Gardeners, not umbrella lovers
At first glance it looked like the typical umbrella lovers found in parks and beaches. A closer look however revealed that these were gardeners at work at the Police Park grounds on Monday, protected from the sweltering heat by huge umbrellas. Pic by Amila Gamage
GSP+: First round win but issues ahead
The Sri Lanka Government claimed victory on Friday after an unexpected resolution before the European Parliament objecting to the resumption of GSP+ concessions was defeated but issues loom ahead when eventually concessions are secured. While welcoming the pro-Sri Lanka vote in the European Parliament, Felix Fernando, Chairman – Sri Lanka Apparel Exporters Association (SLAEA), said [...]
Sri Lankan tea prices rocket on short supply
The Sri Lankan tea industry has seen an increase in the price of tea fetched at the auctions however owing to a short supply scenario amidst developments where regional plantation companies (RPCs) barring three, pick up a share of the Rs.1 billion loan to help pay wages to the workers. Figures indicate that the production [...]
Former CJ Sripavan on ComBank board
Sri Lanka’s recently retired chief justice, K. Sripavan has been appointed an independent director at Commercial Bank with effect from April 26, the bank said on Wednesday. This is not the only occasion when a former chief justice has served on the bank board. Victor Tennekoon, Sri Lanka’s chief justice in the later 1970s, served [...]
Japanese Belluna replaces James Packer in Colombo Crown
A Japanese firm will be taking over a prime block of land at D.R. Wijewardene Mawatha in Fort earlier earmarked for a mixed development project for Australian gaming tycoon James Packer’s US$ 400 Crown Colombo project, officials said. Asia Capital CEO Stephan Abeysinghe, at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Marine Drive Hotel in Colombo this [...]
FIRA sees the light of day through a supplementary estimate
The Government is now gearing to establish a Financial Institution Restructuring Agency (FIRA) proposed in the 2016 budget to infuse a life blood for ailing finance companies, obtaining money through a recent supplementary estimate. According to this supplementary estimate presented in parliament, a sum of Rs. 10 billion has been allocated for this purpose although [...]
Economy: Game of snakes and ladders
Like a lifeline, the defeat of the anti-Sri Lanka resolution at the European Parliament on Thursday is certain to be heralded as a victory for the government. While government politicians will gloat over the ‘win’, opposition politicians – who see danger lurking in everything that the government does and often grabbing at straws – will [...]
Bavaria to play role of match maker for Sri Lanka SMEs
Germany’s largest state Bavaria and Sri Lanka will boost trade and investment links and promote joint ventures in technology, tourism and small and medium –sized enterprises under a new initiative agreed upon by the two parties. This initiative is mainly aimed at extending Bavarian assistance and expertise to mentor and boost Sri Lanka’s small and [...]
Vision Care to distribute 25,000 spectacles free to the needy to mark 25th anniversary
‘Vision Care’ one of the foremost vision enhancing corporates in Sri Lanka, though with small beginnings in 1992 is preparing for its 25th-year, Silver Jubilee anniversary – with a difference however. To announce the event, Dasanka Fonseka, Chairman, Vision Care told reporters this week in Colombo that over the past 25 years they have enhanced [...]
CICT attracts first new service to Colombo from Ocean Alliance
Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT) recently welcomed the maiden call of CMA CGM Nabucco, the first vessel under the Ocean Alliance to call on the Port of Colombo. The vessel operated by CMA CGM was the first in a new weekly service attracted to Colombo by CICT this year, and will operate under the USEC [...]
Sri Lanka needs solution to preserve rain water instead of flowing into the sea
Floods caused by heavy rain is problem for the construction industry in Colombo while on the other hand, rain water flowing to the sea is a waste of a very valuable resource, according to Surath Wickramasinghe, President, Chamber of Construction Industries (CCI). He says that the Government should take steps through the Irrigation Department to [...]
Surging tourist arrivals open up labour market opportunities
Despite the difficulties that come with the necessary repairs of the 30-year old runway of Bandaranaike International Airport, Sri Lanka’s busiest international airport, tourism has experienced a good first quarter, according to everjobs.lk career report for Q1 2017. The industry is also seen involved in offering the most jobs in recent times. It said tourist [...]
99X ranked in APAC’s top 25 Agile Solutions Providers
99X Technology, a Sri Lankan specialist in software product engineering, has been ranked among the 25 Most Promising Agile Solutions Providers in the Asia Pacific region in APAC CIOoutlook Magazine’s annual listing of top companies providing Agile solutions for enterprises. The only Sri Lankan entity to be placed on this prestigious list, 99X Technology was [...]
Labour costs rise sharply as SL grapples with shortage
Looking for a carpenter or a mason? Then prepare to fork out between Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 2500 per day but still struggle to find a suitable worker. Sri Lanka is grappling with a huge labour crisis particularly in the constructi0n sector amidst a construction boom and calls to import labour. Even costly incentives like [...]
MAS Holdings acquires US manufacturer, paves way for production in the US
MAS Holdings has acquired a US garment manufacturer, making it the first Sri Lankan apparel group to commence manufacturing in the US. In a media announcement on Wednesday, MAS Holdings said it has acquired the business of Acme McCrary Corporation based in in North Carolina. MAS said its western hemisphere organisation will operate in four [...]
Airport Aviation agency goes ‘bananas’ turning around Ratmalana
Sri Lanka’s first airport is set to get busy again with more commercial operations set to take hold as state plans get underway to develop the hub for the Colombo Airport Ratmalana as an international facility with required certification with no more “bananas” to hamper the progress. The Ratmalana airport is set to become the [...]
National Chamber of Exporters commends Govt. on GSP+ vote
The National Chamber of Exporters (NCE) on Friday commended the Government on its success in overcoming the anti-Sri Lanka GSP+ vote in the EU Parliament. This will undoubtedly provide the much needed impetus to Sri Lankan exports to facilitate accelerated economic development, the NCE said in a media release. The GSP+ would entail the full [...]
BOI hosts meeting with leading Chinese chamber of commerce
The Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) recently hosted a delegation from the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Beijing Chapter which was visiting Sri Lanka to study the potential for trade and investments between the two countries. The Chinese business delegation led by Lin Hai, Director of CCPIT expressed interest [...]
KPMG to host trade and customs seminar
KPMG will host a seminar on “Customs Valuation, 2017 Amendments to H.S Codes and Foreign Exchange Impact on International Trade” on May 19 at the Movenpick Hotel in Colombo. In a media release, KPMG said Customs valuation of imported goods, impacts the liability of border taxes and also the importers’ compliance with statutory requirements. The [...]
Sri Lanka Tourism comes out with a 3-year strategic plan
Sri Lanka Tourism has come out with a 3-year strategic plan (2017-2020) addressing main challenges faced by the industry at present and future expectations of the country. This strategic plan has been devised as the Cabinet Committee on Economic Management (CCEM) has recommended a short term tourism development plan instead of the tourism plan for [...]
Sri Lankan priest transforms lives of thousands of people in 15-year journey
The economic empowerment of the poor would be more meaningful if it is coupled with spirituality. A Catholic Priest is involved in dealing with this kind of economics – direct human development – and through 15 years of investing around Rs. 250 million. The project has seen success in reshaping the lives of around 1,000 [...]
Seylan Bank records PAT of Rs. 866 mln, up 20% in 1Q2017
Seylan Bank made a ‘steady start in 2017 posting impressive results’ for Q1 with a post-tax profit of Rs. 866 million, up 20 per cent from Q1 2016 in the backdrop of uncertain market conditions, the bank said on Thursday. The bank increased its Net Interest Income and recorded a growth of 20.97 per cent [...]
EPF stock market investments slump to Rs.2.6 bln in 2015/16
Stock market investments by the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) fell sharply in 2015/2016 to just Rs.2.6 billion from a total of Rs.17.9 billion in 2012-2014, data released by the EPF has revealed. The data was made available to Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) which had requested information from the Central Bank, which manages the EPF, [...]
Union Bank says strong balance sheet growth in Q1 2017
The Union Bank reported this week that profit before tax and VAT grew sharply by 45 per cent to Rs. 167 million in Q1 2017 from the same quarter in 2016. Post tax profit for the period was Rs. 95 million. In a media release, the bank said there was a strong 95 per cent [...]
Ceylinco Insurance announces record 275% dividend for 2016
Ceylinco Insurance PLC has announced an ‘incomparable’ dividend of Rs.27/50 per share to its shareholders for 2016, which constitutes a 275 per cent dividend of the original share price. This is also an increase of 22.2 per cent of the dividend declared for 2015. In a media release Ceylinco Insurance said that the company was [...]
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh NBFIs share financial best practices and know-how
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh Non Bank Financial Institutions (NBFIs) have linked up to share knowledge on financial best practices in their respective countries. A 28-member Bangladesh delegation representing the leasing and finance sector visited the island on Tuesday on a 3-day fact finding mission with the aim of establishing links with their Sri Lankan counterparts. [...]
CSC sees record earnings of Rs. 1.7 bln helped by coal transport
Ceylon Shipping Corporation (CSC) has successfully completed another season of transporting the much needed energy resource of the country by carrying nearly 2.209 million metric tonnes of coal. As the shipping arm to the procuring entity Lanka Coal Company (LCC), CSC’s just completed few days back for the season 2016/2017 in transporting Ceylon Electricity Board’s [...]
Ceylon Chamber to publish Registry of Northern Province SMEs
The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in its initiative to assist Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Northern Province is planning to publish a Registry of Small and Medium Enterprises operating in the region. The proposed registry, which is currently being compiled, will be published during the month of June 2017, the chamber said on [...]
Pan Asia Bank Q1 net profit exceeds Rs.350 mln
Pan Asia Banking Corporation PLC has reported an after tax profit of Rs. 353.4 million for Q1 2017, up by 16 per cent from the same period last year. The performance was largely supported by the significant increase in the fee and commission income, slightly lower tax liability and the closer tab kept on the [...]
WSO2 forum on Fraud Detection Solutions
With payment fraud being more complex and dangerous as fraudsters counter anti-fraud measures via technology, and advanced statistical models, WSO2 is organising a forum in Colombo on fraud detection mechanisms and how to implement them in a simple and effective manner. Conducted by the company’s Senior Technical Leader Seshika Fernando, the Fraud Detection Solutions Forum [...]
Global start-up hunts Sri Lankan candidates for Melbourne programme
Aglobal start-up mentor was recently in Sri Lanka looking for candidates for a Melbourne-based programme which would scale up new tech companies and provide equity among other benefits. “We specifically target B2B start-ups and we work with corporates. We are currently running 19 programmes around the world. We started off in Europe and now spread [...]
Retailers going bankrupt in the US; can SL learn from this?
Some 8600+ retail stores are expected to close in the US by the end of the year. Analysts at Credit Suisse count roughly 2,880 store closings announced this year through April, and this trend will continue till the end of the year bringing the final count to 8600+. The number is so staggering that number [...]
Technology to type directly from your brain at 100 words per minute
A plan to develop a non-invasive brain-computer interface that will let you type at 100 wpm — by decoding neural activity devoted to speech, was revealed by Regina Dugan, PhD, Facebook VP of Engineering, Building8, on April 19 at the Facebook F8 conference 2017. She explained in a Facebook post that over the next two [...]
Carnegie Mellon University AI beats top Chinese poker players
Artificial intelligence (AI) triumphed over human poker players again as a computer programme developed by Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) researchers beat six Chinese players by a total of US $792,327 in virtual chips during a five-day, 36,000-hand exhibition recently (April 10) in Hainan, China. The AI software program, called Lengpudashi (“cold poker master”) is a [...]
Sri Lankan team to compete at the Microsoft Imagine Cup World Finals
Microsoft said this week that Team Titans from Sri Lanka has been selected as one of seven teams to represent South Asia at the Microsoft Imagine Cup World Finals in July this year. The selection was made at the inaugural Imagine Cup Southeast Asia Finals held in Manila, Philippines. Addressing the issue of treating asthma [...]
IBM Korea bets future on cognitive, cloud tech biz
(The Korea Herald newspaper) – IBM Korea, the local branch of the US-based tech giant, is betting its future on its cognitive computing and cloud service businesses as the world embraces a new age led by futuristic technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and blockchain. The US tech firm is seeking to [...]
Sri Lanka expedites long-delayed ‘TV Digitalisation Project’
The Sri Lankan government is expediting the long-delayed ‘Digitalisation of Television Broadcasting’ project with Japanese funding although the project has not made sufficient progress last year. Japan and Sri Lanka discussed ways and means of accelerating the project during Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s recent tour of Japan and talks with Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan [...]
65 WP Govt. schools transformed to ‘smart schools’ from blackboard generation
Guru.lk, Sri Lanka’s leading eLearning portal, has announced the completion of a multi-stakeholder initiative to convert 65 schools in the Western Province into ‘Smart Schools’ capable of deploying digital learning protocols. The company collaborated with Commercial Bank of Ceylon, Microsoft Sri Lanka and the Western Province Education Ministry over a six -month period to complete [...]
NDBIB’s ‘cornerstone strategy’ for local IPOs on CSE
NDB Investment Bank (NDBIB) successfully introduced a ‘Cornerstone Investor Strategy’ to the Colombo bourse via the recent Initial Public Offering of RIL Property Ltd (RIL). NDBIB said in a media release that the IPO was oversubscribed within minutes on the opening day itself amidst healthy participation of value driven institutional investors. The ‘Cornerstone’ strategy is [...]
SLT hosts top meeting of 2 submarine cable maintenance consortiums
Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) hosted the Management Committee Meeting of two submarine cable maintenance consortiums at the Hotel Galadari in Colombo fromMarch 21-24. The consortium parties of the South East Asia and Indian Ocean Cable Maintenance Agreement (SEAIOCMA) and the Pacific and Indian Ocean Cable Maintenance Agreement (PIOCMA) met during the mentioned period. A total [...]
Korea Importers’ Association and Sri Lanka Embassy in new partnership
The Korea Importers’ Association (KOIMA) with the support of the Sri Lanka Embassy in the Republic of Korea launched recently the KOIMA Trade Promotion Partners Committee (TPPC) of Sri Lanka. The event took place at the Sri Lanka Embassy in Seoul. CEOs of five Korean companies -, CAC Trading Co, Green Natural Corp, Daichung Industrial [...]
Asia Capital in JV, invests heavily in leisure
Asia Capital in a joint venture with Japanese firm Belluna has invested heavily into the leisure industry with three hotel properties, an apartment unit and a mixed development project opposite Lake House (Associated Newspapers office) in Fort. Construction on the US$54 million 4-star property on Marine Drive near the Kollupitiya Railway station with 300 rooms [...]
Call right and get a free drink at Movenpick
With a proliferation of new hotels and new venues, patrons are cashing on new offers as competition hots up to attract F&B clientele. The latest to come up with a unique offer is Movenpick Hotel Colombo. On Wednesdays and Thursdays the Mövenpick Hotel Colombo offers “Flip Night Happy Hour” at its roof top bar and [...]
SL’s top precious stones exhibition in Aug 2017
FACETS, Sri Lanka’s top international gem and jewellery show organised by the Sri Lanka Gem and Jewellery Association, this year is scheduled to be held from August 31 to September 3. The organisers said this year FACETS “promises something for everyone to suit every budget, from precious gems and exquisite jewellery to branded watches and [...]
BoardPAC enters Nepal with its adoption by the country’s largest telco Ncell
BoardPAC, an award-winning Sri Lanka-developed corporate governance solution, has entered Nepal with the adoption of the platform by Ncell Pvt Ltd, the first private mobile operator in the Central Himalayan nation. A member of the Axiata Group Berhad, one of Asia’s leading telecommunications groups, Ncell contributes to the development of Nepal’s economy and infrastructure, building [...]
SSri Lanka’s share of world tea output down to 6 % from 10.5 % in 2000
Members of Tea Exporters Association (TEA) have raised concerns over the current status of Sri Lanka tea industry as tea production is on a declining trend in the last few years due to many issues. According to the Sri Lanka Tea Board statistics tea production has declined by 36 million kg or 11 per cent [...]
GL led team that planned and built Sri Lanka’s first Free Trade Zone in 1978
G.L. Perera, B.Sc (Engineering); M.Sc (UK); MICE (Lond); MIE (SL); PG Dip. Building Construction (Paris) Former Executive Director / Consultant (Rtd) – Engineering & Technical Services – Board of Investment of Sri Lanka. (1939 – 2017) Many great minds in our country have quietly made sea-changing contributions to our economic and social prosperity – without asking [...]
Mastercard hosts ‘Knowledge Sharing Session on Risk Management
Mastercard recently hosted 50 senior electronic payments industry representatives at a Risk Management workshop in Colombo. The event was part of an ongoing series of knowledge-sharing sessions organized by Mastercard to share global learnings and gain local insights from market partners. The day-long workshop saw Rajeev Kumar, Customer Fraud Management, South Asia, Mastercard and Christopher [...]
Two local Singer Group top performers win top Asian awards
Two managers at Singer Sri Lanka; Lahiru Weerasinghe, Senior Brand Manager – Water pumps and Niranjan Sethunga, Senior Recoveries Manager – Singer Finance, received the President’s Club Member Awards at the company’s Annual Marketing Convention held recently. The President’s Club Member is awarded annually by Singer Asia to two Executives below the level of director [...]