Leisure times at Galle Face Green
A tourist walks on the pavement of the Galle Face Green which, under a new government rule this week, has been decreed only for leisure purposes, banning it from use for any other purpose. Pic by Akila Jayawardena
Labour laws to be unified within new changes
Sri Lanka’s labour laws are about to change and authorities are to open up the space for public debate in June this year. Labour Ministry Secretary Ananda Wimalaweera speaking with the Business Times on Wednesday said that the labour laws in the country today are outdated. As a result authorities opine that without having a [...]
Sri Lanka’s urbanisation more than double in 10 years, official survey
Sri Lanka’s urbanisation has increased to 45 per cent from 18.5 per cent in 2012 in the past 10 years with rapid population growth and a hike in migration of people from rural areas. According to a new survey conducted by the National Physical Planning Department in Sri Lanka, urbanisation in Sri Lanka has increased [...]
Fintech start-ups moving to other countries
More and more fintech start-up firms are relocating to other countries, to overcome funding issues and other red tape in doing business in the country, industry officials say. The Fintech sandbox, which is a framework set up by the Central Bank (CB) to allow small-scale, live testing of financial innovations by private firms in a [...]
SEC cracks down on rogue traders
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is cracking down on offenders with several warnings, a suspension and banning them from joining the stock market industry. An 18 year-old who was giving investment advice on Twitter, despite being warned once, was banned for the next five years from joining the industry by the regulator. A senior [...]
Dire state of apparel
Aldoris, the choon-paan karaya, came down the lane in his tuk-tuk and screeched to a halt outside the gate. The trio had gathered there with the topic of conversation being the long Avurudu holidays. “Aldoris, mae avurudde, aluth avurudda kohomada (Aldoris, how was Avurudu this year)?” asked Kussi Amma Sera. “Hondai, hondai. Mae thama hondama [...]
PTA and EPF
Sunil malli – one of my relatives – called me early morning on the New Year day, to greet me. Our phone conversation was, however, not limited to greeting each other, but to discuss many more things. As usual, we continued a long conversation. He too, whenever he calls me, usually brings interesting news and [...]
Sri Lankan economy down to 6-year low last year in negative growth
Sri Lanka’s economic downturn last year has pushed country’s fiscal and monetary situation almost similar to the level six years ago. Sri Lanka’s economic output as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the year 2022 recorded as 7.8 per cent of negative growth year-on-year, the Census and Statistics Department (DCS) data showed. The DCS [...]
Tourism industry participation at travel fairs “overwhelming”
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry and authorities conducted a series of roadshows in China following the recent reopening of the country amidst an overwhelming response by local tour operators to participate at international travel fairs. The roadshows in China targeting the main cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou were held on April 17 -20 with the [...]
Lion Brewery, Luxury Brands sweep SLIM NASCO Awards 2022
Leading members of the Lion Brewery and Luxury Brands trade marketing teams were honoured at the recently held SLIM National Sales Congress (NASCO) Awards. The awards recognise that the sales function is crucial to the total marketing strategy and highlight the outstanding contribution of professionals who propel their businesses, brands and industries forward. Now in [...]
“Sri Lanka Telecom under restructure for the second time after 1996”
In response to the article published in the Business Times on April 9, 2023 under the above heading, the management of the SLT Group states the following: The article in question uses generalisations and facts and figures out of context to build an extremely misleading perception about the current status of the Sri Lanka Telecom [...]
New Anthoney’s Group expands production with a processing plant
New Anthoney’s Farms (Private) Ltd, one of the country’s leading poultry producers, recently deployed a ‘further’ processing plant as part of its production expansion strategy. With this, the company is able to produce over 200 tons of processed food products to cater to the evolving consumer preferences, the company said in a media release. Processed [...]
Ceylinco Life’s 85th classroom donation benefits Horana school
Ceylinco Life has gifted a purpose-built classroom building to a primary school in Horana, taking the number of classrooms donated by the Company to needy schools across the country to 85. In a unique engagement with the school community of the Pelpola Kanishta Vidyalaya, Ceylinco Life provided building materials to the value of Rs 1.35 [...]
Fortified rice – a revolutionary breakthrough in rice fortification technology
LOLC Advanced Technologies, a fully-owned subsidiary of LOLC Holdings, together with Brown & Company PLC, has introduced a revolutionary rice fortification technology to the local market, which locks in nutrients, vitamins, and phytochemicals within the rice kernel. The technology is a ground-breaking achievement that addresses the major drawbacks of currently available technologies for this purpose, [...]
Manufacturing firms going lean and mean
Sri Lankan manufacturing firms under duress, owing to multiple economic crises in addition to the recent tax slap by the government, have resorted to going lean to increase productivity. Many firms are deploying systems to cut costs and automate certain functions. Large apparel manufacturers, firms in the construction sector, fast-moving consumer goods companies, and tile [...]
LRC foregoes Rs.17 m over non- implemented computer system
Sri Lanka’s Land Reforms Commission (LRC) is alleged to have caused a massive loss to the state running up to millions of rupees by committing financial irregularities including failure to recover money given to a company for non-implemented computer system, unauthorised transactions, improper assessments and estimates. These details were transpired when the Committee on Public [...]
Singer Fashion Academy and Lovely Professional University Degrees
Singer Fashion Academy has announced its partnership with Lovely Professional University (LPU) of India to offer a degree pathway for its students. The partnership will enable Singer Fashion Academy students to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Fashion Design from LPU after completing their two half years fashion design programme at Singer Fashion Academy, the local [...]