No fertiliser available
Farmers in Anamaduwa in the Puttalam district protesting in their fields over the non-availability of fertiliser. Pic by Hiran Priyanka Jayasinghe
Ceylon Tea on the brink of losing global appeal
Ceylon Tea synonymous with quality and uniqueness of its origins could lose its place in the global market as smallholder growers who contribute 70 per cent of production face a crisis due to the new fertiliaer policy. Ceylon Tea will be just a name in the history books since within the next three months there [...]
Four new state-owned businesses to be listed in the CSE
Four new state-owned business enterprises (SOBEs) are to be added to the existing 52 strategically important state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as limited liability companies, and these four will be listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange soon. These enterprises are now functioning under the Ministries of Finance, Urban Development and Technology with the Secretary to the Treasury [...]
Apparel TUs to enter MOU with JAAF
Apparel industry worker-related issues are to be discussed between the factory owners and trade unions once they reach agreement through an MOU in the wake of the recent spike in COVID-19 cases. “We have agreed to discuss a possibility of entering a MOU to resolve the disputes through social dialogue,” FTZ and General Services Trade [...]
TRC goes out all guns blazing
Sri Lanka’s telecom regulator is accelerating structural challenges and trends that have long suppressed the telecommunications industry’s growth to create a dynamic, competitive, innovative telecommunications infrastructure. Oshada Senanayake, Chairman – Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRC) said that amongst these, the optical fiber submarine communications cable system that carries telecommunications between Sri Lanka and other nations or [...]
New CSE dispute resolution mechanism in the works
A new dispute resolution mechanism between investors and the stockbrokers is in progress. Now, dispute resolution is carried out at the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and often, is seen as biased and not independent. The CSE appoints a panel for the initial hearing and if the parties involved are not satisfied, the dispute will go [...]
Customs’ seizure of organic fertiliser containers creates controversy
Sri Lanka Customs seizure of three 40 ft containers of organic fertiliser imported from Madurai, South India by an unregistered company without considering strict quarantine laws in the island, has created another controversy raising many questions. The imported consignment consisting of three containers is listed in Customs Department documents as organic fertiliser products imported from [...]
Prioritising the priorities
Did the government use Sri Lanka’s Investment Forum organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) this week to restart its development agenda, more than a year after the pandemic hit Sri Lanka? That’s what my good friend and know-all neighbour Haramanis of broken-English fame seems to think. We were on a call this Wednesday [...]
Latest petroleum sector liberalisation set to break CPC monopoly
Sri Lanka is to liberalise the fuel refining, selling and distributing petroleum products in Sri Lanka amending the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) Act No 28 of 1961 by revising it for the second time after 2002, the Ministry of Energy announced. This amendment will provide provisions to allow an investor to enter into the oil [...]
Central Bank orders all banks to remain open during lockdown
The Central Bank (CB), a few hours after commercial banks said on Monday they would be closed during the travel restrictions (lockdown) till June 14, directed all banks to remain open for essential banking services. On Monday, banks said they would be closed during the week but this was followed by a CB statement later [...]
SLIF woos FDI: Presents big bets on SL growth story
The who’s who of the state and the private sector aggressively courted foreign investors this week with an investment-friendly business environment and accelerated moves to open the country’s capital markets at the virtual three-day Sri Lanka Investment Forum (SLIF). President Gotabaya Rajapaksa promised policy stability, consistency, and doing away with unnecessary bureaucratic red tape for [...]
Urgent economic reforms needed to overhaul the economy
Sri Lanka’s economy has to be strengthened through exports and attracting foreign investment to the country. On both these counts Sri Lanka has failed dramatically over the past years, said economist Dr. Chandranath Amarasekera at the monthly meeting of the Sunday Times Business Club (STBC) held during a webinar this week. The discussion was centred [...]
Income tax revenue falls to unexpected level
Income tax revenue of the country is going down to unexpected levels despite the Inland Revenue Department’s (IRD) efforts to improve tax administration to commensurate the tax reforms introduced in 2019 and also in response to the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 crisis, IRD official sources said. Revenue from income taxes declined in 2020 with [...]
Yashodha Holdings (Pvt) Ltd loses mortgage battle against People’s Bank
The Supreme Court recently permitted People’s Bank to proceed with disposing the mortgaged property belonging to a benefitted director of Yashodha Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, which was mortgaged to the bank as security for a facility granted to Yashoda Holdings Pvt Ltd by the bank. The particular case had been filed by Yashodha Holdings (Pvt) Ltd [...]
40% savings for corporates, SMEs through PickMe corporate portal
PickMe, the app based digital mobility company, in a revolutionary move to disrupt standard models of transport services in medium and small-scale businesses in Sri Lanka, has opened up a portal for SMEs. This application will help these businesses bring down their transportation costs by as much as 40 percent. The PickMe corporate portal, which [...]
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry crisis worsens
With the no signs of recovery for tourism in Sri Lanka in the first two financial quarters the industry is banking on hopes for a revival by winter later this year from risk averse markets and by controlling the pandemic situation within the country. It will not be easy for the industry stakeholders to sustain [...]
X-Press Pearl: Six emergency response stimuli prompted by Colombo maritime disaster
“What matters most is the ‘READINESS IN REALITY AT ANY HOUR” was a punch-line I encompassed in my guest write-up related to Marine Emergency Response in June 2018 for “8 BELLS” – a magazine for Sri Lankan merchant vessel commanders around the globe. “The ocean surface does not leave trails” goes a universal saying. While [...]
Corporates will have to embrace green technology in future progress
The Paris climate summit convention declared that countries should have legally binding instruments to address the sustainability goals, and in this context Sri Lanka too proposed a 50 percent reduction in nitrogen gases at a convention held in 2019 in Colombo. The Colombo declaration in 2019 specified a 50 percent reduction in nitrogen oxide emission [...]
Maliban donates essential biomedical equipment
Maliban Biscuits recently took proactive measures to help aid the Gampaha District General Hospital, in combined efforts against the fast-spreading, deadly virus. The leading biscuit manufacturer donated multiple biomedical equipment to the hospital which is crucial to treat critically ill patients. With a total investment of Rs. 4 million, the company undertook the role of [...]