Recreating Crescat Mall
The popular Crescat Mall in Colombo will be closed from February for upgrading and renovation. See story on this page. Pic by Priyantha Wickramarachchi.
Apparel industry eyes textile fabric park
Sri Lanka’s apparel industry has plans to attract Chinese, Indian investors to establish a textile processing park as 80 per cent of fabric is today imported in making garments for exports. Sri Lanka Apparel Exporters Association (SLAEA) Chairman Rehan Lakhany told the Business Times that the industry is working together with the Board of Investment [...]
Hambantota Port’s Rs. 179 bn debt falls into black hole
A high level investigation is to get underway into missing money amounting to billions of rupees from the massive Chinese loan obtained for the construction work of the Hambantota harbour, official sources said. Out of the foreign loan obtained for the construction of the harbour, the loan balance amounting to Rs.179.55 billion credited in the [...]
FGLF won’t happen next year
The Fairway Galle Literary Festival (FGLF), which is one of the most anticipated annual literary events in South Asia, won’t be held next year as main sponsors have backed out, organisers say. The Fairway Galle Literary Festival was partnered by SriLankan Airlines and Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) as main sponsors. “We got 40 [...]
CSE on an initial high, whoever wins – Analysts
Colombo’s stock market was sturdy on Friday ahead of Sri Lanka’s looming Presidential election which was held on Saturday with analysts saying that Monday will see a high despite whoever wins, but profit taking will start right after. “Whoever wins on November 16, it was always a pattern of being on a high and rallying, [...]
Crescat Boulevard gets a facelift
The Crescat Boulevard, adjacent to Colombo’s Cinnamon Grand hotel, will be revamped in a few months. A property belonging to the John Keells Group, the shopping mall and food court at Crescat will be shut down for a major re-haul by next February, a John Keells Holdings top official told the Business Times. He said [...]
‘Tax rupees at work’
Some years ago, readers may recall there was a notice, “Your tax rupees at work” at many road works undertaken by the government with World Bank assistance. It was meant to explain to the public how the tax money collected from the public was put to good use by the authorities. I was reminded of [...]
Wedding’s over, marriage begins
“Many would get ready for the wedding, but not for the marriage,” according to quotation from an instructional sermon at the Church. How true is it; on the other hand, how sad is it. Many would prepare for months and years for the “wedding” day. After the wedding day is over, the newly wedded couple [...]
Strong Q3 steadies ComBank Group against external impacts
Significant improvements in the third quarter, which positively impacted its year-to-date performance, have enabled the Commercial Bank Group to post creditable results for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. Commenting on the latest results, Commercial Bank Chairman Dharma Dheerasinghe said: “Conditions continue to be adverse for banking, and the country’s busy political agenda indicates [...]
Government attempting to introduce pricing formula for flour retail
The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) is trying to strike an agreement with wheat flour producing companies for a pricing formula after the regulator started negotiating with them. Currently wheat flour is a controlled item. CAA officials told the Business Times that the Cost of Living (COL) Committee and the Cabinet have recommended a pricing formula [...]
Resilient performance amidst challenges at DFCC Bank
DFCC Bank recorded a profit after tax of Rs. 2,217 million for the period ended September 30, 2019 before the adjustment for the fair value loss on Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC (CBC) in comparison to profit after tax of Rs. 2,723 million recorded in the comparative period. The bank’s profit after tax with the [...]
Hayleys Group reports improved performance in the 2nd quarter 2019/20
The Hayleys Group has posted improvements in turnover, operating performance and overall profitability during the second quarter of 2019/20 supported by the strong performance of its export businesses. The group has recorded an improvement in turnover and operating profit for the 1H of 2019/20, although overall profitability was pressured by an increase in finance costs [...]
Ratnapura resident wins over Rs. 145 m in lottery jackpot
With daily sales of around 2.5 million tickets, rising revenue and a massive network of 2700 sales agents and 14,000 assistants, the Development Lotteries Board (DLB) is reaching new heights during the end of the third quarter of the current financial year. The DLB recorded financial achievements with a turnover of Rs. 12.9 billion during [...]
HNB: Slowdown in imports due to lower vehicle imports
Hatton National Bank PLC (HNB) has posted post-tax profit (PAT) of Rs. 8 billion for the 9-month period ending September 2019 while the group recorded a PAT of Rs. 8.7 billion for the same period. The third quarter of 2019 saw HNB’s profits improving to Rs. 3.2 billion compared to the previous quarters while the [...]
Hayleys Fabric PLC donates Rs. 1.6 m to Little Hearts Project
Hayleys Fabric PLC, joining a growing number of corporate and private donors working to support the healthcare requirements of children diagnosed with Congenital Heart Diseases (CHD) and other critical illnesses, recently donated Rs. 1.6 million to the Little Hearts project, an initiative raising funds to ensure children with heart diseases have access to critical care. [...]
SLI protection for diabetes patients with Comprehensive D+ plan
Diabetes, once considered a disease of the developed world, has become a worldwide pandemic. There is an alarming increase of diabetes in Sri Lanka, where a Colombo urban study shows that 27.1 per cent of the Colombo urban population suffers from diabetes. As the insurer of the nation SLIC said it understands the gravity of [...]
NDB crosses Rs. 500 bn asset base, post-tax profit drops
The National Development Bank PLC has recorded yet another quarter of resilient performance against a challenging operating environment and an industry climate marked by slow growth, recording a pre-tax profit of Rs.7.6 billion, up by 11 per cent from the 2018 July-September quarter. The bank’s post-tax profit however fell to Rs. 3.4 billion, a reduction [...]
Singer Group posts Rs. 27.1 bn revenues in first half
The Singer Group has reported consolidated revenues of Rs.27.1 billion for the first half which ended on September 30, 2019. Under this, Singer (Sri Lanka) PLC which is the main marketing arm of the group, has recorded Rs. 22 billion revenue for the same period which is 3 per cent higher than the same period, [...]
Sri Lanka’s Prosperity Index increased in 2018 with improvements in all provincial indices
The Sri Lanka Prosperity Index (SLPI), increased to 0.783 in 2018 from 0.548 recorded in 2017. All three sub-indices of SLPI, namely ‘Economy and Business Climate’, ‘Well-being of the People’ and ‘Socio-Economic Infrastructure’ contributed to this increase, the Central Bank said in a public announcement on Thursday. The Economy and Business Climate sub-index improved mainly [...]
CB Governor speaks at University of Jaffna event
The University of Jaffna for the first-time in its history hosted a Guest Lecture by the Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy, titled “Strengthening framework for policy formulation to address the Macro-Economic stress which has undermined progress and prosperity in Sri Lanka”, at the Kailasapathy Kalaiyarangam/Auditorium in Jaffna last week. While a senior [...]
Airtel Lanka secures 900MHz spectrum allocation from TRC
Airtel Lanka has announced that it had secured the allocation of 5MHz of the 900MHz spectrum band from the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRC). The allocation was on an “admininstrative basis” and based on a pre-pubished criteria. The criteria mentioned, among other things, “in order to create a level playing field for all [...]
Government incurs heavy losses in state land lease deals
The Sri Lanka government is incurring losses amounting to millions of rupees in the recovery of state land lease payments as a result of weak land administration, the Auditor General’s latest inspection report revealed. Leasing of lands has not been properly managed although the regularly approval of the Cabinet of Ministers had to be obtained [...]
Kishu says “Bye bye” to So Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) Chairman Kishu Gomes has tendered his resignation and has left his post with effect from Friday (November 15). Issuing a statement, Mr. Gomes stated that he will be stepping down “allowing the new government to appoint a new Chairman.” Mr. Gomes had been serving in his capacity for over [...]
Hemas reports losses in 6-mth review
Hemas Holdings PLC witnessed a recovery in Q2 with group revenue up by 19.2 per cent, over Q1 FY20 and operating profit and earnings growing by Rs.662.7 million and Rs.633.1 million. The growth was driven by an improvement in the group’s Consumer and Healthcare businesses and the normal positive seasonal trend at Atlas, Group CEO [...]
EFL 3PL to enhance business visibility with support from Fortude
Expolanka Freight (EFL) has announced a group-wide initiative of incorporating Business Intelligence (BI), commencing with the 3PL Cluster. In hand with implementation partner Intellint, a Fortude brand, the Power BI tool’s proven advanced reporting capabilities will significantly enhance EFL’s business visibility, EFL said in a media release. The move comes on the heels of EFL [...]
Sri Lanka ups its game in advertising at Spikes Festival
Sri Lanka’s name reverberated at the recent Asian advertising awards, Spikes in Singapore, highlighting the country’s prowess in producing the best creative works from their agencies in Colombo. Bagging the highest number of awards for Sri Lanka at this year’s Spikes Advertising Awards in Singapore in what is considered the Asian region’s top awards, a [...]
Gold fragment export racket with official involvement busted
A massive racket of exporting millions of rupees worth gold mixed soil, a byproduct of the jewellery industry with the support of errant officials, has been busted, a recent government audit inspection revealed. The racket has been uncovered after tests were conducted on soil samples from 23 containers that were detained by the Customs. Gold [...]
Dialog’s ‘APPMAKER’ wins top honours at e-Swabhimani Digital Social Impact Awards
‘APPMAKER’, an Android application creation solution by Ideamart, a platform for developers and content providers presented by Dialog Axiata PLC, was adjudged by a grand jury as the winner of the Inclusion and Empowerment category of the recent e-Swabhimani Digital Social Impact Awards. APPMAKER was recognised by the e-Swabhimani Digital Social Impact Awards, hosted by [...]
Forensic audits on bond scam to remain confidential: CB
The Central Bank (CB), acting on the advice of the Attorney General, has decided against releasing to the public the forensic audits undertaken in the CB bond scam and related transactions. In a public statement issued on Tuesday, the CB said that given the nature of these findings, the Monetary Board had sought the opinion [...]
Indigenous medicine rejuvenated globally once again, boost to wellness tourism
WADDUWA – While the global medical tourism market valued at US$16,761 million in 2018 is set to grow to $27,247.6 million by 2024, Sri Lanka is also actively engaged in promoting medical tourism as there is a segment of travellers who are on Ayurveda holiday packages, who are high spender as their packages are combined [...]
Sunshine Holdings adds 2.4MW to the national grid
Sunshine Energy (Pvt) Ltd. (SEL), a fully-owned subsidiary of Sri Lanka’s diversified conglomerate Sunshine Holdings PLC, recently opened its third hydropower plant Elgin in the Lindula Region. Sunshine Energy’s Elgin plant generates 2.4MW, contributing to the national grid.With the addition of the third plant, Sunshine Energy now contributes close to 7MW to the national grid [...]
Non-industry managers bring new expertise and perspectives to AIA Insurance’s PAC Metro
AIA Insurance’s newly opened Premier Agency Circle (PAC) Metro Office at the AIA Tower, Colombo 7 is now hiring non-industry professionals with expertise and experience, so they can use their vast and in-depth knowledge to help customers with financial solutions. This is viewed as a bold move for a traditional industry such as insurance and [...]
Digital technology will replace cross border trade than relocating businesses
The most significant change visible in the coming years will be the shift of the Western economy to Asia and to some degree to Africa and Sahara. With renewable energy gaining ground in the world, Sahara and Africa will end up as the provider of global renewable energy when fossil fuel in West Asia start [...]
Cinnamon garners 204 medals at South East Asia’s biggest hospitality show
The team of Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts grabbed all the honours at the Culinary Art Food Expo 2019 resulting in a monumental win of 204 medals in an event that took place on October 21-23. The hospitality arm of the John Keells Group won 41 Golds, 77 Silvers and 86 bronze medals among seven of [...]
Sampath Bank supports businesses to go online with Evolve
As more businesses make the shift from traditional physical outlets to online based operations, an obstacle faced by many is the lack of understanding on how to build an ecommerce platform. Sampath Bank, which sees it as a driving force in Sri Lankan financial services, said it seeks to change this with the introduction of [...]
Second South Asia Investment Conference co-hosted by CAL successfully in Singapore
The second South Asia Investment Conference (SAIC) jointly organised by Capital Alliance Securities (Pvt) Ltd (CAL), AKD Securities and Lanka Bangla Securities Ltd was successfully held in Singapore last week. The conference played host to round-the-clock meetings attracting over 100 participants. Included were institutional investors from seven countries and some of South Asia’s top listed [...]
Sophos’ annual Threat Report details top cyberattacks
Sophos, a global leader in cloud-enabled next-generation cybersecurity, this week launched its 2020 Threat Report providing insights into the rapidly evolving cyberthreat landscape. The report, produced by SophosLabs researchers, explores changes in the threat landscape over the past 12 months, uncovering trends likely to impact cybersecurity in 2020. “The threat landscape continues to evolve – [...]