Kite-surfing
A small child plays amidst gear for kite-surfing in the west coast town of Kalpitiya, a popular resort for this sport which has drawn many tourists. Tourist arrivals are on the rise in Sri Lanka. Pic by Hiran Priyankara Jayasingha
Sri Lanka apparel sector to gain from new US tariffs
With the US imposing new tariffs on a number of different countries it would have a beneficial impact on states like Sri Lanka as buyers are now re-looking at their global supply chains and shifting orders. MAS Holdings CEO Suren Fernando speaking with The Sunday Times Business on Monday said that they are currently receiving [...]
SL start-ups to connect with Indian counterparts
Sri Lanka has plans to connect its start-up ecosystem with that of its neighbour, India. Officials at the Ministry of Digital Economy said Sri Lanka is planning to connect with Start-up India, launched by the Indian government, to stimulate sustainable economic growth within the country. With Sri Lanka emphasising the need to energise entrepreneurial ventures [...]
Holidaymakers spillover, promos to kick off in 2025
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry on a record breaking upward swing as holidaymakers keep coming needs a slight push further to reach the three million target as authorities are fine-tuning the much awaited digital marketing campaign. The industry is expecting the authorities to kick off the digital campaign within the first quarter of this year, Sri [...]
Credit guarantee scheme for SME
The government is to set up a credit guarantee fund to enable small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to secure loans, top officials said. “The SME cannot take loans from banks as they do not have collateral. This is why we are trying to introduce a credit guarantee scheme,” Deputy Minister of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development [...]
SL starts 3 major digital projects
In a major step towards digitalisation, the government accomplished three initiatives on Friday. Gov Pay, a digital payment platform, the first step towards the Government’s broader strategy to enhance public sector efficiency through digital innovation went live on Friday followed by the President’s Fund Digitalisation and electronic documentation hosting, officials said. They said 341 district [...]
SL Budget 2025 aims for equitable economic distribution
The Government will present its maiden budget 2025 in Parliament on February 17 ensuring equitable economic distribution, extending urban benefits to grassroots levels, strengthening public transportation, optimise decentralised funds, and improve welfare distribution mechanisms to support deserving communities effectively, state officials said. It will extend urban benefits to rural areas, strengthen public transport, optimise funds [...]
Open sesame – with vehicles!
In the Netherlands, Prime Minister Mark Rutte rides a bicycle to work. In fact, the Dutch love cycling so much that in 2018 the country had more bicycles than people: 23 million to 17 million citizens. Of course the love for cycling is encouraged by an environment replete with beautiful parks, aesthetic buildings, green spaces [...]
Trump tariffs and the “American boomerang”
At a time that even the US wants to increase tariffs on imports, is there a problem if Sri Lanka too increases its import controls to promote local production?” This is a question that I received from a reader of my column. He had sent it referring particularly to my recent articles in this column [...]
Teejay Lanka sees strong growth in Q3 amidst dynamic market conditions
Teejay Group, Sri Lanka’s first multinational textile manufacturer, has announced a Year-to-Date (YTD) Profit after Tax of Rs.1.9 billion for Q3 (third quarter) of FY2024/25, marking a remarkable 234 per cent increase compared to the same period last year. Group revenue reached Rs.49.8 billion for the period ending December 31, 2024, reflecting a 10 per [...]
SLT-MOBITEL to digitalise Pension Warrant process
SLT-MOBITEL, together with Sri Lanka Railways and Department of Pensions, has enabled pensioners to enjoy a seamless railway transport experience by integrating the pension warrant process to SLT-MOBITEL’s state of the art mTicketing platform. Launching of the digitalisation of the pension warrant took place recently at the Colombo Divisional Secretariat with senior representatives from state [...]
Luxury wedding planner Eventive expands across Asia and West Asia
Eventive, Sri Lanka’s premier wedding planning company, has launched Eventive Global, marking a transformative milestone in their expansion across Asia and West Asia. This strategic move elevates their bespoke luxury wedding planning services to a global stage, offering couples worldwide the opportunity to experience their renowned expertise in crafting extraordinary destination weddings in some of [...]
Roopa Hala – Sri Lankan Cinema at your doorstep
‘Roopa Hala’, Sri Lanka’s first and largest OTT streaming platform, designed exclusively for Sinhala Cinema, is revolutionising the way audiences experience the nation’s rich storytelling tradition. Established by Evoke Digital Group in 2024, and often compared to Netflix, Roopa Hala has become a leading platform, that showcases the country’s cinematic and television heritage to a [...]
MAS spearheads automation, cuts new jobs
MAS Holdings is on a drive towards automation for its factory floor operations and office workflow as the company looks at staying ahead financially and not focusing on topline growth. MAS will be more focusing on resilience and making the business stronger and financially staying ahead, the company’s CEO Suren Fernando said in an interview [...]
Ceylinco Life to extend Green Branch operations to Ambalantota
Life insurance market leader Ceylinco Life is to extend its Green operations model to Sri Lanka’s deep-south via a new purpose-built eco-friendly branch building in Ambalantota in the Hambantota District. Ceylinco Life Chairman R. Renganathan, Managing Director/CEO Thushara Ranasinghe, directors and senior management recently participated in a foundation stone laying ceremony for this newest branch [...]
ComBank launches Visa Signature Elite Debit Card
Elite customers of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon are set to experience a new paradigm in service and convenience with the launch of a Visa Signature Elite Debit Card exclusively for them. Coinciding with the revamp of the bank’s Elite Banking Branch at No 7, R. G. Senanayake Mawatha, (Gregory’s Road) Colombo 7, the launch [...]
EFC’s Employers’ Symposium to deliberate on key business issues
The Employers’ Symposium 2025 organised by the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC) will take place on February 28 at Monarch Imperial, outside Colombo. The annual symposium of the EFC is returning after a respite of more than five years owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and the socio-economic unrest which prevailed in the country, the organization [...]
MAS named Exporter of the Year at Annual Presidential Export Awards
Global apparel-tech conglomerate MAS Holdings has once again secured multiple top awards including the coveted Exporter of the Year, at the 26th Presidential Export Awards for 2023/24, held in Colombo on Friday under the patronage of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. MAS claimed both overall and sectoral awards that reinforced the company’s contributions to Sri Lanka’s [...]
Visa: End-of-Year tourist transactions up by 40% in Sri Lanka
Visa, the global leader in digital payments, has seen a marked uptick in spending by both tourists and domestic consumers in Sri Lanka during the holiday season at the end of 2024. Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA), Visa’s advisory arm, highlighted key findings of consumer spend patterns during this period that saw an increase in [...]
Veteran business leader Ken Balendra passes away
Kandiah (Ken) Balendra, a veteran corporate leader and the first Sri Lankan chairman of John Keells Holdings (JKH) passed away this week at the age of 85. He was the father of current JKH chairman Krishan Balendra and was also the chairman of Brandix Lanka Ltd. Mr. Balendra, a rugger player during his early days, [...]
Stassens founder chairman passes away
Don Harold Stassen Jayawardena, also known as Harry Jayawardena, a well-known Sri Lankan industrialist and businessman passed away this week at the age of 82. He was the chairman of Melstacorp and the Honorary Consul General for Denmark in Sri Lanka and one of the richest individuals in Sri Lanka. The late Mr. Jayawardene started [...]
Lanka Property Show 2025 on Feb 15-16
The Lanka Property Show, Sri Lanka’s premier and largest real estate exhibition, will return for its 9th edition on February 15-16 at the Balmoral Hall, The Kingsbury, Colombo, from 10 am to 8 pm. Hosted by LankaPropertyWeb, the property show serves as an essential event for anyone with an interest in the Sri Lankan property [...]
IMF Executive Board to endorse Sri Lanka’s EFF programme third review soon
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Board of Directors will endorse the third review under Sri Lanka’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme by the end of this month. The review, conducted by the IMF staff team in November 23, has looked into the country’s economic progress and reform commitments. This staff-level agreement will be presented to [...]
Hayleys Fentons secures 50MW Mannar Wind Power Project at reduced rate
The new administration has awarded the contract for a 50 megawatt wind power project in Mannar to Hayleys Fentons, a leading local engineering and renewable energy company. The company was awarded the project at a rate of 4.65 US cents per unit, after it appealed against an earlier rejection by the previous government. The state-run [...]
SL Digital Economy worth $10 billion in 5 years
The accuracy, reliability, and accessibility of vital information for the public will improve now that the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) system was launched, top officials said at its launch on Wednesday. Highlighting the Ministry’s direction, Eranga Weeraratne, Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, said that digital transformation is not simply a trend for the [...]
Danish Media’s united stand against Big Tech
COPENHAGEN – As AI slop spreads across the Internet, concerns about the future of high-quality information are growing. Without accurate and relevant human-generated data, model collapse – whereby generative artificial intelligence trains on its own output and gradually degrades – seems inevitable. The tech giants, well aware of this risk, have cut corners and skirted [...]
Lankan planters welcome the move to defer SVAT removal
The Planters’ Association of Ceylon (PA), while welcoming the move to defer the removal of SVAT, said that (under any removal) smallholders and all growers will have to forego an additional 18 per cent off their cost of production. The cumulative annual loss to the industry is estimated at almost Rs.24 billion. PA had noted [...]
Technocity Pvt Ltd expands to Dubai
The Technocity Pvt Ltd, a leading local IT distributor, has expanded its operations to Dubai, UAE, signalling a significant milestone in its journey of growth and innovation. Established in 1998, Technocity has built a reputation as a trusted distributor for 17 world-class brands including global IT giants such as HP, ASUS MSI and Lenovo, the [...]
Hambantota International Port ready for vehicle imports
Hambantota International Port (HIP) is fully prepared to support the expected surge in vehicle imports following the recent lifting of Sri Lanka’s import ban. With the local automotive market on the rise, HIP is set to play a key role in meeting the growing demand, backed by its state-of-the-art infrastructure and experienced workforce, it said [...]
Harshana Jayaweera, new CEO at NDB Investment Bank
NDB Investment Bank Ltd has announced the appointment of Harshana Jayaweera as its Chief Executive Officer, effective from February 2025. With a career to date spanning over 25 years, Mr. Jayaweera brings extensive global experience across Corporate & Investment Banking, Wealth Management, Trade and Structured Finance, Cash Management, Risk and Analytics, Private Banking, Financial Advisory, [...]
Sri Lanka to become a global hub for international conferences and business events
While tourism saw the highest number of tourist arrivals in January this year in the history of Sri Lanka, the country aims to become a premier destination for international conferences and business events. In this context, Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts, together with Sri Lanka Convention Bureau and SriLankan Airlines launched its first ‘Represent Sri Lanka’ [...]
Shangri-La Hambantota’s 18R Green initiative
Shangri-La Hambantota, has launched the 18R Green Passport Initiative, a revolutionary approach to sustainability that’s transforming how ‘we’ think about waste, conservation and hospitality. The holiday resort went further than the usual 3Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, it said in a media release. Starting from 3R, it expanded to 5R, then 7R, 12R and now 18R, [...]
Lower inpatient admissions seen across private hospitals: Hemas
Hemas Group has recorded earnings of Rs.3.billion, a 36.3 per cent growth in consolidated earnings for the (third) quarter with revenue increasing by 6.4 per cent to Rs.33.2 billion and operating profit increasing by 25.7 per cent to Rs.4.9 billion. The company in a statement by its CEO Ravi Jayasekera said that in the healthcare [...]
SriLankan Airlines’ AI-Powered Chatbot to revolutionise customer support
SriLankan Airlines recently introduced ‘Yaana,’ an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot. This is set to transform customer support and the way passengers interact with the airline by leveraging advanced AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP) technologies to intelligently assist with a wide range of passenger inquiries. Developed in collaboration with CodeGen International (Pvt) Ltd, Yaana is [...]
Chatham Luxury Watches holds private Chopard preview
Chatham Luxury – the exclusive representative of Chopard in Sri Lanka- held a private preview of the Swiss luxury brand’s newest watch and jewellery collections recently at the Chatham Flagship Boutique at Galle Face Court. Representing Chopard at the intimate event was Xavier Lasserre, International Sales Manager of the brand; and as the evening unfolded, [...]
Port’s West Terminal ready for operation this month: JKH
Construction and other work of the West Container Terminal at the Port of Colombo by John Keells Holdings (JKH) in collaboration with India’s Adani Group will be completed by February 2025 and is expected to receive its inaugural test vessel, thereafter, signalling the commencement of its first phase of operations, the Colombo-based conglomerate said on [...]
Barista celebrates opening of 50th outlet
Barista, Sri Lanka’s largest café chain, recently opened its 50th outlet, Barista Nawam Mawatha, marking a significant milestone in the company’s journey of brewing happiness across the island. A company media release said Barista’s journey began in 2002 with its first outlet at the World Trade Center in Colombo, when coffee culture was still emerging [...]
Cargills Bank and Mastercard launch Sri Lanka’s first contactless sticker payment solution
Cargills Bank and Mastercard have collaborated to launch Sri Lanka’s first contactless sticker payment solution. Titled ‘Tapit’, the new solution promises to revolutionise everyday transactions for Mastercard credit and debit cardholders. Combining Mastercard’s global expertise in payments with Cargills Bank’s local insights, the ‘Tapit’ solution will not only promote digital payments but will also advance [...]