99.9 % of scams nothing to do with security; scammers playing with peoples’ minds
While it is a very often spoken topic on ‘scams and hacks’, people get duped into investing in fraudulent and bogus schemes. The more transactions happen, the more fraudsters come into play. Hackers are smarter and more tech savvy than normal people. 99.9 per cent of scams reported are nothing to do with security, but [...]
Adani’s West Terminal to go ahead in Q1
Sri Lanka has been continuously expanding its Colombo Port in line with global changes and in this respect the Adani Group took over a stake of the West Terminal that is scheduled to commence operations early next year. The Adani Group is currently embroiled in a fraud case filed in the US, as a result [...]
Fraudulent vehicle imports incur loss of Rs. 3 bn in tax revenue
A high-profile fraud involving over 200 luxury vehicle imports has been unearthed, amounting to a colossal loss to the government owing to non-payment of tax. The vehicles imported after 2015 were illegally registered in Sri Lanka’s Motor Traffic Department-MTD database as being imported before 2005 for evasion of paying customs duties, The Commission to Investigate [...]
Tourism industry must depend on its own in future crises
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry needs to ensure it has the required buffers and shocks to take on any future crisis as it had done in the past without overly trying to depend on the government to save their backs. This was the clear message from the Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe, Chief Guest at the [...]
Browns signs $108 mn contract with Syno Hydro Corporation
Last week Brown’s Investments fully owned subsidiary, Bodufaru Beach Resort, signed a US$108 million contract with Syno Hydro Corporation Limited in China, to construct one of the largest integrated resort projects in the Maldives. This resort project construction, which comprises three five-star hotels in North Male Lagoon in the Maldives, will be jointly funded by [...]
HNWIs active in CSE
Several high net-worth individual activities have been recorded in the Colombo bourse over the past month, stock market analysts said. Some of the country’s top corporate names were transacting in the bourse in the last few months. Stockbrokers also predicted several strategic stakes may change hands in the coming months. However, the stock market saw [...]
Hackers in a digital economy
Recently a Professor had been invited for a Zoom meeting and then got a call that a code had been sent on his WhatsApp with the caller insisting that he share the code to join the meeting. He had done so reluctantly only to find that his WhatsApp had been hacked. His students had received [...]
Easy choices and tough choices
Dr. George Neufeld is a Canadian citizen, who has a PhD in Computer Science and Mathematics, and has served at PwC in Canada. His extensive service in the area of ‘Change Leadership’ has also been acknowledged by Brian Mulroney, one of the former Prime Ministers of Canada. George is not only a frequent visitor to [...]
Sri Lanka, a global hub for management accounting education
While Sri Lanka has produced vast number of professionals in the management accounting education spectrum globally, the country has immense potential to become the global hub for management accounting education. The Institute of Certified Management Accountants (ICMA) Australia recently celebrated its silver jubilee in Sri Lanka amidst industry leaders, professionals, and members of the academic [...]
South collaboration relevant in today’s maritime industry
India and Sri Lanka have the capability to engage in a shared vision in the regional maritime sector as the countries of the south need to collaborate to establish a regional maritime strategy, Indian Maritime University Vice Chancellor Dr. Malini Shankar said. Addressing the annual Colombo International Maritime and Logistics Conference 2024 that kicked off [...]
Sri Lanka’s Debt Restructuring gains momentum
Sri Lanka’s efforts to address its debt crisis have gained significant momentum as bondholders representing the country’s US $12.55 billion in International Sovereign Bonds (ISBs) have committed to debt restructuring. This process aims at offering the government substantial relief, with both foreign and local bondholders signaling readiness for participation. The Ad Hoc Group of Sri [...]
SLCERT vigilant on cyber attacks
Sri Lanka Cybersecurity Emergency Response Team (SLCERT) is on the watch, especially on attacks from Western countries, top officials said. “We have noticed that May, November, and December are when we have the most cyber-attacks. This has been happening for over a decade,” a top official told The Sunday Times Business on Thursday. With SLCERT [...]
FIU on alert for AML abuses
Sri Lanka’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) is probing several entities under the anti-money laundering (AML) space for AML violations, top sources said. This has come on the back of FIU imposing administrative penalties of Rs. 2.75 million on MCB Bank, Bank of China, and Vogue Jewellers for failing to comply with the Financial Transactions Reporting [...]
NTB’s Sri Lanka-first debit card for the visually impaired
Nations Trust Bank (NTB) has introduced the Touch Card, an initiative implemented by Mastercard, specially designed to aid visually impaired and partially sighted cardholders. This innovative card enhances the banks range of debit cards and underscores its commitment to enhancing customer experiences that are on par with global standards, the NTB said in a media [...]
Interim Vote on Account to cover initial 2025 expenditures
The interim Vote on Account for recurrent and capital expenditures, the servicing of public debt, and restructuring of debt during the first four months of 2025 will be debated in Parliament on December 5 and 6, said Cabinet Spokesman Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa. This decision was taken due to the insufficiency of time to pass the [...]
Female-led fuel station tops Colombo with highest fuel sales
The NW Logistics and Management (Pvt) Ltd fuel station, managed by Ninewells Hospital and run entirely by women, has reached a significant milestone in fuel distribution. This station has attained the highest fuel sales within the Colombo district and the second-highest fuel sales across the entire island for October 2024. Within just one year in [...]
People’s Bank sees strong income growth in 9mths-2024
People’s Bank has reported total consolidated operating income of Rs.75.4 billion and post-tax profit of Rs. 6.4 billion for the nine months period ending September 30, 2024. Excluding the impact of exceptional adjustments in view of greater prudence, considering the yet to be finalised debt restructuring initiatives, these figures on a normalised basis were otherwise [...]
Local Consortium of banks supports bond restructuring
The Local Consortium of Sri Lanka (LCSL), comprising domestic commercial banks and financial institutions, is fully supportive of the Exchange Offer and Consent Solicitation launched on Tuesday by the Government to restructure the US$12.55 billion in outstanding International Sovereign Bonds including terms tailored for local holders. In a statement LCSL said this follows the agreement-in-principle [...]
GSP+: Can it drive inclusive growth in Sri Lanka?
In a mid-October 2024 meeting with the European Union (EU) Ambassador, Sri Lanka reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening trade relations with the EU, particularly highlighting the role of the GSP+ programme in boosting Sri Lankan exports. This discussion underscores the significance of the GSP+, which offers tariff preferences for Sri Lanka’s exports to the EU. [...]
LankaPay secures award at ASOCIO 2024 Awards in Japan
LankaPay, Sri Lanka’s national payment network, was honoured with the Best Public-Private Partnership Awardat the prestigious ASOCIO 2024 Awards, held on November 7 at the ASOCIO Digital Summit 2024 held in Tokyo, Japan. This recognition highlights the success of LankaPay’s unique business model and the importance of collaborating with both government and private sector entities [...]
Foreign investors visit Trincomalee, Hambantota Ports
As part of the Voyage Sri Lanka 2024 initiative, a group of 20 potential foreign investors from countries including India, Saudi Arabia, Maldives, France, Japan, Thailand, the US and Cambodia visited the Trincomalee and Hambantota ports recently. The visits aimed to showcase Sri Lanka’s potential as a hub for maritime investments and its growing blue [...]
NDB Bank commits to Carbon Footprint Initiative
NDB Bank continues to lead the way in corporate sustainability with its renewed commitment to environmental conservation. On November 21 the bank entered into a MOU with the Sri Lanka Climate Fund (SLCF) to undertake a comprehensive Greenhouse Gas (GHG) assessment and verification for the fiscal year 2024. The partnership with SLCF, South Asia’s first [...]
Technocity launches First HP Victus Gaming Store
The Technocity recently unveiled the HP Victus Gaming Store at laptop.lk, 401 Galle Road, Colombo 4. This sleek and modern store invites gamers, students, and professionals to explore the cutting edge of HP’s Victus notebooks and PCs in an interactive and chic setting, the company said in a media release. “The HP Victus Gaming Store [...]
ComBank Digital goes past 1.5 million registered users
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has achieved another milestone in its digital revolution, with ‘ComBank Digital’ – the bank’s omni-channel digital banking platform – surpassing 1.5 million registered users. Announcing the landmark, the bank said in a media release that its award-winning platform continues to lead digital transformation in Sri Lanka’s banking sector as the [...]
PickMe’s Partnership with Moratuwa University
PickMe, Sri Lanka’s leading digital mobility solutions company recently entered into a strategic partnership with the University of Moratuwa (UOM) to strengthen human resource development and operational excellence in driving innovation in the logistics sector. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by Jiffry Zulfer, CEO of PickMe and Prof. N. D. Gunawardena, Vice Chancellor [...]