Examining the debt crisis
CA Sri Lanka on Friday organised a CEO’s forum on Sri Lanka’s debt crisis at the Shangri-La hotel in Colombo. From left are – Maninda Wickramasinghe, Managing Director of Fitch Rating, Sri Lanka; Dr. Nishan de Mel, Executive Director of Verité Research; Manil Jayesinghe, CA Sri Lanka President; W. D. Lakshman, Governor – Central Bank; [...]
Firms hire corporate spies to get necessary dollars
Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange crisis has come to such a head that companies have resorted to employing banking espionage tactics to source scarce US dollars in the market. Some large manufacturing companies have hired employees to find out which banks have dollars that are required by these companies for that day/week transactions and approach them [...]
Ceylon Tea weathering the storm
Sri Lanka’s tea exporters are likely to sell Kenyan teas in future if the current scenario on fertiliser creates unfavourable conditions to produce the quality Ceylon Tea the world knows too well about for over a century, according to industry officials. While some of the larger Sri Lankan exporters are already in other key tea [...]
China’s engagement in Freight Service Supply centre in Colombo
A South Asian Freight Service Supply centre is to be set up at the Colombo Port area to meet the increasing container handling demand following the commencement of partial operations at East and West Container Terminals in 2023, according to a Ports and Shipping Ministry’s cabinet memorandum. As per official estimates, the container handling capacity [...]
SriLankan Airlines seeks a new CEO
National carrier, SriLankan Airlines has begun an early search for a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), placing an advertisement in a local newspaper and calling for applications for such a position. Current CEO Vipula Gunatilleka, who was appointed in August 2018, is due to relinquish duties by January 2020, sources at the national carrier told [...]
Government to prune welfare expenditure to tackle fiscal deficit
The government is to implement a stringent fiscal measure of pruning welfare expenditure for the needy population owing to rising cost of public sector pensions and salary payments while cutting down unnecessary spending of state institutions, Finance Ministry sources said. This directive was issued recently by Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa at a recent meeting with [...]
Economic woes
I was woken up at 7 a.m. this Thursday by the phone’s incessant ringing. Groggy, after watching a late night movie, I woke up, looked at the time and picked up the phone. It was Ruwan putha, a young economist whom I met last year at an economic event and thereafter have had a few [...]
Losing GSP+ is like operating with one hand tied behind our collective backs
Sri Lanka’s apparel industry – which accounts for 47 per cent of the nation’s exports and 15 percent of industrial employment – is critical to our national economic health and well-being. Therefore, ensuring that the industry remains strong and resilient should be very high on our list of national priorities. Given this backdrop, managing Sri [...]
NFC directed to steer the local cinema industry revival
The National Film Corporation (NFC) has been directed to steer the local cinema industry towards a revival in collaboration with all leading movie industry stakeholders by preparing a short term action plan for 2021-2022. This directive was issued by the Chairman of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) Prof. Charitha Herath at a COPE meeting [...]
Dammika appointed new MBSL CEO
Experienced leasing and banking officer H.K.D.W.M. Dammika Kumara Hapuhinna has been appointed as the CEO of Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka and Finance PLC (MBSL) with effect from June 1, the company announced. Starting his banking career at Seylan Bank PLC, Mr. Hapuhinna in 2005, moved to the non-banking financial sector in Saudi Arabia where [...]
New SEC Act: Preparing Sri Lanka’s capital markets for the future
For more than 17 years Sri Lanka’s capital market regulator has been trying to revamp its primitive securities law. The lack of a proper legal system in the capital market has stopped ‘meaningful’ foreign investment in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). The fact that this has been going on for nearly two decades is inexcusable. [...]
Uplifting the lives of persons with disabilities
When talking of persons with disabilities (PwDs) the first person who comes to our mind is Stephen Hawkins, the late wheelchair-bound theatrical physicist, who was one of the greatest scientists of the modern world. He was diagnosed with degenerative motor neuron disease at the prime age of 21 while doing his PhD at the University [...]
NDB shows strong performance in H1 2021 amidst pandemic
Post-tax profits of the National Development Bank PLC (NDB), Sri Lanka’s fourth largest listed bank, rose by 32 percent to Rs. 3.9 billion in the first half of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, growing amidst tight market conditions owing to the coronavirus. NDB said in a media release that operating profit before [...]
Sri Lanka needs medium and long term plan to overcome debt crisis
Although immediate debt repayment payments have been settled, the government will have to implement a medium and long term plan with clear policy derived by analysing all its aspects, a leading economist emphasised. Verite Research Executive Director Dr. Nishan De Mel told a CEOs forum organised by CA Sri Lanka on the “Debt situation of [...]
BOC celebrates its 82nd anniversary on an austere note
Bank of Ceylon (BOC) this year celebrates 82 years of leading the Sri Lankan Banking and Finance landscape. “Taking pride in its unparalleled performance over these years, the bank has been able to provide a forward-thinking, resilient, and advanced financial services to the nation while extending its penetration into overseas markets,” it said in a [...]
HSBC Sri Lanka garners Asian Banking awards
HSBC Sri Lanka, in the backdrop of completing 129 years of operation in the country, continued its leadership position as the best International Retail Bank of the year, at the Asian Banking & Finance Retail Banking Awards 2021 for the fifth time, since 2016. This year over 140 exceptional banks from 31 countries were recognised [...]
Chinese company continues e-train smart card ticketing project
The e-train smart card ticketing project handed over to a Chinese company with a leading conglomerate as its local representative during the previous regime is being continued despite a directive from the current government to suspend it, Railway Department officials complained. The project office set up to implement the Chinese company venture is continuing its [...]
Local start-ups Niftron and Magicbit to represent Sri Lanka at EWC Global Finals
Sri Lankan start-ups Niftron and Magicbit have won the “Early Stage” and “Growth Stage” National winner status respectively, at the Sri Lankan National finals for the Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC) 2021. Both start-ups now advance to the next round of the EWC global finals where they will compete against other national winners from 200 countries [...]
MAGA undertakes design and construction of two key flyovers in Colombo
Maga Engineering has begun construction of two new flyovers in Slave Island (Colombo 2), along Justice Akbar Mawatha and Uttarananda Mawatha. The proposed flyovers will overarch two central intersections in Slave Island and the Coastal Line – one of the busiest railway tracks leading into the city, thereby easing heavy traffic congestion leading to Colombo’s [...]
Earnings, revenue pick up at JKH in 1stQ 2021/22
Group revenue at the John Keells Group during the quarter ending 30th June 2021 rose by 80 percent to Rs.38.80 billion against Rs.21.51 billion recorded in the previous financial year, the company said on Wednesday, releasing its quarterly statement. Group revenue excluding the leisure industry group was Rs.36.87 billion during the quarter under review, which [...]
5000 new jobs from automobile component manufacturers; 45,000 more expected
At least 5,000 new jobs have been created in Sri Lanka’s Western Province in the past few months by brand-new component manufacturers while 45,000 more jobs are on the cards, according to the Sri Lanka Automobile Component Manufacturers’ Association (SLACMA). Earlier this year, the Ministry of Industries together with the stakeholders of the SLACMA launched [...]
Pelwatte Dairy records 148% increase in post-tax profits in year 2020/21
Pelwatte Dairy, one of the leading dairy brands in Sri Lanka that locally produces a range of dairy products and saves foreign exchange for the country, has made a significant financial turnaround in 2020/21 recording a Profit Before Tax (PBT) that YoY (year-on-year) surged by 148 percent. In a statement, the company said the gross [...]
Rural communities around the country can now make mobile payments with ease
The latest innovation on mobile money by Dialog in partnership with Viber will help the smooth money transfer for the first time in Sri Lanka. This will enable persons to pay utility payments, to make institutional payments, to access easy cash wallet to check balances and a multitude of other transactions in a hassle free [...]
Pathfinder Foundation presents report on local crises to Finance Minister
The Pathfinder Foundation this week presented a report to Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa examining the implications of the April 2019 terror attacks and the subsequent COVID-19 Pandemic on the Micro and Small and Medium Enterprise segment (SME) and tourism/inbound leisure sector related supply chains. It was prepared by a group led by Rajendra Theagarajah, Senior [...]
SLT-MOBITEL’s ANANKE IoT Services shines at Globee Awards
SLT-MOBITEL, the country’s largest telecom company, said this week that its partner ANANKE IoT Services (Pvt) Ltd has been conferred a Gold award under the ‘Start-up of the Year – IT Category’ at the 16th Annual 2021 IT World Awards. Organisers of the world’s premier business awards programmes and business ranking lists, The Globee® Awards; [...]
Sampath Bank’s new helpline for Business Start-up Advisory Services
Sampath Bank PLC has launched a helpline for Business Start-up Advisory Services under its flagship entrepreneurship development programme, ‘Sampath Saviya’. In a media release, the bank said that focusing on the critical incubation period during which early-stage businesses tend to face heightened levels of challenges, the new initiative seeks to facilitate the business incubation process. [...]
Coconut producers dismayed by plans to import coconut oil
Coconut growers and producers this week expressed concern over plans by the Trade Ministry to import coconut oil, among several other items like sugar, dhal, chicken, condiments challis, onions, potatoes etc. They said that that this idea if implemented would clearly affect the very attempts of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to produce and grow items locally [...]
From five dollars to a billion – learnings from an international hotelier’s success
Internationally acclaimed hospitality veteran, hospitality management consultant and leadership coach, Shantha de Silva this week announced the launch of his first book: ‘BELIEVE: Helping Leaders UNLOCK their true potential’. In its very first month, the book ranked #1 on the Amazon Australia Best Seller list, he said in a statement. Derived from his remarkable 35 [...]
Calcey Technologies launches new recruitment initiative for experienced developers
Calcey Technologies, one of Sri Lanka’s leading software development firms, has unveiled its latest recruitment initiative. Named #WhatsUpCalcey, the programme promises to make it easier for experienced developers to understand what makes Calcey different as an employer and as a remote-first workplace, the company said in a media release. “Today’s job seekers value a great [...]
Seylan Bank attracts public to its #ResponsibleMe campaign
Seylan Bank has received tremendous public support for its #ResponsibleMe campaign, conceptualised to highlight the importance of self-awareness and individual responsibility in ensuring the safety of all Sri Lankan citizens in the COVID-19 pandemic, the bank said in a statement this week. The campaign which began internally nearly two months ago has since been amplified [...]
Piramal Glass Co. revenue up in 1stQ 2021/22
Piramal Glass Ceylon PLC has reported a turnover of Rs. 1,876 million in the first quarter ending June 2021, up from Rs. 1,330 million in the same quarter last year, the company said in a statement this week. Domestic sales during the quarter grew by 36 percent from Rs. 937 million to Rs. 1,275 million. [...]
Dialog, first Quad Play Telco in South Asia to receive ISO 14001:2015 Certification
Reiterating its commitment to social, environmental and economic sustainability, Dialog Axiata PLC’s Environmental Management System was certified for the globally recognised ISO 14001:2015 standard for its full scope of operations, becoming the first Quad-play Telco (Mobile, Fixed, Media and Broadband) in South Asia to do so. The company said in a statement that the ISO [...]
KFC marks 25th anniversary in Sri Lanka
KFC was launched in Sri Lanka in 1996, when the first restaurant opened its doors at the popular shopping complex Majestic City and today with 44 restaurants opened, the local franchise held by Cargills (Ceylon) PLC marks its 25th anniversary. A media release by the company said that when Cargills (Ceylon) PLC acquired the franchise [...]