Electric Tuk-Tuks
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka and other government agencies this week launched a project to mainstream e-mobility through the conversion of 500,000 Tuk-Tuks to electric vehicles (EVs) or e-Tuk-Tuks over a 5-year period. Pic By Indika Handuwala shows Ms. Azusa Kubota, Resident Representative, UNDP getting into the e-Tuk-Tuk with Transport Minister [...]
TUs to protest against govt. dilly-dallying tactics
Private sector-led trade unions are planning to file complaints with the European Union (EU) against the government’s dilly-dallying tactics to reconstitute the National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC) and other proposed labour law reforms that contravene internationally accepted worker rights binding on Sri Lanka as well. Discussions are being held between authorities and the EU on [...]
High social media crimes due to no regulation
The lack of social media regulation in the country has seen complaints on meta platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram along with other such platforms increasing over the past few years, officials say. More than 70 per cent of complaints to the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SLCERT) are incidents related to Facebook, data [...]
IMF team reviews progress of economic reforms programme
A staff team of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) now in Sri Lanka is currently holding talks with government’s key fiscal and monetary officials directly involved in IMF procedures, Finance Ministry sources confirmed. The IMF team will look into the progress made by the government in the implementation of the IMF sponsored economic reforms programme [...]
SEC aggressively warning social media pundits
The Securities and Exchange Commission over the past two weeks has warned more than 10 Facebook account holders for displaying the Colombo Stock Exchange logo on Facebook pages and promoting stocks. Most warned were 18 to 35-year-old individuals, an official told the Business Times on Thursday. An 18-year-old, who was giving investment advice on Twitter, [...]
Frightening off investors
The attack on a foreign investor, an Omani businessman, on March 30, reveals the fragility of foreign investments in the country. It was only after the media reported the incident that the government sprang into action after weeks of dilly-dallying. While government ministers scrambled (most probably prompted by President Ranil Wickremesinghe) to reassure the affected [...]
Great Britain, throned and dethroned
With last week’s coronation at Westminster Abbey, King Charles III became the “head of state” for the United Kingdom as well as for 14 more sovereign states in the world including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Sri Lanka also remained a country within this dominion of the Commonwealth until it was made a “Republic” in [...]
Rooftop solar developers given bulk dues by CEB
Continuous lobbying by renewable energy stakeholders to the Power Ministry on past payments resulted in a small victory for rooftop solar developers. They were paid all dues up to last December by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), an industry official told The Business Times on Thursday. They said that some other positive outcomes were also [...]
INSEE Ecocycle celebrates two decades of excellence
INSEE Ecocycle, this year, celebrates two decades in its mission to become Sri Lanka’s foremost sustainable waste management and environmental services provider, towards a cleaner and greener Sri Lanka. Since 2003, INSEE Ecocycle has sustainably managed over 1 million metric tons of industrial waste in collaboration with over 1,000 customers, including corporates, Government authorities at [...]
eChannelling records 15% YoY performance in 2022
eChannelling PLC, the largest channelling service provider in Sri Lanka and a subsidiary of SLT-MOBITEL, marked a landmark financial year 2022, recording a robust performance as it sets a strong foundation in its continued journey towards transforming Sri Lanka’s digital lifestyle services. With an aim to positively impact the digital lifestyle services of Sri Lankans [...]
Tea smallholders team up to market unique homemade teas
A group of Sri Lanka’s tea smallholders producing 70 per cent of the country’s export produce has in a joint initiative with local authorities aim to export artisanal and speciality teas to boost revenue with high quality teas. The Galle Kalutara Tea Estate Owners Association, the Low Country Tea Estate Owners Association, the Medium Scale [...]
Majority of Sri Lankans lose confidence in political leadership – poll
While Sri Lanka experienced the worst economic crisis in 2022, data reveals that a majority of citizens have lost confidence in the country’s political leadership. Although 39.5 per cent of Sri Lankans experienced no change and 11.1 per cent experienced an increase in confidence in the political leadership as a result of the crisis, 49.5 [...]
CSE to expand derivative related product suite
The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) is expanding its product portfolio as a direct result of the digitalisation it embarked on two years ago. The plan to expand, the product suite offering a wider range for investors to choose from is now taking shape, officials told the Business Times on the back of having launched green [...]
Lethal price of sweatshop development
CAMBRIDGE – It has been 10 years since an eight-storey commercial building housing several textile factories on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, collapsed on April 24, 2013. The collapse of Rana Plaza claimed the lives of 1,134 people and severely injured 2,000 more, most of them women. It was the deadliest industrial disaster since the [...]
Lankan students reach world finals at Microsoft Imagine Cup 2023
Two teams from Sri Lanka, team Sipsara and The Green Tycoon, successfully qualified to the World Finals (Asia) stage at Microsoft Imagine Cup 2023, Microsoft’s global competition for students to dream and build new ways of using technology to improve lives. The competition is a platform for students across the world to tap into their [...]
Seylan Bank profit momentum continues in Q1’23
Seylan Bank began the new fiscal year on a strong note, with Q1 2023 recording a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of Rs. 1.7 billion compared to Rs. 1.5 billion in 1Q 2022, a growth of 17.26 per cent. Supporting the bottom line, Profit After Tax (PAT) was Rs. 1.135 billion in 1Q 2023, a 7.69 [...]
Sri Lanka cheaper place to holiday than the rest
Sri Lanka has become one of the cheapest destinations in the region as a result of the stiff competition among hoteliers to cut rates and attract more tourists as the country is seeing a surge in arrivals since the industry was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic for the past three years. “Sri Lanka is right [...]