Storm brews over Lankan tea export markets
A top tea sector official has warned the industry of an impending crisis looming over the Iranian, Iraqi and Russian markets resulting in a direct impact on exports to the tea drinking consumers in these countries that form a sizable portion of Sri Lanka’s tea exports. “I am worried about the future since problems in [...]
Fears of Touchwood disposing foreign assets
Fresh concerns that assets of troubled Touchwood Investments PLC are being disposed came amidst fears that its former management may have flown to Thailand. This follows the company failing to submit the necessary documents relating to its assets. The company which was wound up on June 5 following a Commercial High Court order appointing a [...]
China enters mineral sand mining sector
A Chinese company is making a foray into the mineral sand mining field in Sri Lanka with the backing of a local company highly connected to an influential government politician. Demi Shenzen Co. recently submitted a proposal for mineral sand mining in a 500-acre land around Pulmoddai in the East coast, official sources revealed, adding [...]
Aussie court orders SL lawyer to return visa fees
A Sri Lankan professional has secured a court order in Australia against a well-known Sri Lankan immigration lawyer for failing to properly file her skilled visa application. In the first instance, the Magistrate Court of Western Australia in November 2013 ordered the lawyer, who advertises his services heavily in Sri Lanka and has a large [...]
Urgent discussions over UAE contract issue
Sri Lankan authorities are planning urgent consultations in Dubai with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of Labour to discuss the recent, controversial unified contract for domestic workers, officials said. “The Ministry (Foreign Employment, Promotion and Welfare) has asked our ambassador in the UAE to seek a meeting with Minister Dilan Perera and a delegation [...]
Apparel industry ‘future’ leaders in futuristic plans
‘Future’ leaders of Sri Lanka’s apparel industry are to draft plans on working towards new goals and new targets for 2020 as part of a committee established to take the industry forward. The apparel industry in Sri Lanka grew over a period of time since its inception post-1977 and now the industry has taken the [...]
Dasa: Last of the Mohicans
S.D. Gunadasa who died last week was a Sri Lankan entrepreneur who built a business during the ‘difficult’ times of Sirima Bandaranaike’s premiership in 1970-77, in a generation that while on one hand received political patronage, also inculcated values, discipline and principles in their business model. It was also an era where entrepreneurs were noted [...]
Chairman of HSBC India to speak at the Sri Lanka Economic Summit
Naina Lal Kidwai, Chairman of HSBC India will deliver the keynote address during the 5th session of the Sri Lanka Economic Summit on August 5-6 in Colombo. The 5th session will take place under the title of “Banking in the New World”. Ms. Kidwai is also an Executive Director on the board of HSBC Asia-Pacific [...]
Tech Pacific partners India’s vCentric to offer SAP solutions in SL
Sri Lankan IT company Tech Pacific has partnered with India’s vCentric to provide complete SAP enterprise resource planning solutions to local companies, according to a recent statement. The statement added that, “Backed by vast experience in implementing SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions, the partnership brings together vCentric’s international expertise of implementing SAP’s highly sought [...]
Softlogic targets 50,000 retailers for Panasonic by March 2016
Local diversified conglomerate Softlogic plans to expand its existing Sri Lankan distribution network for Panasonic batteries and light bulbs by adding “25 regional distributors and covering 50,000 retailers island wide by March 2016″, the company said. The announcement also highlighted the local launch of “three types of dry-cell batteries – manganese battery, alkaline battery, and [...]
Sri Lanka’s workforce lacks critical job-specific skills, says the World Bank
WASHINGTON — Sri Lanka’s workforce lacks critical job-specific skills that are in high demand, threatening the country’s sustained economic growth, the World Bank said in a new report released in Washington on Thursday. The workforce’s lack of technical and soft skills undermine private sector growth as well as the government’s ambitious development plan, Mahinda Chintana, [...]
SriLankan Airlines and Institute of Supply and Materials Management in knowledge-sharing venture
SriLankan Airlines and the Institute of Supply and Materials Management (ISMM) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to exchange knowledge and facilities for the enhancement of travel and tourism education in the country. SriLankan Airlines’, Chief Marketing Officer, G.T. Jeyaseelan and Institute of Supply and Materials Management, President, Anil Ponweera signed the MoU at SriLankan [...]
Instant coffee generation grows as the ‘cuppa’ becomes faster and speedier to make
The age where the ‘Seeya’ used to ask his beloved wife ‘Menike’ to get him a cup of coffee made from home grown and ground coffee while he prepares to read the newspaper on a Sunday morning, is now no more. Today life has got busier but more efficient in which the wife asks the [...]
Bank borrowers can benefit from new Credit Guarantee Scheme for Pawning Advances
Several banks have already signed the agreements with the Central Bank (CB) of Sri Lanka for the new credit guarantee scheme for pawning advances introduced on June 17, the CB said in a statement this week. The scheme is being implemented and monitored by the CB’s Regional Development Department and is expected to increase significantly [...]
Second hand vehicles no longer appreciate in value as in the past, finance company says
Sinhaputhra recorded a growth in profitability in FYE 2014 vs. FYE 2013, despite the industry’s profitability falling from Rs. 14 billion to Rs. 7 billion. Company Managing Director Ravana Wijeyeratne said, in a statement to the media, that Sinhaputhra’s conservative expansion on credit growth allowed it to steadily maintain its growth momentum without large variations [...]
Life insurance needs to reach out to all sections of Sri Lankans, says insurance officials
Sri Lanka is a country which has faced major calamities like the Tsunami and ethnic strives and in such instances the country’s insurance companies have also compensated victims over and above the prescribed claims; paying the actual damages. When the Tsunami of December 26, 2004 devastated infrastructure and livelihoods of tens of thousands of Sri [...]
CIFL depositors urge formation of joint Depositors Forum to safeguard investments in all finance companies
Depositors at the crashed CIFL (Central Investment and Finance Ltd) are preparing to file objections as a prelude in appeal in the Supreme Court against the Appeal Court dismissal of its case against the Central Bank (CB)-led recovery plan. K. Wijaya Gunawardena, President, CIFL Depositors Association (CIFLDA) said the collapse of the case has seriously [...]
Commercial Bank marks decade of remittance operations in Qatar
Business partners and Sri Lankans employed in foreign remittance services were hosted to two events, when the Commercial Bank of Ceylon celebrated the 10th anniversary of remittance operations in Qatar recently. A delegation led by Deputy General Manager Personal Banking S. Renganathan, Chief Manager e-Banking and Remittances Pradeep Banduwansa, and representatives of the Treasury, e [...]
National Craft Council to stage ‘Shilpa Udana National Crafts Festival 2014’
The National Crafts Council of Sri Lanka is holding Shilpa Udana, the iconic National Crafts Festival showcasing the country’s brilliant craftsmanship, on August 28-31 at the BMICH. “Shilpa Udana will showcase the talents and skills of Sri Lanka’s award winning artisans and craftspeople representing different regions from North to the South, under the theme ‘Sustaining [...]
Increase lending rates for senior citizens
In a letter published in the Business Times headlined “Massacre of the innocents (senior citizens)”, a senior citizen from Thalangama South has queried as to where are the ‘so called’ advisors/consultants who do not perform with real interest and has urged the President to initiate a separate rate structure for senior citizens. My simple advice [...]
CCC economic summit focuses on surpassing $7000 per capita by 2020
Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2014, an annual event organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) ,will be held on August 5-6 at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Colombo, under the theme “Sri Lanka 2020: Towards Surpassing $7000 Per Capita”. The upcoming Summit, which is conducted for the 14th consecutive year since its inauguration in the [...]
International travel bloggers set sights on destination Sri Lanka
A selected number of Sri Lankan travel bloggers will participate at the upcoming Asian Travel Bloggers Conference scheduled for November this year. Travel bloggers from around the world will gather in Colombo this November from 14-18 for what has been described as an “on- the go touring conference” capturing moments travelling across the country for [...]
“The English Hub” novel concept in learning English
“The English Hub”, launched in 2013, is a novel concept in learning the English language in Sri Lanka. Founded by the Chairman and Managing Director Mohamed Hilmy Hassan and the Chief Executive Officer, Zara Zain, the venture not only focuses on teaching the language but also allowing students to think, speak and experience English. “The [...]
Seminar on “ISO 14067: Carbon Footprint (CFP) of products” in corporate Sri Lanka
The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in association with The Carbon Consulting Company is conducting an awareness raising seminar on “ISO-14067:Carbon Footprint of Products – Requirements and Guidelines for Quantification and Communication” for Sri Lanka’s corporates on July 18 at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce auditorium. The chamber said the primary objective of organising this seminar [...]
Social Media: Who guarantees its safe and responsible use?
Social media, more sought after than the day’s meals, is far beyond issues in Sri Lanka like in its use as a safe and responsible tool. Social Media is handled by different people in unique ways. There is a set of people who handle Social Media in a safe and responsible way whereas most in [...]
Investment via Fixed Deposit Bond option from Lanka ORIX Finance
Lanka ORIX Finance PLC (LOFC) recently introduced a new investment product named “Fixed Deposit Bond” to its new and existing clientele, a media release issued by the company stated. It said this is the first time that a transferable term investment product has been introduced to the financial services sector in Sri Lanka. “The Lanka [...]
Veteran hotelier Hapugoda takes on new role at Aitken Spence hotels
Veteran hotelier Malin Hapugoda, among a few in the industry who began his hotel career when the Bentota tourism hub was set up in the early 1970s, has been appointed a full-time Director/Consultant at Aitken Spence Hotel Managements Pvt Ltd. Mr. Hapugoda, responsible for much of the development at Aitken Spence hotels in recent times [...]
Manasij Ganguli’s Intellocut wins Venturengine 2014
Start-up funding competition Venturengine wrapped up its third edition on July 3 at the Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo, with intelligent material planning and optimisation software company Intellocut, founded by Manasij Ganguli, taking the top prize. Rounding out the top three was restaurant management IT solution OMAK, by Ehantha Sirisena, and telco software solutions provided Extrogene, [...]
IFC’s Wilson appointed as non-executive director at Commercial Bank
John Wilson from World Bank affiliate, IFC, has been appointed a non-executive director of the Commercial Bank. Mr. Wilson is the Head of Banking and Chief Banking Specialist of the IFC, the private equity arm of the World Bank Group. A holder of a Master’s degree in Economics and Political Science from Uppsala University, Sweden [...]
SL retail launch for Schneider Electric, 3,000 retailers in 2014 planned
Locally recognised for its Clipsal range, international company Schneider Electric recently revealed a national retail rollout plan for Sri Lanka wherein it aims to appoint 3,000 retail outlets for its brands by end-2014, according to a statement. This also immediately follows Schneider Electric’s recent entry, for the first time, into the local retail sector. Specifically [...]
UltraTech Cement says deeply committed to Sri Lankan business
UltraTech Cement Sri Lanka, silver sponsor at the recent ‘India Investrade 2014’ exhibition, says it is deeply committed to its successful business in Sri Lanka. “We started our operation of import, storage, packing and distribution of world class cement in 2000 and have earned an extremely encouraging response from users and customers of Sri Lanka,” [...]
Interpharm commissions Sri Lanka’s first cephalosporin antibiotics plant
Interpharm (Pvt) Ltd, a pioneer pharmaceutical local company, has commissioned the first state-of-the-art cephalosporin antibiotics manufacturing plant in Sri Lanka. It was opened recently at Madapatha, Piliyandala by Kalana Hewamallika, Chairman cum Managing Director of Interpharm which is a subsidiary of Gamma Pharmaceuticals (Pvt) Ltd. Speaking at the opening ceremony of this new antibiotics pharmaceutical [...]
CHC Institute of Hotel Management empowers youth
The 6th batch of 11 students of the CHC Institute of Hotel Management completed both their theory and practical sessions in May and has now been placed at hotels within the group, according to a media release from the Galle Face Group (GFG). The CHC – Ceylon Hotels Corporation – which has a network of [...]
Lankan authorities get tough with NGOs on organising workshops, issuing media statements
Three days after an unknown group forced a city hotel from allowing the annual general meeting of Transparency International (TI) Sri Lanka to be held, the Ministry of Defence clamped down on non-governmental organisations ordering them to ‘stick’ to their mandate. In a circular dated July 1 to all NGOs operating under the purview of [...]
Sri Lanka offers a better place for female entrepreneurs
Since Independence in 1948 there had been many inspirational women in the history of Sri Lanka. Women had been driving the transformation of many famous companies during the 60’s and 70’s. One of the messages from the Commonwealth Heads of General Meeting (CHOGM) Business Forum held in Colombo last year was that Sri Lanka’s strategic [...]
Footwear sector prepares a strategic plan on Treasury directive
Sri Lanka’s footwear and leather products industry has prepared a strategic plan to achieve the US$1 billion revenue target by 2020 based on a directive by the Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera. At a recent meeting attended by representatives of the Sri Lanka Footwear & Leather Products Manufacturers Association and senior officials of the Finance [...]
Safety sticker for bottled water duplicates Sri Lanka standardisation process
A Government move to order a compulsory safety sticker on bottled water has raised issues of duplication in certifying the quality of bottled water. Even though Minister of Co-operatives and Internal Trade Johnston Fernando decided on Wednesday to confine the safety sticker measure only for water issued by the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA), compared to [...]
World class F&B team from Citrus Waskaduwa
The 5-star Citrus Waskaduwa, part of Citrus Leisure PLC which opened two months ago has brought in ‘dynamic individuals from the local and international hospitality industries to strengthen its team’. Executive Assistant Manager of the hotel, Chef Sudu says special attention was made in selecting the very best for the F&B team for Waskaduwa. “The [...]
Lankan Minister proposes innovation-driven economy instead of present leisure-and-entertainment economy
The need to leap-frog straightaway to the third stage of an innovation-driven economic growth as its dominant strategy for growth from the present leisure-and-entertainment economy has been emphasised by the Minister of Technology and Research, Patali Champika Ranawaka, when he delivered the keynote address at the inauguration of the 7th Biennial Sri Lanka Conference on [...]
Discussion on “Ethnic Integrity and Challenges in Sri Lanka: Conflict or Harmony?”
With Sri Lanka going through a critical stage after three decades of political crises, Section F (Social Sciences) of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science (SLAAS) is organizing a discussion on a burning issue; “Ethnic Integrity and Challenges in Sri Lanka: Conflict or Harmony? An Intellectual Insight” on July 15 at the [...]
Some plantations unable to pay EPF dues and gratuity payments of planters
Sri Lanka’s plantation sector was once the main revenue earner before foreign employment opened out and garment sector exports grew. Yet, tea is a frontline industry and ranked the third largest income source of income for country. However, at present, the situation in the plantations is at a crisis point as some estates are unable [...]
Purchasing the latest smartphone; a Sri Lankan lifestyle trend
Within the world of technology, mobile phones which is today referred to as ‘smartphones’ have become a very important aspect of life of every human being. As far as the young generation of today is concerned, grabbing the latest smartphone available in the market has become the trend for most Sri Lankans. Explaining these trends, [...]
Workshop on Certificate of Origin
The Shippers’ Academy, Colombo together with the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) Sri Lanka is organising the first-ever workshop on ‘Certificate of Origin’ (CO) in Colombo with the inclusion of the Department of Commerce discussing such procedures at state government. The CO is an important trade document attesting that goods in a particular export shipment [...]
Brandix-led ‘Disrupt Unlimited’ signs MoU with Sri Lanka Inventors Commission
Disrupt Unlimited, the apparel Start-up Seed Accelerator funded by Brandix, and the Sri Lanka Inventors Commission (SLIC) recently entered into an agreement to establish a partnership to promote innovation in Sri Lanka and enhance opportunities in the fields of Textile, Apparel and Accessories. A Memorandum of Understanding entered into recently by the two organisations envisages [...]
Sri Lanka launches joint promotion in Shanghai to attract Chinese tourists
Sri Lanka Tourism (SLT) last week launched its second joint mega promotion campaign in China called “Sri Lanka Shines in Shanghai ” in the Shanghai City, following up on the major success of its first event held in Beijing last year. The event was organized under the guidance of Basil Rajapaksa, Minister of Economic Development, [...]
Hemas Hospitals opens fully fledged medical laboratory in Kurunegala
Hemas Hospitals recently opened a new lab in Kurunegala, a fast developing region in the northwest province. The new lab located at 140/C, Colombo Road, Kurunegala is the 14th lab that comes under the wings of the satellite laboratory network owned and managed by Hemas Hospitals. The hospital company said that the lab, which is [...]
