Handicrafts on show
A crafts-woman at work at the recently-held National Industrial Exhibition at the BMICH, Colombo. Pic by Akila Jayawardana.
Soaring inflation, exchange rate make value added exports profitless
Sri Lanka’s mounting inflation paired with an artificially restricted exchange rate have put value added exports on the back foot amid rising fears that these will become unprofitable in less than six months, officials in the industry said. The Sri Lanka rupee is now at an artificial price of 203 against the US dollar. With [...]
Sri Lanka Tourism in legal travails
Sri Lanka’s state tourism officials are purportedly sailing into hot water as they attempt to keep under wraps what is today public knowledge. The Tourism Ministry Secretary knows nothing of the criminal charges leveled against his officers who under the law could be temporarily suspended from office given the present circumstances. When the Business Times [...]
SL fuel procurement tenders face corruption allegations
Sri Lanka’s fuel procurement process is now tainted with a new corrupt tactic of eliminating prospective bidders in favour of a few selected international suppliers, awarding them the gasoline term tenders and causing millions of dollar loss for the country. The latest tender bender has come to light in the term tender floated by Ceylon [...]
Uncertain future for the local printing industry
While the dollar crunch is hurting every industry in Sri Lanka, the printing sector is also facing a massive issue due to the import restrictions that are put in place with the shortage of dollars. Though printing as a sector is considered non-essential, the industry is vastly required for every product that is being exported [...]
COVID-19 strikes factories again
A significant rise in the number of COVID-19 cases has left factories compelled to delay the timeline in meeting orders. There are huge absentees of about 15-20 per cent in each and every factory as a result of COVID-19, Free Trade Zone Manufacturers Association Secretary Dhammika Fernando told the Business Times on Tuesday. He noted [...]
Dipping into people’s savings
It was that day, four times a month when Karthelis – the fishmonger, would come along on his motorbike with a box full of fish. The fish is fresh and Karthelis is a very reliable trader; thus he has brisk sales in the neighbourhood. Parked outside our gate,( Karthelis was weighing a kilo of ‘salayo’ [...]
Re-playing “beauty and the beast”
It was on September 2, 2018 that I wrote this column titled “beauty and the beast”. This week I could not resist myself to talk about it again. I was searching for some world economic data on the Internet. And, unexpectedly, I was stunned seeing the country with the highest inflation rate of 686 per [...]
SL faces crisis of overspending without proper revenue
The government is fast-tracking its development journey in rural areas spending billions of rupees without sustained revenue mobilisation while public debt is on a downward path, economic consultants warned. These rural development work and mega infrastructure projects including major expressway construction will have to be implemented with financial allocations made for capital expenditure in budget [...]
Residential energy storage using Lithium-Ion batteries
We are faced with many problems due to uncertainty that is prevailing in the country with regard to continuous power supply. Many of us are wondering whether there will be power cuts in the near future, due to lack of rain for hydropower generation and coal and fossil fuel to generate thermal energy. One solution [...]
INSEE Cement, major cement supplier to the Uma Oya Project
INSEE Cement, Sri Lanka’s leading manufacturer of cement, is the supplier of cement to the Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project in the Uva Province. The project includes the commissioning of a new hydropower station and irrigation infrastructure for thousands of acres of farmland in the Hambantota and Monaragala Districts. The Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project [...]
Unilever’s ‘Saubhagya Programme’ awards 42 more schols to schoolchildren
Unilever Sri Lanka has recently awarded 41 more scholarships to schoolchildren of women entrepreneurs from its Saubhagya programme. In its 18th year of empowering women to take up entrepreneurship roles, the company has offered over 500 scholarships in total, out of which, over 150 children have succeeded in entering local universities and vocational training centres, [...]
Aitken Spence, only SL company in Top 100 Global Companies for Sustainability 2022
Aitken Spence PLC has been recognised in the global ranking of Top 100 Companies in Sustainability 2022, in an independent assessment carried out by the ‘Sustainability’ magazine which is an established international publication. Aitken Spence is the only Sri Lankan company to have been included in this ranking of global industry leaders such as Nissan, [...]
decrypt launched in Sri Lanka
decrypt, a new market research specialist, launched its services in Sri Lanka recently to help MNCs, local conglomerates, SMEs, and entrepreneurs action consumer insights to build winning business strategies. The company, which already has a firm footing in South Asia, is supported by a team of experienced, dedicated researchers, each with over two decades of [...]
Govt.’s failure to reimburse COVID-19 relief triggers possible Samurdhi Bank crash
Sri Lanka’s Samurdhi Banking System, the rural bank network of the poorest of the poor, is nearly collapsing following the withdrawal of Rs.50 billion from this system in 2020 and owing to the failure to reimburse the money up to now, authorities of the bank warned. The government has given an assurance that it will [...]
WTC Colombo: First commercial building certified COVID-19 Safety Management System
Overseas Realty (Ceylon) PLC the owner, manager, and the developer of the iconic World Trade Centre Colombo was recently awarded the SLS 1672: 2020 Covid-19 Safety Management System Certification from the Sri Lanka Standards Institution as per the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka. The Standard specifies and enables the organisation to [...]
Boosting apparel: Needs FTAs, consistent state policies
Sri Lanka’s apparel industry wants trade ties with China and India to boost its existing exports to the EU and US and a firm commitment by the government for a consistent economic policy to retain foreign investments. As an industry the apparel sector is not likely to venture into new markets, on the contrary the [...]
Cape Weligama recognised among 25 greatest properties by Conde Nast
The iconic luxury resort Cape Weligama, designed by the world-renowned architect Lek Bunnang and constructed by Access Projects to reflect a distinctively unique concept, has been included in the 25 greatest properties the world over by the Conde Nast Group. The property’s signature design of clusters of villas is seen as a key feature that [...]
Tokyo Cement Group sales volume drops due to supply chain issues
Tokyo Cement Group (Tokyo Cement) has reported its financial performance for the third quarter ending 31st December 2021, with a turnover of Rs.13,771 million reflecting a Year-on-Year growth of 20 per cent, compared to Rs. 11,456 million during the same period last year. Despite a turnover growth, Tokyo Cement’s sales volumes reduced by 3 per [...]
ComBank scheme with SLII to finance professional studies in insurance
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC has collaborated with the Sri Lanka Insurance Institute (SLII), the local body affiliated to the Chartered Insurance Institute of UK, to provide special education loans and easy payment plans to the institute’s members, in support of their career aspirations. Concessions offered to students of SLII by Commercial Bank include [...]
Biodiversity Sri Lanka led-collaboration to restore mangroves
Biodiversity Sri Lanka (BSL), a sustainability focused organisation initiated by Dilmah Tea, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, recently launched a collaboration amongst businesses and government to restore up to 25 acres of degraded mangrove forest patches in the Anawilundawa Wetland Sanctuary. The initiative in linked to [...]
Effie Awards 2021 on Tuesday
Sri Lanka’s 12th Effie Awards will be held on February 15 at the Monarch Imperial, Sri Jayawardenepura. Kotte. The coveted event is highly anticipated and celebrated by Advertising Agencies and Marketers both locally and globally as the most distinguished honour in the industry, the organisers said in a media release. The awards recognise all forms [...]
SEC probing certain transactions on CSE
The Colombo stock market is behaving weirdly and wildly raising concerns that that the manipulation game has resurfaced with the market regulator fine-tuning its antennas. Throughout this week there have been many rumours doing the rounds in the market with brokers and certain analysts saying some transactions were done to bring the stock market down. [...]
Microsoft geared to inspire employment diversity in Sri Lanka
The Microsoft Enabler Programme is proving that with strong support and equal access to employment, persons with disabilities can contribute fully to economy and society. The programme aims to pioneer disability-inclusive workplaces across the region by removing barriers for a more diverse workforce. It was piloted in Korea, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand [...]
Sri Lanka’s cooperative system to be streamlined to avert food crisis
Sri Lanka’s cooperative system is to be streamlined eliminating mismanagement, fraud, corruption and waste with a view of making maximum use out of it in the government service delivery, food supply chain and food security, official sources disclosed. At a time of economic hardships and essential commodity scarcity, multipurpose cooperative societies and shops could play [...]
Coca-Cola wins ‘Iconic Rooftop Solar Project of the Year’ at Annual Solar Awards 2021
Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Ltd. (CCBSL) won the award for the ‘Iconic Rooftop Solar Project of the Year’ at the Annual Solar Awards 2021 hosted by EQ at the occasion of the PV Invest Tech Sri Lanka in Colombo recently. The award was presented in recognition of CCBSL’s significant contribution of installing one of the [...]