Non-essential import restrictions for 6 more mths
State-imposed temporary import restrictions, to save on foreign exchange, are to be extended for another six months commencing from January 2, informed official sources said. The earlier 6-month period ends on January 2. The relevant gazette notification will be issued by the Finance Ministry sometime this week on the directions of the President’s Secretary Dr. [...]
Ukrainians’ bubble holidays in Sri Lanka
Amidst intense opposition from tourism authorities and no one to take responsibility for lapses, the first of the tourists since Sri Lanka closed the airport for international traffic arrived this week as a pilot project under a travel bubble concept. Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairperson Kimarli Fernando had stated in her letter dated [...]
EPF’s equity investment grows
Sri Lanka’s largest social security scheme, the Employees Provident Fund‘s (EPF) listed equity investments are now generating growth in market value although there was an unrealised loss in equity investment, analysts divulged. Market values of investments made by the fund are increasing proportionate to purchased cost of shares in listed equities in the third quarter [...]
Rise in M&A as companies steer COVID -19
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated previous market threats with the already ravaged industries in 2020 increasingly looking to exit. This black swan event has plummeted fundraising which in turn has witnessed an increase in Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) deal activity. Senaka Kakiriwaragodage, Managing Director of NDB Zephyr Partners Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, with over 10 years [...]
Story of a thousand rupees
As the world is wrapped up in a pandemic and Ceylon Tea is facing issues, trade unions on the plantations are demanding that an increase of their wages be made to reach Rs.1000 at a time when most sectors are going through pay cuts and job losses. The budget 2021 had also proposed a wage [...]
Recognising garment workers
On Wednesday, 83 employees of a garment factory at Avissawella had tested positive for COVID-19. Ever since the Minuwangoda cluster broke out in Brandix factories earlier this year, the number of victims from factories in the garment sector has been on the rise and along with that, the poor women, who toiled hard for the [...]
Brexit: Fishing in troubled waters
All around the country, it’s the Great Ocean; nevertheless, we still have to import fish for our meal”. You must have heard this many times. Some may lament over it thinking that it’s wrong economics; they may even argue that “it is a problem of not having enough import controls”. The UK is also facing [...]
Combined solar system for Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka has over six million houses, with an average roof area of around 75,000 hectares, which could generate in excess of 160 GW of energy from roof-top solar. “If we are being realistic and consider 1.5 per cent of that capacity, approximately 100,000 houses could generate over 2000MW of energy, which may well be [...]
Ensuring sustainability in the pharma industry
The Sri Lanka Chamber of the Pharmaceutical Industry (SLCPI) has reiterated its commitment towards ensuring the availability of efficacious, safe and good quality medicines to the general public, in 2021. A top priority for the chamber this year is the implementation of a fair pricing mechanism, to ensure the availability of efficacious, safe and good [...]
ComBank launches CBC Finance as successor to Serendib Finance
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC has announced the launch of CBC Finance Ltd, the bank’s fully-owned Licenced Non-bank Finance Institution (NBFI), formerly known as Serendib Finance and Indra Finance. The formal re-naming of the entity acquired by the bank in 2014 marks the completion of its transition into the Commercial Bank Group. The restructured [...]
Sri Lanka banking sector moves towards ‘new normal’ with resilience
The Sri Lanka banking sector is moving towards a “new normal’ in the New Year with resilience in the second wave of COVID-19 maintaining a healthy capital adequacy last year, top bank officials said, denying reports that its LCs have been questioned by foreign banks. This sector spearheaded by two state banks – the Bank [...]
Daraz MD Rakhil Fernando appointed Habitat for Humanity Sri Lanka Goodwill Ambassador
Habitat for Humanity Sri Lanka, an international non-profit organisation, recently appointed Rakhil Fernando, Managing Director of Daraz as its Goodwill Ambassador. “Habitat for Humanity Sri Lanka is no stranger to Mr. Rakhil Fernando and Daraz, as it has been an active charity partner on Daraz Cares, the CSR arm of Sri Lanka’s largest online marketplace,” [...]
UDA repeals 29 development plans, raising concerns
At least 29 development plans have been repealed by the Urban Development Authority (UDA) issuing a controversial gazette notification recently under the signature of subject minister and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, a group of professionals alleged. The cancellation of these plans devised during the previous regime have been announced by the UDA with the aim [...]
Iconic ramps up safety and health measures at Iconic Galaxy
Iconic Developments, a leading Indian infrastructure developer, recently announced that the construction of its Rajagiriya-based luxury apartment complex Iconic Galaxy is making headway, with an over 350-strong workforce from construction partner MAGA Engineering working while adhering to stringent health and safety regulations in line with health authorities. Iconic Developments and MAGA have implemented all possible [...]
Sri Lanka Prosperity Index measurement eases in 2019
The Sri Lanka Prosperity Index (SLPI) marginally declined to 0.802 in 2019 compared to 0.811 in 2018, with declines in the ‘Economy and Business Climate’ and ‘Socio-Economic Infrastructure’ sub-indices. The ‘Well-being of the People’ sub-index however improved during the year, the Central Bank said in a media release on Tuesday. The spillover effects of the [...]
Alastair Corera appointed Chairman of CDB
Alastair Corera has been appointed Chairman of Citizens Develo-pment Business Finance PLC (CDB) with effect from December 31. Mr. Corera, who has been an Independent Non-Executive Director at CDB since May 2019 will be replacing Ranga Abeynayake who served nine years on the Board of CDB and has chaired the Board from September 2019. He [...]