Betel-chewing tourists
Tourists are an adventurous lot. Sunday Times cartoonist M. Munaf captured this picture on a busy street in Pettah this week of a group of tourists trying their hand at betel chewing.
Lankan investment banker faces charges in US court
US authorities this week filed indictment in a Washington court against six persons including Sri Lanka’s Rienzi Edwards on charges of swindling investors to the tune of over US$50 million, but the Colombo-based investment banker has vigorously rejected the accusations. “In the first place, no one has informed me from the US or the US [...]
FCID wants Entrust’s non-executive directors to turn state witnesses
The Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) has requested the under-fire Entrust Securities’ non-executive directorate to turn state witnesses in the prosecution against the company’s former executive directors, informed sources said. Almost a year-long drama, it will be interesting to see how this unfolds. The FCID has had many meetings with the three non executive directors [...]
Hambantota JV deal with China triggers legal issue
The US$1.12 billion Hambantota port joint venture deal with a Chinese firm is set to trigger a legal issue as relevant legislation needs to be amended before handing over the port management to a private company, legal experts claimed. Sri Lanka will enter into a joint venture agreement with China Merchants Port Holdings Company (CMPHC) [...]
Move over cigarettes, beedi now the craze
Beedi sales have increased in Jaffna University area, after the increase in cigarette prices. University students who smoked cigarette earlier have now turned to beedi, after the recent price surge in cigarettes, an effort by the Government to reduce consumption which is harmful to health. S. Paramanathan, owner of the Sivan Stores, just opposite the [...]
Other side of the story
The other side of the story is usually a journalist’s way of saying that there are always two sides to an event and one must not come to any conclusion by listening to one side only. Report both sides is what budding journalists are taught in journalism school and let the reader decide which side [...]
Crisis in the house that (Tata’s) Jamsetji built
The dramatic October 25 announcement by the board of Tata Sons, the flagship of the Tata Group, that it had sacked Cyrus Mistry, its Chairman, was sensational news that shocked the Indian corporate sector not to mention such sectors of many countries. Tata’s operate in over 100 countries the world over. Mr. Mistry (52) an [...]
Colombo to become a smart city with Microsoft’s digitisation roadmap
The world’s cities are ballooned at the seams, public assets are stressed and crime is tougher than ever to monitor. One of the main aims for public agencies has become to protect the country’s citizens, mitigate disasters, reduce crime and build more secure and resilient nations. As it stands, most video surveillance and CCTV equipment [...]
Kaspersky -Avian Technologies presents Kaspersky Internet Security 2017 version
Kaspersky Lab has presented the new version of its flagship security solution Kaspersky Internet Security 2017 with Multi Device protection, which provided users with additional opportunities to manage their Internet protection and to ensure data safety. Kaspersky Internet Security 2017 Multi Device security solution is for the whole family; they protect Windows, Mac, and Android [...]
IMF warns of impending challenges against Sri Lanka’s reforms
Sri Lankan Government continues to face many challenges in implementing its ambitious economic reform agenda despite the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Extended Fund Facility (EFF), IMF officials warned. Releasing the IMF first review under the EFF, they noted that the political challenge of tax reforms—VAT and income taxes—has been and will remain a policy risk [...]
Randeniya International (Pvt) Ltd excels in fair trade coconut sales
Coconut is used in every meal in Sri Lankan households in one form or another; from coconut oil, pol sambol to kiri hodi. However, over the years, the coconut oil manufacturing processes have changed from the methods used decades ago in the villages, resulting in fair trade products made from coconuts. To put his ideas [...]
Sri Lankan in Fortune’s 2016 top 50 Business persons of the year
To be considered in Fortune magazine’s top 50 business persons of the year is a huge honour considering the weight of the other names like Mark Zuckerberg of Face Book, Jeff Bezon of Amazon, Larry Page of Google, Tim Cook of Apple and so on. Featured in this year’s list at position 34 is a [...]
Beredina, first NGO to get CA Sri Lanka annual reports’ award
Berendina Microfinance Institute (Gte) Ltd (BMI) received the Silver award for non-profits for the best Annual Report for 2015 at the annual awarding ceremony of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (CA Sri Lanka) held at Water’s Edge earlier this month. The Gold in this category went to the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. “Beyond good reporting [...]
Strengthening the legal framework of Sri Lanka’s financial markets
A robust legal framework is the nucleus of a healthy financial market. The corruption and scandals that have seeped into Sri Lanka’s financial markets have dealt severe blows to the integrity and reputation of the markets. The country as a whole will have to pay dearly for these, as potential investors will shun the market, [...]
Fonterra partners with NADeP to empower rural smallholder dairy farmer families
Fonterra Brands Sri Lanka (Anchor), has partnered with the National Agribusiness Development Programme (NADeP) to help Sri Lankan smallholder dairy farmer families to improve farm productivity and profitability through a Rs. 28.5 million project. NADeP is implemented by the Development and Special Projects Division under the Presidential Secretariat of Sri Lanka and funded by the [...]
MTI launches 2017 CEO Survey with Wijeya Newspapers
MTI Consulting, for the sixth consecutive year, will be carrying out the CEO Business Outlook Survey in association with the Wijeya Group. The annual survey which will be conducted during the month of December will lead to the results being released exclusively in Wijeya Newspapers in the third week of January 2017, according to an [...]
CB currency removal during 2015 Presidential poll comes under scanner
The Sri Lankan Government has decided to initiate investigations into the alleged transport of money worth Rs.13 billion in bags from the Central Bank to Temple Trees a few days before the 2015 Presidential election, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake told a media conference in Colombo on Thursday. Police and the Financial Crime investigation Division (FCID) [...]
Alternate crops for tobacco farmers
With the Government clamping down on the production of tobacco and the sale and consumption of cigarettes, tobacco farmers in Dambulla have been told that they would be given an alternative crop for commercial production. Picture by Kanchana Kumara Ariyadasa shows a group of farmers from Dambulla with their tobacco crop.
15 start-up failures in Asia this year
(Courtesy – www.techasia.com) Ensogo One of the most spectacular start-up failures this year was Ensogo, a network of ecommerce sites operating across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong. In May merchants began complaining they weren’t receiving the money for the products they’d sold through the site. It all went south from there. Ensogo was blaming delayed [...]
“I do’s” and more for Sri Lanka Tourism
The tourism industry is gearing to market Sri Lanka as a dream destination for not just leisure but also weddings with 200 Chinese set to wed in Colombo in a mass ceremony. Sri Lanka as one of the most sought after travel destinations in the world and fast becoming the most popular attraction in South [...]
Sri Lanka’s plus in Ayurveda for medical tourism
Sri Lanka is today vying to market the destination for medical tourism to attract travellers seeking remedies and recovery on this island nation, but unique to its culture is the Ayurveda system of traditional medicine already promoted in Europe by Siddhalepa and eyeing the Asian market next year. Medical tourism is important because Sri Lanka [...]
SilkAir to fly to Colombo from Apr 2017
SilkAir, the regional wing of Singapore Airlines (SIA), will launch flights to Sri Lanka’s commercial capital, Colombo from April 8, 2017. It will operate three flights per week, taking over SIA’s SQ466/SQ467 service. SIA will continue to operate its daily night flight SQ468 and return flight SQ469, the SIA subsidiary announced on Wednesday. A large [...]
World Aquabike championship event in March 2017
Sri Lanka will play host to the opening round of the Aquabike World Championship in March next year, securing a spot to market the destination to attract increased travellers during the sporting event at Galle Face. In this regard, Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara together with Lanka Powerboat Association President, Prassane Ranaweera visited Abu Dhabi to [...]
Two Trillium eco-friendly luxury hotels soon in Maharagama, Kahathuduwa
Trillium Property Management and Services, as part of the company’s diversification programme, is planning to get into the leisure sector with the boom in the tourism sector and the prospects of two million tourists in 2016. This was stated by company chairman Janaka Ratnayake during a media briefing held at the Trillium Tower Office complex [...]
Debenhams slated to visit C’bo for second time
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) is expecting a buyer delegation from Debenhams, one of the largest retailers in the UK next month, to make its second visit to Colombo. They are expected to be in town to ink deals with apparel firms from Sri Lanka. Indira Malwatte, Director General EDB told the Business [...]
LAUGFS Gas wins 4th year Gold at CA Annual Report Awards
LAUGFS Gas PLC secures another prestigious Gold Award at the 52nd CA Annual Report Awards held by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, the fourth consecutive year LAUGFS Gas has won Gold in the power and energy sector. “We are honoured to have received the Gold award yet again at the CA Annual [...]
Join Sri Lanka’s journey to end poverty and promote prosperity
(A 90-day reflection of the new Country Director of the World Bank) I take this opportunity to thank all the Sri Lankans that opened their minds and hearts to help me understand the country context and constraints. During my first 90 days in Sri Lanka my colleagues and our clients gave me a warm welcome. [...]
Michael learns to rock at Entrepreneur Hubs Sri Lanka
A start-up to help start-ups – this was the flashbulb moment Michael Moonesinghe experienced when he attended the Disrupt Asia Conference a few months ago in Colombo. Sitting in the audience at the Hilton Hotel as Sri Lanka’s first ever start-up conference organised by the ICT Agency (Information and Communication Technology) got underway in July, [...]
Move over Jeeves for NicNac is here
‘This old man, he played one, He played knick-knack on my drum With a knick-knack paddywhack, Give the dog a bone, This old man came rolling home.’ This old nursery rhyme comes into my mind as we meet NicNac founder and CEO Sachira Fernando. It is no old man which comes rolling home though, rather [...]
Digital Payments: Current landscape and why Sri Lanka should not get left behind
The introduction of a general purpose credit card that could be used at multiple merchants happened in the 1960s by Bank of America (BankAmericard, now VISA) and Master Charge (now MasterCard). Since then, when carrying out a transaction meant manually checking a customer’s card balance, the credit card has evolved a great deal. Newer payment [...]
White elephant project in Hambantota – SOLD
Politicians called the port and the airport a white elephant project, for political gains without having any knowledge about the strategic location of these projects. It is obvious that the geographical position of the port will play a vital role in determining the volume and types of cargo which can be handled in the port. [...]
How India’s start-ups are feeding the country’s unemployment crisis
India is a country that is inhabited by more than 1.21 billion people, and by 2022 it is projected to replace China as the most populated nation in the world. This enormous size of its population has resulted in the difficulty of providing ample jobs to its citizens; the severity of the problem can be [...]
New IT system to streamline public financial management
Sri Lanka’s public financial management is to be streamlined by making necessary changes to the Finance Ministry’s IT infrastructure soon, official sources said. This programme envisages the establishment of a financial commitment record and control system to make accurate estimates and streamline the financial management avoiding the recurrence of arrears and negative impact on the [...]
Copal Amba announces name change to Moody’s Analytics
LONDON — Moody’s Corporation announced this week that Copal Amba has been rebranded as the Knowledge Services unit of Moody’s Analytics. Copal Amba’s full range of market leading research and analytics knowledge services will be offered as part of Moody’s Analytics’ comprehensive solutions serving the global financial services industry. Moody’s Analytics’ Knowledge Services unit is [...]
Sri Lankan delegation to Tajikistan in March
Sri Lankan companies have investment opportunities in Tajikistan’s hydropower, apparel processed foods and in ceramic sector and these will be explored in detail when a local delegation will visit Tajikistan next March. “There are also investment opportunities in Tajikistan’s free trade zone,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Harsha de Silva told an investment forum on [...]