“Pensive, Defiant, Buoyant”
The different moods of Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran when he faced the media on Friday. Pix by M.D. Nissanka
“I didn’t go inside Public Debt Dept.”, says CB Governor
Under-fire Central Bank (CB) Governor Arjuna Mahendran on Friday strongly denied references in the report of a parliamentary committee that he had been at the Public Debt Department when bids of a controversial Treasury Bonds were being perused. The report by the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) had said that the Governor had visited this [...]
Entrance ticket fraud at tourist sites
The government, in a bid to overcome fraud where the same entrance ticket is sold repeatedly at tourist attraction sites, has since June 1 begun selling entrance tickets only at the site. This method was adopted with the aim of avoiding frauds happening on a large scale which was brought to the notice of the [...]
4 more debentures seek fresh ratings
Four more debentures rated by the crisis–hit Lanka Rating Agency (LRA) plans to seek a fresh rating now that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not renewed LRA’s licence, informed sources said. “They will obtain a sfresh rating as all of them were keen to raise money through the market,” a source who declined [...]
CAA Chief calls for public ideas to develop Mattala
In a bid to explore all possible ways to make inactive Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) more productive, Shibly Aziz, Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of Sri Lanka, has called for suggestions from the people to develop the facility. Speaking to the Business Times on the sidelines of the opening of Fairway Aviation [...]
5-star hotels cheapest in Sri Lanka, Asian survey shows
Travellers searching for the most value-for-money stay in a five-star hotel can find the cheapest options in Sri Lanka, says online travel company Kayak after a recent analysis of five-star hotels in countries across Asia. It said Sri Lanka offers the cheapest five-star luxury hotels with average rates starting from just Singapore$241 (US$178.80) per night. [...]
CIFL depositors present Rs. 3.5 bln bailout plan
Depositors of the failed Central Investment and Finance Ltd have submitted a proposal to the Central Bank (CB) to revive the company under a Rs. 3.5 billion bailout package. W. Gunawardene, President of the CIFL Depositors Association (CIFLDA) told the Business Times that the money would be obtained from state banks as a long term loan [...]
CB Governor visited Public Debt Dept. on two occasions, COPE report says
A Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) that probed the Central Bank’s Treasury Bond scandal has made serious indictments on the Governor sand his son in law Arjun Joseph Aloysius. The committee was chaired by D.E.W. Gunasekera and comprised 13 MPs from the COPE. Their report was due to be tabled in Parliament on Friday, [...]
Call for clean politics, clean candidates
Sri Lankan business chambers and professional groups came out strongly this week lending support to an ongoing campaign for clean government, a clean poll and clean politics. Joining a campaign launched by polls monitor PAFFREL and the Citizens Collective to collect a million signatures by July 6, the chambers also urged their members – through separate [...]
Lack of sufficient private investments in Sri Lanka’s north – NP Governor
Although some excellent work on infrastructure has been done in the North and East, these projects alone have not achieved enough in terms of enhancing household incomes and addressing livelihood issues, as well as even promoting the necessary confidencethat normalisation is taking hold, according to former Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary and current Northern Province Governor [...]
Recruitment patterns, human trafficking come under scrutiny at Colombo discussion on migrant workers
Better recruitment practices, curbing human smuggling and trafficking and better management of migrant workers and their concerns emerged at a regional discussion in Colombo on migrant workers this week. The Colombo discussion was organised by the Solidarity Centre in collaboration with Migrant Forum in Asia and dealt with the theme “Recruitment Practices: Interconnection between Recruitment, Labour [...]
Hemas’ Shiromi Masakorala wins Gold for ‘Leadership Excellence in Corporate Media’
Shiromi Masakorala, Head of Group Sustainability and Corporate Communications at Hemas Holdings PLC last week won the prestigious and coveted Gold Award in “Leadership Excellence in Corporate Media” at the Women in Management Awards 2015. Leading the Hemas’ award-winning Piyawara CSR initiative, she is an Executive Director of the Hemas Outreach Foundation and has been [...]
Local ornamental fish breeder gains world acclaim for Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s ornamental fish exports which account for just two per cent of the global market at present are gaining international acclaim through skills and talents of local fish breeders. The country has been recognised as one of the best ornamental fish suppliers to the international market with US$340 million foreign exchange earnings per annum [...]
SEC ordered by court to submit share transaction report of Dilith Jayaweera, Nalaka Godahewa
The Colombo Magistrate’s Court has directed the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to submit a detailed report on share transactions of Dilith Jayaweera, former SEC chief Nalaka Godahewa, Varuni Amunugama and Sarvajana Anandaraj Ameresekere since 2008. The Colombo Additional Magistrate Nishantha Peiris made this order in response to a request by the Financial Crimes Investigation [...]
Discover the “designer in you” with the Mix and Match shirt from Hameedia
Hameedia, Sri Lanka’s leading menswear specialist recently introduced yet another unique concept – the Mix and Match shirt solution. This new design option gives the wearer the freedom to create customised shirts from scratch, by mixing and matching the various elements of a shirt together based on his personal preferences. “The Mix and Match solution [...]
Seven internationally acclaimed speakers at the CA Sri Lanka Strategy Summit
Seven internationally renowned speakers will come together on a single stage in Colombo next month at the Strategy Summit organised by the Business School of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka). The high-profile summit on July 29-30 is the first of its kind in the region, and is open for [...]
Many Sri Lankan businesses negotiate exports deals after Chinese Expo participation
A delegation of small and medium entrepreneurs (SMEs) who participated at the recent 3rd China South Asia Expo fair 2015 – “Kunming Expo Fair” – has had a resounding success in clinching several deals and developing further contacts with Chinese and other foreign businessmen to promote exports of Sri Lankan goods. The delegation consisted of [...]
Sri Lanka’s inflation rises in June
Sri Lanka’s inflation rose by 1 per cent in June from May 2015 but on a year-on-year basis eased by 0.1 per cent last month, the Central Bank said this week. “Inflation, as measured by the change in the Colombo Consumers’ Price Index (CCPI) (2006/07=100), declined marginally to 0.1 per cent, on an year-on-year basis [...]
Letters
Response to “GK depositors or investors” A letter by D.P. Jayasinghe has appeared in the Business Times last week under the caption “Golden Key credit card holders are not depositors: They are investors”. Mr. Jayasinghe says that the Golden Key Credit Card Company (GK) was, at the outset, a ‘doubtful institution’, whilst claiming that interest [...]
PIM pioneers MBA-T
The Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM) recently launched its newest programme, MBA in Taxation (MBA-T) in collaboration with the Department of Inland Revenue. Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga, Secretary, Ministry of Finance and Secretary to the Treasury was the chief guest at the inauguration of the MBAT. Ms. Kalyani Dahanayake, Commissioner General of the Inland Revenue Department [...]
Microsoft partners Ministry of Child Affairs and SLANA to educate and empower children and youth
Microsoft Sri Lanka together with the State Ministry of Child Affairs and Sri Lanka Anti Narcotics Association (SLANA), held a workshop recently titled ‘Connecting Communities’ which is an initiative the assist the country’s children and youth to take the lead in driving change in their lives and that of their communities through technology. The event [...]
Future of everything and anything is technology, says top Google official
Examining the lifestyle and the evolution of technology 100 years back and how it has advanced until today shows how phenomenal it has been. This is not just going to end here but will keep on developing and advancing. Technology is something that cannot be predicted who will do what, when and where. No one [...]
Nawaloka Hospitals to add 450,000 sq feet to current facility, new Multi-Storey Car Park
Nawaloka Hospitals had the ground breaking ceremony for the 14 floor multi-storey car park and specialist center adjacent to the existing hospital complex recently. With an investment of Rs. 2.5 billion, this fifth phase of expansion of capacity since the hospital’s inception, will add 450,000 square feet of floor area with state-of-the-art medical facilities for [...]
Outsourcing, insourcing and precarious labour issues at Colombo discussion
A Colombo discussion on Monday on ‘labour issues and outsourcing trends’ triggered a debate on the meaning, definition and misconception of the word “outsourcing”. The three panellists at the monthly meeting of the Sunday Times Business Club (STBC) held on Monday at the Cinnamon Lakeside hotel, sometimes agreed, sometimes differed in their views on outsourcing. At [...]
Micro Holdings steps in to its third decade, stressing need for state patronage for auto industry
While denying any affiliations with the Rajapaksa family for special favours or financial support, the top management of Micro Holdings Pvt Ltd says that successive governments and state officials do not understand the value of encouraging automobile indstry as a key contributor to improve the country’s economy. The company’s market share has come down from [...]
Roshan Mendis appointed senior VP of Sabre Travel Network, Asia Pacific
Southlake, Texas – US-based Sabre Corporation announced on Wednesday that it has appointed Roshan Mendis as senior vice president for Sabre Travel Network, Asia Pacific, following the completion of its acquisition of Abacus International. In his new role, Mendis, a native of Sri Lanka, will be responsible for the overall Sabre Travel Network business in the [...]
Volkswagen team to sign car assembly deal with Sri Lanka soon
A team of representatives of Volkswagen (VW), Germany’s largest automaker and the second -largest car manufacturer worldwide behind Toyota, will be visiting Sri Lanka in the next few weeks to sign an agreement to set up a car manufacturing plant here, Deuty Minister of Policy Planning and Economic Affairs Dr. Harsha de Silva said. “This [...]
Airtel is now the third largest mobile operator in the world
Bharti Airtel (Airtel), a leading telecommunications service provider with operations in 20 countries across South Asia and Africa, said this week that it has become the third largest mobile operator in the world in terms of subscribers. As per the latest data published by World Cellular Information Service (WCIS), Airtel with over 303 million mobile [...]
Homerun Pas conducts art competition for school children in Anuradhapura
Homerun Pas pastels, bringing all the colours of the rainbow into homes and schools for over 50 years, recently held a colourful children’s art competition in Anuradhapura, with the objective of bringing the joy of art and colouring to the children of the district. Organised together with the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation and the Anuradhapura [...]
Amarasuriya, 3rd generation Colombo University Alumni President
Rajeev Amarasuriya, a third generation alumni, was elected as the 10th President of the Alumni Association of the University of Colombo at its 33rd Annual General Meeting held recently at the College House premises of the University of Colombo, with the participation of a large number of alumni and academic staff of the University. This [...]
Former Apple branding guru Ken Segall to speak on “simplicity driving competitive advantage”
The Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies (SLASSCOM) is organising a tour of Sri Lanka for Ken Segall, a globally acclaimed guru in marketing, design, strategy and branding from 23-28 July. Mr. Segall is the author of the 2012 New York Times best seller ‘Insanely Simple: The obsession that drives Apple’s success’. He [...]
Sri Lanka’s MICE Travel Mart ends with more prospects for Incentives
The group of 40 MICE (Meetings, Incentive Travel, Conferences and Exhibitions) buyers and Travel writers ended their round trip with a workshop in Colombo where presentations were made by Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB), SriLankan Airlines and SLAPCO followed by one-to-one meetings with industry members. “In the final themed dinner the group from eight countries [...]
Sri Lankan tea to travel on rail and cut costs, says trade
Amidst a growing global crisis in tea sales, the Colombo Tea Traders Association (CTTA) has proposed the re-introduction of the use of rail transportation and auction automation for an industry that would turn 150 years in 2017. CTTA Chairman Anselm Perera addressing the 121st AGM of the association in Colombo last week said the auction [...]
Some aspects of Corporate Governance
Corporate Governance is constantly under discussion – and rightly so. Many articles have been written on it, one of the most comprehensive being the “Code of Best Practice on Corporate Governance, 2013″ issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka. There is one section of it that causes me some concern. I refer [...]
CID to probe massive fraud at Canwill Holdings in proposed Hyatt hotels in Kollupitiya, Hambantota
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is to investigate a massive financial fraud and misappropriation of public money running into millions of rupees during the previous Rajapaksa regime in a state-owned public enterprise which is building the Hyat hotel in Kollupitiya (previously Celestial Residencies of failed Ceylinco group) and another hotel in Hambantota, officials say. The [...]
Lack of aircrafts in local flying schools compels students to go abroad for training
While training pilots in almost all aviation schools in Sri Lanka takes at least two years or more it is less than a year in the US. Lack of aircrafts is the reason that training takes longer here and students prefer foreign flying schools (mostly the US) for their training. Considering these issues,, Fairway Holdings [...]