Former minister presents awards
One of the recipients of an award receiving it from former Tourism Minister John Amaratunga at the state tourism awards presentation on Thursday after Chief Guest President Maithripala Sirisena skipped the event. Pic by Nisal Baduge
Public officials threaten to ignore Presidential orders
Sri Lanka’s public services – functions of ministries, corporations, and department’s state institutions and statutory boards have been hampered as the entire state machinery is now without a proper authority as a result of the current political instability, a group of senior public officials disclosed. A majority section of high ranking public officers serving in [...]
35 % interest rate cap on Lanka’s microfinance industry
The Central Bank (CB) has introduced a maximum rate of interest for microfinance loans with the aim of protecting customers from being charged exorbitant interest rates on microfinance loans granted by Licensed Finance Companies (LFCs). LFCs are barred from charging a rate exceeding 35 per cent per annum inclusive of all other charges on micro-finance [...]
US dollar eases against rupee
Lower import demand saw the US dollar ease against the rupee by 40 to 50 cents on Friday in the local money markets, dealers said. The interbank dollar selling rate was pegged at Rs. 178.50-Rs. 178.60 with dealers saying most imports for the December season was already transacted earlier, reducing pressure on the local currency. [...]
Vote on Account uncertain
The next Parliamentary session is scheduled to be held on December 12 and thereafter only 19 days (including Christmas holidays) left to conduct a debate and pass it in Parliament, Parliamentary office sources said. In this context, it is very remote that the Government – without a majority – will be able to get a [...]
Some traders buying stocks in anticipation of Parliament dissolution
Despite the country being gripped by a constitutional face-off Colombo’s share investors propped the market up marginally for most of the week but it ended mixed on Friday amidst attractive valuations and certain traders’ hope of the court holding with the dissolution of Parliament decision, analysts said. For more than a month the market has [...]
Counting the costs
It was bright and sunny this Thursday morning and Kussi Amma Sera and her buddies – Serapina and Mabel Rasthiyadu (the down-the-road gossip) – were in a good mood, laughing and cracking jokes, while reading the daily Lankadipa newspaper. They appeared to be reading the gossip column in the newspaper and giggled and laughed their [...]
Export or perish
Last week one of my friends from Delhi University – Dr. Mihir Pandey, was making arrangements with the SriLankan Airlines office in Delhi to purchase a few tickets for the Delhi-Colombo flight. Since he had also kept me in the loop of their email correspondence, I also happened to receive their mails and, occasionally I [...]
SL apparel industry diversifies identity in new logo
Sri Lanka’s apparel industry last week unveiled a new logo signifying its diversity through the depiction of a number of colours on the lion’s mane. During the launch of the new logo at the 15th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) the industry also unveiled its new website at the [...]
Berendina and Give2Lanka aim to assist 10,000 school children by 2020
Berendina Employment Centre (BEC), an NGO and a subsidiary of Berendina Group, recently awarded educational scholarships to a group of children starting with General Certificate of Examination (GCE) and Advanced level from the Hatton district. BEC, one of thre NGOs’ of the Berendina Group, works closely with Give2Lanka. Collectively, they provide assistance and guidance to [...]
FineTech hosts top CIOs to Google Cloud Summit
As the world evolves to embrace digitalisation as a norm, the world’s best search engine Google is at the forefront of helping individuals and organisations to get on the bandwagon of “going digital”. Google’s largest local partner in Sri Lanka since 2010, FineTech Consultancy has followed suit in helping both the government and private sector [...]
Ambeon launches Executive Development Programme with PIM
Ambeon Group, a leading multi-discipline conglomerate, recently launched an Executive Development Programme (EDP) aided by the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM), the nation’s management mentor. Especially tailor-made for the Ambeon Group, this programme was designed by PIM to provide a rich learning experience, helping to develop the managerial and strategic level competencies needed for sustenance, [...]
Recognising the vital role of a strong public sector in the achievement of Sri Lanka’s ambitious development goals
Citra, Sri Lanka’s first Social Innovation Lab, through a partnership with the Ministry of Public Administration and Law and Order, co-developed and conducted a 5-day ‘Foresight and Innovation for Public Service Excellence’ training in October. This programme was done in collaboration with the Presidential Secretariat, the Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration (SLIDA) with technical [...]
Fitch downgrades SriLankan Airlines, SLT
Fitch Ratings on Wednesday downgraded the rating on SriLankan Airlines Ltd’s US$175 million government-guaranteed bonds due in June 2019 to ‘B’ from ‘B+, and also Sri Lanka Telecom. This follows the downgrade of Sri Lanka’s Long-Term Foreign and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings to ‘B’ with a Stable Outlook. The national carrier’s bonds are rated at [...]
CB rejects rating agencies’ latest rating decisions downgrading Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka has rejected the country downgrading by Fitch Ratings and Standard and Poor’s (S&P) with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CB) saying these are “based on uncorroborated facts on the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals.” In spite of the recent developments in the country’s political sphere, an array of measures have been taken by the [...]
Mahaweli Water Security advertising contract goes to unsolicited bidder
Faced with diminishing levels of water storage in Sri Lanka in the foreseeable future, a massive advertising campaign is to be implemented under the Mahaweli Water Security Investment Programme (MWSIP), officials of the Mahaweli Development Ministry said. The government would be spending millions of dollars on this with the aim of increasing water conservation Mahaweli [...]
Hope Cookies: Spreading love and hope for the differently-abled
At a factory situated on the outskirts of Kaduwela, a group of unique individuals are busy at work churning out some finely handcrafted confections. All phases of the manufacturing process – mixing, baking and packaging – are done to perfection, ensuring a high quality output. The factory is aptly named ‘Sahan Sevana’ – the home [...]
Colombo Dockyard to build two vessels for Iraqi Port
The Colombo Dockyard PLC (CDPLC) on Tuesday laid the keel to auspiciously commence shipbuilding work on the 60 m Buoy Tender Vessel and the 50 m Twin Hull Catamaran hull Pilot Station Vessel for General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI) as per an agreement signed with Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC) of Japan. TTC is [...]
Fitch downgrades Sri Lanka to ‘B’ with “Outlook Stable”
Fitch Ratings has downgraded Sri Lanka’s Long Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘B’ from ‘B+’, with a “Stable Outlook.” The downgrade reflects heightened external refinancing risks, an uncertain policy outlook, and the risk of a slowdown in fiscal consolidation as a result of an ongoing political crisis following the President’s sudden replacement of [...]
Plantations firm on worker strike, losing Rs.250 m per day
In the wake of an indefinite strike action declared by trade union (TU) leaders from December 4 onwards, the Planters’ Association of Ceylon (PA) firmly reiterated the position of its membership – that a 100 per cent increase in daily basic wages as demanded by the TUs simply cannot be sustained by the industry. “All [...]
President skips state Tourism Awards night
The much-awaited chief guest at the Tourism Awards night, held at the Shangri-La Hotel on Thursday, President Maithripala Sirisena did not turn up for the event with his representative saying it was due to other functions he had to attend. Speculation was rife days prior to the event that the tourism industry was likely to [...]
KPMG and CIMA Diploma in Performance Management
KPMG, in association with CIMA, has announced a co-branded product ‘Diploma in Performance Management’ – a four month programme specially designed for emerging professionals as well as for those with work experience, suited for professionals from all sectors. This course consisting of practical knowledge based on case studies and industrial exposure provided by KPMG, will [...]
Foreign investors experiencing ‘negative impact’ on Sri Lankan business
Three top chambers in Sri Lanka, representing foreign businesses, have expressed concern on the constitutional impasse and political upheaval following the October 26 sacking of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe by President Maithripala Sirisena. In a joint statement, the European Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka, the American Chamber of Commerce and the Delegation of German [...]
Branding concept is catching up in Sri Lanka
He began life as an IT professional but later switched to embark on a different career as a full time advertising professional when he was just 20 years old. Today, Wimukthi Galahitiyawa sits in the board room of Brand Cetrical as one of its director and as a brand strategist to popularise the concept of [...]
Businesses need confidence to survive through the current political unrest
While the country is going through a dilemma of political unrest for over a month, heads of chambers are urging businesses to hold on to the situation and not to lose confidence or hope. Businesses have a very important role to play at times like this when the environment seems to be very uncertain. This [...]
MTI Consulting launches CEO Survey for 2019
For the eighth consecutive year, MTI Consulting will be carrying out the CEO Business Outlook Survey in association with the Wijeya Newspapers Group. The annual survey will be conducted during the last weeks of December 2018, with the results being released exclusively in Wijeya Newspapers during the fourth week of January 2019. Over 200 Sri [...]
Jaffna International Fair: Revival of a once-dead city
The Northern Province, having trade links cut off from the rest of the world and the rest of the country during war time, is now closely linked thanks to the annual 3-day, Jaffna International Trade Fair. Making this observation, K. Poornachandran, former Chairman, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Yalpanam (CCIY), speaking at the launch of [...]
Sri Lanka enters new field of knowledge-based textile garments
Sri Lanka’s apparel industrialists are now exploring new avenues in entering the e-textile and smart clothing global market while promoting quality and fashionable smart garments overseas, the Export Development Board’s (EDB) recent research report revealed. The country has gained the status of the highest per capita apparel exports in the Asian region with an ambition [...]
JAT Holdings celebrates 25 years of transforming spaces
With a promise of “Transforming Spaces”, Sri Lanka’s diversified conglomerate JAT Holdings is celebrating 25 years of transforming lives through its products and services in 2018. Founded in 1993, JAT Holdings started off as a humble start-up and today is a world-renowned stalwart conglomerate, the company said in a media release. From being the pioneer [...]
Cybercrimes on the increase; prevention better than cure
Cybercrimes involving banks are on the increase in a phenomenal proportion the world over and not limited to a particular country, warned an expert on cybercrime detection and application of preventive solutions from India – a large country involving such frauds and crimes, on Monday. The above was revealed by Bharat Panchal, Senior Vice President [...]
EFL facilitates significant cross-border logistics movement between Bangladesh and India
EFL recently achieved a significant milestone in cross-border trade by creating a tailor-made logistics solution and acting as the key facilitator to handle the very first bonded Cross-Border Land-Air Transshipment, on behalf of a leading European retail brand. This alternative efficient gateway was used to strengthen ties between Indo-Bangladeshi trade routes and to enhance the [...]
Verdant Villas in a mission to enable homes
For most aspiring home owners, the move into the city might make for better living conditions or it might make for more challenging conditions. Research by certain builders show that more and more younger and growing families, or those looking for affordable housing opportunities, explore peripheral markets for affordable housing opportunities. This research also shows [...]
Lankans buy more property in Australia than Aussies do in SL
It’s true. Sri Lankans invest 20 times more in Australia than Australians do in Sri Lanka. Latest research shows that over the past three to four years, locals bought more than 100 properties in Australia whereas only five Australians bought properties here. Navin De Silva, Managing Director Grit Property Group, the property investment experts in [...]
JKH/Indra Traders agreement with BOI
Braybrooke Residential Towers (Pvt) Ltd, recently signed an agreement with the Board of Investment for TRI-ZEN a pioneering residential development. The project is a joint venture between JK Land (Pvt) Ltd (subsidiary of John Keells Holdings PLC) and Indra Traders (Pvt) Ltd and the project will be marketed and managed by John Keells under its [...]
Condo sector sales down due to political turmoil
The current political impasse has negatively impacted condominium sales. Last month condo sales were bad and this month, which is the worst month in terms of apartment sales will be worse, builders say. Many builders said that the past month has been especially bad. “We sold eight apartments last month. That is pretty bad (for [...]
Real estate trends to watch out for in 2019 and beyond
With 2019 fast approaching, it’s a good opportunity to see how the real estate market is likely to change in the coming years. While the primary functions of real estate remain the same – i.e. buying, leasing and selling, how it’s done and what people are transacting, is changing. Below are some of the global [...]