Silver lining
Amidst the gloomy political climate, tourism got some good news with the resumption of three new airlines – TUI Poland, Edelweiss and Russia’s Aeroflot. TUI Poland arrived on November 7 with around 190 passengers on board. Picture (courtesy Sri Lanka Tourism) shows TUI passengers at the airport.
Trade unions slam Maithripala, UNP
Trade union leaders, at a meeting with a US Embassy official on Thursday, criticised both President Maithripala Sirisena and the former United National Party (UNP)-led former government for the current state of affairs in the country. “While condemning the President’s move to sack the Prime Minister and prorogue Parliament as unethical, trade union leaders were [...]
Rupee continues under pressure
The US dollar was trading at Rs. 175.40 on Friday, up by 50 cents from Thursday’s rate as seasonal demand and an unpredictable political situation dominated market sentiment. “No one knows what is going to happen. We are assessing the situation day by day,” said one money market trader. Seasonal demand, imports ahead of the [...]
Ratmalana Airport to accommodate corporate jets
Sri Lanka’s city airport, the Ratmalana Airport has called for bids from international corporate jets seeking to appoint one fixed based operator for a five year period, operating from this airport. The Request for Proposals (RFPs) were called around mid October and will be closed by November 31, the airport’s Manager Aruna Rajapaksa told the [...]
First supermarket from Softlogic next week
Softlogic Holdings PLC has announced its foray into FMCG Modern Trade Retail, with the opening of its first supermarket next week at Delkanda, Nugegoda. In a statement, Softlogic Holdings PLC said it has already established its pioneering leadership as a retail giant, leading the consumer electronics and apparel segments and innovating in the restaurant and [...]
Several tourists cancel December holidays
Sri Lanka is currently reeling from the after effects of a number of travel advisories issued recently from key markets with cancellations and a general slowing down of tourist bookings for December, the start of the peak winter season. A number of hoteliers complain that the general trend would be to fill the December month [...]
Suspense is killing (me)
It was an expression of outrage by Seeni Bola, my retired banker friend that formed the basis of today’s discussion. In an early morning call on a gloomy Thursday (it had been raining cats and dogs all week adding to the depressed state of the country), he sought to discuss the crisis in the country [...]
Right policies to boost the economy
Recently some taxes and administered prices were reduced. In the commodity list which was subject to these revisions, there were some imported food items as well. I received two separate phone calls with different requests to make comments on these policy changes. According to one of them, I felt I should speak on how these [...]
Sri Lanka launches new destination brand “So Sri Lanka” at WTM London
Sri Lanka on Monday finally, after years of being in the works, launched the much-awaited global campaign initially with the new brand “So Sri Lanka,” at the World Travel Mart (WTM) in London. Present at the launch, new Tourism Minister Wasantha Senanayake explained that the new brand encapsulates the essence of Sri Lanka, its authenticity, [...]
Alliance Finance retains investment grade credit rating of BBB
Alliance Finance Company PLC (AFC) has been able to retain its investment grade credit rating of BBB- from ICRA Lanka Ltd (ICRA) despite the extremely challenging macroeconomic conditions. In a media release, AFC said it is the third oldest finance company in Sri Lanka with a heritage built with the trust of four generations of [...]
Prof. Torsten Henry Fransson to receive honorary degree from Open University
The Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL) has decided to confer the Degree of Doctor of Science “Honoris causa” to Prof. Torsten Henry Fransson from the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden for his contribution to the OUSL. He will receive this honour at the OUSL convocation on November 14 at the BMICH, Colombo. KTH [...]
“Does the SEC grant licences to the wealthy to avoid paying taxes?!
As you and I are aware, the SEC or the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka is charged with the task of regulating the capital markets of the country. You may then wonder how the SEC is caught up in an issue where a company is avoiding taxes. As the regulator of capital markets, [...]
JKH: Retiring chairman Susantha hands over baton to Krishan Balendra
As originally announced, John Keells Holdings (JKH) Chairman Susantha Ratnayake retires at the end of next month (December) after a long tenure in the company, making way for a new team to take over the reins at the country’s largest listed conglomerate. “As announced in the Group’s succession plan, I will be retiring on the [...]
New EXCO for Sri Lanka’s Gem and Jewellery industry
The apex body of the gem and jewellery industry of Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka Gem and Jewellery Association (SLGJA), recently appointed the new governing body consisting of many stalwarts from the industry. The committee to handle the industry’s symbolic event, FACETS, was also announced simultaneously. Newly-appointed Chairman of the Sri Lanka Gem and Jewellery [...]
LAN’s Murali Sundar, Platinum Sponsor for Yarl Geek Challenge Season 7
Longtime Lankan Angel Network (LAN) member Murali Sundar, through his Canada-based multinational company Marcatus QED Inc, has signed on as the Platinum Sponsor for Geek Challenge (YGC) Season 7, which concludes with a Grand Finale in Colombo on November 17. This annual start-up competition, organised by the Yarl IT Hub, recently held its semi-finals in [...]
Technology advancement to benefit the deaf community in Sri Lanka
The human family is a combination of the healthy and the disabled and among the disabled are different categories such as physical, mental, aural and visual. Though these handicapped persons are part and parcel of the one human family they sometimes appear to be a burden for the society. Among the handicapped, when one speaks [...]
Martin Bauer Group, Hayleys to jointly serve high quality tea extracts
Sri Lankan multinational Hayleys PLC and Germany’s botanicals giant Martin Bauer Group (MBG) have announced a historic joint venture partnership in Hayleys Global Beverages (Pvt) Ltd (HGBL). Established in 2016, HGBL is among Sri Lanka’s most sophisticated manufacturers of authentic Pure Ceylon Tea extracts – primarily in the form of powders, concentrates aromas and flavours. [...]
Cargills Bank reports modest quarter in 9-mths results
Cargills Bank has reported a modest post-tax profit of Rs. 71 million for the 9 months ending September 2018, however up sharply by 56 per cent over the corresponding period of last year. This is after discounting the one- off gain of Rs. 481 million from the disposal of its subsidiary, the bank said in [...]
Haycarb: Challenging period ahead from other coconut carbon producers
Sri Lankan multinational Haycarb PLC which reported a post-tax profit of Rs. 428 million for the six months to end September 2018, sharply higher by 70 per cent from the corresponding period in 2017, said on Thursday that the company was going through a challenging period owing to increased competition from other countries. “Though we [...]
JF Packaging ‘Most Awarded Packaging Company’ at Lanka Star Awards – 2018
JF Packaging (Pvt) Ltd, a forerunner in Sri Lanka’s flexible packaging industry, received the Platinum award for securing the highest number of awards at the recently concluded Lanka Star Awards for 2018, organised by the Sri Lanka Institute of Packaging. The company was awarded a total of 11 awards which included 2 Gold awards, 4 [...]
Debt Repayment Levy on banks, financial institutions
Banking and finance transactions have witnessed various taxes from time to time including Stamp duty, Debit tax (operative from 2002 to 2011). In 2011, pursuant to the Presidential Taxation Commission, Debit Tax was abolished interalia as a measure of simplification of the tax system in Sri Lanka. Banks and financial institutions (FI’s) at present attract [...]
Construction sector shares see more retail interest
Retailers gambling on an impending construction boom under the newly appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa generated retailer interest late last month on construction sector stocks. Access Engineering PLC (Access) and MTD Walkers PLC (MTD) shares were up sharply in early trade on Colombo bourse on October 29 and they have generated retailer interest upto now, [...]
Banks tighten credit to real estate, construction sectors
Banks have stiffened credit standards on real estate and construction lending, countering a rise in non-performing loans in the two sectors that have been critically affected by the slowdown of the economy. “All banks have clamped down on lending,” a property developer told the Business Times. A top commercial banker confirmed this saying that most [...]
Condo builders to increase prices
The impact of the US dollar hike has forced Sri Lanka condominium developers to jack up apartment prices. Most builders are trying to keep their heads above water now and the only way to do is to raise prices of the condos, an apartment developer told the Business Times. As much as 40 per cent [...]
UDA acronym shouldn’t change to Urban Destruction Authority:Residents
Residents of Initium Road Dehiwela charge that Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council (DMMC) has approved an illegal condominium building. The resident has said he is inconvenienced by this as on the Western side of his boundary, a high rise with four floors obstructing cross ventilation and sunlight is coming up. In 2014, the DMMC approved a [...]
Vital steps needed to make property more affordable
Property prices soaring in value and being unaffordable to many isn’t something unique to Sri Lanka. However, many other countries have come up with solutions to make property buying affordable to the public and Sri Lanka also needs to look into these possibilities to accommodate the growing housing needs of the country. Some brief facts [...]
NSB reaches milestone in $100 m deal
National Savings Bank (NSB) recently raised a US$ 100 million loan facility supported by Germany-based Commerzbank AG. “The excellent relationship that NSB enjoys with its banking partners has allowed NSB access to a competitive interest rate despite the current global trend of interest rate increases. The facility was arranged jointly by Alpen Capital of Dubai [...]
Treasury Sec. gives RPCs options to hike estate wages
Treasury Secretary Sajith Attygalle has asked plantation companies to pick one of the options submitted by him to ensure that estate workers are paid Rs.1000 as demanded by them. Mr. Attygalle is said to have summoned Employers Federation Corporation (EFC) Director General Kanishka Weerasinghe and given a number of suggestions on how to reach the [...]
Price of a Parliamentary seat
The dollar costs Rs.177 and is galloping fast and could reach about Rs.200 by Christmas. For the poor man this will be a bleak Christmas. To the politicians that is nothing. He is given a car permit which fetches Rs.75 million and perks which takes him/her to the Seventh Heaven while a poor tea estate [...]
Intex South Asia apparel fair next week
The textile and apparel manufacturing industry from across the globe meets next week in Colombo at Intex South Asia – the biggest international apparel textile sourcing show in the South Asian region. The organiser said the success of Intex South Asia 2017 has resulted in the 2018 edition of South Asia’s largest textile sourcing show [...]
‘Call to Donate’ CSR initiative from Sri Lanka Insurance
For every missed call given to 1357 Sri Lanka Insurance (SLIC) will donate Rs.10 to the Paediatric ward of Apeksha Cancer Hospital, the company said in an announcement this week on its CSR initiative. SLIC said the campaign was launched on November 1 and continues with enormous success urging Sri Lankans to join hands with [...]
Hemas Hospitals sells its southern hospital to Asiri Hospitals
Hemas Hospitals has announced the sale of Hemas Southern Hospital to Asiri Hospitals for Rs.450 million, a move the company said is a “significant step to intensify their growth strategy and new business lines. “We identified Asiri Group of Hospitals as the best fit due to their capability of providing high quality patient care and [...]
AIA partners with Sampath Bank for insurance premium payments
AIA Insurance Lanka PLC has entered into a strategic partnership with Sampath Bank PLC on insurance premium payments to enhance customer convenience. Appointing Sampath Bank as its payments channel in Sri Lanka, AIA has opened up a wide mix of the bank’s physical and digital touchpoints to its policyholders and Wealth Planners. They will now [...]
New research shows cheaper to buy new PC against maintaining old PC
Singapore: Microsoft and Intel recently unveiled new research from Techaisle, a leading global SMB IT market research and analyst organisation, which highlighted the opportunities that Asia Pacific’s SMBs have by upgrading to modern devices at work. The study, which surveyed 2,156 SMB (small and medium-sized) organisations across Asia Pacific, found that the cost of keeping [...]
Australian philanthropist sponsors water purification for 100 villages
Scott Walker, a successful businessman and entrepreneur from Australia who first visited Sri Lanka in 2010, has been involved in many charitable activities since then. Like most good things, his introduction to Sri Lanka also happened by chance. He was en route from Australia to England on a ship when they docked on the island [...]
CSE, GRI collaborate to foster transparency and sustainability
The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has announced the next round of workshops on corporate transparency and sustainability to be conducted in partnership with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The workshops will be held on December 4-5 at the Ramada Colombo. These interactive workshops, which will be exclusive to representatives of companies listed on the CSE, [...]
Employment: Is it imperative for today’s youth?
A strange, inexplicable situation that had started creeping up slowly is now progressing rapidly: Young people are appearing to be shying away from work. The initial rush of interest in applying for a position that may be advertised or heard of through the grapevine suddenly dwindles, sometimes with the first interview after sending in a [...]
Abans Finance on a journey of digital transformation
Abans Finance PLC, a fully-owned subsidiary of the Abans Group, recently won many accolades for projects undertaken and successfully completed its digital transformation drive. The company, established in 2006, in a media release said it took a major leap in its Digital Transformation journey during the years 2017/2018 in keeping with the evolving global trends [...]
Floriculture industry blossoms in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka exports just a fraction of the total world flower market, but the country’s floriculture industry is gearing up to expand the business overseas by canvassing more orders for local flora and fauna varieties, official sources said. The island nation is exporting a variety of floriculture products including Anthuriums, orchids, roses and some ornamental [...]
CB’s 8th edition of “A Step by Step Guide to Doing Business in Sri Lanka”
The eighth edition of “A Step by Step Guide to Doing Business in Sri Lanka,” published by the Central Bank has been released. It has been categorised under three main chapters; ‘Starting a Business’, ‘During the Business’ and ‘Other Activities’, and contains useful information for the business community, potential entrepreneurs, foreign investors and investment promotion [...]
New investment to boost cargo handling at Hambantota International Port
The Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG) has made yet another investment to further develop the operations of the Hambantota International Port. The latest investment of over US$600,000, was made for the purchase of 40-foot Ro-Ro trailers with goosenecks (to allow efficient maneuverability), break-bulk lifting gear, detachable goosenecks, and a turbo safe-neck system. Some of the [...]