/ETF refunds
Attention needs to be drawn to the inordinate delays experienced in processing the estate workers’ applications for the refund of EPF/ETF dues, especially the retirees. As we all know, the EPF was inaugurated in late 1959 and the ETF in 1980. I quite appreciate the Central Bank and the ETF Board demanding perfect documentation in [...]
Knowledge and happiness increase with sharing – words of wisdom from Lord Buddha
A globally renowned Human Resource (HR) professional quoting Lord Buddha said that knowledge and happiness shared across the world would not retard one’s knowledge but in fact increase by sharing. Achal Khanna, CEO of the Indian chapter of the global Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), participating at the launch of the HRM Awards 2014 [...]
Stock market to see more funds post NY forum
With the New York investor forum held this week, the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) will see more funds coming into Sri Lanka, a CSE official says. The forum with over 200 participants, including 150 major US Institutional Investors who manage assets over US$ 100 million saw Head of Emerging Markets, Morgan Stanley Investment Management Ruchir [...]
J.L. Morison to complete manufacturing expansion by Dec
Hemas Holdings’ US$1 million expansion of J.L. Morison Son and Jones (Ceylon) (JLM) which it acquired in generic pharmaceutical manufacturing operation will be done by year end, officials said. JLM CEO Trehan Perera told the Business Times that this exercise seeks to upgrade and overhaul their old machinery. Hemas acquired a 88.8 per cent stake [...]
No faith in budgets, doesn’t serve any purpose; BT-RCB poll
More and more people are resigned to the fate that national budgets and the entire budget preparation purpose don’t serve any purpose; and there is no use of complaining, a Business Times-Research Consultancy Bureau (BT-RCB) island-wide poll and survey has revealed. Seeking the views of residents in eight districts – Colombo, Nuwara Eliya, Anuradhapura, Galle, [...]
Bala Tampoe fought relentlessly for the rights of all Sri Lankans, unions say
Bala Tampoe, easily Sri Lanka’s most doughty trade union leader, died early this week at the age of 92. Accolades flowed in even from President Mahinda Rajapaksa for the silver-haired trade unionist from the Ceylon Mercantile Union who showed the way for many a young trade unionist, many who are now veterans in the field. [...]
DIMO expands registered vehicle trading service
The Diesel and Motor Engineering PLC (DIMO) has further expanded its premium service portfolio to assist customers who are seeking to buy or sell registered Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler and Jeep vehicles. DIMO Premier is now providing customers a range of options, including trade-in offers for existing clients who are looking into upgrading their vehicle and for [...]
Motor traders prevent attempt to register used vehicles as new vehicles
Sri Lankan motor traders have been able to prevent an attempt made to register used vehicles imported into the country as brand new vehicles. Outgoing President of Ceylon Motor Traders’ Association(CMTA), Thilak Gunasekera said that representations have been made to the relevant authorities on the danger of such decisions and the association was able to [...]
Sri Lankan’s rich and educated youths go for design, sportiness and elegance of cars
Sri Lankan youths with a high level of education as well as a high level of income attach great importance to design, sportiness and elegance, and expect outstanding driving dynamics characteristics from Porsche, says a top official of Eurocars (Pvt) Ltd. Eurocars (Pvt) Ltd, the official Porsche importer in Sri Lanka, launched the new Porsche [...]
AMW marks 65th anniversary launching far reaching projects
Associated Motorways (Pvt) Ltd (AMW) is to implement several programmes this year to mark its 65th anniversary. In one major initiative, the company in a public private partnership in collaboration with Vocational Training authority has launched a project to set up to set up a vocational training academy for the automobile sector in Rajagirya. A [...]
Orient Finance car exchange ties up with spark electric vehicles
Orient Finance’s Orient Car Exchange has tied up with several prominent vehicle dealers to offer their clientele the trade-in service. The trade-in option allows customers to exchange their old vehicle to a brand new one,—be it a generic, hybrid or even an electric car, which is the latest type of vehicles to come under the [...]
Special training to be made compulsory for passenger transport vehicle drivers
With the purpose of reducing the rapidly increasing accidents caused by passenger transport vehicles, a special training is to be made compulsory for drivers of SLTB and private buses, motor coaches as well as school vans when issuing licences to them,Comissioner General of Motor Traffic S.H. Harischandra told the Business Times. Regulation to amend the [...]
DIMO joins with Toccata to donate medical equipment to Tellippalai Trail Cancer Hospital
Diesel and Motor Engineering PLC (DIMO) joined up with the Toccata Musical Group in an initiative to improve the standard of selected hospitals in the country. The Toccata Musical Group, in Colombo recently for performances, officially handed over medical equipment to Tellippalai Trail Cancer Hospital, Jaffna. During the Sri Lankan tour, Toccata donated a large [...]
People’s Leasing to merge with People’s Merchant next month
The People’s Leasing Company (PLC) is gearing to absorb its subsidiary People’s Merchant under the current financial sector consolidation process, officials said. “By next month this will be wrapped up,” a People’s Merchant official told the Business Times. He said a voluntary retirement scheme is likely to be given. During August 2014, many banks and [...]
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk takes over reins as President of Europe
The choice of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk as the new President of the European Council, the EU’s most important institution, marks a new era in the grouping, Polish officials said. Saturday, 30 August, they said should be remembered as the day when the division of the European Union into ‘new’ and ‘old’ member states [...]
Janashakthi partners with Lanka Jalani for better water security
Janashakthi Insurance and Lanka Jalani-The Sri Lanka Water Partnership (SLWP) made a joint call on August 27 for cooperation to safeguard Sri Lanka’s fresh water sources, at a special forum held in Colombo. In a media release on the event, Janashakthi said it has facilitated several community development activities aimed at improving the water quality [...]
CSR Lanka ties up with CSR Netherlands to build capacity in the private sector
CSR Lanka is partnering MVO Nederland (CSR Netherlands) to provide a unique training opportunity to 30 of Sri Lanka’s leading CSR specialists later this month. MVO Nederland is the largest CSR business network in Europe, and renowned as a knowledge centre for CSR, the local company said in a media release. The workshop, restricted by [...]
Inaugural CCC ‘Business and Biodiversity’ networking event on Sept 10
The inaugural Annual Member Networking Forum and Workshop of the Sri Lanka Business and Biodiversity Platform (SLBBP) of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) will be held on Wednesday, September 10 at the Kingsbury hotel, according to a recent announcemet. Further, in the announcement, the SLBBP also reiterated its plans to “encourage dialogue and raise [...]
Odel celebrates 25 years of fashion retail
Odel, Sri Lanka’s home-grown fashion retail brand has turned 25, reaching another milestone in an epic journey of vision, creativity and entrepreneurship and one that changed the way we dressed and shopped, a media release issued by the company stated. As a local fashion retail brand to gain traction on the international stage to date, [...]
Central Bank looks for investor to bail out CIFL
The Central Bank (CB) has told a group of depositors from the failed Central Investments and Finance Ltd (CIFL) loan that a matching Rs. 1 billion would be given provided an investor is willing to plough in Rs. 1 billion in the company. This assurance was given to Wijaya Gunawardena, President, CIFL Depositors Association by [...]
BoC reports Rs. 8.6 bln PBT during 1H 2014
Bank of Ceylon (BoC) has posted Rs.8.6 billion in pre-tax profit for the 1H 2014, up 20 per cent from 1H 2013 (Rs. 7.2 billion), the 75-year old state bank said this week. After tax profit was Rs. 6.2 billion, up 23 per cent from the the previous year. “Despite the significant interest rate pressures [...]
UDA’s Rs. 10 billion debenture by mid-Oct
The Urban Development Authority (UPA) is working with the People’s Bank to launch its Rs. 10 billion debenture issue by mid October, officials said. “It’ll be a public offer and the rate will be at in the 9.5 per cent range,” a senior official told the Business Times, adding that this is government backed and [...]
Cinnamon Red; a 3-star property with 5-star benefits for travellers on short term stays in the city
Most hotels in Colombo are categorized under five-star with luxurious facilities and services to cater the requirement of the tourists. Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts has now designed a three-star hotel in the heart of Colombo city to attract tourists coming to Sri Lanka to stay in Colombo for a short time and then move out [...]
Singer wins top honours at stand-out Sri Lanka China awards event
At the fourth Business Star Awards 2014 of the Sri Lanka China Business Co-operation Council held recently, the prestigious Pinnacle Award was won by Singer Sri Lanka PLC. Half of the 37 awards were not presented as the Panel of Judges found these failed to meet the requirements and standards. Lal De Alwis, Project Chairman [...]
The intelligent investor
The other day I was exposed to “The Intelligent Investor” by Benjamin Graham. It is the definitive book on value investing. The book has been described by Warren Buffet as “By far the best book on investing ever written”. It was first written as far back as 1950 but has been revised and re-printed numerous [...]
