Tea estate community
An exhibition was held recently at the Colombo Public Library profiling the history of the Malaiyaga Tamils (tea estate community). Pic by Akila Jayawardena
MTFE Pyramid app flops, thousands lose money in Ponzi scheme
Thousands of Sri Lankans have lost their money running up to millions of rupees following the collapse of the Metaverse Foreign Exchange (MTFE) Group’s platform this week, subsequent to a court hearing of the case of the biggest financial fraud in recent times. Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court imposed a foreign travel ban on five front [...]
Govt. to impose taxes all the way until you die
Sri Lankans need to now start assessing the only “wealth” they have in the form of land, buildings, investments, shares and even the cost of inheriting parent’s property or the only provident funds that once realised could be taxed when the next budget comes around! Authorities in line with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommendations [...]
Authorities set to create Bad Loans Bank
The Treasury with line ministries are gearing to create an Asset Management Company (Bad Loans Bank) or non-performing loan (NPL) bank to take over the toxic assets of the banks, and ring-fence these assets for the banks to move forward. Ministry of Finance officials said that this was approved by the last budget, but progress [...]
Indian supplier of SL liquor stickers gets digital ID card contract
Sri Lanka’s much delayed national-level digital identity card project finally appears to be moving forward two decades after its initiation in a fresh attempt of opening the procurement process to select a prospective supplier but it is raising some security concerns. The aim is to re-issue national identity cards (NICs) to the whole adult population [...]
TUs oppose new labour law reforms
Sri Lanka’s trade unions have expressed their opposition on Monday to the draft labour reforms in a letter handed over to the Labour Minister Manusha Nanayakkara. The reforms were introduced in a Sinhala document presented at the National Labour Advisory Council meeting in July. They stated that a labour law reform initiative that is devoid [...]
LTL Holdings gearing for IPO
LTL Holdings, the engineering company in Sri Lanka specialising in the power sector, is planning an initial public offering (IPO) to expand in the region with new ventures. “We have made an application to the Colombo Stock Exchange. The valuations are being done at the moment. We are likely to issue 20 per cent of [...]
Tackling the water crisis
Somewhere in the Anuradhapura district, women carrying clay pots are trudging in search of water. This is the worst-affected district in terms of the current water shortage. The other areas affected by the dry spell are reportedly Ratnapura, Trincomalee, Puttalam, Kurunegala, Jaffna, Mannar, Mullaitivu, Vavuniya, Badulla and Moneragala. Often women bear the brunt of any [...]
Economy cornered with elections round the corner!
Being a democracy, Sri Lanka must have regular elections, while people used to enjoy them. Until the recent past, however, almost every year there has been some kind of an election somewhere in the country, if not the entire country. For about three years now, the country didn’t have any election, which is quite unusual [...]
Young Sri Lankans concerned about their future; says former Bank of Thailand chief
As many people are leaving Sri Lanka due to the current economic crisis and looking for greener pastures, young students who are aspiring to become future leaders of the country are very concerned about the talent migration and future prospects to remain in the country. While seeking advice from an expert in economics, advanced level [...]
CB completes diagnostic study of banks
The Central Bank (CB) has completed the final phase of the asset quality review of the country’s banking sector as per the IMF recommendations in a diagnosis study, CB Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe said. “We are discussing the report with individual banks. The report is much better than what we expected,” he told media on [...]
CB unhappy with lending rate reductions by banks
The Central Bank (CB) on Friday issued a circular on methods to ensure that the lending rates reflect the recent Monetary Policy relaxation. CB Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe told the media on Thursday at a post-policy review meeting that this will be done. He said that the CB’s expectation of at least a 3 per [...]
Pyramid schemes; more illegal companies to be named
The Central Bank (CB) has partnered with international organisations to combat unlawful deposit-taking and pyramid schemes, officials said. “We have collaborated with Blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider and Binance to combat these types of schemes,” CB Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe told the media at a Post Monetary Policy Review meeting on Thursday in Colombo. [...]
Industry concerns over old bus imports
The Ceylon Motor Traders Association (CMTA) has addressed the recent announcement regarding the relaxation of import restrictions for commercial vehicles and buses. While the CMTA acknowledges the positive step of easing these restrictions, it emphasises the need for a sustainable approach to manage foreign currency expenditure on vehicle imports. The CMTA previously forwarded a proposal [...]
Nawaloka Hospitals records Rs.120 m pre-tax profit in 1Q
Nawaloka Hospitals PLC has recorded strong growth during the first quarter for FY23/24 ending June 2023 with Rs.120 million profit-before-tax (PBT) in its interim financial statement, marking a 158 per cent increase over the same period in the previous year. The report highlighted the group’s recent restructuring and increased activity in key areas such as [...]
Prof. R.U. Kuruppu awarded Companion Member of the Textile Institute, UK
Veteran apparel industry expert Prof. R.U. Kuruppu has received the coveted award – Companionship of the Textile Institute, UK (Comp TI) – at the recently held Textile Institute World Conference, UK. The Textile Institute, UK is a professional organisation for those engaged in clothing, footwear, and textiles. The Textile Institute (TI) works to promote professionalism [...]
Metropolitan appoints Ivor Maharoof as Deputy Chairman
Senior corporate leader, Ivor Maharoof has been appointed as the Deputy Chairman of Metropolitan Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, the holding company of the Metropolitan Group of companies. The appointment was made by Dinesh J Ambani, Chairman and Co Chairman Lalith Ambani of Metropolitan Holdings which is active in Sri Lanka for over six decades as one [...]