“Puhul”
A fruit seller in Pettah checks several winter melons (‘alu puhul”) used in curries and sweet meats like “puhul dosi”, at his shop. Pic by Amila Gamage
Destination Sri Lanka gets a new name
Sri Lanka will be re-branded! From an island of a “Small miracle” to the “Wonder of Asia” Sri Lanka will be now seeking a new tagline to be decided by an “expert” committee of three members. Not even the minister knows it yet but it is to be out by November. Tourism Development Minister John [...]
CPC to import glyphosate by Oct.
Despite mixed signal from various government quarters, Sri Lanka is preparing to import the weedkiller glyphosate from October with the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) already commencing the procurement process. Glyphosate was banned in the country in 2015 for use in plantations and other agricultural crops but was lifted in July this year and now authorities [...]
Sri Lanka to ban high-energy electrical appliances
Sri Lanka will ban the import and sale of electrical appliances consuming excessive energy with the aim of reducing household power consumption, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SEA) J.D.K. Wickramaratne said. The Authority will promote the sale of energy efficient electrical appliances while creating awareness on the government’s move towards energy conservation [...]
US dollar seen reaching Rs. 163
The US dollar has been slowly creeping up to the Rs. 161 level this week with concern that it could be pegged at Rs. 163 in coming months. “The dollar has been creeping up slowly with no intervention from the Central Bank (CB),” said one money market dealer adding that the CB appeared to be [...]
Railway workers manipulate AR &FR to swell pay packets
Majority of the 12,000 railway workers including engine drivers, guards, station masters and engineers currently agitating for a 12 per cent basic salary hike draw a fat take-home pay packet compared to other public sector employees by manipulating and exploiting loopholes in the Railway Department administration, official sources said. Details of undue claims of overtime [...]
Building a brand
At the traffic lights at Kohuwela junction one evening, an old Datsun Sunny waited for the lights to turn green. A policeman on the sidewalk was watching it because it didn’t have any lights on. When he walked across to the car, some bystanders were watching the scene expecting the officer to reprimand the driver [...]
Protection vs competition
One day during a television interview, the interviewer – Sonali, asked me a question: “If a foreign professional is allowed to practise in Sri Lanka, will it affect the income of our professionals? For instance, if my income as a lawyer is, say is Rs. 250,000 a month, an unemployed lawyer from another country comes [...]
Christine Chevalaz appointed new Kingsbury Hotel GM
The Kingsbury Hotel, the flagship five-star hotel which is part of the leisure arm of Hayleys PLC, recently announced the appointment of its new General Manager, Ms. Christine Chevalaz. Prior to her appointment at The Kingsbury, Ms. Chevalaz has worked in a series of successful hotel chains in a variety of locations including the UK, [...]
Jinasena breaks new ground with innovative irrigation systems
Jinasena (Pvt) Ltd, one of the leading water management system solutions providers in Sri Lanka, has broken new ground with the implementation of two innovative projects recently. These include designing and installing irrigation systems for Clearpoint Residencies in Rajagiriya and Constance Halaveli luxury hotel in the Maldives. Overlooking the Diyawanna Lake, Clearpoint Residencies is known [...]
Four-company consortium for Galle Marina project
Sri Lanka’s ambitious ‘Galle Marina’ project aimed at making the Galle harbour a tourism port is likely to be undertaken by a consortium comprising four leading international companies headed by Mclarens and including an Indian firm, a Ports and Shipping Ministry official confirmed. The Ministry had invited sealed applications from interested parties on May 24 [...]
Sparklink Travels starts its 40th year of operations
Sparklink Travels recently marked the completion of 39 years in the travel business. The company is headed by Nihal Perera, a former Director of Sri Lanka Tourism, and a pioneer and legend in the travel industry ably supported by sons Praki Perera and Navein Perera with a team of dedicated staff. One of their notable [...]
Ceylinco Life doubles 1H pre and post-tax profits
Ceylinco Life has more than doubled pre and post-tax profits at the end of the second quarter of 2018, sustaining its growth momentum with consistent operational performance. The life insurance market leader has reported profit before tax of Rs. 3.338 billion for the six months ending June 30, 2018, an increase of Rs. 1.71 billion [...]
JKH social initiative “Plasticcycle” completes Southern Expressway project
John Keells Holdings (JKH), which launched the “Plasticcycle” Social Entrepreneurship project in July 2017, recently completed this project on the Southern Expressway. Plasticcycle has now placed over 100 bins in total across the country and has recently achieved a milestone in ensuring the recycling of over 10 metric tons of plastic waste, an equivalent to [...]
Micro loan write-off triggers finance industry crisis
Sri Lanka‘s Non Banking Financial Institutions (NBFI) are likely to either stop or slow down their micro finance operations countrywide owing to the effect of writing-off small loans given to women in drought-stricken areas, Registered Finance Companies (RFCs) warned. This situation has arisen as a result of the government’s directive to write-off non-consumption loans up [...]
eChannelling to offer pre-booking OPD appointments in district hospitals in Sri Lanka
For the first time, eChannelling PLC has launched its service at Ampara General Hospital marking it as the first district hospital in Sri Lanka to have the booking-OPD service. eChannelling PLC, the largest Doctor Channeling Network in Sri Lanka, along with Mobitel, and Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) has embarked on [...]
“Thallu start to racing cars – Business Times August 5″
Permit me to express personal views on the above article by Kussi Amma Sera which is a good analysis of what is most often referred to as the transport crisis. Your article is possibly triggered by the recent duty hike proposed on smaller cars. Reducing the number of vehicles on the road could not reduce [...]
Tech start-ups
In our first column (on August 5), we discussed about the nature of digital services while touching on issues around Trace IT Park and the mindset of people. I wanted to extend this a little further and take our discussion towards Tech start-ups. The industry currently marks nearly US$1billion in exports for Sri Lanka through [...]
AAT Sri Lanka launches Best Annual Report Competition for schools for 11th year
With the collaboration of the Ministry of Education, AAT Sri Lanka is organising the Best Annual Reports Competition 2018 for the 11th consecutive year with awards to be made on November 27 at the BMICH, Colombo. The preliminary steps of communicating the criteria and the rules and regulations of the competition to schools have been [...]
CDC Events and Gensoft Pvt. Ltd launch ‘Asia Logistics Forum 2018’
CDC Events and Travels together with Gensoft will be organising the ‘Asia Logistics Forum 2018′ on September 4-5 at the Cinnamon Grand, Colombo which is expected to attract at least 200 participants worldwide. The significance of the conference is to bring the logistics industry stakeholders in the South Asian region together to enhance their knowledge [...]
Singapore FTA probe committee invites public representations
The Committee of Experts appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena to re-examine the Sri Lanka Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA) has invited public representations on the issues. The Committee headed by former Colombo University Vice Chancellor and economist Prof. W.D. Lakshman has said in a newspaper advertisement in local newspapers on Tuesday to send in any [...]
Toyota Tsusho eyeing Sri Lanka as a potential market for its products
Toyota Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, the sole authorised distributor for Toyota vehicles in Sri Lanka, recently sent a team of high-profile visitors from its parent company to visit Sri Lanka to assess the market potential. Jun Karube, Chairman of the Board at Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan and President of Toyota Tsusho Asia Pacific Pte Ltd (TTAP), [...]
Role of the youth in creating a voice for social change
“You just sit there and tolerate it, the same way everything in this country is tolerated. Every deception, every lie, every bullet in the brains. Just as you are already tolerating bullets in the brains that will be implemented only after the bullet is put in your brains” – Imre Kertesz With a history of [...]
Coconuts in crisis: Traders make huge profit at the cost of consumer
The latest crises facing the coconut industry in Sri Lanka is a complaint from the Coconut Growers Association of Sri Lanka (CGASL) that their farm gate price has crashed to a new low of Rs. 23 to 25 from around Rs. 45 in July. Ranjith Dias, a former president of the CGASL and a veteran [...]
Cutting-edge Construction Research Centre in Colombo
Tokyo Cement Group recently declared open its newly upgraded Construction Research Centre as an independent laboratory to cater to concrete and cement testing requirements of the industry. Located at 865 1/1, Dr. Danister De Silva Mawatha, Colombo 9, the Research Centre will test and certify cement, concrete and dry mortar products, according to local and [...]
Increasing need for collaboration between universities and industry
If research and knowledge creation is carried out on an ad hoc basis, universities cannot be called halls of knowledge and learning to produce graduates and postgraduates, said a top professor. There is increasing global pressure for the universities to have stronger partnerships with the industry, to produce graduates targeted for industry needs, said Prof [...]
High air fares deterrent to Bangladeshis visiting Sri Lanka
High air fares on direct flights between Dhaka and Colombo is deterring more Bangladeshi travellers from visiting Sri Lanka. SriLankan Airlines being the only carrier that flies directly to and from Dhaka with only one flight per day costs around US$ 700 on economy class on average on a round trip, a top Bangladeshi official [...]
Pay hikes: Not RPCs cup of tea
Sri Lanka’s Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) have told tea estate trade unions that due to unfavourable conditions in weather and international politics they cannot afford a proposal to increase wages. The tea industry trade unions and RPCs met last week as part of the preliminary discussions over the renewal of the Collective Agreement between the [...]
Hirdaramani completes first stage of long-term solar panel project
Celebrating 10 years since the opening of its flagship green facility Mihila, Asia’s first CarbonNeutral® Apparel factory, the Hirdaramani group this month is again paving the way with the installation of the largest rooftop solar installation in the apparel sector in Sri Lanka. The installations are part of the Suryadhanavi – meaning ‘generated from the [...]