Dairy farmers protest, first-time visit to Colombo
These women look amazed at the high rise buildings and mega development in Colombo while travelling to a protest by dairy farmers, a reflection of how much the village has been isolated from mega development in urban cities. (Inset) shows the protest by farmers from across Sri Lanka, against unfair business practices. Pix by M.A. [...]
Government,CMPort continue discussions on $585 m payment
The government this week continued discussions with the Chinese company involved in the Hambantota Port project, which has put on hold the last tranche of US$ 585 million to Sri Lanka, examining some concessions in terms of tax benefits. Both sides are keen to resolve the matter without any delay, an informed source close to [...]
Sri Lanka to crackdown on Internet fraud
In the wake of rapidly increasing online financial fraud, Sri Lanka has taken measures to strengthen laws and regulations aimed at preventing computer crimes. The Finance Ministry is working with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in strengthening laws to crack down on Internet financial crimes, a top official of the Treasury told the Business [...]
SLT gets acting head for six months
After months of being headless, Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) has finally found a CEO, but this acting appointment is yet to be announced to the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), which is a compulsory requirement. K.A. Kiththi Perera, earlier SLT Chief Commercial Officer, was appointed acting CEO with effect from June 1, more than two weeks [...]
Lonely MRIA awaits stopovers
Sri Lanka’s loneliest airport, the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) may not have any scheduled flights but still welcomes unscheduled air traffic movement, airport officials said. In 2016 the airport saw about 49 international aircraft movements with four non-scheduled domestic aircraft movements and 398 non-scheduled aircraft movements that increased to 176 non-scheduled international aircraft movements [...]
Tea Board has a new job posting
The Sri Lanka Tea Board has gazzetted a vacancy for a Working Director and it is learnt that some in the industry have actively been involved in the creation of such a space with the motive of buying over a large share of the RPCs, if and when they are offered for sale. Certain parties [...]
Balm for the soul
Kussi Amma Sera came running into the sitting room, shouting, “Kokatath Thailaya Mahattaya enava gate-eka langa (Kokatath Thailaya Sir is near the gate)”. For a moment, I was completely confused then realised she was referring to Sando Kumar, my Kokatath Thailaya (remedy for all ailments) friend who drops in occasionally for a chat and provides [...]
Price-conscious and quality-conscious markets
Bandu was a successful local businessman in a small town in the Moneragala district. I met him some years back when I was involved in a rural development research project there. Bandu was running, though small, a diversified business which includes rice milling, spice grinding and packing, bakery products, a grocery and a restaurant. I [...]
Modern slavery exists: Over 45,000 Sri Lankans trapped in exploitative work
Construction sites, fishing and factories are examples where modern slavery occurs. Sri Lanka is no exception with an estimated 45,000 people trapped in this unfortunate category, a global campaigner against modern slavery said in Colombo last week. Matt Friedman, CEO of Hong Kong-based the Mekong Club, noted that human trafficking is a form of modern [...]
Food Security a top priority in Qatar
Sri Lankan businesses are needed in Qatar to set up food processing companies as food security is one of the main concerns there, according to Chief Executive Officer of the Doha Bank Dr. R. Seetharaman. He was speaking at a media conference held at Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo last week on bilateral trade opportunities that exist [...]
Sri Lanka extends financial access to villagers
Sri Lanka has made a commitment to expand financial access to the poorest of the poor people living in remote rural areas through a financial inclusion scheme, official sources divulged. Sri Lanka is a land of 14,000 villages and a majority of the country’s population, nearly 80 per cent, lives in villages. Financial needs of [...]
Bogawantalawa wins at Amsterdam Sustainable Food Awards
Bogawantalawa Tea Estates won an award under the category of New Sustainable Product at the Sustainable Food Awards 2018 held on June 7 in Amsterdam, beating many reputed companies. International companies such as Chocolero Energy Drink (Belgium), Coop Switzerland Insect-Based Food Products and SeaMore, Sea Bacon Meat Substitute (the Netherlands) were among the finalists under [...]
NKAR goes online, celebrates its 38th anniversary
NKAR Travels, one of the leading travel agencies in Sri Lanka, recently commemorated its 38th anniversary by unveiling the release of its OTA (online travel agency). “During the process of our growth, we have confidently moved forward developing and adding more colour to our brand keeping up with the market trends and changing rapidly. We [...]
Dialog and SLINTEC collaborate in key R&D networking session on June 20
Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provider, will power ‘Beyond the Obvious’, organised by the Sri Lanka Institute of Nano Technology (SLINTEC), to spearhead innovation driven business growth in the country. The Research and Development (R&D) networking event on June 20, is aimed at providing an outlook on the need and value of R&D [...]
Taprobane Group changes to Ambeon Group
The Taprobane Group, in a strategic move to reposition the entity to represent the group’s business vision and take on the dynamic, technocentric business world, is undergoing a name change to Ambeon. Taprobane Holdings PLC will be repositioned as Ambeon Capital PLC while Lanka Century Investments PLC will be Ambeon Holdings PLC with immediate effect, [...]
Singapore prize for competitive Fintech start-ups in new competition
Lankan Angel Network (LAN) together with KPMG and BOV Capital managed Digital Innovation Fund (DIF) is jointly running a programme for the first time in order to empower local Fintech start-ups. HATCH, a start-up incubation and acceleration platform, will provide acceleration support for the local programme. Its aim is to look for local innovative solutions [...]
Registrations open for the ‘CSE Masterminds 2018’ quiz competition
The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) this week announced ‘CSE Masterminds 2018’, the second edition of Sri Lanka’s industry-wide capital market quiz competition. The event will be held on July 11 at the Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo from 4 pm onwards, where a number of public and private companies and other institutions from around the country would [...]
Raid Amazons in Sri Lanka in Oct
Raid Amazons, the all-female adventure sporting event will be held this year in Passikudah, Sri Lanka on October 10-20 attracting about 280 participants. Spending time in Passikudah and Thoppigala, the competitors from 20 different countries like the UK, Switzerland, Italy and Spain would participate in a number of water and land adventures such as canoeing, [...]
Etihad Airways in talks to cancel, defer Boeing 777X orders : Sources
DUBAI, REUTERS June 13 – Etihad Airways is exploring options with Boeing to cancel or defer orders for 777X jets worth billions of dollars in a fresh sign of the carrier’s financial strains and potentially squeezing Boeing’s newest model, four sources familiar with the matter said. Etihad, owned by Abu Dhabi, has been reviewing its [...]
World’s first AP1000 reactor set to debut in China in Nov : Media
SHANGHAI, REUTERS June 12 – The world’s first third-generation AP1000 reactor designed by US-based Westinghouse is expected to be completed in China by November, the official Science Daily reported on Tuesday, citing a senior Chinese executive. The AP1000 unit in Sanmen in the eastern coastal province of Zhejiang was expected to reach criticality at the [...]
Responsible Fashion Movement’s 2nd Hackathon –Making of the Green Gene
The Responsible Fashion Movement launched its second Hackathon last month, under the theme “Making of the Green Gene” in association with the Hirdaramani Group. The aim of this hackathaon is to hack the process and create a solution around denim-based products. This is part of the Responsible Fashion Movement, the organisation said in a media [...]
Property buyers need better education on risks and rights
Land is a priced asset by many since the dawn of humanity. Land ownership has created kings and nobility, and been the cause of numerous battles in the past. This asset maintains its prestige of ownership, as no new stock is made and what exists is already owned and is increasing in value every day. [...]
State infrastructure projects, hold-ups slow construction sector
Government infrastructure projects have seen a slowdown in the first six months of the year and, given the political uncertainty, there’s unlikely to be a major improvement in this segment in 2H 2018, analysts say. Add to this, they say that heading into an election year in 2019, the government would not take up any [...]
Second batch of women trained for construction sector jobs
In a bid to strengthen the capacities of young women from across the country, a second batch of 40 women will be trained under the aegis of Women in Construction (WIC) Forum– Sri Lanka. “They will be trained in July to be skilled workers in many jobs in this sector,” Prof. Chitra Wedikkara, President WIC [...]
CCI signs MOU with CHINCA in China
The Chamber of Construction Industry Sri Lanka (CCI) recently entered into an MOU with the China International Construction Association (CHINCA), the sole representative body of all Chinese construction companies. The signing ceremony took place during the 9th International Infrastructure Investment and Construction Forum held in Macau, China on June 6-8, a CCI media release said. [...]
Tight squeeze for Hong Kong’s young professionals
HONG KONG, AFP June 13 – As housing prices spiral in Hong Kong, young professionals are living in ever-shrinking spaces, with box-like “nano-flats” and co-shares touted as fashionable solutions. Blocks of sleek miniature apartments packed with mod cons are springing up around the densely packed city, pitched as an attractive and more affordable lifestyle choice, [...]
United Motors invests Rs. 100 mln on JCB machinery and service facility in Colombo
With construction being an exciting and growing industry in Sri Lanka given the real estate boom, United Motors Lanka (UML) is investing Rs. 100 million on a brand new machinery and service facility in Peliyagoda. Partnering with JCB, a leading construction machinery brand in the world, UML unveiled the facility on Thursday. At the launch [...]
Private health care services exempt from VAT
The imposition of a steep 15 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) on private health care services is to be withdrawn on a directive issued by the President. The National Economic Council (NCE) will take necessary action to exempt doctors’ consultancy fees, channelling fees and hospital charges from VAT for the benefit of the sick, [...]
“Doing Business in Myanmar” seminar from Sampath Bank
With a growing interest in the Myanmar market amongst Sri Lankan businesses, Sampath Bank PLC recently hosted an informative seminar on doing business in Myanmar at the Cinnamon Grand Colombo with Myanmar Ambassador Han Thu as the chief guest of the event. Delivering the keynote address, Nanda Fernando, Managing Director, Sampath Bank PLC, gave a [...]
Emirates boosts flights for busy Umrah season
Emirates will be boosting its flights to Jeddah during the busy Umrah (pilgrimage to Mecca) season. The airline will operate 24 extra flights, adding more than 10,000 additional seats between Dubai and Jeddah from 12 June to 24 June. The additional flights will be serviced by the Boeing 777-300ER. Emirates’ additional flights will help accommodate [...]
Combank first to provide tokenised Mastercard Payment Gateway Services
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon in collaboration with Mastercard International has introduced payment processing through Mastercard Payment Gateway Services (MPGS) in Sri Lanka, and has integrated Takas.lk as the first merchant to use this service. The first and only bank to offer MPGS in the country, Commercial Bank now provides the merchants a secure, cost-effective [...]
US$ will still be the currency of choice in global trade: Experts
While around 50 per cent of global trade is dominated by the Chinese Yuan or Renminbi (currency), it is unlikely to replace the US dollar as the currency of choice across the world. This was revealed during media questions to a team of HSBC Bank specialists from the region on Wednesday at the Shangri-La Hotel, [...]
Democratic space shrinks and unchecked corporate greed on the rise: Global TU
Brussels, (ITUC Online): Shrinking democratic space for working people and unchecked corporate greed are on the rise, according to the annual ITUC (International Trade Union Confederation) Global Rights Index media release released last week . The number of countries with arbitrary arrests and detention of workers increased from 44 in 2017 to 59 in 2018, [...]
MCC official visits Sri Lanka, more grant aid promised
The US Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Managing Director for Europe, Asia, Pacific, and Latin America Caroline Nguyen visited Sri Lanka this week to advance the development of the proposed MCC compact – a large-scale five-year grant programme. The US is developing this compact in partnership with the Sri Lankan Government for the specific purpose [...]
Lankan villagers to get all banking services at the touch of a button
A UK-based global ATM software company, KAL (Korala Associates Ltd) headed by a Sri Lankan has stepped in to improve the socio-economic condition of the rural masses in remote villages by introducing full range of banking services at the touch of a button. KAL is offering a readymade financial service for rural masses in remote [...]
DFCC Bank continues programme to uplift SMEs
DFCC Bank recently announced that it will continue to run its ‘Sahaya Hamuwa’ workshops in 2018, which focuses on aiding and uplifting micro, small and medium size businesses and entrepreneurs across the island. The workshops were launched last year, with the goal of increasing the financial literacy and financial management capabilities and skills of business [...]
90 years on: EFC’s relevance to Sri Lanka’s economy and social landscape
The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC), which marks 90 years in existence, was mooted in 1927, had a meeting of the interested parties in 1928 and finally the Interim Council met in January 1929. It was an off-shoot of the Chamber of Commerce (CCC) and created to further British interests. Many events, both local and [...]