STBC discussion on the economy
The Sunday Times Business Club (STBC) on Wednesday organised a panel discussion at the Kingsbury hotel on the “Fundamentals of the economy”. A detailed report on the proceedings will appear next week. Picture by Amila Gamage, shows from left: STBC President Chaturanga Perera; State Minister of Finance – Eran Wickramaratne; Economist – Dr. Nimal Sanderatne; [...]
BOC, PB and BOI directors asked to quit
Confusion reigned on Friday at three key state institutions after President Maithripala Sirisena had asked the boards of directors at these units to be reconstituted. Despite the notification by the President to reconstitute the Boards of Directors of the Bank of Ceylon, People’s Bank and the Board of Investment (BOI) of Sri Lanka on Wednesday, [...]
Govt. to intervene in estate worker wage hike
The government is likely to intervene in the discussions between the estate worker unions and the Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) on a new collective agreement for a wage hike. The best the RPCs could afford is an all inclusive Rs.940 for its workers but unions representing the labour workforce have asked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe [...]
CBEU vows to paralyse banking sector over state banks divestiture
The Government, ignoring opposition from trade unions, has permitted two state banks – the Bank of Ceylon (BOC) and the Peoples Bank (PB) – to sell 10 per cent each of its stakes in the Colombo Stock Exchange with the aim of raising capital via the equity market, officials said. This move proposed in the [...]
Mangala moots ECT under India, Japan, Sri Lanka consortium
Rejecting a proposal to purchase equipment for the East Container Terminal (ECT), Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera has sought Cabinet approval for the terminal to be run by a consortium led by India, Japan and Sri Lanka. The minister, in a paper presented to the cabinet, pointed out that enhancing the viability and profitability of the [...]
Finance Minister unveils fuel pricing formula with hidden variables
The much-awaited fuel pricing formula has been unveiled by Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera without much ado at a packed media conference in Colombo on Thursday. The minister kept people waiting for three months since the introduction of the formula to disclose its variables in public. Although the formula looks like a simple Algebra equation, the [...]
Woes of migrant workers
Kussi Amma Sera was lamenting that a relative had gone to West Asia on work and had got into all sorts of difficulties. “Eyata godak karadara wuna (she got into a lot of difficulties),” she was telling Serapina during their usual Thursday morning conversation under the Margosa tree. I knew the case since Kussi Amma [...]
“Go out” versus “come home”
What is the most popular mobile phone brand in Africa? I asked this question from a few African students, while we were having a discussion. They were university lecturers from Nigeria studying at Colombo University for their doctorate degrees. They answered “Tecno” and, they all were unanimous in their answer. I asked them again: “What [...]
Sri Lanka sets off 4th industrial revolution in Malabe and Homagama
Sri Lanka is gearing up to set off the world’s 4th industrial revolution in Malabe and Homagama areas changing the way people live, work and communicate, transforming the island nation unlike anything it has experienced ever before. The master plan of the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development will integrate and involve all stakeholders both [...]
AIA Insurance creates awareness on NCDs
AIA Insurance is currently carrying out an island-wide awareness drive on the prevention and management of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease. “It’s no secret that NCDs amount for 75 per cent of deaths in Sri Lanka, which is starkly higher than the global rate of 63 per cent. Notably, many [...]
Energy generation contributes $ 6 bn to Sri Lanka’s GDP, says expert
While Sri Lanka is in an unprecedented economic situation where measures are underway to leverage and boost the economy and get GDP back on track, generation of energy using natural resources can contribute to US$6 billion to the GDP, says Engineer Parakrama Jayasinghe. He made this remark during the launch of a book titled ‘Energy [...]
Slowdown in manufacturing and service sectors, says CB
The slowdown in manufacturing activities in September driven mainly by a slowdown in new orders and production, especially in manufacturing of food and beverages activities led to the Central Bank (CB)’s Manufacturing Sector PMI decreasing to 54.1 index points in September from 58.2 index points in August. In a media release, the CB said respondents [...]
SLIC launches B Connect App
Sri Lanka Insurance (SLIC) has announced its latest digital feature, the B Connect App that connects all advisers of SLIC, enabling them to be informed of all updates real time. In identifying the need of having a tech savvy sales force who can steer forward in a technology driven business environment, SLIC advisers can now [...]
Ways to revive the crisis-hit RRI
There have been some voices in the recent past, expressing negative sentiments about the Rubber Research Institute of Sri Lanka (RRISL), which isn’t sweet music to ears of the scientists who have dedicated their life to RRISL and of those who are still serving with much dedication. However, to some extent there are grounds for [...]
Sri Lanka at IFTM TOP RESA Travel Fair to target 100, 000 French tourists in 2018
Sri Lanka is gearing to attract 100, 000 French travellers this year that would be a boost to the targeted 2.5 million visitors for 2018, a media release issued by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) stated. The bureau along with a contingent of 30 travel trade representatives and a delegation led by Minister [...]
Sustainability, the way forward for Sri Lanka tourism
DAMBULLA – While sustainability is one of the key concerns that countries globally are looking at today, it has become one of the tip off points when tourists choose destinations to travel. Hotel chains taking sustainable measures to protect the environment and being responsible towards preserving nature are significant aspects that travelers take into consideration. [...]
Global airlines see high costs, low yields in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is looking expensive with its costly air travel causing concern even as the tourism industry is eyeing increased travellers to the island with a number of its domestic airports spruced up to meet the demand of daily flights in future. Sri Lanka is faced with a burden of high costs that seem unattractive [...]
Resplendent Ceylon resorts in Conde Nast Traveller 2018 reader awards
Two of the Resplendent Ceylon resorts have entered the Conde Nast Traveller 2018 reader awards. Two Resplendent Ceylon resorts made the cut in the Asia list, Cape Weligama in the top 10 and Wild Coast in the top 20 within a year of opening. This achievement is especially remarkable given the small number of rooms [...]
Largest conference in Colombo scheduled for 2019
Sri Lanka will be hosting for the first time in 45 years the largest gathering of delegates for a conference scheduled to be held in 2019, since the Non Aligned Summit in Colombo. The CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments and [...]
Whistleblowing policy at Central Bank
A Whistleblowing Policy and a Code of Conduct for all employees at the Central Bank (CB) have been introduced, in line with recommendations made by the recent Presidential Commission on Treasury bonds. The CB, in a public notice on Monday, said these measures were part of the legal function being strengthened with measures to increase [...]
SriLankan Airlines’ Melbourne Half Marathon event for the second consecutive year
SriLankan Airlines, coinciding with the first anniversary of its operations to Melbourne, successfully concluded the airline’s Half Marathon event at the Medibank Melbourne Marathon Festival for the second consecutive year. The 2018 event set a new record in the 41 year-long Festival history with 34,734 participants across the five distances- the highest figure yet including [...]
Memoirs of Lalith de Mel
Sri Lankan business professional Lalith de Mel recently launched his book which traces his journey to become “The First Sri Lankan on the Main Board of a Top 100 Company in the UK.” It is a narrative of his career from his school days at St. Joseph’s College, where he was instrumental in introducing rugby, [...]
CIFL depositors invoke RTI Act to seek the truth
Through the Right to Information law, the Central Investment and Finance Ltd Depositors Association (CIFLDA) has requested the Central Bank (CB) to provide details of a Monetary Board meeting which decided to pay only Rs. 600,000 to the depositors indicated through a subsequent media release. The earlier decision of the CB through a media release [...]
MOU on biodiversity Conservation
The Ministries of Mahaweli Development and Environment and Biodiversity Sri Lanka recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to use their combined comparative advantages for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development in Sri Lanka. Both organisations will endeavour to add value to each other and ensure that together they are able to contribute substantively to influences in [...]
Microsoft conducts annual South East Asia New Markets Partner Summit
Microsoft held its third annual Southeast Asia New Markets Partner Summit in Thailand, bringing together 160+ regional/global partner leaders from 14 markets consisting of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, India, Laos, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. The two-day session gave partners the opportunity to engage with Microsoft’s regional leadership team on [...]
Fintech products for global markets – MillenniumIT evolves to LSEG
MillenniumIT, a part of London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), has announced the transition of the organisation’s name to LSEG Technology. As a leading global financial technology provider, LSEG Technology is committed to offering world class solutions through its array of products to a portfolio of financial market customers around the world. In a media release, [...]
Invest Sri Lanka Promotion in Scotland for the first time
The Invest Sri Lanka capital market road show organised by the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) in association with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) concluded on a positive note with institutional investors based in Edinburgh, Scotland particularly those with an investment interest in frontier and emerging markets gathering to hear the investment [...]
Anjalika Perera of GAC Sri Lanka tops global rankings
Ms. Anjalika Perera from the GAC Group Sri Lanka has topped the global shipping academic rankings, as one of the two Sri Lankans who won a world prize at the Institute of Chartered Ship Brokers (UK) (ICS) academic examinations of 2017/18. Ms. Perera won her world prize for the subject “Liner Trades” out of a [...]
Surado opens many opportunities for locals with caregiving qualifications
Surado Campus of Business Management, one of Sri Lanka’s foremost privately led vocational training institutions for foreign employment, says it is driving a wave of new global job opportunities for Sri Lankans based on the worldwide caregiving market boom. The campus, completing six years in operation as a leading provider of foreign employment opportunities based [...]
Corruption, slow killer in Sri Lankan society
Bribery, corruption and price mafias are killing the country, they have enveloped the country and a clear analysis points to the mother of corruption and the root cause being the 1978 constitution. This was stated by Ravi Ratnasabapathy, Resident Fellow, Advocata Institute, at a media briefing at the launch of the report on “Price Controls [...]
Lankan workers more productive than regional counterparts : WB
Sri Lanka’s next generation of workers have last year recorded its productivity to be higher than average for its region and income group. In 2017, Sri Lanka’s Human Capital Index (HCI) is higher than the average for its region and income group, a World Bank report on the HCI stated. It noted that between 2012 [...]
FMO supports NTB growth, drives job creation in Sri Lanka
The FMO, a Dutch development bank, recently arranged a US$ 50 million syndicated loan for Nations Trust Bank (NTB) in Sri Lanka. The loan supports further growth in NTB’s business banking activities which, for a number of years, has been strategically geared more towards small and medium enterprises and has a very successful track record [...]
PM promises incentives for hotel schools
The government is ready to provide incentives to the hotel sector provided they would establish the required training academies to increase the workforce for the sector, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Wednesday. Addressing the tourism industry at the 53rd anniversary celebrations of the Tourist Hotels Assocaition of Sri Lanka (THASL) at the Shangri-La Hotel [...]
Sri Lanka’s e-Passport project takes another controversial turn
Sri Lanka’s much tainted e-Passport project has taken another turn towards deviating from the original project proposal causing a massive financial loss to the country, Immigration and Emigration Department sources revealed. De La Rue has now turned 360 degrees back from its commitment stating that it will only provide the e-Passport Personalization System, which will [...]
South Asia firms up growth lead, despite budget woes, says World Bank
WASHINGTON – With growth topping 6.9 per cent in 2018 and set to accelerate to 7.1 per cent next year, South Asia is firming up its position as the world’s fastest-growing region, further extending its lead over East Asia and the Pacific, says the World Bank in its twice-a-year regional economic update. The latest edition [...]
Sri Lanka sugar policy: Not so sweet for importers
Sri Lanka could face a shortage of sugar as a result of price controls imposed by the government on retail traders amidst fluctuations in world market prices, the depreciation of the rupee against the US dollar along with unfair trade practices of certain importers, sugar importers warned. Some 5,000 tonnes of sugar is stuck at [...]