Paddy harvesting begins
As harvesting begins, a farmer and her young child transport paddy at Karuwalagaswewa in the Puttalam district. There is a heated debate currently over the controlled price for paddy purchases. Pic by Jayarathna Wikramaarachchi
Sri Lanka Tourism to raid illegal lodgings
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry has time and again requested authorities to ensure all accommodation units have a level-playing field and in this respect the authorities are going ahead to raid all illegal units in the country and take legal action against them. “We started encouraging people to register – but still there are so many [...]
Fire Dept. acts against fires in abandoned buildings
The Colombo Fire Department will soon issue new, precautionary regulations for abandoned buildings a week after two fires broke out in the abandoned Krrish building in Colombo Fort, causing extensive damage to the building. The fires spread to four floors which the fire department could not reach at once and required three fire trucks to [...]
AG’s fight against corruption fails as state machinery stalls accountability
Sri Lanka Auditor General’s (AG) Department’s efforts to expose corruption irregularities and financial misappropriation by conducting audit inspections in 1980 state institutions have become a fruitless exercise due to the lack of legal authority of government audit chief and failure of the state machinery to take prompt action. Under the present state of affairs more [...]
Tourism industry urges reduced vehicle taxes
The Government is looking at ways of ensuring that new taxes imposed on vehicle imports does not impact the tourism industry. Recently with the ban on vehicle imports lifted the tourism industry has been engaged in importing a number of vehicles for the industry’s sustenance. However, little did they know that after opening their Letters [...]
SL talks with multiple global/local players for data centre
Sri Lanka’s data centre is becoming a hot topic for discussion with the government discussing with multiple partners for investments, top officials said. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, during a meeting in the UAE on Wednesday, invited Oracle to establish a Sovereign Oracle Cloud region in the country, focusing on digital transformation, fintech adoption, and cloud [...]
SOE reforms: Public Commercial Businesses Act enacted
The Sri Lankan Government has undertaken the task of providing legal backing for State-owned Enterprises (SOE) reform policies by enacting a Public Commercial Businesses Act These reforms have been undertaken by the previous administration in accordance with the IMF Extended Fund Facility -backed programme for the economic restructuring of Sri Lanka. The Public Enterprises Department [...]
Tourism on a roll
Aldoris, the choon-paan karaya, came down the lane in his gaily decorated tuk-tuk, with the popular ages-old baila song ‘Biwwa neda Wadakaha Sudiya’ playing on his speaker. The commotion was enough to wake up the neighbourhood on this Thursday morning, and that was I reckon, Aldoris’ hidden agenda so that he could have a field [...]
Power of the stock market for smart investments
In the world, few avenues present as much glamour in offering future growth potential as the stock market. This is immortalised by Hollywood in movies like The Wolf of Wall Street, where stock trading is depicted as a fast-paced, high-risk world. In reality, buying shares of public listed companies is one of the most accessible [...]
FitsAir’s additional weekly flights to Dhaka
FitsAir has expanded its Colombo-Dhaka service with the addition of two new weekly flights. Previously operating three times a week, the enhanced schedule will now offer five weekly flights, providing passengers with greater travel flexibility and convenience. The additional flights will operate from February 15 to March 29, 2025, with departures on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, [...]
Budget 2025: Roadmap to Economic Stability and Growth
Sri Lanka’s Budget 2025, the first budget of the new government under President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, targets economy stabilisation, debt management, and inclusive growth. The budget envisions revenue mobilisation, improved tax administration, and digitalisation for expanding the tax base and strengthening compliance A key focus is on sustainability, achieved through management of deficits, lowering debt [...]
Cargills records strong 3Q performance; optimistic about 2025
Leading blue-chip company Cargills (Ceylon) PLC has reported a strong bottom-line performance for the last quarter of 2024, driven by increased volumes across its key business segments—Retail (supermarkets), Consumer Food (FMCG), and Restaurants. For the three months ending December 2024, the company achieved a 9.1 per cent increase in sales, totalling Rs.61,865 million. EBITDA saw [...]
Sysco LABS – ‘ICT Exporter of the Year’ for the 3rd consecutive year
Sysco LABS was honoured with the award for Exporter of the Year in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) category for their continued contribution to the nation’s economy at the recently held Presidential Export Awards 2023/24. Completing a historic milestone for the company and the ICT industry, Sysco LABS was also recognised as the ‘Best [...]
ComBank Digital helps in IPO settlements
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has announced that ComBank Digital, the bank’s digital banking platform, is now linked with the Central Depository System (CDS) of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), enabling the bank’s account holders to make IPO settlements directly from their accounts. Made possible by the integration of the CDS with the LankaPay Government [...]
Tech impact on businesses at EFC Symposium
The Employers’ Symposium 2025 organised by the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC), will take place on February 28 at the Monarch Imperial with this year’s edition under the banner, ‘Traversing turbulence- Fueling enterprises for success’. Sujit Christy, Chief Information Security Officer & Cyber Security Advisor for several public quoted and private sector organisations and a [...]
Pelwatte Dairy’s efforts to empower women dairy farmers
Pelwatte Dairy Industries Ltd and Solidaridad Asia Network, which is funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and Partners for International Business (PIB) of the Netherlands, have come together in a partnership committed to socio-economic development and sustainable business practices. The project titled “Inclusion of Women in the Formal Dairy [...]
Richard Pieris pre-tax profit rises
Richard Pieris Group, one of Sri Lanka’s top conglomerates, achieved a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of Rs.5.4 billion during the first 9-month period ending December 31, 2024. The group recorded a profit growth of 137 per cent over the corresponding period, demonstrating resilience in the continuity of its strong performance for the financial year of [...]
Hindustan Petroleum Lubricants now in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s lubricants market has been significantly strengthened with the formal entry of HP Lubricants, part of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HCPL), one of India’s frontline oil majors, in partnership with Sea World Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. This development which also advances Sri Lanka – India trade relations in a vital sector, was celebrated at a [...]
EDB-NOCU kicks off islandwide awareness campaign from Jaffna
The National Organic Control Unit (NOCU), the competent authority for organic agriculture in Sri Lanka under the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB), launched its islandwide initiative of awareness programmes to promote organic farming practices recently. As part of the national programme, the first awareness programme planned for 2025 was held in Jaffna last month [...]
Hayleys’s strong performance with 53% growth in PBT
The Hayleys Group maintained its strong growth momentum during the first nine months of the financial year ending March 31, 2025, recording a 53 per cent yoy increase in Profit Before Tax to Rs.22.52 billion. Performance was upheld by improvements in the core results of several key verticals as the group leveraged its diversity to [...]
NEO Technologies recognises loyal staff
NEO Technologies, a security firm, recently honoured its longstanding staff members with over three decades in Bren Security, Securitas SL and NEO Technologies. (Seen in the picture with an awardee are company officials.) Present at the event were Major Tissa Aluwihare -Founder and Chairman, Ms. Sajeewanie Gamage – Chief Operating Officer, NEO and Guest of [...]
hSenidBiz surpasses $4 m revenue segment
hSenid Business Solutions PLC (hSenidBiz), in its latest financial results for the third quarter of FY2025, has achieved a key milestone of US$4 million in exit-Annualised Recurring Revenue (ARR). This marks a significant step in hSenidBiz’s journey as a leading HR technology provider in Emerging Markets across South Asia, Southeast Asia, Middle East and Africa. [...]
Coconut yields to drop amidst 6-mth drought
Sri Lanka is expecting a severe drought this year and as a result the coconut yields are likely to go down further than what was experienced in 2024. Though April is a high yielding month, this year however it is predicted that due to the drought the problems of the drop in nut production will [...]
Like public companies, the Govt. should issue Quarterly Performance Reports
Quarterly reports by the state should focus on progress and results achieved every three months. Furthermore, the reports should be brief and should focus on the big results that need to be achieved in order to improve the well-being of all Sri Lankans. As per Dr. Sirimal Abeyratne’s article in the Sunday Times / Business [...]
Sri Lanka to complete foundational ID system in two years
A fully developed foundational ID system, including citizen registration, may take 18 to 24 months for Sri Lanka to implement, but the National Data Exchange can begin sharing data within three to six months under data protection laws. “A national data exchange would connect biometric identification-related applications, federation, and income taxes, ensuring efficient distribution and [...]
LOLC General joins HNB on bancassurance
LOLC General Insurance, a fully owned subsidiary of LOLC Holdings, has partnered with Hatton National Bank PLC (HNB), to expand bancassurance operations. This partnership aims to provide HNB customers with innovative insurance solutions, seamlessly combining convenience and comprehensive protection, LOLC said in a media release. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was officially signed in the [...]
Vehicle assembly industry gears up for growth
Sri Lanka’s vehicle assembly and component manufacturing industries have grown by leaps and bounds, contributing significantly to the economy of the country. It is set to expand significantly, with projections to increase exports of vehicles, two-wheelers, and components from the current US$800 million to $2 billion within five years, This growth is expected to create [...]
New management system for Sri Lanka
Some 76 years after independence, there was a struggle in the country to change the systems for good governance and thereafter the people put a new government in power, especially with the hope of sustainable system changes in governance and implementing them. It appears so far that those changes are not yet being rationally identified [...]