Bagged coconut
For a group of men in Kirulapone, Colombo scraping and selling grated coconut on the spot holds the key to a better fortune, as this picture shows. Around 200 to 300 people mostly busy office- goers visit the place daily to buy freshly shredded coconut packed in bags after scraping paying Rs. 5 per coconut. [...]
New baggage security checks next year at BIA
Sri Lanka’s international airport at Katunayake will be falling in line with the globally accepted baggage check-in systems by mid 2020. It will adopt the worldwide accepted system of inline baggage handling system where the baggage of passengers passes a security check at only the airline check-in point, an airport official told the Business Times. [...]
Mahapola Trust Fund comes under fire over controversial investments
The Mahapola Higher Education Scholarship Trust Fund established three decades ago in 1981 by then Education Minister Lalith Athulathmudali to assist the needy university students has come under fire over its controversial past and present investments. The Trust Fund has invested in a partly state-owned leasing and finance company violating the Cabinet decision of August [...]
CSE demutualisation gets Cabinet nod
The Cabinet has agreed to transform the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), now a non-profit organisation owned and managed by its members, to a profit oriented shareholders-owned company. Demutualisation is the process by which an existing member-owned, mutually operated, non-for-profit stock exchange is changed into a shareholder-owned, commercially operated, for-profit corporate entity. It segregates ownership and [...]
National minimum wage to be increased
Sri Lanka’s national minimum wage per month for private sector workers is to be increased to Rs.12,500 from the current Rs. 10,000 with effect from May 1. This assurance was given by Labour Minister Ravindra Samaraweera at a special meeting on Tuesday of the National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC). Thus, once the gazette is issued [...]
State funds for pilot project to draw power from the sea
A pilot project to harness electricity from sea energy will get underway immediately after the Minister of Power and Energy Ravi Karunanayake accepted the challenge thrown down by inventor Duncan Wickramasinghe that he will be able to generate energy from wave power. Mr. Wickramasinghe had charged successive governments in the past of ignoring proposals presented [...]
Avurudu blues
The air is fresh, as I step outside to absorb the silence. Except for the rustling of the leaves, the Margosa tree is silent — in the absence of the usual, under-the-tree conversation of Kussi Amma Sera, Serpina and Mabel Rasthiyadu. The trio has returned to the village for their annual vacation. Except for the [...]
Cigarettes, liquor and passports
There are a few commodities that are targeted quite often in preparing revenue proposals of the government budget. Among them, cigarettes and liquor have been most common. Traditionally, both traders and consumers anticipating tax increases on cigarettes and liquor, begin to respond even before the day of the Budget Speech. Consumers would rush to the [...]
Coffee brews herbal remedies
Coffee is a reminder of the aroma of a wonderfully brewed drink that is so unique and now that has been given a new name with a herbal addition by a new Sri Lankan entrepreneur looking to attract a niche market for her beverage. The addition of cardamom, coriander and ginger to the coffee has [...]
HNB launches a new product for entire family this Avurudu season
HNB PLC has announced the launch of its radical revamp to its General and Minor Accounts, Avurudu Savings Promotions with the introduction of a first-of-its-kind 50 per cent interest free cash advance on deposits made with the bank during the month of April in addition to a special range of gifts and vouchers for Singithi [...]
IFS net revenue soars beyond $600m in 2018
Global software firm IFS has closed the 2018 fiscal year with record-making growth that has seen it outpace its peers by a factor of three. The company announced that net revenue was up 23 per cent YoY. Cloud and SaaS revenue increased +300 per cent YoY. licence revenue +22 per cent YoY, maintenance revenue +13 [...]
Savoy makes 200 kids happy
To put a smile on a child’s face is something we all love to do. Savoy Cinemas did just that on Saturday March 30, inviting 200 children to enjoy a day at the movies to the Savoy Premier Cinema in Rajagiriya to watch Disney’s, Dumbo The Flying Elephant. The children from the Voice Foundation, SOS [...]
100 MW floating solar power plant to ease power shortage
A 100 MW floating solar power plant is to be built at the Maduru Oya reservoir with Canadian assistance as a remedy to power outages during drought periods, Power and Energy Minister Ravi Karunanayake said. He made this revelation following a ceremony organised in connection with the signing of the relevant agreement at the Presidential [...]
Political stability vital for an International Financial Centre
Two things vital for the creation of an International Commercial court is the usage of English Law that has to be looked into first. Most international financial centres such as New York, Bombay, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney function on English Law and the other important aspect is the political stability of a country essential [...]
Moratuwa University’s CAR moves into top gear
Perhaps, one day, the Centre for Advanced Robotics at the University of Moratuwa might devise a robot capable of lighting an oil lamp. But thankfully it was the human touch that was displayed as the traditional opening ceremony for an interactive discussion on Future Directions of Advanced Robotics in Sri Lanka got underway at the [...]
INSEE Ecocycle provides safe disposal solution for cocaine
Continuing the milestone initiative commenced in January 2018 to eradicate a vital national menace, the sustainable waste management solutions provider INSEE Ecocycle Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, popularly known as INSEE Ecocycle, once again joined hands with the Sri Lanka Police (SLP), Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) and National Dangerous Drugs Control Board (NDDCB), Government Analytical Department (GAD) [...]
Better transportation infrastructure and services? First providers should be customer-friendly and accountable
Quality, availability, cost, safety and numerous other aspects of transportation infrastructure and services are some of the most discussed topics. Academics and experts continue to question the need for expressways and railway expansion. Mattala airport and Hambantota seaport are called “White Elephants” and “Chinese ploys”. People blame growing car-ownership and poor-quality public transportation for traffic [...]
John lures homestays with beer and wine
Tourism authorities are luring unregistered accommodation units like home stays with beer and wine licences to join the formal sector of the industry. With the growing number of informal places that tourists find good to stay in, the government is trying to create a platform and track all of them and ensure they are registered [...]
Uber assures driver safety from errant riders
Uber now rates passengers to ensure safety of its drivers and has updated its guidelines on how both parties need to respect each other for a good riding experience. Safety is a key factor in travelling with a stranger and in this respect Uber has taken several measures to ensure the safety of their drivers [...]
Towards a ‘basic monthly wage’
A lively open discussion was held this week at the ‘Hatch’, a space for start-ups, in Colombo Fort organised by ‘Advocata’ on the topic ‘Should the government give Sri Lanka’s poorest citizens a basic monthly income.’ The idea of a ‘universal basic income’ (UBI) or its variant the ‘basic income guarantee’ is gaining ground as [...]
Suren Cooke team goes on overseas training programme
The programme was related to all aspects of pest control and the proper use of the Sumitomo range of products. The purpose of this training programme was in line with the company’s vision to enhance the quality of the service provided to their clients, the company said in a media statement. Suren Cooke Agencies [...]
SEC confident of bringing crooks to book
Sri Lanka’s stock market regulator says that it will have the last laugh. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC] which has received and still receiving flack for its slow process in bringing stock market offenders to justice says that lay people don’t understand the difficulties in this sector. This statement came from SEC officers on [...]
Plight of the Sri Lankan taxpayer
The Department of Inland Revenue (IRD) has introduced a high tech system called RAMIS which has been in operation for a few years now. However this is full of defects and cannot accommodate a simple requirement to set off overpayment of taxes against taxes due even after establishing genuine over payment. There is no facility [...]
Innovative technology of Gerber to quicken production process
Gerber Technology has arrived in Sri Lanka to help companies accelerate their production process in the progress to profitability. “We are here to support you and partners and we are very excited to see the opportunities available in Sri Lanka. We have 78,000 customers in 130 countries globally and 30 of the top 50 global [...]
CB concern on eligibility of investor eyeing F&G
Disgruntled depositors of the defunct F and G Group of companies (F and G Real Estate and F and G Property Developers) have been protected following observations made by the Central Bank (CB) on the investment proposal submitted to acquire the two entities by a joint venture firm. The CB has submitted its observations to [...]
Treasury grapples with how to fund state employee pay hike
The Treasury is grappling to find additional revenue to pay public sector salaries as 1.5 million employees would receive a wage hike shortly, official sources said. The country’s recurrent expenditure on public sector salaries and pensions will account for 45 per cent of the government’s revenue this year. The 2019 budget has allocated Rs.40 billion [...]
Warning on “Warranty on Brand New Cars”
We see quite a number of advertisement in the press, enticing the public that most of the new cars purchased will carry a 3 year/100,000 km warranty. Due to a similar advertisement for a locally assembled car, I purchased a car in 2011, which adhered to it, i.e. (a bumper to bumper warranty) and I [...]
Treasury to streamline cash flow
An action plan is to be implemented by the Department of State Accounts in the Treasury to record all non-financial assets of the government and strengthen the declaration of Sri Lanka’s financial position, official sources said. The improved modified cash basis in the public sector which is followed now will be converted into the accounting [...]
Newton Lanka proves its mettle at SLIM Digi 2018
Young, yet empowered by multi-folds of experience in digital content creation, Newton Lanka turned heads and created a buzz when their names were called up five times at the recently concluded SLIM Digi 2018. Newton Lanka won awards for Best Use of Mobile for Marketing – Bronze Award for Dandex Freedom Run campaign, Best Digital [...]