Lotus Tower finally opens
The picturesque Chinese-built Lotus Tower complex opened on Thursday after months of delays. Picture shows a family taking a selfie outside the complex. Inset: The Tower. Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
Business slowdown, staff cuts and freezing recruitment
Sri Lanka‘s business activities are slowing down at present and expected to further weaken in the coming months amidst struggling private sector firms for survival in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing economic crisis, Labour Ministry sources divulged. These firms are facing supply side uncertainties at present and most of those companies [...]
Colombo Port volumes decline on global slowdown
Colombo Port volumes have recorded a drop and the Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) in particular has found some of its business shifting out to other terminals as a result of the delays in entering agreements with shipping lines and the imposition of a new tariff. The Port of Colombo recorded a drop of 2.2 per [...]
Stock gains not reflecting economic crisis
Sri Lanka’s crisis economy is not reflected in the stock market with the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) posting gains and high turnover. Analysts say that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff level agreement signed late last month has improved the sentiments of traders. They say that the ensuing debt negotiations stipulated in the IMF agreement [...]
No LPG shortage following award of fresh term tender soon: Litro Chairman
State-owned enterprise Litro Gas Lanka has taken every possible step to restore supplies, and even reduced prices by containing costs and it has sufficient stocks to meet the demand till the end of this year, chairman of the company Muditha Peiris told the Business Times. He assured the public that the company will be continuing [...]
Vehicle permits for BOI enterprises
The duty free permit granted to migrant workers to import vehicles is now becoming a bone of contention among those to whom this was first introduced – investors. At a time when the country was looking at attracting increasing amounts of investments to the country Sri Lanka introduced the tax free vehicle permit to Board [...]
Temporary lull in economic crisis
Thankfully, remittances from migrant workers seem to be growing as per recent data. According to Central Bank statistics, remittances reached US$325.4 million in August 2022, and though lower than $446.6 million in August 2021 it was higher than $279.5 million reported in July. Earlier data showed remittances of $274.3 million in June and $304.1 million [...]
Asia Cup 2022 and the “enabling environment”
The Asia Cup 2022 tournament which was scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka from 27 August – 11 September, moved to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). As the venue changed to the UAE out of the total 13 matches, 10 were played in Dubai and the other three in Sharjah. As the Sri Lankan [...]
Export of Aluminum products can generate more foreign exchange
The Hayleys group has pioneered in manufacturing low Carbon Alumium ‘Ozon’ at the state of the art melting facility at Sapugaskana with an investment of over Rs. 1 billion for export to countries such as the US, UK. Australia, Europe and Canada, said Alumex PLC Managing Director Hayleys Pramuk Dediwela at the launch of a [...]
Lina Manufacturing delivers first ever locally-produced Metered Dose Inhalers
Lina Manufacturing – the pharmaceutical manufacturing segment of Sunshine Healthcare Lanka (SHL), recently delivered its first order of 100 per cent locally formulated and manufactured Metered-Dose Inhalers (MDIs) to the Ministry of Health (MoH). Delivered through the Medical Supplies Division of the MoH, the consignment was handed over to Dr. D. R. K. Herath, Deputy [...]
SMEs access to HK, Dubai and S’pore through HNB – Eqwtay partnership
Marking a new benchmark in the SME sector, HNB PLC has partnered with Eqwtay (HK) Ltd to offer local business equity funding facilities and access to new market places in Hong Kong, Dubai and Singapore. The partnership will ensure HNB SME customers can integrate and access new markets with the support of Eqwtay. HNB DGM [...]
Sri Lanka’s Auditor General calls for probe in dubious coal deal
Sri Lanka’s Auditor General has recommended investigating the dubious coal tender deal awarded to Black Sands LLC by the Ministry of Power and Energy subsidiary, Lanka Coal Company Pvt Ltd (LCC). This follows the stock market disclosure by Browns PLC saying that together with China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC), they have also sent a proposal [...]
Transforming education across the world
EDINBURGH – Global Education is in crisis. Today, nearly 300 million children don’t go to school, and 800 million young people will leave school without any qualifications. Recent data show that global learning poverty in low- and middle-income countries is estimated to have risen to 70 per cent with more than half of the world’s [...]
Remembering the Queen and her love for gemstones
Sri Lanka’s gem and jewellery trade this week said it was proud that the late Majesty the Queen fondly wore gems and jewellery sourced and crafted in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Gem and Jewellery Association (SLGJA) said it was honoured to have served her Majesty and the Royal family over many decades. Sri Lankan gems [...]
Revenue Management Authority to boost tax collection and end corruption
The government is planning to set up a separate Revenue Management Authority to minimise corruption and financial leakage in the process of tax collection of the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) and Sri Lanka Customs, official sources disclosed. Measures will be taken to draft a new bill to set up the authority with powers of a [...]
Union Assurance hosts the industry’s first blog competition
Inviting all writing enthusiasts! Sri Lanka’s trailblazing Life Insurer, Union Assurance PLC, launched an industry-first blog competition, ‘BLOG IT’ on September 1st, 2022 in recognition of Life Insurance Awareness month falling in September. All fervent writers are encouraged to submit their entries for BLOG IT via https://lnkd.in/gxFCcH2R by September 25th, 2022. Winners of the competition [...]
Strategic Risk Solutions & JKH complete 18 yrs
Enterprise risk consulting outfit Strategic Risk Solutions has completes 18 years of management consulting on diverse risk portfolios for the John Keells Group (JKH). Picture shows its CEO & Corporate Risk Specialist Damith Kurunduhewa educating the emergency response (ER) teams of JKH at the group head office complex recently, the company said.
Lanka Sathosa undergoes restructuring soon to minimise losses
Sri Lanka’s loss-making state-run retail store chain Lanka Sathosa, which has reported billions of rupees in losses amid allegations of mismanagement and corruption, is to be restructured soon. The retail store network registered an annual loss of around Rs.779 million in 2020, significantly lower than the Rs.1.9 billion loss recorded in 2019 while the net [...]
43rd AGM of the Sri Lanka – Japan Business Council
The 43rd Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka – Japan Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce was held recently at Ramada Hotel Colombo with Hideaki Mizukoshi, Ambassador of Japan in Sri Lanka, who is also the Patron of the Council, as the Chief Guest. Mahen Kariyawasan, Managing Director, Andrew The Travel Company [...]
Sustainable mobility with help from the Netherlands Embassy
The Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands continues to bring together a diverse group of stakeholders to strategise on pushing sustainable mobility in Sri Lanka through shared visions on cycling and sustainable transport. Having earlier partnered with the Colombo Municipal Council to pilot ‘CarFreeCMB’, the Netherlands now also supports sustainable mobility in Sri Lanka [...]
Hirdaramani ‘Mihila’: A Decade of Carbon Neutrality
It was in 2012 that Hirdaramani achieved its first CarbonNeutral® manufacturer certification for a factory, Hirdaramani Knit, Mihila (Mihila meaning earth). This was yet another pioneering accolade for one of the group’s premier eco-friendly facilities, as it claimed the status of Asia’s First CarbonNeutral® manufacturer. Being first to achieve something, however, is only part of [...]
Thousands Sri Lankans lose billions of rupees in a fake Crypto scheme
Ponzi scammers are adding to the existing economic misery of thousands of Sri Lankans by swindling their savings with fake crypto currency schemes; informed sources divulged. Details of a latest Crypto currency Ponzi (Pyramid) scam have been revealed recently following a complaint filed in a civil lawsuit by a disgruntled investor Sudath Ranjan Silva at [...]
MAS Holdings partners with The Wildlife Foundation Kenya
South Asian apparel manufacturer,MAS Holdings (MAS) has partnered with The Wildlife Foundation (TWF), Kenya to conserve 6,250 acres of the Nairobi National Park Wildlife Dispersal Area. In line with the MAS Plan for Change commitment of restoring 25,000 acres of habitat, this unique initiative enables MAS and TWF to collaborate with local landowners to conserve [...]
CICT named Best Container Terminal of its capacity in Asia
Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT) has been crowned the Best Container Terminal in Asia in the Under 4 million TEUs category for the sixth consecutive year, in just seven full years since it commenced fulloperations in mid-2014. The announcement of CICT’s prestigious win on a global platform was made at the 2022 Asian Freight, Logistics [...]
Commodity prices are likely to fall further
CAMBRIDGE – Big movements in the prices of oil, minerals, and agricultural commodities have been among the most salient economic developments of the past couple of years. The sharp rise in commodity prices for much of this period was virtually impossible to miss. A barrel of Brent crude that sold for US$20 in April 2020, [...]
Jay Jay Mills Lanka invests in new BOI Zone in Eravur
The Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) has announced Jay Jay Mills Lanka (Pvt) Ltd as the first project to be undertaken at the Dedicated Textile Manufacturing Zone in Eravur, Batticaloa with the ground-up development commencing at the site. The facility will feature state-of-the-art technology with knitting, dyeing and finishing capacities of 50 tons [...]
ISO 22000:2018 certification for Avani Bentota
Avani Bentota Resort recently received ISO 22000:2018 certification from SGS for the preparation and serving of food and beverage. This internationally recognised certification covers all the processes in the food chain that impact the safety of the end product. The standard stipulates the requirements for a comprehensive food safety management system, as well as incorporating [...]
Sri Lanka’s external debt restructure becomes a gigantic task
Sri Lanka’s external debt restructure has become a gigantic task and a complex issue as the Government has to get creditors consent for a repayment plan amidst severe economic crisis and preemptive debt default, several economic experts warned. Under this set up the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has made debt restructure a prerequisite for the [...]
HIP in a major drive to promote transshipment of used vehicles
The marketing team of the Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG) visited Japan during the last week of August, to increase awareness and aggressively market services offered by the Hambantota International Port (HIP), especially RORO which is currently the core business of the port. The HIPG team met with the Sri Lanka Automobile Association in Japan [...]
Sri Lanka Vanithabhimana launched for the 3rd consecutive year
Sri Lanka Vanithabhimana – an awards programme to empower the women of Sri Lanka – has been launched for the third consecutive year by NDB Bank. Similar to the very successful programs held in 2020 and 2021 that concluded with the finale at the Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre in March 2021 and at the [...]
Pelwatte makes its own animal feed
Pelwatte Dairy, one of the leading local dairy brands in Sri Lanka that produces a range of dairy goods and saves valuable foreign exchange for the country, has won the hearts of Sri Lankan dairy consumers thanks to its continued offer of Sri Lankan goodness to its dairy consumers. In a media release it said, [...]
Nestle Lanka to help APIIT uplift small businesses
The inaugural APIIT අත්වැල project by APIIT Business School in collaboration with Nestlé Lanka PLC aims to uplift the business of small-scale traders and enterprises. The collaboration was formalised with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two institutions on September 5 with Dr. Hasuli Perera, Head of APIIT Business School and [...]