Spend wisely
Participants listen to an engaging discussion on credit cards held at the Kingsbury Colombo on Tuesday organised by the Sunday Times Business Club. (See Page 4 for coverage of the event). Pic by Amila Gamage
Sri Lanka designs aircraft solutions for the world
Sri Lanka is the proud home to AmSafe Bridport, one of the leading manufacturers and designers of complex aircraft solutions which has expanded continuously since starting in 2001 with an initial investment of Rs. 500 million. Providing solutions from fueling an aircraft in-flight to fire containment covers that could resolve the issue of laptop bans [...]
Growth soon in debit cards
Plastic cards will soon replace cheques while preparations are also underway to have local credit cards, reducing the use of Visa and Mastercard for local purchases. “Only 5 per cent of payments are made via cash and cheques in Sri Lanka today. Plastic credit cards will replace cheques for ease of transactions very soon, not [...]
Drug abuse creates niche market for victim care
Drug abuse has taken its toll in Sri Lanka to such an extent that apart from the over 1400 Sri Lankans that sought treatment in 2015, some locals are now flying overseas for help creating a new market segment that Seasons Lanka has entered in to provide customised care to these victims. Certis Lanka’s home [...]
State intervenes to settle Dialog licence dispute with SLT
The Sri Lankan Government has proposed a resolution for settling a dispute between the country’s two telecommunication giants ending long, dragging legal acrimony. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Management (CCEM) has directed Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) and the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) to settle the legal dispute regarding the renewal of a proposed integrated transmission [...]
SEC reopens eight ‘pump & dump’ cases
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC), has dealt a tough blow against pump and dump operators of the past, reopening eight cases. The regulator, under fire for ‘not doing much’ during the past three years, is now flexing its muscle, according to the SEC Annual Report for 2016. Amidst implementing and shoring [...]
What ..airport in a port?
It was like watching a recent clip on cable TV where, during a programme titled ‘Funniest moments’, a baby is seen laughing uncontrollably, gurgling with glee. That’s one way to describe Kussi Amma Sera who was in peals of laughter in the kitchen while reading the newspaper. It was so loud that I rushed into [...]
Professional ways of dealing with public protests
This essay is about positive and professional means of conflict resolution as there have been various types of public protests all over the country for some time. If they are allowed to continue without being solved at the beginning itself the damage that would be caused to the economy, especially by way of discouraging badly [...]
Declining export revenue in gem and jewellery needs to be addressed
Sri Lanka’s gem and jewellery, once solid export earners in line with tea, rubber and coconut, is declining in export revenue and needs to be addressed urgently. These thoughts were expressed by Indira Malwatte, Chairperson, Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB), during a media briefing last week to announce FACETS Sri Lanka 2017. This annual, [...]
CB says further probe on ‘leakage’ of HNB customer info
Sri Lanka’s Central Bank (CB) said this week that it was further investigating the ‘leakage’ of confidential customer information by the Hatton National Bank and action is to be taken against those responsible. The information, in which details of bank accounts of several high-net HNB customers were received by email to other customers, shocked the [...]
Sri Lanka to clear Google Loon Project impasse with ITU
Sri Lanka’s ambitious Google Loon Pilot Project initiated almost two years ago to determine this innovation as a viable project for the increasing of the country’s Internet penetration is on the verge of clearing the hurdle of spectrum issue through negotiations with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), official sources said. Sri Lankan Ambassador/Resident Representative to [...]
‘Unfair pricing’, claims Piramal over furnace oil sold by CPC
“Unfair pricing,” claimed Piramal Glass Ceylon PLC this week referring to unchanged furnace oil prices by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) over the past few years. In releasing its quarterly results for April-June 2017, the company reiterated earlier concerns that furnace oil prices have remained unchanged despite crude oil pricing crumbling overseas. “There is concern [...]
UDA probes illegal sites in Mt. Lavinia
In new revelations, the Urban Development Authority (UDA) is digging into how some illegal constructions were authorised by the municipality in the area in the past. They are checking on the Dehiwela-Mount Lavinia Municipality (DMMC) where they inspected sites mid this month and saw that developers had submitted building permits which weren’t in line with [...]
Runaway spending: Buying a BMW on a Maruti income!
While Sri Lanka’s credit card penetration is sky rocketing at a rapid pace in the country, there are various fraudulent activities taking place due to lack of knowledge among cardholders and misconceptions of the card’s usage. One such scenario is that some merchants in Sri Lanka charge extra for purchases using credit or debit cards [...]
Previous Hambantota project deals trigger catch -22 for present Government
While the stage is set to hand over the Hambantota Port to a Chinese company on long term lease basis and also implement the Industrial Zone project next week, investors are arguing that previous (now held-up) agreements they had with the Rajapaksa regime in this project site should be honoured by the present government. The [...]
Sri Lanka’s reforms strengthen state finances, says IMF mission Chief
Sri Lanka’s reform programme aims to strengthen the government finances and reduce the need for future borrowings, thereby contributing to the decline of debt relative to the size of the economy, a top official of the IMF said. The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) advice on macroeconomic policies is anchored in the analysis of a country’s [...]
Standard Capital AGM runs into ‘storm’ of issues
Standard Capital Plc, whose last 2015/16 annual report showed post-tax losses nearly doubling to Rs. 64.5 million from Rs.33.3 million in the earlier year, ran into a ‘storm’ of issues from shareholders at the recently held annual general meeting. According to shareholder A.K. Gnanakanthan, the AGM held on June 30 at the Colombo City Hotel [...]
Record number of entries for SLIM NASCO
A record number of entries (over 550) have been received for the National Sales Congress (NASCO) 2017 organised by the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM). The entries are across categories of sales frontliners, executives, supervisors and territory managers from 22 industries. A total of 110 companies have come on board of which 12 are [...]
“We can deal with the ‘streets’ but we want to be democratic about it”– Eran
A dysfunctional political system has given Sri Lankans ‘freedom’ for some seven decades, noted a top economist urging the citizens to ponder all current economic indicators ‘rationally’. Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Governor – Central Bank expressed these sentiments at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Economic Summit – a two day event held this week in Colombo. [...]
State agencies review Port City progress
Twenty-six agencies associated with the Port City project met for the fourth review meeting and site visit last week. The Department of Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management was the leading agency coordinating the review process while the following agencies were amongst the complete monitoring panel: Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development, Ministry of Fisheries [...]
Sri Lankan economy ideal for big data analytics, Pakistan expert says
The scale and diversity of Sri Lanka’s economy makes it an ideal candidate for the deployment of advanced data analytics, according to Dr. Zeeshan-Ul-Hassan Usmani, the recently appointed Director at SAKS Analytics. Addressing a gathering of Sri Lanka’s most innovative pioneers and aspiring practitioners in data analytics at a seminar organised by SAKS under the [...]
IFC and ComBank to improve access to green financing in Sri Lanka
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is partnering with Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank of Ceylon (CBC) to help the bank increase investments in local companies focusing on renewable energy and energy-efficiency projects. IFC will help the CBC develop a green-finance business-an emerging field in which banks provide credit to support a broad range [...]
New scheme for Treasury Bond sales
Sri Lanka’s Central Bank (CB) on Tuesday announced a new scheme for the issue of Treasury bonds (T-bonds). While the CB, under Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy, has said in the past that a new, more transparent scheme was being contemplated, Tuesday’s announcement comes on the back of shocking revelations before a Commission probing two bond scams. While [...]
JLanka boosts Trina Solar ties for industrial energy sector
JLanka, Sri Lanka’s pioneer and leader in Solar PV Systems and Next Generation energy technologies, recently hosted the world’s leading solar company Trina Solar’s Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APAC-MEA) Regional Marketing Manager Grace Ge. Being the premier solar solutions provider in the country with a longstanding reputation for quality and unmatched service in [...]
Sri Lanka’s economy needs to move faster, be more proactive
Sri Lankan authorities for too long has allowed the economy to overheat and then play ‘catch up’. “We want to move away from that and be more proactive and to be more forward looking and flexible inflation targeting regime that we are introducing will help us to do that,” noted Central Bank (CB) Governor Indrajit [...]
NDB records highest post-tax profit of Rs. 2.3 bln in 1H 2017
The National Development Bank PLC (NDB) has ended the first half of the year 2017 with a record post-tax profit of Rs. 2.3 billion, sharply up by 81 per cent from the same period last year. “This is the highest recorded post-tax profit for the bank in its history for any first half of a [...]
New campaign to promote dignity of professions like carpenters, welders
While there is a lot of discrimination and disrespect for some of the jobs people do in Sri Lanka, the need for more hands in these jobs in the workforce is growing. These are jobs like carpenters, welders, painters or plumbers, many who come from outside Colombo. There is no dignity of labour for these [...]
Age of the battery- driven car
The cost of owning an electric vehicle will draw level with that of a fossil fuel-powered car as early as next year. According to Swiss bank UBS, this will lead to sooner than expected adoption of EVs. An analysis by UBS concluded that the total cost of ownership, which includes fuel and other running costs, [...]
Caste in post war North: Education and the global economy
Since the end of the war road connectivity, the increasing presence of finance institutions, tourism and the proliferation of technology have shifted the socio-cultural landscape in the North from insular to being globally connected. A swathe of people across class and castes in the North are in the process of appropriating this global identity by [...]
Ground-breaking power failure detection technology developed by Moratuwa University
The National Science Foundation (NSF), under its ‘NSF Technology Awards’ scheme, supports many laudable projects which are of value to society. One such project is a unique method of detecting electric power failures instantly so that remedial action would be addressed immediately which saves time and minimise inconvenience to the power users, which in the [...]
SEC to strengthen guidelines on top positions at local firms
In a few months’ time, those aspiring to hold high positions at all capital market institutions will have to undergo a litmus test. This will come when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will set criteria on who can hold board positions at stockbroking houses, funds, Unit Trusts, etc while they aim to revamp and [...]