Tourism on a roll
The Sheraton Colombo Hotel was the venue of an interesting discussion on tourism on Tuesday. The panellists at the discussion titled “Tourism on a roll” were Priantha Fernando, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (centre); Rahul Maini, General Manager of the Sheraton Colombo Hotel (right) and Nishad Wijetunga, President – Sri Lanka Association [...]
Sri Lanka to become regional hub for aircraft recycling
Sri Lanka will become a regional base to recycle aircraft through a new investment by Aitken Spence Ltd that is set to commence operations at Hambantota as a joint venture with a Hong Kong-based partner within the next few months. Aitken Spence is to sign the joint venture with Zone 600, the Hong Kong- based [...]
SL crime fighting authorities on a roll
At least 10 money laundering convictions are on the cards at the higher courts, after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) nudged Sri Lankan authorities to walk the talk in fighting ‘black’ money in the country, top officials said. Money laundering is the process of making illegally obtained funds, appear legitimate by disguising their true origins. [...]
Dialog wins network hosting contract of Police
Dialog Axiata PLC, a leading connectivity provider, has been awarded the tender of virtual private network (VPN) hosting of Sri Lanka Police Department recently. The tender was called on July 26, 2023 and, Dialog submitted its bid on August 16, 2023 to the Sri Lanka Police. At the bid opening, Dialog was announced as the [...]
Hayleys to implement first power wheeling project
Hayleys PLC to implement the first ever Power Wheeling project in Sri Lanka after it was sanctioned by the Government recently. The project is to be planned at the Badalgama site of its subsidiary Haycarb PLC, top officials told the Business Times on Wednesday. The Cabinet of Ministers has approved to accept the method of [...]
Visa free travel set to boost economy – SLTDA
Sri Lanka’s tourism stakeholders are urging the government to strongly consider a visa fee waiver by issuing free visas to entice increased travel to the destination and thereby gain an advantage against other competing nations for more tourist arrivals. The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) has carried out research into this aspect and stated [...]
MSMEs get new impetus with Rs.5 bn loan package
Sri Lanka’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) hit by the economic downturn will receive a new impetus with the introduction of a Rs. 5 billion new loan relief package as proposed in the budget 2024, Finance Ministry sources confirmed. The ministry in collaboration with the Ministry of Industries will provide credit facilities of Rs. [...]
Colombo bourse shortens settlement cycle
The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), in consultation with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) and industry participants, has announced that the settlement cycle for equity transactions will be reduced from T+3 to T+2 with effect from June 10, 2024 (i.e. trades taking place on and after June 10). The concept of settlement [...]
Scary? AI as a tool
It was a gloomy morning on Thursday when Arty, the intrepid entrepreneur, woke me up with a call on the landline. “I say….I hope I didn’t wake you up,” he said. “You did….but it’s okay, I needed to get up to prepare for my column. What’s happening?” I asked. “Well I read this editorial in [...]
Higher salaries and lower prices
A few days ago, I received a phone call from Yasawardena Rodrigo, a journalist from the Sinhala newspaper “Deshaya”. Once in a while, he used to contact me for comments and interviews on current economic issues of the country. This time too he had an important and interesting question: “People are burdened with so much [...]
Central Bank gears up for a national level financial literacy initiative
The Central Bank is to take a national level financial literacy initiative as the most appropriate tool to reach higher financial inclusion through the improvement of financial literacy among Sri Lankans. At the launch of the Financial Literacy Roadmap 2024-2028 in Colombo on Tuesday, it transpired that there was a significant gap between satisfactory financial [...]
Excise Dept. expedites digitalisation of revenue stream
The Excise Department (ED) is in the process of full digitalisation of its revenue administration process, expediting the IT application system development and linking with the Customs Department and the Inland Revenue Department, Commissioner General of Excise M. J. Gunasiri said. This initiative is being carried out in consultation with the Finance Ministry enabling the [...]
SLCB promotes MICE tourism among southern hotels
The state-owned Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB) recently concluded the Southern Hoteliers Training Programme on MICE Tourism on May 8 at the Occidental Eden Beruwala. This is one of a series of training programmes that had been organised by SLCB in many parts of the country during the past few years. This particular MICE Tourism [...]
SriLankan Airlines hosts Indian journalists
SriLankan Airlines recently welcomed a group of senior journalists from leading Indian travel trade publications on a familiarization (FAM) tour of Sri Lanka, in collaboration with Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts, along with the coordinating efforts of the official PR agency of SriLankan Airlines in India, AVIAREPS. The initiative aims to enhance Sri Lanka’s appeal as [...]
Sri Lanka’s new employment bill threat to workers
The new Employment Bill is set to terminate the Board of Investment (BOI) allow for the privatisation of free trade zones and is likely to render the Labour Department ineffective in future. Unions say the bill only seeks to promote investments and is a threat to worker rights. The Free Trade Zone and General Service [...]
Appeal Court suspends minimum room rates for Colombo hotels
Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal on Tuesday issued an interim order suspending the minimum room rates within the Colombo city hotels. In the order it is stated thus “Grant an Interim Order until the final hearing determination of this Application, suspending the operation of the purported order published by Extraordinary Gazette No. 2349/02 dated 11 [...]
Ceylon Chamber urges all political parties to support SOE Reforms
The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce on Monday urged all political parties to support the continuity of SOE reforms and the reform momentum. Its statement came in the wake of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, also leader of the largest parliamentary party – Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), urging President Ranil Wickremesinghe to postpone the sale of [...]
Major International Golf in High Definition Only on Dialog Television
Dialog Television, Sri Lanka’s premier Pay-TV service provider, will be the only Pay-TV partner in Sri Lanka to broadcast golf’s biggest global competitions, allowing Sri Lankan golf enthusiasts to catch all the action in High Definition (HD) on ThePapare TV HD (channel number 126). The 83rd Senior PGA Championship will commence in Michigan, USA on [...]
Land prices bounce back, says LankaPropertyWeb
Land prices have bounced back to growth in the latest Land Price Index by LankaPropertyWeb. The overall land prices in the Western Province increased by 7.8 per cent compared to the previous year, according to the 2024 Western Province Land Price Index (LPI), developed by LankaPropertyWeb (LPW). It said in a media release that the [...]