Tourist attraction!
Chinese tourists, including children, helping wash an elephant at a Buddhist temple in Aluthgama. China is Sri Lanka’s second largest tourism source market. Pic by T.K. de Silva
Indian Airports Authority to take over Mattala Airport
In a move seen as offsetting China’s mounting presence in Sri Lanka, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is set to take over a controlling stake of 70 per cent in Mattala International Airport in a joint venture partnership with the Sri Lankan government, official sources confirmed. This will be the first time the AAI [...]
SEC to go ahead with cold-storing stock broking licences
The cold-storage of broker licences where stockbrokers can hold on to their licences, but not trade is to be approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), officials say. The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) two years ago proposed to the SEC to cold storage struggling stockbrokers’ licences. “It’s to be approved by next month,” an [...]
Plantation workers want more
Plantation workers are demanding a living wage to be paid to workers in line with the existing cost of living in the country. During discussions between the estate sector trade unions on Friday, the workers’ representatives said they want the Regional Plantation Companies (RPC) to increase their basic wages to ensure they have a living [...]
Renewal of milch cow imports contract sparks corruption charges
The renewal of a 2014 contract of the previous regime to import 15,000 more dairy cattle from Australia and New Zealand by the present government has sparked allegations of financial misappropriation. National Organiser of the All Ceylon Farmers Federation Namal Karunarathna said that his association would complain to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery [...]
New broom at SEC
About four years ago, precisely on November 21, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), struggling to tackle a slew of allegations of pump-and-dump trades and insider dealing, published an interesting advertisement. It was preparing a consultation paper on ‘Evaluating the possibility of establishing a minority investors’ association for investors of public listed companies’. Public [...]
Here is the spoon, help yourself!
It would have been funny, if it wasn’t pathetic. You must have said so if you had noticed what was reported during the past few weeks about the management of our public enterprises – the businesses run by the government of Sri Lanka. Let me elaborate little bit of what appeared in our media, and [...]
Unions urge worker representatives to manage EPF investments
Unions, representing both workers and employers, are taking cautious approach to a proposal from an Asian Development Bank (ADB) to reform the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) by maximising its returns largely through investing in the stock market among other options. The draft White paper on the reform of EPF Legal and Operational Frameworks by US-based [...]
Sri Lanka –Singapore FTA comes under barrage of criticism
Deceiving the whole country, Sri Lanka’s economic independence has been handed over directly to Singapore forever and indirectly to other countries by the Ministry of Development Strategies International Trade (MODSIT) through the implementation of the Sri Lanka –Singapore Free Trade agreement (SLSFTA) with effect from May 1, political party leaders and professionals alleged. Sri Lanka [...]
Tamil Nadu Global Food Fair on Aug. 12-15
The Tamil Nadu Global Food Expo and Summit 2018 organised a roadshow in Colombo at Hotel Galadari last week with the support of the High Commission of India, Colombo, to promote an upcoming event. The roadshow was focused to strengthen the bilateral trade relations between India and Sri Lanka in food sector and with a [...]
Solar panels across all MAS Holdings plants
MAS Holdings (Pvt.) Ltd, seen as the region’s number one design to delivery apparel and textile solutions provider, recently announced the launch of its pioneering renewable energy drive ‘Photon’. Implemented in line with the group’s key environmental goals, Photon will see the installation of 24 rooftop Solar PV Systems covering an extensive 2,000,000 sq ft, [...]
British High Commissioner visits LSEG Sri Lanka office
A delegation led by British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and Ambassador to Maldives, James Dauris visited the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) Sri Lanka office at the group’s facility in Trace Expert City, Colombo 10. The High Commissioner was welcomed by Dee Liyanwela, Head of LSEG Sri Lanka along with members of the leadership [...]
SLIBFI conference marks 10 years
The Sri Lanka IBF Industry Conference (SLIBFI X) will be held for the 10th consecutive year on July 18 at the Ramada Colombo Hotel. Titled “SLIBFI X”, and given the 10th anniversary of the event, the conference will focus primarily on an aspect that seem to have been forgotten in an era of phenomenal growth [...]
Sri Lanka needs more biscuit manufacturers
Although 58 biscuit manufactures operate in the country, there is space for another 10 per cent to enter the biscuit market, said the Chairman /Managing Director –Uswatte Confectionery Quintus Perera at the product launch of the “Uswatte-Golden Biscuits” held at the Hilton Colombo this week. Referring to exports of biscuits from Sri Lanka, he said [...]
Lankan businessmen are “headless chickens”
Sri Lanka’s businessmen are like “headless chickens” running to politicians to obtain support for their ventures, Shipper’s Council Chairman Chrisso De Mel said on Monday. Addressing the post-business session of the Shipper’s Council AGM in Colombo, he said that business leaders were today found to be running to political leaders like “headless chickens” and noted [...]
Galle Club holds its inaugural AGM
The inaugural AGM of the Galle Club which was recently held at the Mövenpick Hotel, Colombo, marked a new chapter in solidarity and connectivity amongst schools across Sri Lanka. Being a first of its kind, the Galle Club encompasses the Past Pupils Associations of Sacred Heart Convent, Mahinda College, Richmond College, Sanghamitta Balika Vidyalaya, Southlands [...]
Ogabo Global Parfumerie, Bellose Lanka in JV for the manufacture of cosmetics and perfumes in Ethiopia
Ogabo Global Parfumerie (Pvt) Ltd, manufacturers of premium quality, designer perfumes with French fragrances, and Bellose Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. a leading Sri Lankan professional cosmetics manufacturing company specialising in hair care recently signed a joint venture agreement with the Aleta Land Group of companies, Ethiopia for the export of cosmetics and perfumes to Ethiopia and [...]
Sri Lankans confronted with “financing gap” in health needs, AIA survey
AIA Group (AIA), in a new study, has found that people in Sri Lanka face a considerable “financing gap” where savings, current levels of insurance and government health provisions may not be enough to pay for the treatment for critical illnesses (such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes or other serious conditions). The findings are part [...]
Swarnamahal Finance investors to get 10% of their deposits from July
The Central Bank (CB) on Tuesday ordered the Swarnamahal Financial Services PLC (SFSP) to pay “urgently” 10 per cent of deposit liabilities of SFSP to depositors effective from July 10. In a statement, the banking regulator said the directive followed appeals by depositors. Earlier on January 2, 2018, the CB took over the affairs of [...]
On Kussi Amma Sera’s “Lanka’s crisis of skills”
You have raised an issue that I hear being discussed in Colombo’s watering holes, private parties, and university circles. The majority of the commentators use your same words to describe “Sri Lankan workers as “lazy, costlier, and inefficient”, and complain about the “Rs. 2000 they have to pay to a carpenter.” Sri Lanka’s labour force [...]
Social enterprise making its mark in Sri Lanka
The concept, terminology and organisational model of ‘Social Enterprise’ is relatively new, but is deeply rooted in Sri Lanka. These have been in operation over a 15 year period while cooperative societies have been in operation for more than 50 years. In 1902, the US non-profit Goodwill Industries pioneered the notion of ‘a hand-up, not [...]
Jaffna City’s response to demand for tourist accommodation
With so much focus on the tourism sector’s potential to support the Sri Lankan economy, the recent spate of reports of harassment of foreign visitors from the southern coastal belt has understandably raised questions regarding safety. The clearing of certain informal tourist related structures as a result has also raised questions of the effectiveness of [...]
Nestlé launches ‘Towards an Iron-Clad Nation’ campaign
Nestlé Sri Lanka has launched an island-wide campaign, ‘Towards an Iron-Clad Nation’, to create awareness amongst families about the importance of iron in the diet. It will support the government’s strategy for preventing and controlling micronutrient deficiencies in Sri Lanka, the company said this week. “The campaign will educate people about how to receive enough [...]
Linear Squared: Addressing big business problems
Suddenly machines can execute tasks that once needed human cognition. In the past, computers could execute only the rigidly defined tasks for which they were programmed. Now they can be given a general strategy for learning, enabling them to adapt to new data without being explicitly reprogrammed. This is mainly done through big data and [...]
Ninewells Hospital rebrands under Access care
Ninewells Hospital, Sri Lanka’s only private hospital dedicated to ‘mother and baby care’ now fully owned by the Access Group of Companies, re-launched its corporate identity focusing on ‘woman and child care’ this week at Excess Towers in Colombo and along with the re-launch a new logo and a website were also introduced. At the [...]
IFC, NDB partner to extend financial inclusion in SL
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has extended its long term partnership with NDB to support the bank’s transition and growth goals, as part of the existing T20 transformation programme. Under this programme, IFC will provide global best practices and knowledge to improve the bank’s operational efficiencies enabling the bank to expand its [...]
AMCHAM: High debt, instability and labour constraints strong challenges for FDI
High government debt burden, policy instability and labour constraints pose strong challenges for Sri Lanka’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) landscape and investor sentiment. Addressing these concerns will be crucial if FDI into the country especially from the US is to be improved, a recently released white paper by the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) suggested. [...]
15 per cent FDIs in real estate in Sri Lanka
While there is tremendous development taking place in the real estate sector in Sri Lanka, it has been estimated that almost 15 per cent of the foreign direct investments (FDIs) is made on real estate, a top official in the industry reiterated. Making this comment, Indocean Developers (Pvt) Ltd Director, Pradeep Moraes receiving Sri Lanka’s [...]
World is gearing towards a “gig” economy, says Cisco expert
While technology is advancing in leaps and bounds, from network to digitisation and now has reached a new term called ‘cognification’ which refers to the process of making objects smarter and smarter by connecting, integrating sensors and building software or artificial intelligence (AI) into them, the world is heading towards a gig economy, stated V.C. [...]
Lankaputhra Development Bank marks 12 years
The Lankaputra Development Bank marked its 12th year recently. The commemoration ceremony was held at the bank’s Colombo headquarters premises giving foremost place to all religious activities. Bank Chairman Sujith Kariyawasam and officials of senior management including acting General Manager/ CEO Ranjith Dissanayake and Working Director Thuan Riza Hameet participated in this ceremony. In line [...]
CSE -SEC to hold awareness forums on SME board with chambers
The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plan to hold awareness forums across the country on their brand new listing platform launched last week to develop the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME). “A series of awareness workshops jointly with different clusters like the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, the national chambers including [...]
Lankatiles sponsors overseas buyers on Mount Everest trek
Lankatiles, in a unique and inspired way to bond with its overseas customers, recently organised a Himalayan trek to the Everest Base Camp at 5365 metres. The Managing Director and the Group Business Development Manager of Lankatiles participated in this feat along with their overseas buyers. In a media release announcing this, Lankatiles said it [...]
447 Luna Tower hosts luxury “Open Day” at Union Place ‘Display Apartment’
Developer of luxury condominium – ‘447 Luna Tower’ plans to open its doors to welcome 15 exclusive invitees to its ‘Display Apartment’ located in the heart of Colombo 2 – Union Place. After the successful conclusion of its pilot ‘Open Day’ event last month, the condominium known to be Colombo’s “Exclusive Urban Address” continues on [...]
Money Printing: Is there a proper control?
At present, money in the form of notes and coins is essential for people to purchase goods and services as well as to settle various transactions. In the good old days, people exchanged goods with each other which belonged to them or which they produced to meet their day-to-day needs. This system was known as [...]
Consumer Affairs Authority to be strengthened following fuel hike
Sri Lanka’s consumer interest is to be protected by further strengthening the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) Act aimed at passing the benefit of fuel price fluctuations in accordance with the cost-reflective transparent fuel pricing formula which will determine the fuel price on the 10th of every month. Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera told a media conference [...]
Sim Lab IT-Dialog launches live AR at E-Sports Championship
Sim Lab IT together with Dialog Axiata PLC is collaborating to launch live Augmented Reality (AR) at the Mercantile E-Sports Championship 2018 to be held at the Trace City Auditorium on July 21-22. The solution on display will allow visitors to interact with their favourite dinosaur creatures, gaming characters and even the odd cloud passing [...]
“Govt. considers leasing East Terminal for 35 years”
Reference to the Business Times report titled “Govt. considers leasing East Terminal for 35 years” published on July 8, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) says the report is based on “inaccurate information provided by Mr. Chandrasiri Mahagamage, an employee of SLPA.” The SLPA states that Ports and Shipping Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe through a proposal [...]