BOI offers easy access to investors
Under-fire Board of Investment (BOI) this week opened a new Investor Facilitation Centre at its office to assist investors. The BOI came under criticism recently from a parliamentary committee over a proposal to provide a massive tax advantage to an investor. Pic by Akila Jayawardena
Tax on export crops likely in Budget 2023
Under serious discussion for inclusion in the upcoming 2023 budget is a proposal to enforce a tax on three main export crops – tea, coconut and rubber hitherto exempted from tax, officials said. Meanwhile the Finance Ministry is weighing the pros and cons of new revenue proposals at present aimed at including higher taxes and [...]
Jobs freeze at apparel factories
Apparel factories have frozen new recruitments while small and medium organisations (SMEs) are struggling to stay afloat and larger corporates claim they have lesser orders despite exports doing well last month as well. Across factories the workforce is cut down as unions say in some places they are asked not to report to work; plans [...]
Strong calls to make Sri Lanka taxes work
Most companies are gearing to pass the tax hike through price increases to the end customer, and are urging state authorities to put the taxes to work, a survey of CEOs of 15 companies by the Business Times revealed. Mahendra Jayasekara, Managing Director Lanka Tiles PLC emphasised that it is not the rate of tax [...]
New Authority for small islands’ development
The Government will soon set up a Sri Lanka Islands Development Authority to harness maximum benefits of more than 60 small islands around the country developing these as tourist destinations to generate much needed foreign exchange, Urban Development Minister Prasanna Ranatunga told the Business Times. A cabinet paper for this purpose will be submitted to [...]
Chinese soon to resume travel
While Sri Lanka has become a regional political football for India and China as both compete for higher stakes on the island, another new area of (competing) interest is tourism. While India has been leading the way as the main source market for tourists to Sri Lanka, China – once the third largest source in [...]
Tax rupees at work
Several years ago signs sprang up in Colombo during road construction/pipeline laying work funded by a multilateral agency that read: “Your tax rupees at work.” They were meant to show people that the taxes paid by them were utilised ‘honourably’ by the state. But is that the real thing? Does the government use taxes frugally [...]
Out-of-the box approach to raise taxes
The highest rate for employee income has been increased from 18 per cent to 36 per cent. It appears that the revenue planners of this country do not like to learn from developed countries how to recover the cost of government services to the people. They would instead stick to the traditional methods of taxing [...]
Tourism industry banks on winter traffic
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is banking on this winter season to generate the much needed travellers from around the world else the sector will not find it easy going forward. Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) President Nishad Wijetunga told the Business Times that the industry is hoping for increased visitors during the [...]
USAID, Pizza Hut launch 28 Training Kitchens for Sri Lankan youth
Sri Lanka launched its first vocational training kitchen last week at the Technical College in Kuliyapitiya. USAID will develop a new curriculum aligned to global best practices and train vocational trainers and assessors for the programme, the agency said in a media release. Funded by a US$ 1.3 million grant from the Yum! Brands Foundation, [...]
New State Management Act to manage state assets
Sri Lanka Government is to introduce a State Asset Management Act to evaluate and properly manage the non financial assets belonging to the state hitherto politically and purposely shut down by successive regimes during the past several decades, a cabinet memorandum revealed. According to a global wealth report for countries each year , Sri Lanka’s [...]
Solar Self-Consumption systems for Sri Lanka
As a result of the recent energy crisis in Sri Lanka due to lack of fossil fuel for power generation, many electricity consumers have adopted solar systems with energy storage, mainly as a solution to overcome power cuts. Some have deployed Solar Self-Consumption (SSC) systems, even though the system cost is marginally higher than back-up [...]
PLANT to join hands with Consortium for Conservation
Sri Lanka’s sustainability advisory agency Climate and Conservation Consortium (CCC) has entered into a partnership with PLANT (Preserving Land and Nature (Guarantee) Ltd, the country’s largest privately funded land conservation initiative. PLANT signed a multi-year partnership MOU with the CCC with the objective of engaging their support to obtain specialist inputs in climate and conservation [...]
Apparel sourcing association seeks transformation in sector
The Sri Lanka Apparel Sourcing Association (SLASA) held its 25th Annual General Meeting recently under the aegis of the Charge d’Affaires of the EU Thorston Bargfrede. Wilhelm Elias was re-elected Chairman, while the Vice Chairmen elected were Shweta Dhir and Azmina Kareem, Treasurer Denver Jayasundara and Secretary Gayan Galapitige as office bearers for the year [...]
Mireka Tower at Havelock City opened
The 50-floors Mireka Tower at Havelock City was ceremoniously opened by President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday. With 600,000 sq.ft. Grade A premium Office Space, the Mireka Tower offers an expansive, column-free setting with cityscape views, already feted as another iconic commercial complex transforming the skyline of Colombo.
Softlogic Finance to raise over Rs. 850m in rights issue
Softlogic Finance PLC, a subsidiary of Softlogic Capital PLC, is to raise over Rs. 850 million through a rights issue to infuse more capital in the company. The rights issue will be implemented in the proportion of 100 new Ordinary Shares for every 423 existing Ordinary Shares held by the shareholders of the company for [...]
Former BOI chairman to deliver Annual Olcott Oration
Thilan Wijesinghe, an old Anandian, will on October 29 deliver a lecture titled “Bridging the Ideological Divide that Caused Sri Lanka’s Economic Crisis” at the Ananda College Auditorium. This annual event by the Ananda College Old Boys’ Association is to commemorate the founder of Ananda, Henry Steel Olcott. Mr. Wijesinghe, currently Chairman of TWCorp an [...]
Alternative Dispute Resolution vital in today’s corporate world
Amidst the global challenges there is a need for increased use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) as a mechanism and the establishment of their centres to contribute to the development of the countries and this region. Delivering the keynote address on “ADR as a Building Block for Resilient Economies” in Colombo, the International ADR Centre, [...]
Sprout to phase out PET water bottles by 2024
While introducing the first batch of glass water bottles in the local market, ‘Sprout’ a natural spring water supplier aims to phase out its polyethylene terephthalate (PET) water bottles by 2024. From its natural pure form, the spring water undergoes basic purification and it’s only being distributed to exclusive hotels and supermarket chains in the [...]
Port City facilitates government’s “blue economy” initiative
The Colombo Port City (CPC) is lining up US$4 billion in investment in the short run moving the mega project on track to generate secondary investments from multiple sources on the directions of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Investment Promotion Ministry sources asserted. The Government plans to launch the blue economy concept via port city activities, sustainably [...]