Creative food display
Creative food items on display at the Culinary Art Food Expo 2019 held on October 21 to 23 at the BMICH, Colombo. Pic by Amila Gamage.
Rs.21 bn spent so far; uncertainty looms over Grand Hyatt Colombo
Grand Hyatt Colombo (GHC), a 47 level skyscraper that will house an iconic 5 star luxury class hotel and serviced apartments marred with corruption and controversies during the previous Rajapaksa regime, is an incomplete building even after spending a staggering Rs. 21.6 billion, official statistics showed. The project was earlier estimated to cost around Rs. [...]
Teejay to innovate to expand product portfolio
TeeJay Lanka PLC is working with expert external design consultants to develop innovative fabric in a bid to enhance the company’s product portfolio, officials say. “Materials which come under ‘stretch’ and ‘better moisture management’ were developed and some were picked up by major apparel brands,” Hasitha Premaratne, Director, Teejay Lanka Plc told the Business Times [...]
Public Debt Management Bureau to relieve CB from handling bonds
In the wake of infamous bond scam and ever growing public debt, a Public Debt Management Bureau will be set up under the purview of the Finance Ministry separating the institution from the Central Bank (CB) purview, officials said. The separation of debt and monetary management is aimed adopting professional debt management techniques to save [...]
Gym clothes making its way to high fashion
Gym clothes are evidently making its way out of the gym and becoming a larger ingredient of people’s everyday wardrobes. Infusing prodigious amounts of spandex into modern dress has blurred the lines between yoga-and-spin-class garb and coffee-and-a- muffin clothes while rocking the fashion world. Called Athleisure, it has become such a trend that two years [...]
Vehicle Luxury Tax revised re-introducing CIF value based taxation
The government has revised the luxury tax (LT) formula and is to introduce a LT based on the vehicle manufacturing cost in addition to custom duty if its manufacturing cost (Cost Insurance Freight/CIF value) exceeds Rs.3.5 million. Under this new formula, the LT vehicle import duty will be levied on the basis of engine capacity [...]
Caring for migrant workers
Oops … I have got writer’s block. This sunny Thursday morning after a rainy Wednesday I was staring at the computer wondering with unease what to write. For the first time in many months I was stumped – no topic, no idea for the Sunday column. I then turned towards the Margosa tree looking for [...]
Rural-uprooting and urban-replanting
In 2014, China unveiled a strange urbanisation plan – the National New-type Urbanisation Plan (NUP)–, to accommodate 100 million people in the cities by 2020, and 250 million people by 2026. Where would people in 100s of millions come from in order to dwell in the cities? They would have to come from the remote [...]
Government removes taxes that deter intl.trade
Sri Lanka will be implementing a 5-year strategic plan (2020-2024) in phases ensuring that the products and industries that really need protection are safeguarded. Under this plan, para- tariffs including Special Commodity Levy (SCL) the Ports and Airports Development Levy (PAL) and the Commodity Exports Support Scheme Levy (CESS Levy) will be removed without considering [...]
Aitken Spence Hotels celebrates 14 awards at the South Asian Travel Awards 2019
Aitken Spence Hotels has reaffirmed its position as a trendsetting industry leader in hospitality, achieving the highest number of wins at the recently concluded South Asian Travel Awards (SATA) 2019 – winning six regional awards and eight country awards. Aitken Spence Hotels in Sri Lanka, Maldives and India were recognised in the Gold and Silver [...]
International Conference on Organisational Excellence and Lean Six Sigma
The 2nd International Conference on Organisational Excellence and Lean Six Sigma and the 2nd SSMI Graduation Ceremony, organised by Dr. Mikel J. Harry of the Six Sigma Management Institute Asia (SSMI Asia), is scheduled to be held on October 30 at the Grand Ballroom, Waters Edge, Colombo. This event is expected to see the participation [...]
Lankans queue up for Canadian PR status
While job and business investment opportunities are booming in Canada as per recent statistical data according to a Dubai based permanent residence (PR) consultancy firm, many Sri Lankans have come forward to apply for PR and work permit visas. The Business Times met some of the officials from the Dubai-based Vazir Group in Colombo last [...]
Stay safe during rainy season with Early Warning App
Dialog Axiata PLC has been working for several years with the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) of Sri Lanka and with valuable partners, to minimise the adverse impact of extreme weather. The Disaster Emergency Warning Network (DEWN) mobile application proactively alerts the public of the likelihood of extreme weather, along with providing them with the knowledge [...]
LOLC Finance wins big in digital banking at Technnovation awards
Sri Lanka’s Non-Banking Financial Institution (NBFI) giant, LOLC Finance PLC which is renowned for offering cutting-edge digital banking solutions, bagged two of the topmost awards at the recently held LankaPay Technnovation Awards 2019. LOLC Finance proved its prowess yet again in the digital banking sphere, competing against prestigious banks and NBFIs to gain these top [...]
Special award given to Kelani Cables PLC at the National Quality Awards
Kelani Cables PLC, the company that produces the number one secure power and telecommunication cables and enamelled winding wires in Sri Lanka, was conferred with a special award at the recent ‘National Quality Awards – 2019’ organised by the Sri Lanka Standard Institute. This special award was presented in appreciation of Kelani Cables PLC winning [...]
Notice of cancellation of failed TFC licence
The Central Bank (CB) on Wednesday issued a notice of cancellation of the licence of the failed The Finance Company (TFC), in trouble since the collapse of the Ceylinco Group empire, and now totalling a monthly loss of Rs. 200 million. The October 23 notice issued by the Monetary Board is aimed at protecting the [...]
Advantis Engineering involved in modular construction at Jaffna International Airport
Advantis Engineering, an industry leader in rapid, innovative, bespoke space solutions which are a step ahead of its time, utilised its technical expertise in large scale modular construction to facilitate the design, fabrication and assembly of critical infrastructure facilities at the Jaffna International Airport (JIA) in Palaly, including the airport terminal, air traffic control observation [...]
Local construction players should be more professional
Construction is a tough industry for sure which has seen much growth during its glory days in the past few years. But it’s limping now and Sri Lanka’s general situation of socio-economic stress, chronic resource deficiencies, institutional failings and a general inability to deal with the key issues call for a more professional approach in [...]
Hayleys Plantations’ management team returns from AOTS- Japan training programme
A group of 25, corporate leaders and best-performing employees in estate management from Sri Lanka’s leading regional plantation company, Hayleys Plantations, recently returned home after completing the acclaimed AOTS-Japan training programme. Organised by the Association for Overseas Technical Corporation and Sustainable Partnership (AOTS)-Japan, the highly specialised management and leadership development training programme is customised for [...]
Stafford and Chan celebrates 25 years of global corporate training and coaching
Stafford and Chan, the leading training, talent development and coaching company based in Singapore since 1994 with offices in Hong Kong, Mauritius and Sri Lanka, is celebrating 25 years of corporate training and coaching in over 20 countries, facilitating over 10,000 multilingual workshops and impacting 100,000 plus participants. The company is an international leader in [...]
Sri Lanka delisted from ‘Grey List’ by global Financial Action Task Force
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global policy setter on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT), has delisted Sri Lanka from FATF’s Compliance Document which is more commonly identified as “the Grey List”. The decision was taken at the FATF Plenary held last week in Paris, the Central Bank (CB) said [...]
WB new target: Cut “Learning Poverty” by at least half by 2030
WASHINGTON – The World Bank last week introduced an ambitious new Learning Target, which aims to cut by at least half the global rate of Learning Poverty by 2030. Learning Poverty is defined as the percentage of 10-year-olds who cannot read and understand a simple story. Using a database developed jointly with UNESCO Institute of [...]
Latest iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max available at Dialog
Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provider and the only authorised eSIM service provider for Apple iPhones in Sri Lanka, has announced pre-orders for the all-new range of iPhones. “The brilliant iPhone 11, and the powerful iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max. Dialog’s offering of 4G VoLTE, VoWiFi and eSIM capabilities are the [...]
Sri Lanka gears for promo push in Germany
Sri Lanka’s tourism promotion bureau has planned out a number of promotional and marketing campaigns in Germany in addition to a host of other strategic plans scheduled for next year. A German delegation from DRV, the German Travel Association held discussions with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) authorities in a bid to finalise [...]
Unpaid work and gender equality: IMF
Unpaid work is an important aspect of economic activity and well-being of individuals. Tasks such as caring for children, the elderly and household chores are indispensable for our daily lives. While unpaid work consumes a significant part of our day, it mostly falls outside the system of national accounts and is not counted as part [...]
Access’ projects at hand worth Rs. 36 bn
Access Engineering PLC’s (AEL) remaining value of ongoing projects is at Rs. 35.8 billion. Out of this, buildings and structures consist of 52 per cent, roads and highways along with water and drainage account for 16 per cent each. The balance is construction material such as concrete and asphalt. This was revealed at a presentation [...]
Havelock City Phase 3 Residential Apartments ready for handover
Havelock City has confirmed that it is ready to hand over the much-anticipated Phase 3 Residential Apartments. The announcement follows the successful, on-schedule completion of Phase 3 construction in August 2019, as well as the Phase 3 development having obtained the Certificate of Conformity (COC) from the Urban Development Authority (UDA), the company said on [...]
EFL 3PL partners with Millennium IT ESP to deliver innovative 3PL solutions
Expert supply chain management is EFL’s forte, driven by its award winning 3PL (Third Party Logistics) solutions, which has a reputation for solutions with extreme agility – most recently demonstrated with a new model initiated for its business with Millennium IT ESP. Through this solution, EFL launched a rapid response service for Millennium IT ESP’s [...]
SL tea producers worry over growing discrepancy between auction price and export prices
The Planters’ Association of Ceylon (PA) has sounded a cautionary note with regard to the health and sustainability of the entire tea industry – including Regional Plantation Companies (RPC), and Government and smallholder sectors at large – as tea and rubber prices at the Colombo auction continuously plummet in 2019. At the start of 2018, [...]
Seylan Bank wins 5 accolades at SLIM NASCO 2019 for second consecutive year
The Sales Team of Seylan Bank won five accolades at the SLIM NASCO Awards 2019, back to back for the second consecutive year. The team brought home 3 Silver awards, 1 Bronze award and 1 merit under the categories of Front Liner, Sales Executive, Territory Manager, National Sales Manager, and Sales Administration respectively, the bank [...]
SLT partners with Kaspersky Lab to provide Cyber Security
Sri Lanka Telecom PLC recently joined hands with South Asian Technologies Pvt Ltd (SAT), sole distributor for Kaspersky in Sri Lanka, to provide seamless cyber security to its clientele across the country. SLT customers now have the opportunity of purchasing – Kaspersky Internet Security, Kaspersky Total Security, Kaspersky Internet Security for Android and Kaspersky Safe [...]