Impact on tourism
Sri Lanka Tourism Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management Chairman Dilip De Silva (extreme left) conducting a panel discussion on Wednesday on the Easter Sunday incidents and impact on HR in the hospitality sector. Seated from left are The Kingsbury General Manager Christine Chavlez, Tourism Industry Skills Council Chairman T. Packeer, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion [...]
Local Huawei officials and customers reflect confusion
Caught in the middle as the victim of the ongoing trade war between the US and China when US President Donald Trump cracked down on Chinese technology companies, the world’s second-largest smartphone maker Huawei is marking time. Its local officials in Colombo reflected some confusion saying, ‘there’s NO problem’ pertaining to issues relating to the [...]
Tourism PR campaign gets cabinet nod
The much-awaited PR campaign has finally gained Cabinet approval this week, giving a go-ahead to the industry’s strategy to promote the destination and bring back visitors to Sri Lanka. Approval was granted for the implementation of a short term Public Relations programme for a period of 45 days and a six month advertising programme in [...]
New Cyber Security Act soon
In view of growing cyber attacks, online security threats and social media related incidents, the government is set to enact this Cyber Security Act this month to protect critical information infrastructure within Sri Lanka. The proposed Act gives sweeping powers to state cyber agencies and institutions and the Digital Infrastructure and Information Ministry despite concerns [...]
Government can no more borrow from the Central Bank
It has been a very bad practice for decades where the Central Bank (CB) prints money when buying treasury bills from the government as and when the government is short of money. Now cabinet approval has been obtained to put an end to this practice which causes inflation and hurts the balance of payments. This [...]
Adjusting budgetary estimates after Easter terror
Sri Lanka will be making a budgetary review in the second half of this year as government expenditure is expected to rise with payments for compensation and concessions and moratoriums granted mainly to tourism and other sectors affected by Easter terror attacks. “Government will have to re-prioritise expenditure during the second half of 2019 budget [...]
Rescuing small businesses
Serapina happily breezed into the garden, shouting “Avilla … avilla (It has come, it has come)”. Kussi Amma Sera and Mabel Rasthiyadu were already under the Margosa tree just about to sip their cups of tea. “Mokak-da lamayo, aei ke-gahanne? (Why child are you shouting)?” asked Kussi Amma Sera. “World Cup, World Cup avilla,” replied [...]
Losses of squeezing Kandy
One day in early April, Luxman Siriwardena, Executive Director of the Pathfinder Foundation and I were at Peradeniya University. As we left Colombo early morning, we could avoid the traffic flows on Kandy road, and were able to reach Peradeniya University in four hours. But the return trip on the same day afternoon took more [...]
Sri Lanka’s hotel staff retrained, counselled, laid off post 4/21
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry plans to overcome its current crisis within or less than a year’s time while looking at building up on its human resources with over thousands having lost jobs in the wake of the April 21 incident. During a public seminar held on Wednesday on the theme: “4/21 incident and its’ impact [...]
Sunshine sheds tea plantations
Sunshine Holdings PLC, following the sale of its tea business to a Singapore-based firm, will focus on healthcare and consumer goods businesses. Group Managing Director, Vish Govindasamy in a statement said the sale of control of Hatton Plantations to Lotus Renewable Energy (Pvt) Ltd was part of a strategy to re-focus and specialise on healthcare [...]
Piramal turnover crosses Rs.7 bn
Piramal Glass Ceylon PLC (PGC) completed yet another challenging year with its highest ever export turnover, post-tax profit (PAT) of Rs. 346 million and overall turnover crossing Rs. 7 billion. Total revenue achieved for the year was Rs.7,398 million as against Rs.6,816 million the previous year. Domestic revenue remained almost at par with the previous [...]
Government steps up public financial and investment management reforms
Sri Lanka’s public financial and investment management reforms are now being expedited mitigating fiscal risks from large-scale projects. The government is compelled to step up these reforms as the authorities are increasingly concerned about rising debt risks from potential abuses in the implementation of PPP projects, a senior Finance Ministry official said. The ministry is [...]
Innovative Dome house builder seeks investor
Selling an idea, even one that is environment-friendly, low-cost and time-saving, is hard. Just ask Duncan Wickramasinghe, an inventor who has been trying doggedly for many years to get his Dome House project off the ground. The idea: Build low-cost, eco-friendly, disaster-resistant houses which can be put up in two to three weeks. The cost [...]
Cinnamon brand to initiate own marketing efforts after travel advisories are relaxed
While John Keells Holdings (JKH) will play its part in helping the tourism industry and the country achieve a speedy recovery, the group together with the relevant chambers of commerce, is engaging the authorities to urge them to take immediate steps to prevent a recurrence “of such (April 21) heinous acts and ensure regular and [...]
Aitken Spence outperforms industry with 13.8% growth in PBT in 2018/19
Aitken Spence PLC has reported, what it calls, “yet another sustained financial performance” for the 12 months ending March 2019 with a 13.8 per cent year-on-year growth in profit-before-tax from Rs. 6.4 billion to Rs. 7.3 billion, its highest ever. Sri Lanka’s leading conglomerate recorded a steady growth in several key sectors. The conglomerate capitalised [...]
Mega mixed development Cinnamon Life tops off all its buildings
Colombo’s landmark, skyline-transforming development project Cinnamon Life marked a key milestone in its construction this week, with the topping-off of all its towers as well as the luxurious 800-room Cinnamon Hotel building. It took 21 million-man hours across 10 acres of land to deliver the completion of structural work on one of the most iconic [...]
Aitken Spence Printing certified with the world’s leading print facility validation
Aitken Spence Printing & Packaging (Pvt) Ltd has again proved itself as a trendsetter in the industry by obtaining the G7 Master Facility Qualification-Colourspace, the highest level of the G7 compliance and the most stringent. Regional Head of Idealliance for South Asia, K Panthala Selvan stated that: “Aitken Spence Printing is the first in Sri [...]
Trading with the EU bloc more important than with the UK
The European Union (EU) is far more important to Sri Lanka than Britain as the total trade with EU is 28 per cent whereas trade with the UK is around 10 per cent. “Where tourism is concerned 22 per cent of the tourists come from EU and 10 per cent from the UK. However Germany [...]
Book publishers support students affected by bomb blasts
A delegation of the Sri Lanka Book Publishers’ Association (SLBPA) met Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo recently and handed over a donation of Rs. 450,000 as assistance to poor students affected by the bomb blasts in the three churches on April 21. The association also offered six scholarships with a monthly stipend to six [...]
Dilmah voted 5th year in a row by New Zealand as their most trusted tea brand
The New Zealand Readers Digest Trusted Brand Awards are perhaps the most iconic and well known celebration of what New Zealanders really think of the brands they buy. “For Dilmah it’s humbling news to be recognised by the people of New Zealand as their 2019 most trusted tea brand for the 5th year in a [...]
Exporters urged to export more to make up for tourism losses
The Exporters’ Association of Sri Lanka (EASL) is encouraging its members to maximise their exports, mainly in the industrial sector; and in sectors such as fruits, vegetables, and seafood where there could be a surplus of produce due to the drop in tourism. This decision was taken at the EASL committee meeting held recently, where [...]
FIU submits recent suspicious financial transaction reports to CID
The Central Bank has reduced its interest rates loosening the monetary policy by considering current trends in global financial markets, trade balance, and credit growth in the country while strengthening the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) activities in countering the financing of terrorism. The FIU has conducted many investigations into money laundering and terrorist funding and [...]
Gross negligence, manslaughter, criminal negligence and Easter Sunday bombings
Five children got into the CH & FC poll for training. They became sick immediately. They developed difficulty in breathing and were rushed to the National Hospital on May 12. Four were treated and discharged and one child was kept in the ICU. The pool attendant was charged by the Police and the Magistrate remanded [...]
Crisis at finance/lending institutions sanctioned by Commerce Dept.
Majority of Sri Lanka’s rural finance and lending institutions approved by the Department of Commerce under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce are facing a risk to their credit profiles and deposit base due to mismanagement and lack of proper supervision of the administration, a recent government audit inspection discovered. The situation is grave for [...]
SriLankan Airlines to resume services to Karachi
SriLankan Airlines resumed services to Pakistan’s commercial capital Karachi, from June 1. Sri Lanka’s national carrier will operate five weekly flights on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with flights arriving in Karachi at 15:10 hours and departing Karachi at 16:10 hours. In a media release, the airline said that some of the international flights [...]
Strategic Cities Development Project marred with misdeeds moves at snail’s pace
Work on Sri Lanka’s Strategic Cities Development Project covering the cities of Kandy, Galle and Jaffna marred with financial irregularities and deficiencies moves at snail’s pace even after more than three years had elapsed since its launch. This project has been implemented with the aim of improving selected urban services and public open spaces in [...]
Samsung says record breaking sales for the Galaxy S10
Samsung’s Galaxy S10 smartphones have set a new benchmark for performance in Sri Lanka, with its pre order sales of Galaxy S10 going through the roof – recording more than double the sales as compared to S9 and S9+. Samsung is already the preferred smartphone brand in Sri Lanka and by recording more sales than [...]
PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Sri Lanka) eligibility extended until August
The road to gold for Sri Lanka’s finest real estate developers has been extended until the end of August, allowing companies more time to submit their entries for the prestigious real estate honours organised by PropertyGuru, Asia’s leading property technology company. The organisers said in a statement that recognising the year’s most outstanding developers, projects [...]
NITF office relocates
The National Insurance Trust Fund has relocated its head office to 95, Sir Chiththampalam A Gardiner Mawatha, Colombo 2 (next to Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel). All services offered by NITF including Agrahara health insurance claims, Natural Disaster insurance claims, Motor and all other General Insurance services will be handled from this location which has adequate parking [...]