“Crisis in Employment”
The Sunday Times Business Club organised a panel discussion titled “Crisis in Employment” on Wednesday at the Kingsbury Colombo. In the picture from left: Fayaz Saleem, Principal Consultant/MD of Executive Search; Rozaine Cooray, Business Psychologist and founder of Forté Consultancy (covered but shown in inset); Feizal Samath, Business Editor – Sunday Times; and Isuru Tillakawardana, [...]
Foolproof sticker for liquor bottles yet under review
The much-delayed, ambitious scheme of affixing foolproof stickers on legally manufactured liquor bottles is yet under review, following an attempt to hand over the contract to an Indian company, a top official, who declined to be named, told the Business Times. The sticker system announced in the 2016 Budget was scheduled to be introduced with [...]
Development lottery luck by chance via mobile phones
Development Lotteries Board (DLB) is laying the tracks to build 21st century digital infrastructure to sell lottery tickets via mobile phones —just like the way it revolutionised the trade for the first time by introducing instant lottery for Sri Lankans in 1983. With DLB racking up Rs.16.5 billion in sales last year, the company is [...]
BPPL plans regional expansion
BPPL Holdings PLC, makers of sanitary and janitorial products, is aiming for growth through their new yarn plant this year while aiming to go to other regional places to offer solutions to plastic waste issues, officials say. Being a solutions provider to plastic waste has bode them well as their quest to make plastic that [...]
Airlines crash land on ticket sales
A proposal to fix airline ticket sales in dollars, in the wake of the continued rupee fluctuation, has run into a storm of protests by industry stakeholders with SriLankan Airlines being blamed for supporting foreign carriers in this move. Civil Aviation Authority Director General H.M.C. Nimalsiri told the Business Times that about two weeks back [...]
BMICH on Rs.300 m upgrade
Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), the country’s key conference and exhibition facility in Colombo, will undergo a Rs.300 million upgrade, its Director General Sunil Dissanayake said. He told the Business Times that the money would be allocated for the upgrading of the facility including purchasing new equipment and refurbishing the centre during the course [...]
Rendezvous with tea
It was just two years ago that Sri Lanka celebrated the 150th year of tea after Scotsman James Taylor planted the first tea seedlings at Loolecondera estate in Galaha in 1867. There were year-long celebrations to mark the event, here and abroad. So tomorrow, when the country marks the 71st year of independence from British [...]
Jaggery from termite mounds
Little Subangi got excited when she came to know that jaggery could be made from termite mound clay! So far she had known that clay could be used to make little things for herself to play with, such as toy birds and toy animals. There was another reason for little Subangi to be excited about [...]
Sri Lanka undergoes stringent EU GSP + monitoring process
The European Union (EU) has voiced concern over the slowdown in the progress of the government’s far reaching reforms and its commitments made to regain General System of Preferences (GSP +) facility. There was a significant acceleration in fulfilling major obligations under GSP + during the early period of the good governance government which took [...]
Policy implementation and proper regulation, the need of the hour in energy sector
While decision-making has become a challenging task when ministerial portfolios keeps changing time to time, the power and energy sector faces severe consequences moving forward. Sri Lanka is trying to go green but just like in Germany it necessarily takes policy implementation, proper regulation and infrastructure, German Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives, John Rohde [...]
Maxims Holdings aims at three different businesses
Maxims Holdings, a diversified Board of Investment (BOI) company has big plans for three big ventures, on the back of opening its brand new futuristic warehousing complex at Mulleriyawa on Tuesday. Dr. Saman Weerasinghe, Chairman Maxim Holdings Private Limited told the Business Times on the sidelines of this opening that Maxims Group will be partnering [...]
Crafting a future for new hotel recruits
Training to become an hotelier can be a challenging task even to the trainer. Sri Lanka has done much through its key state institute to provide a modern curriculum and improve on the programmes made available to students wanting to get ahead in this industry. Former chairman of the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and [...]
Healing powers of hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy is the use of water, either internally or externally, to maintain health and prevent disease. Although it was the Romans who introduced spas throughout the Roman empire, modern hydrotherapy is commonly attributed to Father Sebastian Kneipp (1821-97), who believed that water would ‘dissolve, remove and strengthen’. Dissolve matter-containing disease, remove diseased matter from the [...]
New project to protect Sri Lankan migrant workers
The need of the hour is to ensure safe passage and protection of Sri Lankan migrants to West Asia and while guiding them to choose the correct path when migrating, said the Minister of Telecommunication, Foreign Employment and Sport, Harin Fernando at a Media briefing held the Duncan White Auditorium of the Sports Ministry this [...]
Stock market has potential to create wealth for stakeholders – CSE chief
Top stock market officials stressed the importance of the role of the stock exchange in creating wealth for issuers and investors and creating value for its intermediaries such as stockbrokers. “For his process of wealth creation to happen all stakeholders must come together to make the market work,” Ray Abeywardena Chairman Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) [...]
Sri Lanka to see brightly coloured mini cab service replacing tuk-tuks
Sri Lanka is set to see brightly coloured mini cab service replacing tuk-tuks in another ambitious initiative of the Finance Ministry after several of its earlier unsuccessful attempts to curtail three wheeler imports. The New Year will witness, a considerable number of three wheel owners stepping into mini cab services with the financial facility being [...]
Booking Mahindra e2O on Takas.lk
Ideal Motors (Pvt) and Takas have announced their tie-up to offer online booking of Mahindra e2O. In its endeavour to meet the future ready aspiration of its customers and provide innovative solution, this is one of the industry’s first initiative on one of the largest e-commerce companies in Sri Lanka, Takas.lk said in a media [...]
2018 Jeep Compass gets considerable customer response
The 2018 Jeep Compass SUV 2018 fetches considerable customer response following its launch in Sri Lanka recently under the auspices of its sole authorised general distributor Diesel and Motor Engineering PLC (DIMO). This jeep made by American automobile giant Fiat Chrysler is now running on Sri Lankan roads attracting the attention of SUV enthusiasts, officials [...]
Carmart expands dealer network to Kandy, Batticaloa
Carmart, Asia’s longest running importer and Sri Lanka’s only authorised importer for Peugeot vehicles, is expanding its reach island-wide with two new dealerships in Kandy and Batticaloa, company officials said. Reaching vehicle enthusiasts in the hill country and the East Coast, these new dealerships are the first step to expanding the reach of its flagship [...]
Euro 4 fuel rule threatens car import industry
The Government’s action of leapfrogging fuel emission standards to Euro 4 for newly imported vehicles has disrupted the local auto industry, vehicle importers alleged. Importers are worried that Euro 4 fuel standard for vehicles will reduce used imports to a great extent. Basically, car and truck importers will be limited to importing vehicles no less [...]
Carbon tax disparity affects middle class car owners
Sri Lankan motorists are compelled to pay a carbon tax under the blue green economy proposal of 2018 budget aimed at reducing environmental pollution and ecological imbalances with effect from January 1 this year. While welcoming the move aimed at environmental conservation, motor traders said that the measure will push vehicle prices up and depress [...]
Human-elephant conflict: Kenyans use bees to drive away elephants
In Kenya, which is grappling with the human-elephant conflict just like Sri Lanka, bees and their humming, setting up bee hives and even placing bees humming recordings in vantage points are used to scare off elephants. The hives are connected to each other with strings and when the elephant penetrates the strings, the bees get [...]
Tourism development should precede proliferation of star class hotels
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry has contributed immensely to the economic development by attracting investment and generating employment in the country. “However according to what I witness today the star class hotel industry has developed instead of the tourism industry as a whole. I feel that there is no development of the tourism industry in the [...]
Sampath clarifies on fraud
A financial irregularity at Sampath Bank that started nearly one and a half years ago culminated with two senior staff members being arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department mid last month. The victims of the fraud say their cheques and the slips amounts were manipulated and balances were added as Overdrafts (ODs) but during an [...]
500th loan under Enterprise Sri Lanka
The dream of every entrepreneur is to see their business reach the apex of the ladder of success. Enterprise Sri Lanka “Thurunu Diriya” loan scheme of the Bank of Ceylon (BOC) opened up a great opportunity for young entrepreneurs to develop their business and make their dreams come true with a success story of the [...]
Japan lures Lankans to land of Sakura
Sri Lankans travelling to Japan has been on the rise in the past few years and authorities believe this is a new growth market that they need to tap through the Japan Travel Fair to be held here for the second consecutive year on February 9. Japanese tourism authorities from the Japan National Tourism Organisation [...]
North-East public servants lauded during conflict duties
The horrors of the near 30 year-old ethnic conflict was reminisced, by a veteran, retired civil service officer when he explained how public servants managed admirably in the North and East of Sri Lanka. Lionel Fernando, a reputed public servant and a former secretary to several ministries and a diplomat, was making the keynote speech [...]
Lanka Property Show: Property solutions under one roof
Sri Lanka’s flagship real estate event of the year, the Lanka Property Show 2019 will return for the 4th successive instalment on February 9-10 at the Kingsbury Hotel’s Balmoral Hall. The event is organized by LankaPropertyWeb, the leading property portal of the country. The Lanka Property show 2019 is ideal if you’re interested in joining [...]
Ceylinco General announces premium income of Rs. 19.1 billion in 2018
Sri Lanka’s insurance giant, Ceylinco General Insurance Ltd., reported strong results for the financial year end December 2018, reporting premium income of Rs. 19.1 billion, up by Rs. 1.2 billion in 2017. Announcing the details of the impressive performance, Patrick Alwis, Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer of Ceylinco General Insurance, said: “This performance is [...]