DFCC Bank in strong half year performance

The DFCC Group reported an excellent half year performance for 2017, with DFCC Bank leading the charge on the back of its strategic growth drive as a rapidly emerging full service commercial bank.

SAKS Analytics leads the way for Sri Lankan corporates to understand & engage in Commercial Analytic

The scale and diversity of Sri Lanka’s economy makes it an ideal candidate for the deployment of advanced data analytics according to world renowned, Pakistani-born, data scientist and recently

EIAs are bedrock of environmental management, says expert

Verité Research hosted EIA expert Joshua C. Gellers, who presented his early research findings on the quality of Environmental Impact Assessments in Sri Lanka. 

Exporters expect govt.’s assistance in reaping GSP Plus benefits

Regaining GSP Plus will most certainly come with its fair share of challenges, and the government must now should set its sights on helping the export sector of the county to reap benefits, Exporter’s Association of Sri Lanka (EASL) stressed recently. 

Vehicles on Lankan roads reached 6.8mn in 2016: study

Sri Lanka reached a 6.8 million motor vehicle population in 2016, an 8 percent increase from 6.3 million registered in 2015, according to the latest edition of an annual report on the country’s vehicle market, compiled by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC). 

Vision Care to buy Colombo City Holding’s Union Place land for Rs.1bn

Colombo City Holdings PLC, a property management company, yesterday said it entered into a sales agreement to divest part of the land it owns in Union Place, Colombo 2, which is commonly referred to as the Colombo Pharmacy land, for Rs.1 billion, to Vision Care Optical Services (Private) Limited. 

H’tota port sale only temporary fix as external woes persist: Moody’s

Despite the Hambantota port deal would provide a temporary respite to the country’s ailing external sector by way of boosting its foreign exchange reserves, such proceeds by no means would be adequate to alleviate the medium-term challenges that are far more acute, given Sri Lanka’s higher debt obligations, according to Moody’s Investors Service.  

Sakura International expands business from new location

Sakura International, as a reputed organization, is known for its ability to supply comprehensive solutions in any commercial equipment that would be needed for a hotel from its entrance towards the backend which would include bakery, catering & cold rooms, kitchen or other storage facilities.

SampathCards offer savings on Damro furniture

Continuing to provide irresistible deals, SampathCards, the responsible choice, announced that it has partnered with Damro to make furniture and appliances more affordable for its cardholders, yet again. 

Insurance law to be amended to free foreign and state insurers from listing

A new legislation gazetted by the Finance Ministry is attempting to amend the Regulation of Insurance Industry Act No. 43 of 2000 to allow insurance subsidiaries of foreign firms and state-owned insurance companies to be exempted from listing on the local stock market.

Fitch cuts Lion Brewery’s rating amid lower beer sales, higher taxes

Fitch Ratings yesterday downgraded the credit rating of Sri Lanka’s largest brewer, Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC, amid lower beer sales as a result of the higher taxes imposed by the authorities over the last 18 months.

Hemas Slingshot Startup Battle winners announced at ‘Disrupt Asia’

Hemas Slingshot, the startup incubator and seed accelerator programme of Hemas Holdings PLC, announced the winners of the Hemas Slingshot Startup Battle at the culmination of Disrupt Asia 2017 earlier this month. 

Alert SriLankan cabin crew members avert major incident onboard UL 166

Alert cabin crew members aboard SriLankan Airlines’ flight UL 166 managed to avert a major incident that is believed to have been caused by the ignition of a lithium battery pack or mobile phones in a passenger’s hand luggage. The incident reported on July 30, when the flight was en route to Colombo from Kochi.

Three perfect curries with one mighty Sera

In today’s fast-paced world, preparing meals after a hard day’s work can be tiring, costly and a full-on hassle. We all struggle with balancing our many tasks and responsibilities all whilst trying to manage 

Emerald International Partners with CIM Sri Lanka

The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Sri Lanka entered into its second year of Corporate partnership with Emerald International (Pvt) Limited, one of the leading menswear bran

Sri Lanka completes controversial US$1 bn port deal with China

AFP: Sri Lanka on Saturday sealed a billion-dollar deal to let a Chinese state firm take over a loss-making port in a move that worries many, including its giant neighbour India.

High costs, competition hurt Teejay Lanka 1Q performance

Knitted fabric maker Teejay Lanka PLC saw its performance in the most recent quarter being hit by a combination of factors, which included competition, higher raw material prices and overheads, finance costs and expiration of the tax holidays.  

Janashakthi Recognized for Commitment to Society at Fintelekt Insurance Awards 2017

Janashakthi Insurance PLC was recognized for its work as a responsible corporate citizen at the Fintelekt Insurance Awards 2017 held in Mumbai, India, recently. The insurer received the ‘Corporate 

Armed guards for tomatoes in India as prices rise

BBC: The price of tomatoes has risen so much in India that armed guards have been deployed to protect shipments of them in one state.

Sampath Bank to raise Rs.7.6bn via rights to beef up capital

Sampath Bank PLC’s board of directors last week gave approval to raise as much as Rs.7.6 billion in fresh equity via a rights issue to comply with enhanced capital requirements under the BASEL III accord.

Central Bank Governor emphasizes importance of high-tech products in export diversification

Asserting that transforming Sri Lanka’s export sector is probably the most crucial economic challenge the country now faces, the Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy recently highlighted the importance of giving prominence to high-tech products when diversifying the country’s export basket. 

SEC prevents securities law violations through strong surveillance tools

It appears that Sri Lanka’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) believes in the old adage ‘prevention is better than cure,’ as the country’s stock market regulator has proactively taken action to prevent securities law violations by utilizing a robust surveillance system.

Sampath Bank Offers the Best Leasing Rate in the Market

In continuing to offer their customers the best leasing solutions in the market, Sampath Bank has once again introduced the lowest vehicle leasing interest rate in the country. Starting June 2017, 

Hayleys Advantis Invests In Mega Distribution Center

Hayleys Advantis Limited broke ground for a Mega Distribution Center (DC) in Kotugoda, on Friday 28th July, paving the way for the construction of the largest facility of this nature in the country

Union Bank partners NCE Export Awards as Premium sponsor

Union Bank announced its partnership as the Premium sponsor of the Annual Export Awards organized by the National Chamber of Exporters (NCE) of Sri Lanka. 

Equill to invest in small businesses and big ideas

Equity Investments Lanka Limited (Equill), a venture capital and investment company, is actively looking for investment opportunities in the form of risk capital in small and medium sized businesses.  Equill views the high level of economic activity and growth in healthcare, education, tourism, 

New Inland Revenue Chief calls on chartered accountants to bridge gap between tax payers and departm

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) felicitated the new Inland Revenue (IR) Commissioner General Ivan Dissanayake at a ceremony held recently. 

Learnings from Sri Lanka propelled our practice: MTI’s Bangladesh Head

Commenting on the completion of 14 years since MTI set-up its fully-owned Bangladesh subsidiary and coinciding with MTI CEO’s visit to Dhaka, Saima Mazhar (Country Manager) said, “Our Sri Lankan operations have provided an excellent learning platform and sharing of experiences that has helped MTI Bangladesh to propel as one of Bangladesh’s leading strategy consultancies. 

German automakers face class actions over price-fixing

AFP: German auto giants Volkswagen, BMW and Daimler were hit with lawsuits this week charging the companies colluded illegally to drive up the prices of their cars.

Asia markets slump as US tech sell-off spreads

AFP:  Asian markets tumbled yesterday to end two days of gains as a US tech sell-off spread to the region, adding to concerns over corporate results.