Violators beware!
A vendor at the Nugegoda supermarket without properly wearing his face mask earlier this week, which according to regulations gazetted on Thursday will result in a fine of Rs.10,000 or six months imprisonment for violators. Pic by Indika Handuwala
LAUGFS Gas initiating big plans for Indian Ocean Rim
LAUGFS Gas PLC is moving towards building an integrated regional LPG Terminal for LPG importing, re-exporting and supply to retailers in the Indian Ocean Rim. The company will also expand its solar power plants this year, W.H.K Wegapitiya, Chairman, LAUGFS Gas PLC told the Business Times in an interview. “We have a big market in [...]
Eight finance companies face added liquidity pressure
Eight out of 39 Licensed Finance Companies (LFCs) have been found non-compliant with the minimum capital adequacy requirement and have been given a time extension to rectify the non-compliance, the Central Bank (CB) disclosed in a public notice. These companies are Arpico Finance Co. PLC, Associated Motor Finance Co. PLC, Bimputh Finance PLC, Kanrich Finance [...]
Heavy retail play on penny stocks
The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has witnessed heavy retail play over the past few weeks on penny stocks. Analysts called it the ‘herd instinct’ and noted that retailers are comfortable with trading in shares below Rs. 10. These shares are termed as penny stocks. Atchuthan Srirangan, Assistant Manager – Research at First Capital told the [...]
Travel agencies face further shutdowns
At least half of Sri Lanka’s registered smaller travel agencies have shutdown operations in the aftermath of the outbreak of the coronavirus that has sent tourists packing and locked out visitors. In 2018 there were over 2000 smaller registered travel agencies operating in the country but this year this has reduced to less than 1000, [...]
Joint venture firms struggle without minor machinery components
Several joint venture manufacturers have been forced to shutdown their production plants and suspend expansion plans due to restrictions in the import of components and essential spares needed to run the machinery. The government has indefinitely extended import restrictions introduced for three months from May 22 amidst the COVID-19 crisis and a foreign exchange shortage, [...]
Unfriendly skies down Simplifly
The last of the helicopters owned by the former high flying domestic airline Simplifly was shipped out a week ago after shutting down services this year as a result of unfriendly Sri Lankan skies. At the peak of its operations, it was operating two helicopters and two eight-seater aircraft and four trainer aircraft, said Simplifly [...]
Dispelling ‘stigma’
At a public park in the United Arab Emirates, a group of female Sri Lankan migrant workers gather after losing their jobs. They have no accommodation and barely enough food. They are desperately awaiting repatriation by the Sri Lanka government which is delaying the process of bringing back, altogether 46,000 workers owing to a shortage [...]
If somebody else decides for you …
Imagine if it is not you who decides your own affairs and your own destiny. Well, if you didn’t get my point clearly, let me explain it further. Imagine a situation where it is somebody else who decides what you should eat, what you should wear, how you should travel, and after all how much [...]
Evolution of INSEE Sanstha Cement
As Sri Lanka’s pace of construction escalates alongside its rapid urbanisation, INSEE Cement continues to address the changing needs of its consumers with a constantly evolving products and solutions. Headlining this catalogue is INSEE Cement’s flagship brand SANSTHA – Sri Lanka’s oldest existing cement brand and the country’s first-ever superior blended cement product. Having sustained [...]
New leadership team at Lanka Sathosa
Lanka Sathosa, the country’s largest retail network business, this week announced a host of senior leadership appointments to spearhead its ongoing transformation as it strives to deliver greater value to the nation during the COVID-19 health and financial crisis. Major (Retd.) Anura Pandithage has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Lanka Sathosa [...]
SLT collaborates with international travel influencers to keep alive ‘Sri Lankan Holiday’ dream
Destination Sri Lanka is held high in the minds of the global traveller community as a ‘hotspot’ teeming with an unbelievable diversity of attractions far beyond its cute proportions. “History tells us that our diminutive island is the planet’s most enchanting wonderland that has incessantly drawn explorers, emperors, conquerors and not even resisting calculating merchants [...]
Maharajahs: A story of Sri Lanka’s key investor
The Capital Maharajah Group (CMG) venturing into its 90th year of operations has grown to become a family friendly organisation, a reason why some of their top rung seems rooted in its growth plans like gaining Test status for Sri Lanka cricket or establishing a flour manufacturing company and becoming the face of social welfare [...]
CB to model a ‘bad loan’ company
The Central Bank (CB) will include a Financial Asset Management Company (FAMA) in its company resolution framework to recover bad loans from errant borrowers, officials said. This will assist banks and finance companies to recover and manage their Non-Performing Loans (NPLs). “Essentially it’s a ‘bad bank’ that will purchase defaulted loans from banks/ finance companies [...]
Colombo port gets congested
The Colombo Port is currently facing congestion with delays in turnaround time causing ships to bypass as a result of which there could be a drop in the number of vessel arrivals. Sources at the port stated that there is congestion in the outer harbour since there are insufficient deep draft boats in the port [...]
CB’s NBFIs undergo restructuring process
The Central Bank (CB) facing criticism for regulatory and inspection gaps that have been blamed partially for the collapse of several finance companies is being directed to overhaul its regulatory and supervision apparatus for the Non Bank Financial sector. The authorities have taken a decision to restructure the CB’s Department of Supervision of Non-Bank Financial [...]
Many Lankan oil palm companies seeking sustainability certification
Sri Lankan companies cultivating oil palm or processing palm oil are committed to achieving certification of their sustainability practices, similar to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification obtained by Watawala Plantations PLC, the Palm Oil Industry Association (POIA) said this week in a media release. Congratulating Watawala Plantations for becoming the first plantation [...]
Gamini Marambe elected new President of JASTECA
At the recently held Annual General Meeting, Gamini Marambe was elected the new President of the Japan Sri Lanka Technical and Cultural Association (JASTECA) for a two-year term of office. Nimal Perera who steered the Association previously stepped down and will remain in the executive committee as the Immediate Past President, the association said in [...]
Ongoing projects on slow track now under the axe
All ongoing and in-the-pipeline development and infrastructure projects are to reviewed and implemented on a priority basis as the progress of some of those have failed to achieve expected targets after spending millions of rupees, according to a Treasury report. The government has decided to revisit and even suspend several of these local and foreign [...]
Wijeya Newspapers wins at Print Awards
Wijeya Newspapers was a big winner in the category “Newspapers – broadsheet – on newsprint” at the recently-held Sri Lanka Print Excellence Awards 2020, organised by Sri Lanka Association of Printers (SLAP). The event was held in March 2020 at the Main Conference Hall of Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH). The Sri Lanka Print [...]
STBC sessions postponed due to COVID-19
The regular monthly sessions of the Sunday Times Business Club (STBC) have been put on hold for many months owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. In its absence, a few webinars have been organised on various topics for the benefit of members, which were followed keenly. The STBC was planning to resume its monthly sessions later [...]
SriLankan Catering provides home meals
SriLankan Catering, the exclusive caterer to the national airline and other international touching Colombo struggling to survive amidst a ban on commercial flights owing to COVID-19, has found a novel way to raise much-needed revenue for the organisation – selling meals to Sri Lankan households. The caterer this week announced the formation of ‘Cuisine Gastronome’, [...]
Demand for food jars drives growth at Piramal Glass
Demand for food jars during the COVID-19 pandemic has driven growth at Piramal Glass Ceylon PLC. The company this week announced its results for the half year ending September 30, 2020 with revenue of Rs. 3,560 million and a Profit after Tax (PAT) of Rs. 316 million against revenue of Rs. 3,527 million and PAT [...]
Viability of a motor vehicle assembly in Sri Lanka
A newspaper recently carried an article stating that Minister Wimal Weerawansa had said that Toyota was interested in setting up a motor vehicle assembly plant in Sri Lanka; so long as the Government gave an assurance that the import restriction that is currently applicable be enforced for a period of 10 years. The purpose of [...]
Cisco gears to boost Lanka’s digital platform during COVID-19
While the new normal has moved from physical to virtual meetings with the COVID-19 pandemic spreading across the globe, Cisco, an American multinational conglomerate, is accelerating the digital platform footprint in Sri Lanka. Recently Cisco India held a virtual media briefing, during which the Cisco SAARC, Managing Director, Sudhir Nayar emphasised, COVID-19 has taught, there [...]