Mt. Lavinia’s grand ole lady gets luxury makeover
Sri Lanka’s iconic Mt. Lavinia Hotel besotted with a fairy tale of love, of a Governor and a fair maiden, will become the next grandeur of luxury as it readies for major renovation plans scheduled for 2020. The present Mt. Lavinia Hotel is tipped to commence major renovations scheduled for the summer of next year [...]
More countries fault Ceylon Tea
Sri Lankan authorities are worried over the concerns raised by a number of other countries pertaining to the residue levels found in Ceylon Tea after Japan in 2017, subjected imports to stringent checks. Though the re-introduction of glyphosate on the plantations is likely to bring relief during its absence authorities state that even countries like [...]
Milk powder importers suspend port clearance of stocks
Several leading Sri Lankan milk powder companies have suspended clearing their stocks from the port after discussions this week on prices held with the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) and the Treasury ended in a deadlock. Milk powder companies cannot continue to run their business as the authority is resorting to delaying tactics rather than solving [...]
Non-Cabinet Ministers with limited powers handle key ministries
Sri Lanka government is facing an uphill task of politically controlling the administrative machinery in several state institutions coming under the purview of non-Cabinet ministers owing to their limited powers in decision-making on policy matters, informed official sources said. Five non-Cabinet ministers have been appointed to the subject ministries of Economic Reform and Public Distribution, [...]
Sri Lanka – Singapore FTA in troubled waters
The Sri Lanka – Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA) has run into troubled waters following the startling revelations made by the 5-member Presidential Committee of Experts (CoE) in their 280-page report released recently. Presidential Secretariat sources said that President Maithripala Sirisena has called for the suspension of the agreement pending its revision or abolition, as [...]
Below the belt
A.E. Gunasinghe, widely regarded as the ‘Father of the Labour Movement in Sri Lanka’ must surely be turning in his grave these days (figuratively speaking)! Why? Because his beloved labour movement, including the rights of workers and employees, has been downgraded by the current administration. I didn’t realise this….….and this applies to many in the [...]
Gunsmith W. Thomas and Sons sets sights on quality local air rifles
ON TARGET IN KADAWATHA: Royston Thomas is wearing shorts and a wrinkled tee-shirt. His blue apron is sprinkled with sawdust as he sits behind a machine his fingers working deftly on a spring mechanism, a key component of an air rifle. Although he is the chairman of the only gun manufacturer and gun car centre [...]
“11 independent commissions defunct amidst political drama”
Prof. Ratnajeevan Hoole has lodged a complaint with the Press Complaints Commission of Sri Lanka (PCCSL) that an article published in the Business Times of December 16, 2018 states that the inter-alia, the Election Commission of which he is a Commissioner has been rendered defunct by virtue of their terms expiring on November 19, 2018. [...]
New IT/BPM Industry Annual Compensation and Benefits Study
The Sri Lanka Association of Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM) has released the Compensation and Benefits Study for the IT and BPM industry for the eighth successive year. The study was conducted during September through December with the participation of 54 SLASSCOM member companies. This year’s study was conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which has partnered [...]
New DG at Sri Lanka Standards Institution
Dr. Siddhika G. Senaratne recently assumed duties as the Director General/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI). Dr. Senaratne completed her primary education at Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalya, Colombo and her secondary education at Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo. At the University of Colombo she completed the Bachelor of Science Degree Specialising in Chemistry [...]
SA economics students meeting on Jan. 21 in Colombo
The 15th South Asian Economics Students’ Meet (SAESM – 2019) will be held in Colombo on January 21 at the auditorium of the University of Colombo, School of Computing. SAESM is a well-established regional forum of the South Asian undergraduate students, recognised by the World Bank and other donor agencies, government bodies, corporate sector and [...]
IPS: Research Proposals for SK Memorial Research Grant
The Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS) is calling for proposals for the Saman Kelegama Memorial Research Grant 2019. The Saman Kelegama Memorial Research Grant is an annual, merit-based grant awarded to an outstanding undergraduate studying in a university in Sri Lanka. The grant aims to promote policy entrepreneurs amongst undergraduate students by [...]
George ‘Midas’ Ondaatjie
He stood on the virgin beach of Nilaweli in July 1971 and cast his eyes beyond the sun bathed emerald waters into the horizon. Mihindu Keerthiratne, the enterprising young architect, and a few of us including George’s father AP and wife Christobel was by his side. The foamy waters circled and caressed his feet. The [...]
CB lends Rs 90 bn to Govt. to settle loans
The Central Bank (CB) has subscribed to Treasury bills (T-bills) amounting to Rs. 90 billion so far this month (January) at the request of the Treasury to assist financing needs of the government, it was announced on Thursday. The CB said this was due to the delay in receiving expected foreign currency financing arrangements as [...]
Applications open for CA Sri Lanka’s 2019 Business Plan Competition
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka), is now accepting applications from schools across the country for the 2019 Business Plan Competition, which has built a reputation as an important platform to nurture entrepreneurial skills among the student population. The competition is open to students sitting for the local GCE Advanced [...]
Fortude and Sandbox create Sri Lanka’s largest sand sculpture
Fortude, a global technology solutions provider, in collaboration with Sandbox Consultancy, recently embarked on a team building initiative to create Sri Lanka’s largest documented sand sculpture. The structure was built by Fortude employees and labeled the “100% Zero Carbon Footprint CHIP Challenge”, embodying the company’s core values; Caring, Humility, Integrity and Passion, Fortitude said in [...]
300-strong Chinese trade delegation visits SL
Chinese telecom and IT company – ZTE Internet Culture Media (Beijing) Co Ltd (ZTE) last week hosted a 300-strong Chinese trade delegation at Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo with a resounding Chinese cultural show. According to ZTE, this Chinese Business and Investment Conference aims to strengthen economic and cultural ties between Sri Lanka and China and it [...]
Sri Lanka targets 3 m tourists this year
Tourism and Wildlife Minister John Amaratunga said on Monday that Sri Lanka expects tourist arrivals to top three million this year. Addressing the event held to launch the Wildlife Park Day Entry Digital Permit eService held at the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management auditorium, he said that Sri Lanka is today much [...]
Fire risk in buildings: Awareness seminar on Jan. 29
The Chamber of Construction Industry Sri Lanka (CCI), the apex representative body of the construction industry, has organised a seminar on “Fire risks in high rise buildings” on January 29 at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute. The CCI said it’s a useful seminar for all those concerned as it will involve experts from the UK, [...]
CB to raise $5 bn in next 3 months
The Central Bank is aiming to raise around US$5 billion within the next two months to meet the debt repayments through a combination of funds from India, loans from Chinese banks and local state banks, and an international sovereign bond issue. Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Governor, Central Bank, who said this at a seminar titled “Economy [...]
Bribing politicians and interference in developing countries
When investments are made in major development projects especially in poor countries, the implementing firms or the governments tend to bribe politicians. Such cases make inroads into interference in the democratic process of the recipient country. “Sri Lanka, thus, should not be a playground for these loan awarding agencies,” said Nishan de Mel, Executive Director, [...]
Four firms in talks to list on CSE’s Empower Board
Four companies are in discussions with sponsors regarding going public on the brand new listing platform ‘Empower’ launched last July to develop the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), by the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Officials said CSE will also continue to create awareness on Empower Board’s listing opportunities around [...]
Commercial Bank sees a year of consolidation
The Commercial Bank says it is mighty proud to be the only private Sri Lankan bank with branches overseas. So much so, that their branch in Bangladesh adds 15 per cent to Commercial Bank’s bottomline. “We are very unique as a Sri Lankan private bank. In addition to the branch in Bangladesh we have a [...]
More brokers to temporarily close ops
More stockbroker firms will join Navara Securities (Pvt) Ltd (NSL), TKS Securities, Claridge Stockbrokers and Nation Lanka Equities (Pvt) Ltd (NLL) in temporarily closing their businesses this year, industry sources say. Last January, NSL decided to adopt the Voluntary Inactivation of Business Operations after the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) had decided to prohibit NLL from [...]