‘Power crisis’
Speakers (from left) Rohan Seneviratne – General Manager of the CEB, Kushan Jayasuriya, Vice President, Solar Industries Association and Damitha Kumarasinghe, Director-General – Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka at a panel discussion this week on the “Power crisis” organised by the Sunday Times Business Club. The sponsors were Movenpick Hotel, Colombo; Hemas Holdings and [...]
New personal taxes trigger skilled worker migration
Millions of rupees went into the government coffers last month by companies in several industries after deducting the new income taxes from their staff salaries. The top three apparel manufacturers have given close to Rs.1 billion in personal income tax by the employees last month, industry sources said. A renewable energy subsidiary of a large [...]
Milco involved in not-so-milky expired milk powder deal
State-owned dairy producer, Milco (Pvt) Ltd has come under allegations of irregularities in awarding a tender called to sell a stock of 649 metric tons of milk powder unsuitable for human consumption in 2020, Agriculture Ministry sources divulged. A ministerial inquiry is now underway to find out as to how this expired milk food tender [...]
Tourism industry eyes credit line
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is expecting to engage with an international funding agency to provide a credit line to help them out of their current crisis as time to repay their debts has run out. As the Central Bank has refused to allow any further moratoriums the industry is now compelled to obtain a credit [...]
CSE to expand product suite, build infrastructure
The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) digitalisation has managed to triple the number of investors within two years and expanding the product suite offering a wider range for investors to choose from while building proper infrastructure will be the focus this year. Rajeeva Bandaranaike, CEO, CSE told the Business Times that the CSE completed all three [...]
Local firm assembles motorcycles
Forced by import restrictions and encouraged by the introduction of the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for local assembly of vehicles, a Sri Lankan auto company has stepped in to assemble motor cycles. The Ministry of Industries introduced the SOP in March 2021 enabling global brands to locally assemble vehicles. Senero Motor Company Pvt Ltd has [...]
Sri Lankan corporates starting agricultural cycle
In the wake of food insecurity in the country, private sector firms have resolved to sustain their own produce amply demonstrating the resilience of Sri Lankan firms. Leading apparel manufacturer, Hirdaramani Group started ‘Hirdaramani Waga Sangramaya’ through which they have set up vegetable gardens in factories and incentivise employees to do the same in their [...]
Garments in peril
Aldoris came down the lane in his music-blaring tuk-tuk. While residents frown on loud music or noise from vendors, they tolerate Aldoris and generally welcome the distraction as he is a lovable character who loves to chat while selling his breakfast food. It was Thursday morning, two days before our beloved country celebrates 75 years [...]
From misfortune to bankruptcy
Tanzania was due to celebrate its 61st Independence Day on 9 December 2022 at a cost of US$445,000. A few days prior to that, the President of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Hassan cancelled the celebrations and directed the funds to build dormitories for children with special needs. This is not the first time that Tanzania cancelled [...]
Hackathon to beat Sri Lanka’s corruption
Tim Draper, the billionaire US venture capitalist and the founding partner of Draper Goren Holm, an early-stage blockchain venture capital fund, earlier this week, suggested a hackathon for corruption to purge the continuous fraud in the country’s economy. He told journalists on Tuesday that it will be a good idea to have a hackathon for [...]
Pussellawa Plantations investments sustain rubber, tea production
Pussellawa Plantations in a bid to ensure the sustenance of their tea and rubber sectors continues to invest in infrastructure and machinery amidst the issues of low crop and high cost of fertiliser. “Having invested in infrastructure and machinery our production should go up and costs come down,” the company’s CEO Manoj Udugampola told the [...]
CEB’s mini diesel generator emergency power plan becomes worthless
The Ceylon Electricity Board’s (CEB) piecemeal solution to add 100 MW of capacity to the national grid by installing mini diesel generators spending billions of rupees to provide uninterrupted electricity supply has become a worthless endeavour, an internal investigation committee report revealed. The emergency power of these generators is connected to the national grid when [...]
Canned fish industry to earn dollars
Sri Lanka’s canned fish producers are ready to increase production for the export market after, for the first time, making the country self-sufficient in canned fish. The canned fish industry has been encouraged by the Finance Ministry’s move to increase the special commodity levy on canned fish imports to Rs.200 from Rs.100, industry sources said. [...]
‘Ceylon’ or ‘Sri Lanka’? Destination branding questioned – Hiran Cooray
While Sri Lanka is aiming at 1.5 million tourists by the end of year 2023, one of the pertinent decisions all stakeholders of the country must focus is to resolve on which name you want to brand the destination. Sri Lankan tea is branded as ‘Ceylon Tea’ and tourism is branded as ‘Sri Lanka Tourism’. [...]
RPCs insist wage reforms way forward
Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) in Sri Lanka want to ensure that tea pluckers engage in a fair wage system by moving into the revenue-share model that will be a win-win for both parties. Planters Association Chairman Senaka Alawattegama told reporters on Tuesday that there is an urgent need to bringing about sweeping reforms to the [...]
Tata dealer conference in Colombo
In a major boost to Sri Lanka’s MICE industry, Tata Steel, part of India’s giant Tata Group, is hosting over 650 dealers and other delegates for a dealers conference in Sri Lanka on February 7. It is one of the biggest MICE events to be held in Sri Lanka in recent years. The organisers said [...]