“Oh … when will I grow up”
It was not only the nice sarees in vibrant colours that drew the attention of this young ‘un but her expression, captured by photographer M.A. Pushpa Kumara, as if to say, “Oh when will I grow up to wear them”! The location was the National Handloom and Textile Trade Fair which opened on Friday at [...]
Russian asbestos bugs Ceylon Tea
Ceylon Tea has been slapped with a temporary ban by Russia, Sri Lanka’s biggest tea buyer, in a tit-for-tat reprisal over the planned ban in Sri Lanka of the import of Russian chrysotile or asbestos roofing material. While the asbestos ban is effective from 2024, import restrictions come into place from 2018. While brokers and [...]
SLT CEO quits amidst trade union pressure
In the wake of trade union‘s allegations of corruption and mismanagement, Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) Group CEO Dileepa Wijesundera tendered his resignation on Wednesday stating that he will be retiring from the post in March next year, official sources said. He had not reported for work during the past couple of week citing ill health, [...]
Injunction against pyramid scheme operator in Jaffna
The Chavakachcheri Magistrate Court in the Jaffna district has issued an interim injunction on Global Lifestyle Lanka Ltd which has been carrying on a pyramid type business in the region. The order on Tuesday came on a report submitted to court by the Chavakachcheri Police following many complaints made by residents. The company’s head office [...]
SEC unlikely to ratify Asanga’s appointment at CSE
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is unlikely to approve Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) Director, Asanga Seneviratne’s reappointment owing to “certain issues”. While the CSE appoints its directors, SEC approval is also required. Informed sources said Mr. Seneviratne, a CSE director since 2014, has had many issues at his company, Nation Lanka Equities which has [...]
Aviation consultants to chart SriLankan’s course
The government, looking out for a consultant to work out a plan to restructure national carrier, SriLankan Airlines will pick one out of the proposals scheduled to be submitted by December 20 by two shortlisted firms providing aviation consultancy services. A Committee of Officials has proposed to obtain professional consultancy from a selected adviser as [...]
“Home people don’t know what to do”
It was quite intriguing. I mean the Thursday morning conversation between Kussi Amma Sera (KAS) and Serapina (the neighbour’s domestic aide and KAS’s comrade-in-arms). The across-the-fence chatter (in loud voices) while both were sweeping the garden drew not only my attention but others down the lane walking by. Nothing like a good old gossip to [...]
Foreign Remittances: Sign of progress or regress?
In the last couple of months there has been a growing concern in the foreign exchange market about the fall in foreign remittances – that is, the money sent by Sri Lankan migrant workers to their families. The concern however just melted away as the government received over US$ 500 million from both the Hambantota [...]
No slowdown in apartments in Colombo-report
There has been an increase in the number of apartment projects in Colombo and Greater Colombo areas, according to data compiled by leading property website LankaPropertyWeb.com. Based on the certifications issued for Condominiums, Semi Condominiums and Provisional Condominiums by the Condominium Management Authority (CMA), the number of certificates issued has increased specially within Colombo city [...]
Capitol Developers completes one year of Capitol TwinPeaks
Sanken Construction is going full steam ahead with the construction of the iconic Capitol TwinPeaks and in fact is well ahead of schedule. In a media release, the company said that Capitol TwinPeaks at 24, Staple Street, Colombo 2, will offer the privacy and exclusivity of a purely residential project. Located on the waterfront of [...]
Altair celebrates ‘topping out’ – interior work in full swing
Altair, the 68-story luxury residential complex which fronts the Beira Lake in Colombo, recently celebrated its “topping out” to mark the completion of structural work, an important milestone. The topping out ceremony marks the placement of the last structural steel beam at the final roof height. This important moment also celebrates the accomplishment of the [...]
Investing in the world’s most expensive raw material
Sadaharitha Plantations, the leader in commercial forestry in Sri Lanka, recently won the Gold at the National Green Awards. The company manages over 2,000 acres of forest plantations of Sandalwood, Teak, Mahogany, Rambutan and Agarwood. In a media release, the company said that the hope of getting an attractive return is what propels most individuals [...]
Gravity-defying game-changer for Lankan apparel industry
Remember Sandra Bullock and George Clooney in the Oscar-winning space epic Gravity? The 2013 Hollywood flick where the two astronauts are stranded in space after the mid-orbit destruction of their space shuttle and the subsequent attempts to return to Earth? Well I’m not as good-looking as Clooney or as rich as Bullock – she earned [...]
BBDO Lanka wins “Rest of South Asia Creative Agency of the Year” award for third time
BBDO Lanka was recognised as one of the most creative agencies in the region once again when it was awarded the ‘Rest of South Asia Creative Agency of the Year – Gold’ award by Campaign Asia-Pacific at its Agency of the Year 2017 awards. The South Asian region awards were announced and presented at a [...]
“Lifetime Service Award” for Dilmah founder
Dilmah Tea Chairman & Founder Merrill J. Fernando was last week presented a “Lifetime Service Award” from President Maithripala Sirisena for his services to the industry. The award was made at the National Tea Awards 2017 held at the Nelum Pokuna in Colombo
India’s powerful Murugappa Group enters Sri Lanka’s bicycle sector
TI Cycles of India, one of the leading bicycle manufacturers in India and part of the Murugappa Group, has signed an agreement to acquire a controlling stake in Sri Lankan bicycle maker Creative Cycles (Pvt) Ltd and Great Cycles (Pvt) Ltd. This acquisition, when concluded, will help strengthen and expand the global supply chain for [...]
Top hotel industry body condemns elephant poaching
The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) has condemned elephant poaching and noted with “great concern the wanton killings of elephants which have been on the rise in recent times, with reported incidents being on the rise since of late”. “In fact, we state with absolute dismay that one of the tuskers killed was blind. [...]
Pharma chamber urges proactive approach to deal with CVD
Concerned about the rising global prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), the Sri Lanka Chamber of the Pharmaceutical Industries (SLCPI) has urged proactive stakeholder engagement to increase awareness on preventative care for CVD. CVD is responsible for one-third of deaths worldwide and a staggering 40 per cent of deaths in Sri Lanka, the chamber said in [...]
Novel solution for food waste from Eco Waste Disposers
Eco Waste Disposers recently introduced a product which offers a unique solution to Sri Lanka’s garbage problem. The garbage disposers eases the hassle of collecting and disposing food waste in residential and commercial establishments, the company said in a media release. This unit grinds nearly all types of food waste including chicken bones, egg shells [...]
Sinhala Tamil domain names to bridge digital divide
With the aim of enhancing Internet access countrywide especially in remote and rural areas, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and several local experts in policy, technical and linguistic fields have joined hands to come up with Sinhala and Tamil language domain names. This initiative will pave the way towards promoting multilingual [...]
BoC wins top Interbrand award
Bank of Ceylon (BoC) Chairman Ronald C. Perera receives the award from Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe after the state bank was declared as the most powerful Sri Lankan brand at the Interbrand Best Sri Lanka Brands 2017 held in Colombo on Monday. Also in the picture are BoC GM D.M. Gunasekera, Managing Director -Interbrand India [...]
CB holds its 10th International Research Conference
The 10th International Research Conference of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka was recently held at the John Exter International Conference Hall of the Central Bank (CB). The conference was organised under the theme of “Macroeconomic Policy Reforms towards a Vibrant Future” with the aim of encouraging innovative theoretical and empirical research on current macroeconomic [...]
Timex Garments 50 years on still “peddling” fortunes
The future of the apparel industry’s Timex Garments today has evolved by “peddling” fortunes from Kandy to Colombo and the world over from stitching to designing and will move from Lankan hands to foreign workers that will create the next line of its designer collections. Timex Garments Chairman Ashraf Sattar in an interview with the [...]
Sri Lankan social enterprise wins Queen’s 2018 award
Bhagya Wijayawardane, the urban gardener and co-founder of ESHKOL Garden Works, has been selected as the Sri Lanka winner of the Queen’s Young Leaders Award for 2018. The Queen’s Young Leaders Programme discovers, celebrates and supports exceptional young people from across the commonwealth, leaving a lasting legacy for her Majesty the Queen. The programme, now [...]
Singing Christmas Tree at ML Hotel Dec 15-22
The Singing Christmas Tree at Mount Lavinia Hotel came alive on Friday and will run till December 22, adding to the line-up of events at the colonial heritage hotel. Featuring a host of angelic voices of choirs from several leading schools in Colombo, the Singing Christmas Tree has become an iconic event at MLH, looked [...]
Cheap cement dumping owing to excess regional capacity
The country is facing a case of cement dumping by growing cheap cement importers, a concern some experts raised recently. With rapid urbanisation this has been happening for a while now – as long as three years, says Asanka Dissanayake, Siam City Cement Regional Controller. “The region has a lot of excess cement capacity. So [...]
‘Signature Stylish Marketer’ empowers tomorrow’s corporate leaders
The ‘Signature Stylish Marketer 2017’ Inter University Fashion Extravaganza will be held for the 8th consecutive year on Thursday December 21 at the University of Kelaniya. Organised by the Department of Marketing Management of the University of Kelaniya, the gala event is powered by Platinum Sponsor Hameedia’s sophisticated and elegant brand Signature, the top mens’ [...]
SL permits private sector to import coconut kernels
In a desperate move towards tackling the shortage of coconuts and the skyrocketing of its prices, the government has permitted the private sector to import coconut kernels, official sources said. The Coconut Development Authority (CDA) called on interested importers to import coconut kernels without delay considering it as a national priority as there is a [...]
Poverty alleviation programmes in the past have failed
Since independence governments have failed to alleviate poverty though there has been many programmes. This was revealed by Jayantha Wijeratne, Additional Secretary to the President on Sustainable Development at a media briefing held in Colombo last week to explain the “Unilever, UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) and UNGC (United Nations Global Impact) Initiate Strategic PPP’s [...]
Hospitality awareness for over 200 Dep. School Principals
The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) was recently invited to conduct a session on Hospitality Management to over 200 deputy principals at the Ministry of Education. The main objective of this initiative was to communicate the opportunities, career prospects and other benefits in the hospitality sector to students through the invited deputy school principals [...]
Fuss over a Green economy
Green economy is a subject being talked all over the globe. What is a Green economy has to be understood before debating about it. Most educated persons are aware of it and those not educated about a Green economy have to be educated. Getting on to a Green economy and finding a solution is analysing [...]
Complacency will be tested in 2018
NEW HAVEN, US – After years of post-crisis despair, the broad consensus of forecasters is now quite upbeat about prospects for the global economy in 2018. World GDP growth is viewed as increasingly strong, synchronous, and inflation-free. Exuberant financial markets could hardly ask for more. While I have great respect for the forecasting community and [...]
Indirect taxes have overtaken direct taxes in the country
Taxation is an important aspect of Sri Lanka’s economy as its economy largely depends on the revenue received from taxes. “One of the major problems that we have was that traditional revenue collection of taxes has fared badly for a variety of reasons,” said the Minister of Special Assignments Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Chief Guest at [...]
Unique Christmas décor WTC using 23,000 PET recycled bottles
Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Ltd and the World Trade Centre (WTC) have created a unique display of Christmas cheer, colourful, vibrant, upcycled Christmas trees and wreaths made from the recycling of Coca-Cola’s PET bottles at the WTC Colombo. Coca-Cola provided 23,000 PET bottles towards the handmade Christmas décor by MAIC (concept design house), commissioned by [...]
CICT promotes Port of Colombo at elite maritime forum in Hong Kong
The role of the Port of Colombo in facilitating imports and exports and supporting trade with India and other subcontinent countries was expounded upon by Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT) in a recent presentation to the 2017 Asian Logistics and Maritime Conference (ALMC). The presentation was made by Tissa Wickramasinghe, Chief Business Development Officer of [...]
Metropolis Healthcare to invest Rs.500 mln to expand labs in 12th year
Metropolis Healthcare Ltd, a global chain of pathology labs and diagnostic centres, recently celebrated 12 successful years in Sri Lanka. To mark this accomplishment, the company announced that it will invest Rs. 500 million to expand its laboratories and collection centres. This is in addition to the existing central laboratory in Nawala and six satellite [...]
Labour Migration: Imperative to look beyond West Asia
Sri Lanka’s labour migration patterns are greatly determined by the demand for labour in West Asia. The preference for migrating to West Asia for work has been largely promoted by its burgeoning economy in the past and the consequent demand for cheap labour both for domestic work and other semi-skilled workers in the economy. According [...]
Ceylon Graphite – The new gold
Not many are aware that Sri Lanka boasts of the world’s purest form of graphite, that is vein Graphite. That’s possibly because Graphite has habitually been deemed a dull, unexciting industrial mineral, reminding of pencils, steel making and tennis racquets. But graphite mining industry in Sri Lanka has a history as far back as 200 [...]
New Vithanakande Tea Factory wins several awards
Seven veterans in Sri Lanka’s tea industry including Dilmah Founder Merrill J. Fernando have been bestowed with ‘Life Time Service National Tea Awards’ by President Maithripala Sirisena at the National Tea Awards’ ceremony in Colombo. Also among the winners was Navaratne Bandara Herath Pilapitiya, present Chairman of New Vithanakande Tea Factory (Pvt) Ltd who was [...]
BoardPAC, the paperless board meeting solution, enters Australia
BoardPAC, the award-winning Sri Lanka-developed, iPad-enabled paper-less board communication and meetings solution has been launched in Australia to service large corporations in that country. Headquartered in Melbourne, with a regional office in Sydney, the Australian company BoardPAC Pty Ltd is located at 120 Collin Street, Melbourne, Victoria and is positioned as the hub for BoardPAC’s [...]
Beating the odds: Mercedes-Benz VITO goes round Sri Lanka on one full tank
Achieving a truly outstanding milestone in mileage, Mercedes-Benz announced the successful completion of its unprecedented “Around Sri Lanka in One Tank with VITO Challenge”. Organised by DIMO PLC, the ambitious adventure was designed to definitively prove the Benz VITO van’s unmatched fuel economy, resulting in a record three-day journey spanning over 1,324 kilometres of Sri [...]
Airports should be seen as key economic centres
We can build ports and airports because hundreds of ships or airlines may pass through or fly over Sri Lanka. However that does not mean the ships or airlines will call over or land in Sri Lanka. The keyword here is creating markets. The aviation industry and the tourism industry of today and tomorrow are [...]
Bribery Commission renews call against year-end hampers
Sri Lanka’s main anti-graft body has renewed its call for public sector officials not to accept any year-end gift hampers as it has become an indirect way of bribing officials to get favours. The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has informed the Ministry of Public Administration to direct the heads of [...]
CB FIU in MoU with Sri Lanka Police
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Sri Lanka, attached to the Central Bank (CB), entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Sri Lanka Police this week to share information/intelligence in order to facilitate investigations and prosecutions on money laundering, terrorist financing and other related offences. This has been done in terms of the provisions [...]
SLT workers resort to picketing for their annual bonus
Sri Lanka telecom (SLT) workers will launch an agitation campaign from tomorrow after talks on Friday with top management on their demands collapsed, trade unions of the telecom provider said. Reasons behind the present deterioration of the company have been brought to the notice of the top management, but no action was taken to remedy [...]