Let the games begin
Leaders of the United National Party, the Tamil National Alliance, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress met Parliamentary Speaker Karu Jayasuriya on Friday to express concern over the delay in resuming Parliament sessions. Seen here is JVP’s Vijitha Herath addressing the meeting amidst UNP and JVP MPs. The JVP has said [...]
Uncertain week ahead for Sri Lanka
With the country thrown into uncertain gear following widespread political developments, the international community including rating agencies this week weighed in with the negativity of the move while new Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who also holds the finance portfolio, announced a set of concessions reaching out to the middle class and lower segments of the [...]
CSE: Foreign selling but local sentiment high
Share prices at the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) will react next week according to how Sri Lanka’s political game is played. Analysts said retail trader sentiments will solely centre on which political party will command ‘staying’ power. The CSE saw retailers flocking in this week, buying large to mid cap stocks with former President Mahinda [...]
Tough year ahead for international aid
Sri Lanka now faces escalating economic headwinds following the sudden change in premiership and the cabinet with a single stroke of the pen by President Maithripala Sirisena. At a time of government transition, international agencies and foreign countries are keeping an anxious eye on the country’s present decision-makers wondering whether they have the plans, skills [...]
Unprecedented budgetary moves provide relief to the people
With the unexpected and sudden political crisis along with the prorogation of Parliament till November 16, Treasury officials were in a quandary in considering the option of preparing a vote on account or interim Budget, instead of the calendar year Budget 2019. Prof G.L .Pieris, Chairman of Sri Lanka Podujana Party of newly appointed Prime [...]
“So Sri Lanka” global launch at WTM tomorrow
The October 26 developments with the entry of a new Prime Minister unnerved the tourism industry, causing political instability and resulting in a few cancellations. The upcoming winter season is also likely to be adversely impacted. The only positive vibe is the launch of Sri Lanka’s new branding at the global travel fair in London [...]
Turmoil in the kitchen
All hell had broken loose in Kussi Amma Sera’s kitchen. Amidst the clatter of pots and pans and a smoke-filled kitchen, there was a crisis. KAS had apparently got the condiments wrong, with some curries having too much chillie while the others had a liberal dose of salt, nay … loads of salt. The chaos [...]
Little from “little by little”
At two different forums that I attended recently I had the opportunity to listen to some comments centred on two questions. I write below the comments I was listening to, because the views embodied in the comments are not random, but widely held views. One was about export growth in relation to the current exchange [...]
Political uncertainty growing in Sri Lanka – Moody’s
The unfolding political crisis is credit negative for Sri Lanka because it heightens policy uncertainty and could weigh on growth if social tensions rise, rating agency Moody’s Investors Service warned on Tuesday. It also threatens international investors’ confidence and the flow of foreign capital, at a time when the government faces large external debt maturities. [...]
Resolve political issues quickly, leading chambers say
Sri Lanka’s leading business chambers on Monday jointly appealed to the Government to resolve the political crisis as quickly as possible. In a public statement, the joint chambers of commerce representing diverse business and commerce interests, said they were concerned that the current political uncertainty will result in many adverse consequences to the country, if [...]
Structural reforms, a priority, says Central Bank
The Central Bank (CB) on Tuesday said it is essential that structural reforms are expeditiously implemented within a transparent framework for Sri Lanka to progress as an upper middle income economy where its human and physical resources are fully utilised in a more productive manner. “Recent experience has once again displayed the importance of strengthening [...]
Record profitability for Q3 2018, says NDB
Sri Lanka’s National Development Bank PLC (NDB) said this week it had posted an “impressive financial performance” for the nine months ending September 2018, with a record post-tax profit of Rs. 4 billion. Profit attributable to shareholders (PAS) showed a growth of 42 per cent compared with the prior period amidst challenging market conditions. “Strong [...]
Expolanka Freight renamed EFL Global Freeport
EFL (Expolanka Freight Limited), in a further consolidation of its end-to-end supply chain solutions, has announced a rebranding of its Freeport operations under a new name – ‘EFL Global Freeport (Pvt) Ltd’. Representing the first private sector enterprise to be granted a license to operate as a Freeport in Sri Lanka, the Freeport’s recent rebranding [...]
Sugar tax hurts over 90 small and medium fruit drink businesses
Sri Lanka’s fruit juice and nectar industry is about to be hit badly with the extension of the sugar tax on all sugary drinks on a new directive issued by the Finance Ministry on a Presidential order. President Maithripala Sirisena has directed the ministry to extend the tax on soft drinks to all forms of [...]
Global Currency Crisis: Can Sri Lanka stabilise its own currency?
It is an apparent fact that currently most of the developed and developing nations have lost their own smooth-running economies and are heading towards a rapid economic turmoil. Such turmoil is reflected by their key macroeconomic variables such as economic growth rate, interest rate, and exchange rate and stock market indices. Economists and policy makers [...]
Harry buys JKH shares
Businessman Harry Jayawardena and related parties are believed to have increased exposure in diversified conglomerate John Keels Holdings (JKH) recently. Over the past few weeks JKH has been responsible for the bulk of foreign buying and selling in the market. Through his holding company Melstacorp, Mr. Jayawardena already owns a 3.5 per cent in the [...]
UPM: Undemocratic action led to current crisis
The United Professionals Movement (UPM) said this week that the political conflict instigated on October 26 is not an attempt by the President of Sri Lanka to provide any sincere solution to the burning political, social and economic issues but rather an unethical and undemocratic action based on personal agenda and benefit sans the people [...]
Epic sweeps the board at National Best Quality ICT Awards 2018
Epic Technology Group cemented its position as the country’s premier Fintech solution provider by securing the coveted ‘Overall Gold Award’, ‘Overall Bronze’ and eight other accolades at the recently concluded 20thNational Best Quality ICT Awards 2018 (NBQSA)conducted by the Sri Lankan chapter of the BCS The Chartered Institute for IT. Epic demonstrated its dominance in [...]
Venture Engine entrepreneurship programme kicks off this month
Now in its 7th consecutive year, Sri Lanka’s pioneering entrepreneurship programme Venture Engine kicked off this week with applications opening for a 6-week period starting November 1 onward. To be held over an intensive six to seven weeks between January and mid-February 2019, the seventh consecutive Venture Engine hopes to attract new business ideas (early [...]
SLASSCOM organises AI Asia summit
Sri Lanka Association for Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM) is organising the first ever AI (Artificial Intelligence) Asia Summit 2018 in Colombo on Wednesday November 7. This was announced by Jeevan Gnanam, Chairman, SLASSCOM at the launch of the event in Colombo yesterday. He said the conference would address the topics on Data Science and [...]
Patented Sri Lankan invention wins 3 tech awards in October
Pulz Technologies (Pvt) Ltd, a Sri Lankan research and development company specialising in artificial intelligence, imaging and speech driven applications, has won three outstanding awards for its patented “TeleAvatar Technology”. It received a gold medal for Research and Development at the 2018 NBQSA Awards at the Galadari Hotel in Colombo on October 19; an award [...]
Disrupted by Digital Disruption?
We have discussed how digital technologies are disrupting the way the world works, and creating arguably better outcomes for human beings. The best living examples among many such instances are the taxi apps, like Uber and Pickme. Ten years ago, we used to hail, call or go to a taxi park and get onto a [...]
LVL Energy Fund expands portfolio with development of 7 solar power plants
Leading energy company and a subsidiary of Lanka Ventures, the LVL Energy Fund PLC is set to expand its alternative energy footprint with the development of seven new solar power projects. The plants will be set up in partnership with First Energy SL (Pvt) Ltd, in strategic locations across the island and will have a [...]
Tourism industry hunts for job seekers
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, currently facing a labour shortage, has plans to ignite enthusiasm among the rural youth to join the sector via an Rs.50 million campaign over three years. This campaign to attract particularly youth and women is a private sector driven initiative where school leavers would be asked to join the industry as [...]
Browns products in over 9000 outlets islandwide
Brown and Company PLC recently signed an agreement with the Sri Lanka Consumer Cooperative Federation (COOPFED) to have its products available at all cooperative societies island-wide. COOPFED has the largest distribution network in the country which comprises over 9000 cooperative shops and 11 cooperative hospitals across the island. Through the signing of the agreement Browns [...]
Book on “Managing natural resources to meet needs of the poor”
Veteran administrator and international civil servant Nanda Abeywickrama has addressed the above issues through a selection of papers presented at national and international forums in the last two decades of the 20th century and is presenting them in a publication titled ‘Natural Resources and Environment Management (NREM)Policy’ The 12 policy related essays on land, irrigation [...]
CIPFA London recognises CPFA, Sri Lanka qualification
The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, London, (CIPFA), one of the six leading bodies in the UK and the only world body of professional accountants offering public finance qualification, has recognised Sri Lanka’s CPFA qualification and granted it membership status, said the President, Public Sector Wing of the Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka [...]
Nestlé Lanka announces management change
Nestlé Lanka has announced that its Managing Director, Shivani Hegde, will be moving to Nestlé’s global headquarters in Switzerland to lead the food category development for Asia, Oceania and Africa. Nestlé’s local operations (in Sri Lanka) will be taken over by Fabrice Cavallin, currently Regional Business Head – Infant Nutrition for South Asia, effective January [...]
Peeling practices hinders growth of SL’s cinnamon industry
Sri Lanka (SL) cinnamon, commonly known as ‘Ceylon Cinnamon’ or ‘True Cinnamon’ is a plant indigenous to the island. Cinnamon grown in Indonesia, China and Vietnam are from three different species of the cinnamon family. Cassia is a collective term that is used to identify those three species. SL cinnamon is considered safer due to [...]
New director at Nations Trust Bank
Nations Trust Bank PLC has appointed Savanth Sebastian to its Board of Directors with effect from October 23. Mr. Sebastian has a wealth of experience in economics, financial services and the investment business and currently also serves on the Boards of Directors of Voguetex Sri Lanka, Arpico Ataraxia Asset Management and Subway Development. He brings [...]
Mitra Innovation engages Vietnam for future development
British trade delegates and founders of Mitra Innovation – Dammika Ganegama, Managing Director of Mitra Innovation and Vice President Sri Lanka Australia Chamber of Commerce and Dr. Ashok Suppiah, CEO Mitra Innovation recently met with leaders of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry to discuss alliances in the development and delivery of modern day [...]
Battle for supremacy in rubber
There were several articles in the media to show who is the best in rubber sector in the country. All points may one-sided giving a good impression of the Rubber Research Institute of Sri Lanka (RRISL) and a bad impression of the Rubber Development Department (RRD). The RRISL is the oldest research institute in the [...]
Teejay 6-mth net profit up 20% to Rs. 705 m despite challenges
Teejay Lanka PLC, Sri Lanka’s only multinational textile manufacturer, has reported sales of Rs. 14.4 billion and profit after tax of Rs. 704.8 million at group level for the six months ending September 2018, reflecting healthy growth of 25 per cent and 20 per cent respectively, for the period. Group profit before tax improved by [...]
Commercial Bank equity sale helped profit at DFCC Bank
DFCC Bank, the largest entity within this banking group, has recorded an increase in pre-tax profit and post-tax profit of 11 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively (by end September 2018) compared to the previous corresponding period. This is however after adjusting for the exceptional gain from the sale of Commercial Bank equity shares [...]
Pan Asia Bank surpasses Rs. 1 bn post-tax milestone in latest figures
Pan Asia Banking Corporation PLC has reported its best ever profit recorded for a 9-month stretch anchored by solid growth in new loans, prudent margin and asset-liability management, the bank said in a media release. For the nine months ended in September 30, 2018, the bank reported a post-tax profit of Rs.1,080 million, up by [...]
NTB shows resilience in last quarter performance
The Nations Trust Bank (NTB) closed the nine months ending September 2018 with a post-tax profit of Rs.2, 918 million amidst multiple challenges witnessed across the industry with increasing non-performing loans, tightening of liquidity and moderating credit growth which particularly hindered the performance for the quarter. In a media statement, the bank said it realigned [...]