Passionate about books
Who says the reading habit is dying? Going by the success of second-hand bookseller 75-year old Sarath Thewara Hennadige (see pic) at the ubiquitous McCallum Road, Maradana row of street bookshops, reading is still very popular. His eldest son is working in Australia while his second son quit his job at Baurs and joined his [...]
Sri Lanka’s apparel industry on the rebound
Sri Lanka’s apparel industry is currently on a rebound with order books keeping factories busy and having plans of increasing its workforce by about 10-15 per cent this year. The industry is also expected to brace for a spillover of orders from Bangladesh should the crisis there aggravate. Export figures are indicating an increase in [...]
Major Rs.2 bn fraud uncovered at Sri Lanka BFE
Sri Lanka Bureau for Employment (SLBFE) is facing serious bribery and corruption allegations owing to malpractices due to system manipulations leading to a nearly Rs.2 billion fraud. A former employee of SLBFE, Roshan Hashim, who held the position of Consultant IT for the Bureau, alleged that this system was manipulated by officials in the SLBFE, [...]
Gaming industry expands with new casino players
The government has approved two local and foreign joint ventures to establish casinos, out of 10 applications submitted to the Ministry of Finance as part of the country’s efforts to boost the gaming industry, according to the Board of Investment (BOI). One of the newly approved ventures is a partnership between Sri Lanka’s Golden Island [...]
Bond auction raises Rs.245 bn amid political uncertainty
Sri Lanka raised Rs 245 billion from a Treasury bond auction this week, which initially aimed for Rs 290 billion. However, all bids for bonds maturing in 2034 were rejected due to a recent spike in rates, driven by growing political uncertainty, according to data from the state debt office. This is amidst accusations by [...]
Moose clothing brand to venture into the region
Brandix Apparel’s Moose clothing brand, now concentrating predominantly in the Sri Lankan market, is looking at expanding in the region. Brandix Group Managing Director Hasitha Premaratne told The Sunday Times Business that with a fair share of the local market, the company aims to continue that dominance in Sri Lanka and also to expand beyond. [...]
Visa blues
As I woke up on Thursday morning, I was greeted by a catchy baila tune. I must confess that I am a lover of the baila…….enjoyed even more with the spirit that matters and often use baila songs in this column to add some spice to it and give it an unusual twist. This time I [...]
Fiscal expansion vs. trade expansion
Recently, while I was engaged in some other work, I found an interesting piece of information: I noticed that there were 2,597 export-oriented manufacturing firms as recorded by the Export Development Board (EDB) as of 2021. When I tried tracing “public limited companies” among them, I could locate only seven firms as listed on the [...]
Straying from IMF debt plan could delay bailout: Finance Ministry
The Finance Ministry has issued a strong warning about the significant risks associated with challenging the country’s current debt sustainability assessment (DSA). Such actions could endanger Sri Lanka’s ongoing International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout programme, potentially delaying vital financial support for months or even years. In a detailed statement, the Ministry emphasised the critical need [...]
Pelwatte Dairy to go global with new certification standards
Pelwatte Dairy Industries Ltd, one of Sri Lanka’s dairy manufacturers, is aiming to go global with its new certification standards. The company has adopted ISO 45001, the global standard for occupational health and safety and ISO 14001, a structured approach to managing and reducing environmental impact, enhancing sustainability across the company’s operations. The company has [...]
Western Automobile invests $27 m on vehicle assembly plant in Sri Lanka
Western Automobile Assembly Pvt Ltd, a company under Senok Automobiles, has invested US$ 27 million on a vehicle assembly plant in Sri Lanka. The facility is a Board of Investment (BOI) approved semi-knocked down plant located in an 11 hectare land in Kuliyapitiya. The company made this announcement last Tuesday during a media briefing at [...]
LOLC Divi Saviya covers 40% of the entire school system
LOLC Divi Saviya has successfully completed Phase 03 of its education initiative, impacting 4,100 schools across Sri Lanka. This milestone achievement extends the programme’s reach to 40 per cent of the entire school system in the country, endorsing LOLC’s commitment to supporting the educational needs of students nationwide, the company in a media release heralding [...]
Ceylinco Life to invest Rs. 2 bn in DFCC Bank Green Bond
Ceylinco Life is investing Rs. 2 billion in Sri Lanka’s first Green Bond, serving as its anchor investor in an emphatic demonstration of the company’s commitment to sustainability. Issued by DFCC Bank and opening for subscription on Thursday September 12, the Green Bond is expected to raise up to Rs.2.5 billion to finance the establishment, [...]
Jungle Kitchen, with roots in SL, recognised in Singapore
Singapore-based Jungle Kitchen, which operates a women-led facility in Sri Lanka, was recognised as an advocate for the 2024 Summit for Action on Gender Equality (SAGE 2024) by the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations (SCWO). At the event, Surekha Yadav and Mukeeta Manukulasuriya, co-founders of Jungle Kitchen, were recognised for their contribution by Tharman Shanmugaratnam, [...]
Union Bank’s 24-Hours Rapid Vehicle Leasing
Union Bank recently relaunched its leasing facilities with competitively low monthly rentals and 24 hours approval providing customers the flexibility for vehicle financing requirements, by offering customised leasing solutions. The monthly leasing rental offered by Union Bank currently is one of the best in the market, and is as low as just Rs.1,689 for every [...]