Public anger mounting over dengue management: BT-RCB Poll
Unsurprisingly, a new joint poll by the Business Times (BT) and the Research Consultancy Bureau (RCB) on the dengue crisis that has engulfed the country, reveals mounting public anger against the Government and local authorities for failing to contain the epidemic. With both public and private hospitals overflowing with patients and public concern over dengue [...]
Anilana’s inflated pricing catches up
Anilana Hotels and Properties PLC (Anilana) which has negotiated with Sampath Bank PLC on a repayment schedule to settle its dues some time ago found its public offer application rejected by the authorities, informed sources said. The company whose Initial Public Offering (IPO) was rejected by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2012 (during [...]
India-Japan link to set up LNG power plant in Sri Lanka
In a far reaching move to further strengthen relations with India, the government will go ahead with a 300 MW Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) power plant in Kerawalapitiya with Indian and Japanese assistance, a senior official of the Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy told the Business Times. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Management (CCEM) [...]
BOC’s divestiture in Grand Oriental Hotel uncertain
The Bank of Ceylon (BOC) is gearing to divest the Grand Oriental Hotel (GOH) in a move to augment its capital base and shed non-core activities but government’s indecisiveness is hampering this process, informed sources said. BOC has decided that it will not invest in any non-core banking activity, and will in particular not expand [...]
Hilton, Grand Hyatt’s RFPs before cabinet
The under-construction Grand Hyatt Colombo, owned by Sri Lanka’s largest insurance and pension fund, along with the Colombo Hilton are set to be divested by its majority owner, the government and cabinet approval is being sought next week to issue the Request For Proposals (RFPs), informed Ministry officials said. The Ministry of Public Enterprise Development [...]
Tackling dengue: Unity in diversity
A powerful video doing the rounds in Sri Lanka these days is a statement by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong denying accusations by his siblings over a house he inherited from their father, the legendary Lee Kuan Yew. Praised by many Sri Lankans on the exemplary behaviour of a Prime Minister, the video which [...]
Ailing tea and rubber sectors
In Sri Lanka, around 880,000 hectares are under plantation crops which constitute tea, rubber, coconut, sugarcane, etc. Among the plantation crops, tea and rubber are important export crops. Around 330 ha are cultivated under these two crops (tea-200,000 ha, and rubber 130,000 ha). The total production of these two crops as indicated in the table [...]
1% of GDP of Colombo Metro area lost due to floods
As attention turns to how ill-prepared Sri Lanka was yet again, for the previously benign monsoon, curbing deforestation is often cited as a way in which we can prevent the escalation of impacts of increasingly common natural disasters. As we discuss reforestation efforts in order to combat carbon emissions and increase resilience to natural disasters, [...]
Overflowing comments as Sri Lankan citizens strongly express themselves over dengue outbreak
From clearing garbage on time, increasing penalties to garbage dumpers, increasing hospital facilities for dengue patients to holding municipal elections to urging the public to help the government in the anti-dengue drive. Like overflowing government and private hospitals with dengue patients, dozens of Sri Lankans responded to a joint Business Times –Research Consultancy Bureau (BT-RCB) [...]
Short -term solutions to the garbage crisis
Colombo which appeared like a Garden City during the Commonwealth Heads of State conference has become a garbage dump after the Meetotamulla tragedy. It is not the best practice to dump garbage without any pre-treatment, amidst protests by residents in the area to the environmental pollution from untreated garbage dumps. Recently, the Municipal Council garbage [...]
Dengue threatens innocent lives across Sri Lanka
Dengue was first recognised in the 1950s during the dengue epidemics in the Philippines and Thailand though dengue-like pandemics can be traced back to the 18th century. A further revisit to the past indicates that this disease was called “water poison” by the Chin Dynasty in China during 265 A.D. Today this has spread across [...]
US$300 million Dedduwa -Akurala high-end tourism zone gets underway
Sri Lanka is introducing high-end tourism projects and new travel opportunities in unspoiled areas of Dedduwa and Akurala in the Galle district in an effort to re-develop the southern province, the Western Province and Megapolis Development Ministry disclosed. The two areas will be converted into a high –end tourist attraction zone with an investment of [...]
Palm oil imports affect coconut oil prices amidst fears of fresh coconut imports
The Sri Lankan government has been accused of playing a double game in the development of the coconut industry; on one hand allocating a large amount of funds to develop the sector but on the other hand reducing the duty on palm oil imports which affects local prices. Furthermore there are no proper checks on [...]
Sri Lanka’s Central Bank – then and now
Lajjai, Lajjai, Lajjai. Wili Lajjai. Yes, as a person who had been in close association with the Central Bank (CB), I am ashamed. I am truly ashamed of the scandalous situations that the CB had plunged into willingly or otherwise during the last decade or so. The CB that I joined in the year 1960, [...]
Fairway Group initiates solid waste project
Fairway Waste Management (Pvt) Ltd and the Waste Management Authority of the Western Provincial Council recently signed a Concession Agreement to form a Public-Private Partnership that would create a sustainable model for Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) processing at Karadiyana in the Western Province. A subsidiary of Sri Lanka’s leading conglomerate – Fairway Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, [...]
“Qatar crisis: Lanka unlikely to be affected much”
Qatar Airways has sent a clarification to the article titled “Qatar crisis: Lanka unlikely to be affected” which was published in the Business Times on Sunday June 11. The letter says: “We would like to highlight the airspace reporting has been over-generalised and the vast majority of our flights do not pass through Iraq airspace, [...]
Interest rate pressure on Sri Lankan corporates – Fitch
Rising domestic interest rates are expected to hurt Sri Lankan corporates over the next 12 months, according to Fitch Ratings. Corporates’ borrowing costs have increased more than 200 bp in the 12 months to March 2017 as the Central Bank has increased policy rates by 125 bp and the statutory reserve ratio by 150 bp [...]
SL currency notes damaged due to usage will continue to be accepted
Sri Lankan currency notes that have not been wilfully mutilated, altered or defaced but damaged due to normal wear and tear will continue to be accepted at the Central Bank (CB) and commercial banks. This is the current practice and it would continue to be maintained, the CB said on Monday issuing a clarification pertaining [...]
Gloomy time for Sri Lankan hospitality sector
Sri Lanka’s hospitality sector is tackling constraints like a shortage of workers and others not joining the industry due to various reasons. On the other hand, the country’s political leadership expects tourism to grow rapidly amidst a serious shortage of workers, industry experts say. To tackle some of these issues, the Hotels Association of Sri [...]
Social network connects Citibank and Cheshire Home
‘gudppl’, a new social network, recently organised a CSR project for Citibank Sri Lanka. Citi celebrated its 12th Annual Global Community Day on June 10, maintaining its commitment to sustainability by supporting an Organic Farming project for the Wester Seaton Cheshire Home in Negombo. gudppl facilitated this sustainable project by enabling Citi to enrich the [...]
EDB’s ambitious plan is to rake in US$20 billion
The Export Development Board (EDB) has an ambitious target with the private sector to achieve US$20 billion export values by 2020 and one of the sectors that is being targeted to achieve this goal is the IT sector. Chairperson/CEO the Export Development Board (EDB) Indra Malwatte, Guest of Honour, addressing the EU- Sri Lanka Trade [...]
Nepal’s first billionaire Binod Chaudhary, Chief Guest at CCC AGM
Binod Chaudhary, considered Nepal’s first billionaire and the only one from the Himalayan republic to be listed on Forbes Magazine’s billionaire’s list, will be the chief guest at the 178th Annual General Meeting of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, June 29 at the Cinnamon Grand, Colombo. The Chaudhary-led CG Corp Global Chaudhary Group [...]
Ceylinco Life savings scheme to help parents save for children’s higher education
A new life policy that helps parents save for the higher education of their children has been launched by Ceylinco Life, in recognition of the ever-escalating costs of overseas university education. Combining the features of a life insurance policy and a savings scheme, the life insurance leader’s ‘Degree Saver’ is structured to create an education [...]
Sunil’s fluent knowledge of Sinhala and Tamil helps in reconciling communities
It took much longer for Sunil Dombepola to complete his public administration degree from the University of Sri Jayawardenapura because the course of study unfortunately fell into the period of the JVP revolt in 1987-1989. To rub salt on the wound, he was also in detention for two years and ended up with many other [...]
Women at work: The cause for Sri Lanka
Gender gaps in the labour market remains one of the most pressing challenges facing the world of work. Women are substantially less likely than men to participate in the labour market, and once in the job market, they are less likely than men to find a job and the quality of employment they do find [...]
Sri Lanka’s fascinating growth story explored in 2017 report
Sri Lanka’s plans to capitalise on high levels of investor confidence and a US$1.5 billion deal with the IMF to implement a much needed modernisation drive and structural reforms are mapped out in a new report presented by the global research and consultancy firm Oxford Business Group (OBG). The Report: Sri Lanka 2017 charts the [...]
Inflation in reverse gear in May
Inflation, as measured by the change in the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) and compiled by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS), decelerated (purely for technical reasons) to 7.1 per cent in May 2017 from 8.4 per cent in April 2017, on a year-on-year basis, the Central Bank said in a media release this [...]
Need access to markets, not to migrate, urges SL banking specialist
A top Sri Lankan banking specialist has urged fellow Tamils in Canada to help those qualified in Sri Lanka with access to markets, not ways of migrating to other lands.Rajendra Theagarajah, Joint Deputy Chairman of Cargills Bank, during a June 9 speech as guest of honour at the Canadian Tamils’ Chamber of Commerce gala and [...]
Constant Default Board entrees to be delisted from CSE
Sri Lanka’s capital market regulators are to take action against publicly listed firms that have a lackadaisical attitude towards rules and regulations. The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are mulling to strike off/delist errant firms that constantly enter the default board of the CSE, informed sources say. Most firms [...]
Unilever offers hands-on learning to Moratuwa University engineering undergrads
Unilever Sri Lanka recently completed its inaugural LEaD (Learn, Explore, Develop) training programme at their head office. The event saw 18 second year engineering undergraduate students from the University of Moratuwa take part in this 7- month programme which was launched in October 2016. “Unilever embarked on this initiative with the aim of ensuring that [...]
Suncity Property Developers: Trendsetter in the construction sector
A prominent presence in the construction industry for over two decades, Suncity Property Developers has entrenched its impressive credentials by successfully completing many luxury apartment complexes. Spearheaded by company chairman Pinsiri Fernando, the company has completed projects such as the Rosmead Towers, McCathy Towers, Horton Towers and Horton Regency, Suncity Towers Phase 1, Suncity Towers [...]
Innovations, social concerns and trade ideas in new TV reality show
While there are many social issues, problems in business entities, new innovations coming from young millennials and brand new business ideas emerging, there is no proper platform to publicly raise these issues and find solutions. Though these issues and ideas have been brought to the notice of the government, necessary steps have not been taken [...]
Sri Lanka to get IMF third tranche of EFF next month
The much awaited new Inland Revenue Bill is to be presented in parliament by the end of this month paving the way for the release of the third tranche of US$168 million by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to Sri Lanka, Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy told a media conference in Colombo on Friday. [...]
Commercial Bank launches disaster relief programme
A comprehensive multi-level assistance programme designed to help families affected by the recent floods to recover from their ordeal has been launched by the Commercial Bank of Ceylon. The bank in a media release said that it took immediate action to provide relief to those affected in the vicinities of its branches, but also concentrated [...]
Colombo ‘Skalleagues ‘re-elected to SKAL Asia Board
The 46th SKAL Asian Area Congress was held in Bahrain from 12-15th May. Organised by SKAL International Bahrain, the event drew over 80 overseas delegates from 21 Skal Clubs and 60 delegates from the Host Club of Bahrain. The congress was inaugurated by Shaikh Khaled Bin Humood Al Khalifa, CEO of Bahrain Exhibition and Tourism [...]