“IMF and Beyond”
President Ranil Wickremesinghe speaks during a panel discussion under the topic “IMF and beyond”, which drew a high level business audience at the Galle Face Hotel on Thursday. The Sunday Times and the Sunday Lankadeepa were the media partners of the event. Story on Page 3. Pic by Priyanka Samaraweera.
Tainted BIA E-Gate project comes to a grinding halt
The much-delayed installation of electronic gate facilities at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) after awarding the procurement tender of the project to the highest bidder causing massive loss to the country more than five years after its initiation in 2017 has now been suspended. The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Aviation has sought a clarification, [...]
Dozen pyramid schemes under probe by regulator
More than a dozen pyramid schemes are on the Central Bank (CB) radar after the regulator got the Attorney General to file criminal cases against three such prohibited schemes recently. As the schemes were contravening Section 83C of the Banking Act cases will be filed against ‘Fast3cycle International (P) Ltd.,” ‘Sport Chain App, Sport Chain [...]
Cash transactions on the rise
High taxes have pushed individuals to perform more cash transactions to evade the banking system and thereby dodge taxes. Many try to avoid the banking system as the bank statements officially give the transaction records. Large traders and certain businessmen always encourage cash transactions, a businessman said. An economist said the withholding tax of 5 [...]
Apparel industry facing factory closures
Sri Lanka’s apparel industry is facing tough times as the sector’s biggest players are operating at half the capacity and at the same time some of their factories are closing down operations while banking their hopes on the second half of this year. Some of the bigger players speaking with the Business Times noted that [...]
Selling the family jewels
Privatisation. To some it’s a scary thought; to others it’s a means of promoting competition and giving customers value. The above headline might seem unkind to the governing authorities who are on the path to selling off loss-making state ventures to private parties. After all, the intention is to provide the consumer a better deal [...]
IMF and protests: Bitter pills to swallow
Last year’s economic hardship of the foreign exchange crisis appears to dissipate now in 2023. Fuel lines have disappeared, and power cuts have vanished. Domestic supply shortages are subduing and price increases calming down. The rupee value is getting strengthened against the US dollar and other international currencies. Perhaps, some do not understand or do [...]
Sri Lanka challenged with ethnic, economic issues, says President
President Ranil Wickremesinghe this week called for support from all Sri Lankans to resolve the country’s two biggest issues namely the ethnic issue and the economic crisis. He said these two issues need to be dealt with simultaneously and cannot be pushed off for later and pointed out that this can only be achieved through [...]
Fuel formula ‘U’ turn brings down all time high petroleum tariffs
In a significant ‘U’ turn, the Government has reintroduced the fuel price formula devised by the Treasury under the then finance minister Mangala Samaraweera in 2018 bereft of politicisation on the directions of President Ranil Wickremesinghe. This adoption of the automatic fuel price adjustment mechanism monthly has revised the existing steep price increase, Finance Ministry [...]
Indian exporters reluctant to settle in INR
With the depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee during the peak of the economic crisis, trade settlements between India and Sri Lanka were discussed among the two governments to set off imports from India in Indian rupees (INR). Exporters from India now fear that the INR would depreciate against the US dollar and so that [...]
8th Power, Energy & Construction Expo in July
The Power, Energy & Construction Expo is set to take place on July 7-9 at the BMICH Exhibition Centre, Colombo. The expo, which will showcase the latest developments and innovations in the power, energy, and construction industries, is organised by Lanka Exhibition & Conference Services (Pvt) Ltd (LECS). The expo will feature exhibitors from various [...]
Cargills Bank reports profitability turnaround in 2022
Cargills Bank, driven by robust growth in operating income that offset erosions due to increased provisioning and operating costs, has reported a profit before tax of Rs. 206 million for the financial year 2022, recovering from a loss before tax of Rs. 369 million in the previous year. Total operating income rose 74 per cent [...]
Ten Public Expenditure Review Committees to strengthen fiscal consolidation
The Government has appointed 10 Public Expenditure Review Committees (PERC) comprising five or six members each with the aim of rationalising state expenses through a systematic review to strengthen the country’s fiscal consolidation and economic recovery process, the Finance Ministry announced. The Cabinet of Ministers at its meeting held on February 6, 2023 decided to [...]
Indonesian Embassy “Paves” their way to a sustainable future
The Indonesian Embassy in Colombo initiated a landmark project within its precincts engaging the innovator of Green Technology for Road & Highway paving, AGC Innovate (Pvt) Ltd, to carry out the comprehensive renovation work of the internal road network of the embassy premises using “Plastic Modified Asphalt Concrete (PMAC).” PMAC is a novel eco-friendly disruptive [...]
Sri Lanka to restructure T-bills amounting to US$11.4 bn soon
The Sri Lanka Government is now facing the task of fulfilling several structural benchmarks including domestic debt optimisation (DDO) aimed at liquidity relief while preserving financial stability to avoid further eroding Sri Lanka’s repayment capacity, Finance Ministry sources divulged. The part of the domestic debt or US $11.4 billion Treasury bill restructuring process is set [...]
Sri Lanka’s education system undergoes revolutionary change with STEAM entry
Sri Lanka’s education system will be undergoing a revolutionary change soon with the introduction of new method of module based education on how to use the theoretical knowledge gained in the class room for the day-to-day practice in their environs, Education Minister Susil Premajayantha disclosed. The new system STEAM is an educational approach to learning [...]
hSenid Business Solutions PLC receives ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification
hSenid Business Solutions PLC was audited and certified with the ISO/IEC 27001:2013 standard by the Bureau Veritas Certification Holding SAS – UK Branch. The certification is an international recognition on information security standards published by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) that specifies the requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining, [...]