Government’s motorcycle subsidy scheme takes a political twist
Deliberately ignoring the country’s constitution, budgetary provisions and fiscal management responsibility, government authorities have begun distributing motor cycles worth Rs.200,000 at a subsidised price of Rs.50,000 to provincial politicians and policemen even before the conclusion of the 2015 budget. The 2015 budget proposal permits the implementation of any of its proposals (other than taxes which [...]
UDA to launch debenture by year end
The Urban Development Authority (UDA) is gearing to launch its Rs. 10 billion debenture issue by next month, UDA officials said. “We’re planning to close our financials and then we will announce the debenture,” a UDA official told the Business Times. He said the UDA gets calls daily from interested parties on this debenture as [...]
Travel bloggers conference brings huge dividends to Sri Lanka
Some 250 people including 45 travel bloggers from across the world, met in Sri Lanka last week for the Asia’s First Ever Travel Bloggers Conference – TBCasia 2014 organised by Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts in partnership with SriLankan Airlines. The participants include Allison Busaca, Global Editor of BBC Travel, who in a keynote address spoke [...]
So much for flawless planning
The pristinely-laid pavements in Bambalapitiya, in front of the Majestic City Complex close to Lauries Road have been dug up AGAIN!!! as seen in the picture. Even in some other parts of the urban development project around Kollupitiya and Marine Drive the same scenario is taking place these days. It’s a scenario like this, ‘Pavement [...]
2015 budget estimates go haywire with erroneous data and records
The government’s 2015 sunshine budget with some erroneous estimates, data and records is endangering the country’s economy with relation to 77 expenditure proposals mostly for handouts where the financial allocations to be made from Treasury votes for the medium term 2015-2017 provisions, economic experts warned. Several budget estimates have gone haywire with printing mistakes and [...]
SL senior citizens have bank deposits worth Rs.750 bln
Some 750,000 senior citizens hold accounts in 33 banks worth Rs. 750 billion, data by Sri Lanka Banks’ Association (SLBA) shows. A senior citizen is defined as one who is 59 + years. This data collected at the request of the Central Bank (CB) on the back of the SLBA urging the CB and the [...]
Surrendering your NIC ahead of polls
A couple of years ago during a local government election campaign, a group of activists from the then ruling party came visiting houses in the Nugegoda/Nawala area with the usual greetings and one ‘strange’ question: “How many of the occupants registered as voters are working abroad or living abroad?” When they walked into the garden [...]
Water: Droughts, deluge and carelessness of Sri Lankans
“Not even a drop of water that comes from the rain must flow into the ocean without being made useful to man” – (King Parakramabahu, the Great -12th Century) “Sea water will be desalinated and be made useful to man” – (President Mahinda Rajapaksa-21st Century) These are two statements made by two heads of the [...]
LOLC eyes overseas expansion for micro financing/SME
After the success in micro financing in Myanmar and Cambodia, the LOLC Group is poised to venture with similar operations to nearby regions, top officials say. “We’re eyeing peripheral markets in Asia Pacific for micro financing and small and medium enterprises,” Kapila Jayawardena, CEO LOLC told the Business Times in an interview. He reiterated that [...]
NDB continues its strong growth momentum in Q3 2014
The National Development Bank (NDB) Group said last week that it posted a strong growth of 49 per cent in profit for the nine months ended 30 September 2014. Group post-tax profit was Rs. 3,309 million, up 50 per cent over the comparative period, while pre-tax profit was Rs. 4,422 million, which was a 34 [...]
Jet Airways adds second service from Colombo to Mumbai
Jet Airways, India’s premier international airline, has added a second frequency from Colombo to Mumbai from November 5, the airline said. The introduction of this new flight will offer “seamless access” to the airline’s primary hub at Mumbai and beyond to Far East, Europe, US, Canada and to the Gulf. Operating a state of the [...]
Hemas wants fully fledged sales and distribution pipeline in B’desh
The diversified conglomerate Hemas Holdings PLC (Hemas), with a presence in fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), healthcare, leisure, transportation and power sectors has plans to establish a fully fledged sales and distribution pipeline in Bangladesh, offcials said. “We want to penetrate the Bangladeshi market with our personal care products and we want a total sales [...]
Life insurance policy extended towards people living with HIV/AIDS
Discrimination and criticism of people living with HIV/AIDS in Sri Lanka have the main issues that affected persons who have been grappling with over the years. Beyond discrimination there have also been other problems they have faced in life. Even insurance companies refused to provide cover for affected persons. Now the International Labour Organisation (ILO) [...]
Calamander Unawatuna Beach resort’s unique pool
Calamander Unawatuna Beach maintains the relaxed character of the old Unawatuna Beach Resort (acquired by Calamander), the great food, al fresco dining and its three decades of friendly customer service whilst it has dramatically improved the quality of the rooms and facilities. The new pools follow Calamander’s signature minimalist design ethos. Dramatic use of colour, [...]
Union Bank appoints P. Jayendra Nayak as new Chairman
P. Jayendra Nayak, one of Asia’s most distinguished bankers and former AXIS Bank India Chief, has been appointed as the new chairman of Sri Lanka’s Union Bank after the institution came under new ownership. The appointment is effective from November 9, the bank said in an announcement, adding that the change comes at a time [...]
Expolanka Holdings divests companies in its international trading and manufacturing sector
Sri Lanka’s Expolanka Holdings PLC on Tuesday announced that it has divested its stakes in several companies which held significant capital employed, for a sum of Rs. 740 million. The divested companies were part of the group’s international trading and manufacturing sector. The companies are – Expolanka Teas (Pvt) Ltd, Expolanka Plantation (Pvt) Ltd, World [...]
SLT Group continues growth momentum in 9-mth period, profits rise to Rs. 5 bln
Sri Lanka Telecom PLC (SLT) group last week reported that turnover grew by 8 per cent to Rs. 48 billion in the nine months ending September 2014, with operating expenses rising by 9 per cent to Rs 21.6 billion. In a media statement, is said the Rs. 673 million, one time charge for an out [...]
Kuttan, probably the oldest employee in the global leisure industry, passes away after 70 years of service
Kuttan, the iconic doorman at the Galle Face hotel who made history by becoming one of the oldest hotel workers in the world, passed away peacefully in the early hours of November 8, his loyal employer – the Galle Face Hotel said. In honour of a personality that cannot be forgotten the hotel observed a [...]
Renuka Hotels and Cargo Boat Group embark on Rs. 2 bln state-of-the-art rentable office complex in Colombo
Renuka Land (Pvt) Ltd, a joint venture between Renuka Hotels Ltd and Cargo Boat Development Company PLC, has initiated a project to construct a modern rentable ‘Class A’ office building in Colombo catering to the much needed requirement of such a facility in the rapidly developing city. The building will be located on company owned [...]
‘Upward trajectory’ for GDP growth, agriculture sector recovers – Nielsen
Sri Lanka’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth is on an “upward trajectory” again, in the third quarter of 2014, a consequence of the agriculture sector recovering following a poor showing in the last quarter, according to a Nielsen report issued this week. Titled the Nielsen “Q3 2014 Dashboard”, this latest report from the top international [...]
Seminar on “Doing Business with China: FTA and Beyond”
Verité Research, a leading research and strategy firm in Sri Lanka, and the Exporters’ Association of Sri Lanka (EASL) of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce is jointly organising a seminar titled “Doing Business with China: FTA and Beyond” on November 26 at the Taj Samudra, Colombo. This is aimed at exploring opportunities and challenges for [...]
British comedian Jeff Mirza at SLID dinner theatre charity
Jeff Mirza, an award winning British comedian and actor, will perform stand-up comedy at the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors (SLID) Comedy Dinner Theatre on November 27 at the Oak Room of the Cinnamon Grand Colombo. In a media release, SLID said in contrast to the usual corporate training programmes, it was organising a “Laugh [...]
India and China get level-playing field in Sri Lanka’s two-wheeler market
The Sri Lankan Government has created a level-playing field in the country’s two wheeler market for China by removing the 7.5 per cent tariff concession given to Indian-made motor cycles and scooter imports under the Indo –Lanka free trade agreement, although the taxes have been reduced to 103.5 per cent from 108 per cent from [...]
Govt. borrows additional US$44 mln for already-built Katunayake Expressway
The cash-strapped Sri Lankan government continues its borrowing spree for infrastructure development from state banks, this time obtaining a loan of US$ 44.72 million (Rs.5.81 billion) for the Katunayake Expressway which is operative, official sources revealed. The loan agreement was signed by the Ministry of Highways, Ports and Shipping on September 10, 2014, exactly one [...]
SLTB appoints David De Candia as the Ceylon Tea Ambassador for USA and Canada
Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) appointed David De Candia, as the ambassador for Ceylon Tea, for USA and Canada. SLTB to represent and promote Ceylon tea, in the Northern US Continent. In a Media release Sri Lanka Tea Board Chairperson, Ms. Janaki Kuruppu, stated that SLTB decided to appoint Mr. De Candia given his passion [...]
CB says ‘Unrealised Profit’ of EPF stock investments passes Rs. 14 bln mark
The “mark to market” value of EPF’s investments in Sri Lankan stocks as at November 14 ‘comfortably’ exceeded Rs. 14 billion, in the background of the favourable equity market performances, the Central Bank said on Monday.It said, in addition, the EPF has also realised Rs. 6.7 billion by way of dividends, debenture interest and capital [...]
From head to toe, Fouzul Hameed knows what fits the ideal Sri Lankan man
RATMALANA – Many years after he became Sri Lanka’s best known name in men’s fashion, Fouzul Hameed still remembers his parents’ words of wisdom and advice when doing business. “My mother and father (my mother in particular) said you should be honest in business; you must not cheat and furthermore you must share with the [...]
Team SATA tops CILT case study contest
Team SATA, comprising Anjalika Perera, Sameera Prasani, Thilini Ranatunga and Aravinda Dissanayake, has taken the top spot at this year’s Young Professionals Challenge (YPC), a case study competition organised by the Young Professionals’ Forum (YPF) under the patronage of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) Sri Lanka, according to a recent announcement. Per [...]
Sri Lankan team completes 5-week overland expedition
A team of six Sri Lankans on October 24 completed an overland expedition from Berlin to Battaramulla on four wheels and two wheel vehicles. The 12,500 km route followed parts of the old hippie trail of the ’60s and the historic Silk Road, and it was also the first time Sri Lankans had ever attempted [...]
Dialog, hSenid showcase Ideamart at TAD
Hot on the heels of a recent announcement that Sri Lanka-based hSenid had taken on the role of major sponsor for this year’s Telecom Application Development (TAD) Summit, held in Istanbul, Turkey, the company, along with celco Dialog, jointly revealed their presentation, at this event, of the Ideamart developer platform, which has “churned out over [...]
Restaurant business challenging but exiting the soft alcohol business pays off, says Cargills
The Cargills (Ceylon) Plc this week reported a loss of Rs 196.4 million for the six months ended September 30, 2014, compared to a profit of Rs 175.6 million in the same period last year. The results of the current period include a charge of Rs 101 million being the impact of taxation pertaining to [...]
Sri Lanka, most crowded telecom market in Asia, says Fitch
Fitch Ratings, in a November 16 Asia region report, has singled out Sri Lanka as one of the region’s most crowded telecom markets with five operators serving just 21 million people. This also follows the ratings agency recently speculating that Sri Lankas telecom industry could be gearing up for consolidation, with Sri Lanka Telecom planning [...]
Free Facebook for pre-paid Airtel Lanka customers
The local unit of India’s Bharti Airtel is offering its pre-paid customers in Sri Lanka free Facebook access and browsing for 20 days at a time when they ‘top-up’ their account with a minimum amount of Rs. 109. According to a recent announcement; “Under the promotion, Airtel pre-paid customers will be given free Facebook usage [...]
Per day, Sri Lankans use 35MB data; look at their phones 26 times
On an average day, Sri Lankans use 35MB of data, while also looking at the screen of their mobile phones 26 times, according to a recent statement by local mobile marketer zMessenger. Further, the statement also noted that, “(on) a global scale, 62 per cent of smart phone users expect mobile friendly websites from companies [...]
US$ 50,000 for ’500 Hours’?
Disrupt Unlimited, a local start-up investment programme spearheaded by apparel maker Brandix, has put up US$ 50,000 (approximately Rs. 6.5 million) in funding, for each team, to be won as a part of its novel “500 Hours” competition, which it announced recently. According to the announcement, at the “kick-off event in December, industry experts will [...]
Rapid consumerisation of IT has increasing hacking
Many facets of the threat landscape have evolved simultaneously, with the number of threats increasing by orders of magnitude in short periods. Hackers have evolved and plot each attack using unique exploits that render signature-based protections useless. Employee fraud and malicious acts have also intensified in sophistication. Successive hacks of Home Depot, Target, JP Morgan [...]
Rozaine launches her second book based on a column in the Business Times
Rozaine Cooray’s second book “From Crisis to Character” containing a series of columns she wrote for the Business Times on psychology issues in the workplace was launched last week in Colombo before a distinguished gathering. The presentation of the first copy of her book, to her father, was preceded by an illuminating panel discussion which [...]
Do professionals realize the paradigm shift in skills as per today’s corporate world?
In a world moving forward with vast improvement in modern technology, corporates find themselves uncomfortable to cope in such an environment. Most company Chairmen, CEO’s, Director’s and rest of the board are still moving along in an era of strict company policies and directorial leadership. In today’s context these policies have completely changed from the [...]
ITC Hotels launches one of largest ever foreign investments in Colombo
A luxury hotel complex with residences and office complex will soon be built in Sri Lanka by an Indian conglomerate. ITC Chairman Y.C. Deveshwar said that ITC Colombo was one of the largest investments of the ITC hotels’ group of India under which a luxury hotel with 350 rooms with 130 luxury residences along with [...]
