Registrar of Companies website crashes, down for more than five days
Sri Lanka’s much vaunted electronic company registration facility, e-ROC, has come to a grinding halt, delaying seriously the registration of companies or filing of company information during this week and incurring a loss of around Rs. 30 million. The disruption, which began on July 13, is reportedly a result of the lapse of the contract [...]
Employers call for credit scores of potential employees
More and more companies are seeking credit scores of potential candidates for job interviews, according to the Credit Information Bureau, officials said. “Using credit scores as a reference point in the hiring process can be informative to assess a candidate’s financial discipline, mainly for roles that involve managing sensitive financial information or fiduciary responsibilities. Today, [...]
Archaic law barring night work for female hotel workers scrapped
Sri Lanka’s hospitality sector this week welcomed a move by the government to overturn an archaic 1954 law that bars women from working as hotel and restaurant waitresses after 10 pm. The cabinet decided to amend the law allowing night work. Chandra Wickremesinghe, a veteran hotelier and owner of Thema Collection which recently opened the [...]
Indian firm to lead Sri Lanka’s Digital ID Project
Sri Lanka is implementing a national digital identity system by engaging India’s National Institute for Smart Government (NISG) to oversee the roll out of its electronic National Identity Card (eNIC) project. The programme under the Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity (SL-UDI) project by the Ministry of Digital Economy follows the Modular Open-Source Identity Platform (MOSIP), [...]
Probe into rapid expansion of unregulated co-operative banks
Financial institutions mushrooming in the island without a proper oversight as co-operative banks with branches in several regions are to be scrutinised and regularised, Trade and Co-operative Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe disclosed in Parliament recently. He blamed provincial councils and some governors of provinces for approving the setting up of such irregular finance companies taking deposits [...]
Uncertainty looms over US tariffs
A veil of uncertainty has engulfed Colombo on the fate of Sri Lanka’s exports to the US with the government sending another delegation to the US in a bid to lower the rates from the now-decided 30 per cent tariffs. What Sri Lanka is offering – be it reduced tariffs on US goods to the [...]
“Upsetting the Apple-cart”
This is what US President Donald Trump has done; sent world trade into an uneasy spin with his across-the-board tariffs and sucking countries, desperate to ship their goods to the US, into a vortex of uncertainty. How these new taxes will play out in a post-Trump era also remains to be seen. But enough of [...]
Tiny land with towering yield
Last week was a busy and inspiring time for us at CEPA, as we launched a new book titled “Sustaining Transformative Growth in Sri Lanka 2025–2030” and hosted a series of seminars across various venues to discuss its key themes. The book is the product of an Independent Growth Study Group, developed under the auspices [...]
Connecting small Solar IPP for offshore tendering
The Sri Lankan government has ambitious plans to expose small independent power producers for offshore tendering. “We want to help them tender for government contracts in other countries,” Power and Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody told The Sunday Times Business on Thursday. The minister has already had discussions in this regard with Bangladesh. Muhammad Fouzul Kabir [...]
Customs launches anti-corruption drive
Sri Lanka Customs is currently implementing anti-corruption measures including the setting up of an Internal Affairs Unit to probe public complaints and new technology to improve transparency and efficiency. These reforms are being carried out in accordance with the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP) 2025-2029 to foster a corruption-free environment, improve public trust, and facilitate [...]
SL motor industry urged to set up single window platform
Sri Lanka’s motor industry was, once again, urged to set up a Single Window Platform that would address all issues also connecting to banks and related parties. Bingumal Thewarathanthri, Vice Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, speaking at the Ceylon Motor Traders’ Association (CMTA) 105th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Colombo recently, that [...]
Dialogue on SL’s new Public Debt Management Framework
The Association of Primary Dealers recently hosted a panel discussion titled “The Future of Public Debt Management in Sri Lanka”at the Galle Face Hotel, bringing together senior professionals from across the financial sector to examine the implications of the newly enacted Public Debt Management Act No. 33 of 2024. The event featured leading voices including [...]
Transparency – key to attracting German investment to SL
Key challenges were discussed at a meeting in Colombo to improve trade and investment ties between Sri Lanka and Germany, following President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s visit to Germany last month. The meeting was co-chaired by Arjuna Herath, Chairman of the Board of Investment (BOI) of Sri Lanka, and Martin Klose, Chief Delegate of the Delegation [...]
GovPay paving the way for Rs. 1 tn revenue in five years
The country’s premier information and communication agency has plans to bring Rs 1 trillion in revenue within the next 4 to 5 years through the GovPay platform, top officials said. Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) Board Member Harsha Purasinghe said that the long-term ambition is to set audacious goals to take the country forward, [...]
TAGS awards to promote transparency, good governance, and accountability across industries
While financial and non-financial reporting standards have been elevated in Sri Lanka by the Institute of Chartered Accountants, the TAGS awards have also helped promote transparency, good governance, and accountability across industries, says Heshana Kuruppu, President of CA Sri Lanka. During a media briefing held at the CA Sri Lanka institute in Colombo last Tuesday [...]
Ogilvy Sri Lanka campaign records historic award run
The ‘Second Life Notebooks’ campaign by Ogilvy’s Geometry Global Sri Lanka for ProMate (PrintXcel) has become the most internationally awarded single campaign in Sri Lanka’s advertising history. Its latest recognition comes from the coveted Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity held in France, where it earned four shortlist nods. The campaign, in total, has garnered [...]
WEBXPAY Welcomes Former Central Bank Deputy Governor A. A. M. Thassim to Its Board as Non-Executive Director
WEBXPAY, Sri Lanka’s foremost digital-finance innovator, today announced the appointment of Mr. A. A. M. Thassim, former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) as a Non-Executive Director. His arrival strengthens WEBXPAY’s governance and regulatory rigour as the company accelerates its evolution from payment gateway pioneer to a full-scale financial-technology ecosystem. Executive Chairman Thilak Piyadigama [...]
ComBank supports preschool education in collaboration with UNICEF
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon recently handed over the fully refurbished Muthukumarana Preschool at Madagama in the Monaragala District, under a partnership with UNICEF to uplift the standard of preschool education in Sri Lanka. The handover marks the successful completion of the bank’s contribution to the UNICEF-led project titled ‘Reaching the most marginalised with quality [...]
EU survey: Voters demand change in political system, end to political dynasties
Nearly 50 per cent of respondents of a new survey on voter preferences, indicated that a new political force was necessary to resolve Sri Lanka’s crisis, while an overwhelming 90 per cent called for a complete political system change. It also showed that people are moving away from traditional patronage politics and instead prioritising policy-driven, [...]
Applications invited for 27th Presidential Export Awards
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) is calling for applications for the 27th Presidential Export Awards, which will be held under the patronage of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in December 2025 at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), it said in a media release. Applications are set to close in mid-August. This year [...]
Public Relations Association unveils Code of Ethics
The Public Relations Association of Sri Lanka (PRASL), in a significant step forward for the Public Relations and Corporate Communications industry, unveiled and adopted its first-ever Code of Ethics, aligning the local profession with global standards on World PR Day, celebrated annually on July 16. The Code is a voluntary yet robust framework that guides [...]
Reaching out, hiring trained differently-abled persons
BConnected has announced a dedicated initiative under the banner “Disability-Inclusive Hiring, Simplified” set to take place on July 31 at the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka, Colombo. This full-day event is designed to give organisations the opportunity to meet and engage directly with work-ready persons with disabilities, the organisers said in a media release. [...]