President meets World Bank President
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake met World Bank President Ajay Banga, the first visit by a Bank President in two decades, along with his officials on Wednesday in Colombo.
Colombo Port in stiff competition with India’s new port Vizhinjam
The growing threat of the diversion of transshipment business to India has come closer to becoming a reality as the Vizhinjam Port in Kerala is set to ensure vessels reroute with no stops in Colombo. Sri Lanka will be a feeder port as mother vessels will in time to come call in India, Global Shippers’ [...]
Lanka Phosphate faces court scrutiny over alleged irregularities
Lanka Phosphate Ltd company’s (LPL) financial misappropriations and irregularities in rock phosphate mining and selling during previous regimes have been exposed before the courts. Investigations are now underway into a corrupt deal involving the state owned company over allegedly selling 3,000 metric tons of rock phosphate to three companies for export during the term of [...]
TRACE on point to make SL innovation gateway to South Asia
TRACE (Technologically Re-Awakening Culture of Excellence), a Sri Lankan organisation that promotes collaboration, creativity, and entrepreneurship through technology and innovation across disciplines, is in discussion with South Asian start-up echo systems and other global interested parties to transform Sri Lanka into an innovation gateway to South Asia. “Discussions are ongoing with Indian, Nepalese, and Maldivian [...]
CEB’s financial loss triggers IMF-backed tariff hike talks
The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is facing a financial constraint at present and is considering a significant electricity tariff hike to recover losses mainly caused by the drastic electricity tariff cut of 20-22 per cent for domestic users from January to June 2025. The process of the implementation of the cost-reflective pricing model agreed with [...]
Tourism arrivals to slowdown on “organic growth”
With the promotions for a global campaign still on hold Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is likely to continue to achieve an “organic growth”. Industry experts opine that what has been achieved so far has been in line with the annual promotions carried out as a result of the country’s participation in travel fairs around the [...]
MOSIP adaptation in the global South
At least 26 countries are in various stages of adopting the Modular Open-Source Identity Platform (MOSIP), inspired by India’s Aadhaar system, a top official said. “Most of these countries are from the global South. Countries in Africa, Latin America, along with Southeast Asia and Asia, are adopting the MOSIP system,” Rohit Ranjan Rai, Senior Associate, [...]
Empower Board to onboard at least five more SMEs
At least five companies are in the pipeline to be onboarded in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) listing platform, The Empower board was launched to develop the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME). Rajeeva Bandaranaike, CEO CSE, told The Sunday Times Business on Thursday that there are at least five companies that are working with investment [...]
Being neighbourly
Sometime back in around 1990 in Mumbai, I was sharing a lift with a journalist colleague when he inquired about the use of mobile phones in Sri Lanka, then introduced in 1989. He was amazed that Sri Lanka was ahead of India in launching this useful product. While Sri Lanka introduced sweeping economic reforms in [...]
Highway lunch and paralysed institutions
On May Day, we decided to leave Colombo and attend some scheduled work in the south. It was late in the morning, when we entered the Southern Expressway, heading south. As we drove, we noticed a long procession of public buses traveling in the opposite direction—one after another. Many passengers waved ‘red flags’ from the [...]
US-China trade war could result in new trade routes in shipping
While the US and China tussle over mounting trade tariffs, China is seeking new markets for exports especially in North Africa and this may invite new trade routes in shipping, according to an international shipping and logistics professional. Nilud Fernando, a professional in international shipping and logistics, a marketer, business consultant told The Sunday Business [...]
Building Sri Lanka’s resilience amid a global trade war
As the world spirals into deeper trade conflicts, with tariff battles and geopolitical rifts widening, Sri Lanka finds itself at a perilous crossroads. Small, import-reliant, and economically fragile, we are especially exposed to the tremors of global instability. In a storm whipped up by superpowers, our modest vessel risks capsizing—unless we act, and act fast. [...]
Emirates expanding with more than 65 new aircraft on order
Emirates has 65 Airbus A350s as well as a mix of 205 Boeing 777X aircraft on order, currently operating the largest B777 fleet of 134 aircraft and the largest A380 fleet of 116 aircraft, a senior Emirates official said. “We recently began taking delivery of the A350s, our newest aircraft type which are earmarked for [...]
CSE and NCE to empower Sri Lankan exporters
The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and the National Chamber of Exporters of Sri Lanka (NCE) have entered into a strategic partnership to support Sri Lankan exporters by enhancing their access to capital market opportunities and broadening visibility for their businesses. The partnership agreement was signed by Shiham Marikar, Secretary General / CEO, The National Chamber [...]
Fake consultants undermine investor confidence, says Senior Expert
The Government needs experienced, professional consultants in facing capability gaps that constrain planning, convergence, and coordination for driving growth, gaps in data availability hamper evidence-based decision-making in the implementation of public investment projects, a senior expert urged. These consultants can help with areas like project planning, feasibility studies, financial analysis, and project management. Managing Director [...]
Nagarro’s TestingPro empowers Neurodiverse Talent in Tech
Neurodivergent individuals often encounter feelings of difference, masking their true selves, and the impact of diagnosis and acceptance, struggle with social situations, sensory overload, and fitting in. To make these choices easy for them, in 2016, Nagarro and Specialsterne launched TestingPro, a neuro-inclusion programme aimed at empowering neurodivergent individuals to become professional Software Testers or [...]
Global trademark experts meet
The International Trademark Association (INTA) along with Julius & Creasy on April 30 hosted a reception in Colombo for delegates attending the INTA annual meeting.
SL’s land market shows strong momentum- LPW says
The Sri Lankan land market is gaining renewed strength, with Colombo and the broader Western Province leading the way in price growth, according to the latest Land Price Index (LPI) published by LankaPropertyWeb (LPW). The 2025 index reveals that land prices in Colombo city (Colombo 1-15) have risen by 7 per cent year-on-year, while the [...]
Browns Investments acquires Damro’s plantations’ assets
Browns Investments PLC (BIL), the investment arm of the LOLC Group and Sri Lanka’s rising star in the acquisition of local and global assets which align with the company’s strategies, this week announced a significant expansion of its plantation portfolio with the acquisition of FLMC Plantations (Pvt) Ltd (FLMC). The acquisition was completed on May [...]
Hayleys Solar and Cargills in solar energy initiative
Hayleys Solar has renewed its successful partnership with Cargills Group, Sri Lanka’s leading entity in modern retail, FMCG, and restaurants, to progress with the second phase of solar energy installations islandwide. The first phase with a delivery of 2.4 MW of solar power, covered 21 Cargills Food City locations, including Wellampitiya, Karapitiya, Bomiriya, Kothalawala, Akuregoda, [...]
Ravi Edirisinghe, new Group MD/CEO at LAUGFS
LAUGFS Holdings Ltd has announced the appointment of Ravi Edirisinghe as its new Group Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer, effective May 2. Mr. Edirisinghe brings over 30 years of distinguished leadership experience across local, multinational, and Fortune 500 companies. His core expertise includes strategic transformation, business turnarounds, leadership development and operational excellence. He [...]
ComBank opens Representative Office in Dubai Centre
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon is to significantly enhance its international footprint with the opening of a Representative Office in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the leading global financial hub in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia (MEASA) region. Announcing this latest development, Sri Lanka’s largest private sector bank said it had already [...]
Dialog delivers strong 1Q 2025 performance
Dialog Axiata PLC Group delivered a strong performance across Mobile, Fixed Line, Digital Pay Television and Teleinfrastructure businesses recording a revenue growth of 4 per cent Year on Year (YoY) to reach Rs.43.3 billion for Q1 2025. On a Quarter on Quarter (QoQ) basis revenue declined by 5 per cent owing to conscious scaling down [...]