Sri Lanka’s first overseas hospitality brand
Sri Lanka’s widely-acclaimed Santani resorts have ventured abroad – to Oman – and is setting up the first Sri Lankan brand overseas, in collaboration with the Oman Tourism Development Company. This strategic alliance marks a significant milestone in enhancing Oman’s wellness and the two exclusive wellness resorts (picture shows a conceptual drawing of the property) [...]
Lanka Bell to stop ringing
By Duruthu Edirimuni Chandrasekera Lanka Bell, a fixed wireless operator struggling to find investors for over half a decade, is on the brink of winding up, top officials confirmed. The company’s only asset now is the cable network which cost US$50 billion at the inception when it was formed, they added. The competition has surpassed [...]
SEC nudges sleeping UT to wake up
By Duruthu Edirimuni Chandrasekera The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has still not received applications from Managing Companies to set up exchange-traded funds, it was revealed at a recent meeting the regulator had with unit trust (UT) industry representatives. The SEC, under the Collective Investments Code 2022 (CIS Code) introduced the regulatory framework for the [...]
U-Solar Energy takes over SL hybrid power project
By Bandula Sirimanna In an about-turn, Sri Lanka has awarded the contract to implement a solar –wind hybrid power project in three islands off the Jaffna peninsula 50 kms away from Tamil Nadu’s coast, to an Indian company U-Solar Clean Energy Solutions following its comeback to take over the task. The relevant tender has been [...]
Ghosts of “aragalaya” haunt apparel industry in 2024
By Sunimalee Dias The apparel industry in Sri Lanka has been taken by surprise this January when it recorded a US$381.2 million, down from $424.4 million in the same month last year. The industry is currently feeling the impact of 2022’s “aragalaya” protests when orders were shifted elsewhere to other countries, Joint Apparel Association Forum [...]
Indian companies to enter mineral mining here
By Bandula Sirimanna Major Indian companies are to enter critical mineral mining in Sri Lanka taking advantage of the new national policy on mineral resources aimed at attracting foreign investors and/or technology holders to establish joint ventures with Sri Lankan partners. Moreover, India and Pakistan have been provided market access to the mineral deposits with [...]
Post war Jaffna now a postscript
By Sunimalee Dias Sri Lanka’s tourism industry’s goal of opening up the North is yet to attract increased arrivals as infrastructure like room capacity are hard to come by and not a single (beachside) resort is available. The North wants more traffic and this can only be achieved if they have capacity to hold the [...]
‘Decent’ robbery
Quite often I had come across questions related to “bond markets” – a topic that many are not familiar with. I thought of discussing this topic because it is an integral part of our current debt crisis. What is a bond? How does it work? And how does a country get into trouble with bonds? [...]
Ahoy! Rats on board
A hoy! Rats on board! That was the call on board SriLankan Airlines after a rat was discovered on one of its planes which had to be grounded for three days. This and other issues, including delays, facing the airline have forced the authorities to extend the date inviting offers for a part-stake in the [...]
Sri Lanka Thai FTA challenged as unconstitutional, illegal
The recently concluded Sri Lanka Thailand Free Trade Agreement (SLTFTA) has been challenged in the Supreme Court as unconstitutional, illegal and null and void. The fundamental rights petition (FR No. 64/2024) filed by Kapila Renuka Perera, President of the Professional’s National Front and President of the Information Technology Professionals Sri Lanka, seeks a leave to [...]
CTO promoted to CEO at Just In Time Group
Just In Time Group, (JIT) the leading provider of innovative systems integration solutions in Sri Lanka, has announced the appointment of Neranjan Dissanayake as its Chief Executive Officer effective beginning 2024. A past pupil of Royal College, and a graduate of the University of Moratuwa with a B.Sc. Eng. (Hons) in Electronics and Telecommunications, [...]
Axiata’s Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya receives outstanding award
Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, CEO of Telecommunications Business and Group Executive Director of Axiata Group Berhad, has been honoured with the GSMA Chairman’s Award at the recently concluded Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona, Spain. The Chairman’s Award is the GSMA’s most prestigious award and recognises outstanding contribution by individuals and organisations towards the advancement [...]
Sri Lanka on course for GI stamp on Ceylon Spices
By Sunimalee Dias Sri Lanka is beginning to become more concerned about branding its traditional products with a traceability of its origins like pepper, clove and nutmeg following on from the successful implementation of Ceylon Cinnamon. As part of the process of replicating the Ceylon Cinnamon Geographical Indication (GI) in other products, Sri Lanka has [...]
Huge losses at SLT in 2023
The SLT Group’s financial results for the fourth quarter and financial year ending December 31, 2023, has reflected a downturn in performance amidst a turbulent macro-economic environment in the country. For 4Q 2023, SLT Group reported a year-on-year consolidated revenue drop of 7.5 per cent amounting to Rs.26 billion compared to Rs.28 billion in 2022. [...]
IRD goes after wealthy Sri Lankans
The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) is paying close attention to the tax compliance of highly wealthy Sri Lankans in the country as a part of the IRD’s efforts to restore fairness and confidence in Sri Lanka’s tax administration by ensuring that the wealthy contribute their fair share and pay the right amount of taxes. For [...]
Five offers for Sri Lanka Insurance units
Five offers have been made under the Request for Qualification (RfQ) called for the divesture of shares in the life and general units of Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation Ltd, according to the state-owned Enterprises Restructuring Unit of the Ministry of Finance. For the life unit, offers were made by LIC (Lanka) Ltd, Union Assurance PLC [...]
Zoral and Linearsix to expand business across Asia, ME
Zoral, a global Artificial Intelligence (AI) software research and development company specialising in solutions for the banking and finance industry, has announced its strategic partnership with LinearSix, a digital transformation force in the financial services industry born and developed in Sri Lanka. This collaboration targets an aggressive entry into the Asia-Pacific (APAC) and the Middle [...]
World Bank study shows massive, wider-than-expected global gender gap
WASHINGTON – The global gender gap for women in the workplace is far wider than previously thought, a groundbreaking new World Bank Group report shows. When legal differences involving violence and childcare are taken into account, women enjoy fewer than two-thirds the rights of men. No country provides equal opportunity for women—not even the wealthiest [...]