Coming together
The Sunday Times Business Club (STBC), which has existed for more than 25 years, this week signed an MoU with Shangri-La Hotel Colombo (host hotel) paving the way for mutual collaboration between the two parties. Picture shows officials from both entities, and (Inset), Feizal Samath, Business Editor/Patron STBC and Herve Duboscq, General Manager. Shangri-La Hotel [...]
Govt. frees 52 Colombo land lots, 26 play grounds for revamping
By Bandula Sirimanna The Government is planning to free up 52 state owned land and 26 play grounds coming under the purview of Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) for the restructuring and revamping of such unutilised or underutilised property as revenue generation ventures, CMC sources revealed. These lands and grounds have already been identified for revamping [...]
SriLankan Airlines to roll out new business plan
By Sunimalee Dias National carrier, SriLankan Airlines will be getting its full fleet activated by the end of this year, the airline said on Friday with plans for the future to be rolled out soon. Currently there are three Airbus A320neo aircraft grounded due to the unavailability of engines, the carrier said in response to [...]
Politics drives shipping talent to West Asia, Africa
By Duruthu Edirimuni Chandrasekera There is a demand for Sri Lankan talent in ports across West Asia and Africa, top officials say. Many former Sri Lankan Ports Authority and shipping line staff were now working in ports all around the world and especially in the aforementioned areas, Rohan Masakorala, CEO of Shippers Academy told The [...]
Reform process crucial after bond-restructure deal with creditors
By Bandula Sirimanna While Sri Lanka is in a win-win situation by reaching an agreement to restructure US $12.5 billion of bonds (ISBs) this week, the crisis is not over yet with economists saying that critical reforms must be adhered to, to ensure sustainability. “Every time, Sri Lanka has abandoned its reform process because elections [...]
Planters appeal to SC, get them brief relief
By Sunimalee Dias Sri Lanka’s Planters Association has obtained temporary relief from paying estate workers the minimum wage of Rs.1700 following the staying of the gazette issued by the government to make this payment. The Supreme Court on Thursday issued this interim injunction by a majority decision to stay the gazette that called estate owners [...]
Entrepreneurship the new mantra?
It was a glorious Thursday morning with the wind sweeping across the neighbour’s garden and leaves from nearby trees dropping gently to the ground. This was the same picture in our garden with one exception: it seems the margosa tree ‘refused’ to shed its leaves despite the strong wind. It looked forlorn with an empty [...]
How should we stop going to the IMF?
Last week, we dealt with the popular claim, “Stop going to the IMF” because Sri Lanka has been a “repeating client” of the IMF since 1965, securing ‘relief on 17 occasions’. We focused on the experience of India that did not go to IMF after 1991 and Thailand after 1997. As per a popular school [...]
CPC revenue drops in 1Q 2024, competition from Sinopec
By Bandula Sirimanna In the face of competition with a new Chinese player, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has been compelled to reduce fuel imports to US$648.71 million in the first four months of 2024 compared to $828.4 million in the same period of 2023, the Finance Ministry’s latest fiscal position report revealed. Another reason [...]
Hayleys Plantations represents Sri Lanka at 10th World Water Forum
Head of the Hayleys Plantations Sector and Managing Director of Kelani Valley Plantations PLC (KVPL) Dr. Roshan Rajadurai represented Sri Lanka at the recently concluded 10th World Water Forum held in Bali. During the Side Event – Executive Roundtable Dialogue titled ‘Flowing Forward Faster: Best Practices in Corporate Water Stewardship’, Dr. Rajadurai shared KVPL’s innovative [...]
GTEX2 launched in Colombo
The official launch of the second phase of the Global Programme on Textile and Clothing (GTEX2) in Sri Lanka was held on Wednesday. At the head table (from left): Yohan Lawrence-JAAF, Kingsley Bernard, Chairman-EDB, State Minister Dilum Amunugama, Dr. Siri Walt, Swiss Ambassador and Matthias Knappe. Pic by Akila Jayawardena.
CCC launches Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Awards
The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce has announced the ‘Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Award 2024 (BCCS Awards)’, marking its 21st year as a highlight in the corporate calendar. A briefing seminar sharing insights on the application process will be held on July 26 at the Ceylon Chamber. Designed to inspire companies to integrate superior environmental, social, [...]
ComBank’s debenture Issue oversubscribed on opening day
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon’s and Sri Lanka’s largest ever debenture issue by a private bank closed after oversubscription on its opening day, Tuesday July 2, raising Rs. 20 billion for Sri Lanka’s biggest private sector bank. Announcing the oversubscription, the bank said it had received applications for over three times the Rs. 10 billion [...]
Acuity Knowledge Partners acquires PPA Group
LONDON – Acuity Knowledge Partners, a leading provider of high-value research, analytics and business intelligence solutions to the financial services sector with operations in many countries including Sri Lanka, has announced the acquisition of the PPA Group. PPA is a leading technology-enabled service provider to financial institutions in Germany and Switzerland, providing services focused on [...]
Global Environment Facility provides support for chemical disposal project
Sri Lanka does not manufacture products which contain POPs or Mercury. However, many products containing these substances are imported to the country for various uses every year. Though stringent regulations have been introduced, a lack of capacity in the application of these regulations results in the continued mismanagement of chemical imports to the country. The [...]
CSE in discussion with issuers for sustainable bonds
By Duruthu Edirimuni Chandrasekera The sustainable bond market, now with blue and green bonds, can help Sri Lankan state-owned enterprises with liquidity issues in the long term, officials said. Now that the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has facilitated sustainable bonds, state-owned enterprises with liquidity issues can use this route to manage the cash flow, Chinthaka [...]
Converting trash to charcoal briquettes
Sri Lanka is gearing up to inspire and spur some of its talented youth towards innovation, with an aim to build a greener and more sustainable economy. A platform that has gained its spotlight is the Green Innovation Challenge by HackaDev, an overarching programme led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka, [...]
Olu, marking a decade as Sri Lanka’s premier brand of Natural Mineral Water
While focus is given to major export industries like spices, tea, and apparel, there is untapped potential in the beverage industry. As a decade-old brand, the company strives to become a game changer, which is how the journey of Olu Water began, said Shalindri Malawana, the General Manager of Liquid Island, owners of the Olu [...]
Moratuwa University team wins second prize at Huawei ICT Global Competition
The Sri Lankan team from Moratuwa University made history by securing the Second Prize in the Practice Competition – Cloud Track 1 at the Huawei ICT Competition 2023–2024 Global Finals. The closing and awards ceremony of the Huawei ICT Competition Global Final was held in Shenzhen. This marks the first time a team from Sri [...]
Sri Lanka’s fiscal sector records robust performance in first 4 months
By Bandula Sirimanna Sri Lanka’s fiscal sector has recorded a robust performance experiencing a strong growth in the first four months this year supported by domestic factors, decreasing inflation and favourable economic policies, Finance Ministry sources disclosed. It is driven by the increased revenue mobilisation together with the decline in expenditure with the government’s efforts [...]
Bogala to provide US giants with graphite
Bogala Graphite Lanka, (a German subsidiary and publicly traded company) on June 29 signed a MoU with newly formed CeyAnodes (Pvt) Ltd as a BOI project for the procurement and provision of graphite. Bogala is the largest producer of graphite in Sri Lanka and under the agreement CeyAnodes will purchase a large amount of graphite [...]
DOC scheme wins top honours at SLASSCOM Ingenuity Awards
The Electronic Certificate of Origin (eCoO) system at the Department of Commerce (DoC) received two prestigious awards including the ‘National Winner for the Best Innovative Product/Project in the Government Sector’ at the recently held SLASSCOM Ingenuity Awards 2024. This event celebrates innovation and excellence in Sri Lanka’s technology sector and the system’s National recognition comes [...]
Tourism is not about numbers, but building a product that makes people come back
By Raj Moorthy While Sri Lanka is seeing tourist numbers growing exponentially since the beginning of this year, mass tourism into national parks and forest reserves, harassment of wildlife species and illegal swimming with whales have made a huge impact on how the country is being reviewed on social media by guests globally. This comments [...]
First Capital appoints Rajendra Theagarajah as chairman
First Capital Holdings PLC, a member of the Janashakthi Group, this week announced key appointments to its Board of Directors, effective June 28 with veteran banker Rajendra Theagarajah being appointed as the Chairman, and Inoshini Perera, Rachini Rajapaksa, and Dilendra Wimalasekere as new members of the Board. The appointment of Mr. Theagarajah follows the end [...]
Unilever South Asia Regional Team visits ALFT Packaging facility
A delegation of regional heads from Unilever, a global leader in consumer goods, recently visited the facilities of ALFT Packaging Company, a pioneering manufacturer of flexible packaging solutions in Sri Lanka. The visit provided Unilever with a first-hand look at ALFT’s manufacturing operations and their transformative advancements in the industry, according to an ALFT media [...]
LOLC CSR scheme reaches 3,500 schools across Sri Lanka
Rolling out with consistency, the LOLC Divi Saviya humanitarian effort has reached a significant landmark by supporting 3,500 schools, surpassing 35 per cent of the total number of schools in the island. Launched in February 2023, this initiative has steadily and consistently reached and enriched the nation’s young minds. As Phase 03 of the project [...]
BoardPAC awarded Carbon Neutral Certification for second consecutive year
BoardPAC has secured the Carbon Neutral Certificate for 2022 from the Sri Lanka Climate Fund (SLCF), an organisation operating under the Ministry of Environment committed to fostering a low-carbon business economy and promoting sustainable lifestyle choices. This achievement underscores BoardPAC’s dedication to environmental responsibility and is a key milestone in its Environment, Social, and Governance [...]
Book in Sinhala on “Directing the Sri Lankan Economy onto the Correct Path”
By Lloyd Yapa, veteran economist I wrote this book in Sinhala to inform the ordinary Sinhala reader, especially the youth who demanded a system change, as to what needs to be done to alleviate poverty and promote exports to earn badly-needed foreign exchange and as some political parties promise to emphasise on lesser objectives if [...]