Celebrating independence
Sri Lanka today marks the 76th year of independence from British rule. Here a street vendor prepares her flags for sale. Pic by M.A. Pushpha Kumara.
Big land bank for successful SLT bidder
The successful bidder for the country’s telecommunications firm, Sri Lanka Telecom PLC, will stand to gain a massive land bank in the country, analysts say. SLT has more than 500 lands (lots) extending to hundreds of acres around the island and worth billions of rupees. India’s Jio Platforms and China’s Gotune International Investment Holdings are [...]
From waste to wardrobe – SLINTEC’s king coconut natural dye launched
In a world dominated by the artificial and the synthetic, a humble hero emerged from the depths of Sri Lanka. The king coconut husks, once discarded as mere waste, seized the moment to redefine its role in the fight against synthetic substitutes. Zeroing in on the king coconut husks cast aside without a second thought, [...]
Sri Lanka eyes floating solar projects due to land limitations
Sri Lanka is eying floating solar projects to meet its renewable energy (RE) generation targets due to scarcity of land and hurdles related to land acquisition for land-based power plants, Power and Energy Ministry sources divulged. The national renewable energy plan aims to develop an additional capacity of 3,867MW of renewable energy targets by 2030. [...]
Digital transformation game changer for development
Sri Lanka is now on its way towards digital transformation via organisational overhauling driven by technology to enter onto the global stage, Technology Minister Kanaka Herath said. The Government has already allocated Rs. 3 billion or 1.4 per cent of total expenditures to digital and digitalisation efforts in 2024, with the aim of growing into [...]
Plantations get fertiliser relief
The government has provided the tea industry with a concession on the fertiliser prices with a reduction granted across the board to all stakeholders. This will help the industry to enhance the application of the fertiliser that has not been used or used partially by most farmers due to the high prices. Colombo Commerical and [...]
Banks combating rising credit card defaults
Sri Lankan banks, to combat credit card defaults, have resorted to converting credit card balances into loans designed for extended tenor, lower interest rates, and better settlements. Banks had witnessed an increase in credit card deals during certain financial quarters last year. “For example, during quarter two and quarter three, we did see an increase [...]
TS volumes up at Colombo Port, HIP
The Colombo Port has achieved a 27.7 per cent increase in transshipment volumes in January compared to the same month last year. This increase in volumes has been recorded as a result of the current Red Sea crisis with more ships calling at the Colombo Port with more transshipment volumes diverting their containers from the [...]
Valuing our freedom
Nidahas? Mona Nidahas-da (Freedom? What freedom),” asked an exasperated Kussi Amma Sera, after watching on TV yet another protest restrained by police using water cannons and tear-gas. “Mata wena adahasak thiyenne. Mama vishwasa karanawa api Nidahas Dinaya samaranna-oney kiyala. Magey tuk-tuk eke mama jathika kodiya pradarshanaya karanawa (I have a different view. I believe we [...]
Independence: Then and now
If we keep waiting like this, in a little time we won’t be able to eat our meal from Sinhala rice”. These are the words of a beautiful Sinhala song with anti-colonial nationalist sentiments, sung by one of Sri Lanka’s great artists, Sunil Edirisinghe. The words of the song call for revolting against Sri Lanka’s [...]
Colombo Port to enhance capacity building
The US has become involved in capacity building of the Colombo Port by providing training for its employees with the aim of achieving a mega hub status in South Asia. US Ambassador Julie Chung, addressing the launch of the Colombo Port Capacity Building project this week, stated that this is part of the commitment of [...]
VAT on knowledge, Govt blames IMF
The Sri Lanka Book Publishers Association (SLPBA) on Friday expressed displeasure over the 18 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) that was imposed on books since the beginning of this year. Though prices of the books have already been printed last year, the government has directed the publishers to print fresh stickers with the new [...]
Government to enact a new Public Financial Management Act this month
A new Public Financial Management Act is to be enacted in parliament this month to strengthen the fiscal responsibility framework, budget formulation and execution. The relevant bill is being finalised with the aim of improving the responsible fiscal management process when dealing with public finances and to take substantial decisions based on efficient resource utilisation. [...]
IMF has not shut the window for incentives, says ex-BOI Chairman
While locally invested foreign businesses are facing new taxes that have come into effect since January, the IMF in its diagnostic report on Strategic Development Project Act (SDP) has not shut the window for incentives, former Board of Investment (BOI) Chairman, Thilan Wijesinghe said. Referring to the IMF diagnostic report published on September 2023 on [...]
Purposeful training for impact
The Sri Lanka Institute of Training and Development (SLITAD) the national professional institute of training and development of professionals, recently invited Dr. Nalin Jayasuriya, a renowned business consultant, management trainer and coach, to deliver a presentation on ‘Purposeful Training for Impact’ to the members of the institute. Some key areas covered by Dr. Jayasuriya were: [...]
NDB Bank appoints Kelum Edirisinghe as CEO
NDB Bank has announced the appointment of Kelum Edirisinghe as the Director/Chief Executive Officer, effective from February 1, 2024. Bringing with him an illustrious career spanning 30 years, Mr. Edirisinghe joins NDB after a distinguished tenure with HSBC Sri Lanka and Maldives. His wealth of experience includes holding key senior management positions, with his last [...]
Saifudeen Jafferjee elected Chairman of JAAF
Industry veteran Saifudeen Jafferjee was elected Chairman of the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) at the 20th Annual General Meeting held recently. JAAF is the apex body that guides Sri Lanka apparel towards its ultimate goal of being the world’s number one apparel sourcing destination.
Emirates lounge in Colombo brings festive cheer to customers on Independence Day
Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, is marking Sri Lanka’s 76th Independence Day today (February 4) with a culinary tribute to delight its customers. The airline’s lounge at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) will be decked out and celebrating the occasion by treating First and Business Class passengers to a generous spread of traditional Sri [...]
NDB unveils “Talking Calendar”
NDB Bank recently presented its AI and AR integrated Calendar on January 2 at the NDB Head Office on Nawam Mawatha. This revolutionary calendar transcends traditional timekeeping, introducing the interactive ‘Talking Calendar’ and forging a significant leap forward in providing cutting-edge digital solutions for customers, the bank said. The AI and AR-generated “NDB Calendar Pal” [...]