Rambutan during Christmas?
Any regular lover of Rambutan wouldn’t believe the above. But it’s a fact. Rambutan, a seasonal fruit and mostly available in July-August, appeared during Christmas-time with sellers at the regular Havelock road junction. A vendor is seen spraying water on the fruits. Pic by Indika Handuwala
Most people not in favour of selling SriLankan Airlines:Poll
While various reports emerge about the fate of SriLankan Airlines, a new, year-end Business Times poll with polling partner Second Curve has revealed that most Sri Lankans are still not in favour of an outright sale of the struggling, debt-ridden national carrier. This is in contrast to a similar poll conducted in April 2016 where [...]
SriLankan directors still on board
While today’s BT-Second Curve opinion poll reflects a lot of concern on whether the Government would sell SriLankan Airlines, the airline’s board of directors continue to function since the Government is yet to accept their resignations. Six of the seven directors on the board including its chairman, Ajith Dias have offered to resign to enable [...]
Colombo tea auction returns to normal
The Colombo tea auction is expected to return to normal on Tuesday/Wednesday with usual Russian demand after Russian authorities agreed to lift the temporary ban on Sri Lankan tea imports. “The market should normalise with this good news,” noted Anil Cooke, veteran tea broker and Managing Director/CEO at Asia Siyaka Commodities PLC. “On the other [...]
Foreign Exchange Act to change the dynamics of the economy
The new Foreign Exchange Act (FEA) is expected to change the dynamics of the whole economy in the country, a senior Central Bank (CB) official said. The new Act was introduced to further liberalise the capital inflows and simplify the processes associated with current account transactions and foreign currency/ rupee accounts, The foreign exchange management [...]
Feeling good, feeling groovy
Feeling good! That’s how Kussi Amma Sera (KAS) felt on this Thursday morning as she caught up with her neighbour and comrade-in-arms Serapina to exchange more than a week of gossip and goofing around during their spare time. “Mata hari santhosai,” said KAS happily. “Eh … aie?” asked Serapina. “Apey lamayata russawak hambuna. Honda teaching [...]
Developing or developed nation? The answer in 2018
Students often seem to be writing at the outset of their economic tutorials that “Sri Lanka is a developing country”. During my time too, as students of economics, we gave the same designation to our country: “Sri Lanka is a developing country”. I studied Sri Lanka’s development history mostly from the scholars of our previous [...]
CB Governor sees encouraging signals, says economy continues to stabilise
Sri Lanka’s economy continues to stabilise in broad terms and it seems to be encouraging although the 3.3 per cent economic growth, year-on-year, in the third quarter of 2017, compared to 4 per cent recorded in the second quarter of 2017, was disappointing, Central Bank (CB) Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy told reporters on Thursday. The [...]
Idea Group CEO/MD Sampath Mayakaduwa wins 2 Golds at Best Entrepreneur of the Year 2017
Sampath Mayakaduwa, CEO/Managing Director of Idea Group Ltd was conferred with two Gold awards at the 22nd edition of the ‘Best Entrepreneur of the Year 2017’ awards ceremony held recently at the BMICH. It was organised by the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL). In the presence of President Maithripala [...]
UCL Logistics enters new era with focus on brokerage solutions
UCL Logistics (a member of Expolanka Holdings) recently announced the establishment of its restructured inbound ocean brokerage division to offer contemporary brokerage solutions under the existing Expolanka banner. Effective from November 2017, companywide efforts are in place to enhance service delivery and efficiency by consolidating the capabilities spread across teams working in clearance and documentation, [...]
Desperate depositors vent anger against Central Bank
The utterly, untrustworthy attitude of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka appears to be seriously affecting the country’s entire financial system as it doesn’t keep to its promises given to depositors of the several failed financial institutions. These strong views were expressed during a media briefing called by depositors associations of the Industrial Finance Depositors’ [...]
Etihad Airways surprises passengers on Dec 23 flight
Etihad Airways surprised guests travelling on EY22 from Manchester to Abu Dhabi on December 23 with what it dubbed “the most wonderful flight of the year”, showering food, songs and gifts on pleasantly, surprised passengers. In a FB post, the airline said: “We know that travelling during the holiday period can be stressful, so we [...]
Farill Farook wins JCI TOYP award
Motivational speaker and Leadership coach Farill Farook recently clinched the prestigious Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the year (TOYP) award for the category Moral and/or environmental leadership organised by the Junior Chamber International (JCI). The award was presented by chief guest Prof. Sujeewa Amarasena at a ceremony held in Colombo recently. JCI serves to formally [...]
JLanka wins 2 Golds at Sri Lankan Entrepreneur of the Year Awards
JLanka Technologies was once again recognised for its pioneering efforts in innovation and sustainable transformation at the Sri Lankan Entrepreneur of the Year Awards for 2017, with CEO and Technical Director of JLanka Dr. Mayura Jayasoma walking away with both the national and provincial gold awards in the Extra Large Industry Category. Organised by the [...]
Colombo’s changing skyline to dazzle South Asia
Tear drop to get bigger and better Forget the changing skyline. Colombo’s Port City will have mapmakers in a tizzy as they hurry to re-draw the shape of Sri Lanka. This is the massive scope of the multi-billion dollars’ project which has drawn controversy as well as admiration. When it is fully completed, in 23 [...]
Bringing life to the city
Once upon a time they used to make ice palams here. The older generation will remember using the forefinger to push and get at the ice pop as it melted all over your hand. Sweet yet messy. Those long-forgotten memories flit back as Suresh Rajendra, Nayana Mawilmada and Nadeem Shums – the troika in charge [...]
Bonus to SOE employees
The government has decided to pay an annual bonus to employees of state owned enterprises (SOEs) as well as employees of SOEs which are continuously making losses. There was also a news item which said that the National Lotteries Board has paid incentives in millions of rupees to its staff including the chairman and the [...]
CSE honours employees at ‘Star Performers 2017’
The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) recently held its year-end employee recognition event themed ‘CSE Star Performers 2017’. The event recognised long-serving employees, young achievers and employees who have best demonstrated CSE’s corporate values. Five employees were rewarded with the ‘CSE Value Champion’ accolade for championing CSE’s corporate values of Integrity, Professionalism, Teamwork, Care, and Passion. [...]
Thank you Govt, for the mess in the power sector
Focus Cancelling power plants is great fun. Even a child can do it. Building a new one, especially a large power plant and a new gas terminal, is so hard, and the Government is learning that the hard way. Learning for the fourth time, by exactly the same group of people running the Government; both [...]
Sri Lankan banks gear up to face capital adequacy challenges
Sri Lanka’s state owned banks will be limiting the dividend payouts, selling non – core assets and infuse capital by the government or international development agencies, informed official sources disclosed. This recommendation was conveyed by the Prime Minister’s office to secretaries of the Ministries of National Policies and Economic Affairs and Public Enterprises Development recently. [...]
Fairfirst Insurance partners with childrens’ transport association
Fairfirst Insurance’s latest partnership is with the All-Island School Children Transport Association – an independent body of school van drivers whose objective is to raise awareness on the yellow colour school van concept and ensure the safety of the children travelling in them. As a first step towards co-creating safer transport for children, Fairfirst Insurance [...]
Leo Burnett bids farewell to Managing Director and legend Ranil de Silva: Arosha Perera takes over
Leo Burnett Sri Lanka’s iconic leader and world-renowned advertising professional Ranil de Silva, will step down from his role after serving as the agency’s Managing Director for the last 18 years. After 36 years of making his mark as a mover and shaker in Sri Lanka’s marketing communications industry and taking Leo Burnett to unprecedented [...]
UTE helps to boost golf tourism
United Tractor and Equipment (UTE), the local distributor for the world-renowned Caterpillar Brand of equipment, hosted the annual Caterpillar Far East Dealers Association Conference (CFEDA) for 50 overseas delegates from Caterpillar and their South-East Asian Dealers, including India and China at the Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo recently. As part of the itinerary, UTE arranged a novel [...]
Capital market wish list for the New Year
Yet again we are in the dawn of another New Year. The Sri Lankan capital market’s wish list for Santa is long. So what’s in store for us? The good news is that the new Santa, the Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera has pointed out the importance of building a vibrant capital market to provide lower [...]
CSE gains during 2017
The All Share Price Index stood at 6,359.06, recording a 2.10 per cent Year to Date (YTD) gain with S&P SL 20 standing at 3,668.70, posting a 4.93 per cent YTD gain, Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) data show. The daily average turnover during this period was at Rs.920.46 million against Rs. 737.23 million in the [...]
LSEG sells enterprise solutions unit to Lankan firm
The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) decided to sell its Enterprise Solutions Provider (ESP) arm under MillenniumIT to Lanka Century Investments (LCI) to focus more on its capital markets and financial technology businesses, officials said. “MillenniumIT ESP didn’t gel with our core focus so it was a policy decision to sell it,” a spokesperson for [...]
Sri Lankans hope for stable government, decisive decision-making – Poll
A year-end poll by the Business Times and polling partner Second Curve saw respondents hoping and expecting “stable government and decisive decision-making” in 2018. (See Page 1 for poll results). But it also revealed that most respondents are disenchanted with the way the country is being run and have no illusions of a ‘great future’ [...]
Sigiriya Village to transform into cultural experience centre
Sigiriya Handicrafts Village set up in Kimbissa, Sigiriya 16 years ago is to be revamped through a proposed private public partnership to transform it to a cultural tourism experience destination while promoting handicraft industry in the area. The village was set up in 2001 by the Ministry of Rural Economic affairs with a view of [...]
Anton enters interior hardware business with a new concept centre
Known for its building material manufacturing for over six decades countrywide, St. Anthony’s Group continues to redefine housing interior product experience with the opening of a sophisticated new concept centre – ‘Dimensions’ at 404 Nawala Road Nawala recently. This centre is with an emphasis on Anton’s newest housing finishing products contained within the state of [...]
15 trade unions submit proposals for new Decent Work programme
The third cycle of Sri Lanka’s Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) for the period 2018-2022 is under preparation with the facilitation of the ILO’s Colombo office. Fifteen trade unions at the initiation of the CFL, CMU, CBEU and the CESU have developed and prioritised proposals for inclusion in the DWCP for 2018-2022 and these have [...]
CB’s 2018 roadmap on Jan 3
The Central Bank’s annual roadmap of policies in 2018 will be presented to officials of government and financial sector institutions on January 3, the bank announced on Thursday. The presentation of the roadmap, titled “Road Map: Monetary and Financial Sector Policies for 2018 and Beyond” by the CB Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy sets the tone [...]
Sunshine in milestone deal to consolidate stake in branded tea, plantations units
Sunshine Holdings PLC has announced that it would be further consolidating its stake in Estate Management Services Ltd (EMS), the holding company for Watawala Plantations PLC, Hatton Plantations PLC and Watawala Tea Ceylon Ltd (WTCL) – two of Sri Lanka’s most profitable plantations and leading tea brands. Previously managed under tripartite ownership between Sunshine Holdings [...]
Sterling Aftercare Centre reports record customer satisfaction rates across all branches
Sterling Aftercare Centre has reported a record breaking customer satisfaction rate of 87 per cent across all branches. Accordingly the four branches of Sterling Aftercare Centre – i.e. Dunagaha, Galle, Udahamulla and Mahara reported respective customer satisfaction rates of 89, 92, 87 and 86 per cent, respectively. The Sterling Aftercare Centre is a state-of-the-art service [...]
Treasury mulls helping dual listing of SOEs
The Treasury is considering facilitating and recognising dual listing for listed firms ahead of going public with State Owned Enterprises (SOE) next year to make them more attractive, Treasury sources say. Dual listing means a listed firm going public on another (international) exchange. Dual listing will be facilitated by the Treasury acknowledging foreign exchanges as [...]
Sri Lankan and Malaysian business delegations meet
The Sri Lanka – Malaysia Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce had a business meeting with the members of the Malaysia – Sri Lanka Business Chamber recently at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. The delegation was accompanying the Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak during his visit to [...]
CSE CEO at the London Global Convention on Governance and Sustainability
CEO of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) Rajeeva Bandaranaike recently joined leaders from the global capital market and business fraternity at the ‘London Global Convention – 2017’ on Corporate Governance & Sustainability, which was organised by the Institute of Directors, India and held in London. The Convention aimed to provide a deeper understanding of the [...]