Ahead of Christmas shopping
Shopping in Fort. These markets would engage more shoppers next week for those seeking bargains for the Christmas festival. Pic by Priyanka Samaraweerra
Indian company’s withdrawal of renewable energy project in Jaffna sparks controversy
An Indian company is now at the centre of a controversy in Sri Lanka over the government’s decision to award the contract for the construction of hybrid recycled power plants on three islets in the northern Jaffna district even after their withdrawal of the bid from the relevant tender. The cabinet meeting on Monday decided [...]
Catalyst Board to facilitate SOEs listings
The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has amended the Listing Rules to facilitate the listing of shares issued by State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) on a new board under the Main Market Segment of the CSE, identified as the `Catalyst Board’. The amendments were approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the revised rules are effective [...]
Saudi Arabia’s coir pith order cancellation incurs massive loss for Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka has lost a long term contract offered by Saudi Arabia to supply a large quantity of coco peat (sterilised coir) worth millions of dollars due to official bungling and corruption, an official probe revealed. The other reason for the cancellation of the order was the lack of vision and proper procedure of state [...]
Indian corporates opt for better markets, says SLAPCEO
Indian corporate travellers are unlikely to book Sri Lanka for their next corporate events due to the increase in the rates in Colombo that has left most travel agents to continue to focus on other destinations to generate a better income. Although the main events may be there some of the smaller conferences like dealer [...]
CB to amend rules to facilitate non-residents to trade in RSS
The Central Bank is amending rules to facilitate non-residents to transact in regulated short selling (RSS), an instrument recently facilitated by the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), officials said. RSS happens when a short seller or the borrower of shares trades on the CSE based on a stock borrowing and lending agreement. The short seller does [...]
Generative AI will create more IT activity and more jobs
With Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools across industries, many skilled and knowledge workers are uneasy about AI disrupting or even eliminating their jobs, but tech experts assert that AI is intended to help humans – not replace them. “AI will generate new avenues of work. With generative AI we will have a whole lot of new [...]
Transparency assured in new e-passport tender
Sri Lankans will be able to get their long-awaited e-passports, equipped with biometric chips compliant with the latest International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards, official sources said. After almost an 8-year delay, Sri Lanka’s e-passport project will get off the ground next year following the calling of bids from eligible bidders to supply 5 million [...]
Troubled times ahead
” Enda, enda, laabai kema, enda (Come, come, cheap food, come),” shouted Aldoris, the choon-paan karaya, braking furiously outside our gate in his tuk-tuk. “Mokakda mae kalabaley (What’s the fuss),” asked Kussi Amma Sera, running to the gate. “Aei, ena avurudde badu wediwena-ne. Dan api vikunanne badu wedi karanna issara-wela milata (Why, taxes are going up [...]
Global economy: Heating up vs. cooling down
The movements in the global economy during the post-COVID time are interesting. In the US, EU and the UK, it was unusually high inflation. Japan, that failed to produce at least 2 per cent inflation rate for many years, began to see it rising to over 4 per cent. Even many of the Western European [...]
Another first of its kind from Bank of Ceylon
The country’s top bank, the Bank of Ceylon (BOC), has become the first state sector bank to issue a Basel III Compliant, Tier 2 Listed, Rated, Unsecured, Subordinated Redeemable Debenture with a Non-viability Conversion feature. The Debentures are rated BBB+ (lka) by Fitch Ratings Lanka limited. The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has approved in principle [...]
Orit Apparels wins Gold at NCE Awards 2022
Sri Lanka’s number one denim specialist Orit Apparels Lanka (Pvt) Ltd., bagged the gold award at the NCE Awards in the Textile and Garment Sector – Extra Large category recording a momentous win at the recent awards ceremony. “This being Orit’s pioneering effort in the NCE arena, emerging to the top was an astounding feat, [...]
Huawei ICT Competition: 20 winners
The award ceremony for the third edition of the Huawei ICT Competition in Sri Lanka witnessed the selection of 20 winners, 10 from each of the Network and Cloud tracks, who came from nine different Sri Lankan universities. The University of Moratuwa and the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology secured first place in each [...]
Ceylon Chamber welcomes first IMF review
The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) has welcomed the Board approval of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) completion of its first review under the 48-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) with Sri Lanka. This milestone, granting Sri Lanka access to approximately US$337 million, underscores the nation’s commitment to fulfilling key performance criteria and benchmarks, the CCC [...]
Ritz Clothing expands with Nikaweratiya Factory
Ritz Clothing, a longstanding and respected player in Sri Lanka’s apparel sector traces its roots back to the visionary initiation of the 200 factories project of the early 1990s by the late President Ranasinghe Premadasa. At the helm of this dynamic enterprise, Mr. Chandrasena Kodikara, has and continues to play a pivotal role in developing [...]
IMF stresses the need of signing MOUs with official creditors on debt treatment
The government has reached important milestones in putting debt on the path towards sustainability while taking challenging policy actions to put the crisis behind them and its performance under the economic reform programme was satisfactory, Senior IMF Mission Chief for Sri Lanka Peter Breuer commented at a virtual press conference in Washington earlier this week. [...]
1183 SMEs lose their assets so far this year under parate execution by banks
Business operation of 89 per cent of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector in Sri Lanka is worsening following stringent legal actions taken by banks to recover their loans, a leading MSME association said. 1183 SME assets had been taken over by banks and auctioned to prospective bidders under parate execution during the [...]
Homestays get push to serve travellers better
Sri Lanka’s homestays received a boost this week with the commencement of an awareness campaign and training workshop in multiple locations in the country that would help to improve their standards to better serve travellers on holiday. This project “Tourism Homestay Twinning Project” was carried out by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) in [...]
CA Sri Lanka illuminates reporting brilliance at TAGS Awards 2023
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) celebrated a remarkable showcase of excellence in corporate reporting at the TAGS Awards 2023 on Tuesday. Leading corporates, multinationals, SMEs, and non-profit organisations were honoured for their commitment to producing outstanding annual corporate reports. With transparency, accountability, governance, and sustainability being paramount in corporate [...]
99x clinches Gold at NCE awards 2023
99x, a global leader in IT services, secured a win at the National Chamber of Exporters Awards 2023 in the Extra-Large Category for the ICT, BPO and Related Services Sector. “This prestigious accolade marks a significant achievement for 99x, continuing its legacy of excellence in the industry. 99x was recognised for having consistently demonstrated unparalleled [...]
NDB Bank, first local bank to get ISO 22301:2019 certification
NDB Bank has emerged as the first commercial bank in Sri Lanka to attain the ISO 22301:2019 certification for its Business Continuity Management System (BCMS), setting a new standard in the financial sector. This significant feat follows closely on the heels of NDB Bank’s triumph in April 2023, when it received the ISO 27001 certification [...]
Kosala makes Shanghai presentation
Kosala Wickramanayake, President of the International Business Council (see picture), made a presentation on “Promoting International Intellectual Property Operations to Boost High Quality Development of the Digital Economy” at the 20th Shanghai International IP Forum held at MGM Shanghai West Bund in Shanghai China on December 11.
LAUGFS Rubber ‘Runner-up for Most Outstanding Exporter – Overall’
LAUGFS Rubber, a subsidiary of LAUGFS Holdings, has announced its exceptional achievement in winning the prestigious ‘Runner-up for Most Outstanding Exporter – Overall’, as well as the Gold award for the third consecutive year in the ‘Rubber Tyre & Accessories Sector’ at the 31st NCE Annual Exports Awards 2023. This remarkable feat further solidifies LAUGFS [...]
ComBank raises Rs. 12 bn as debentures
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has raised Rs 12 billion in capital with its Debenture issue closing after over subscription on its opening day, Tuesday December 12. The bank offered an initial issue of 60 million Basel III Compliant – Tier 2 Listed Rated Unsecured Subordinated Redeemable Debentures with a Non-Viability Conversion feature, at the [...]