Govt. mulls national policy for adventure tourism

The National Policy and Economic Affairs Ministry will be creating a national policy on standards for adventure tourism to address safety and service delivery qualities of the fast-developing industry, following discussions with key stakeholders. 

One Belt & One Road Initiative: Beyond physical infrastructure

At the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR)-organised forum on The Belt and Road Initiative: Risk Management, which was held in Beijing, Pathfinder Foundation Executive Director Luxman Siriwardena, in his presentation emphasised the potential of the initiative for economic development of Sri Lanka, as it enables the country to enhance its strategic value in the Indian Ocean. 

MTI selected for University of Western Australia forum in Perth

MTI Venture Manager/Business Analyst Jananga Piyadasa will represent MTI Consulting at the ‘Pursue UWA Week’ forum, which will be held in Perth, Australia from May 1 to May 6, 2017.  Pursue UWA Week is a forum organised by the University of Western Australia (UWA) to educate and train 30 international representatives of UWA across the globe.

CMA to hold ‘Big Data Analytics for Accounting’ CPD workshop

The Institute of Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka (CMA) will conduct a CPD workshop on ‘Big Data Analytics for Accounting’ on Wednesday, May 3, 2017 from 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m., at the CMA headquarters, 3rd Floor Auditorium, Visakha Private Road, Colombo 4.

Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation forum on April 26

The mega forum, ‘Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation: Making Cross - Border Trade Easier for Sri Lankan Business’, organised by the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation and International Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka (ICCSL), will be inaugurated under the aegis of Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen on April 26, 2017, at Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo. 

Comfort World to manufacture world class mattresses at Ambathale factory

Comfort World International, the market leader in mattress manufacture and retail in Sri Lanka, Maldives and Seychelles, will shortly introduce Serta mattresses, the emperor of mattresses to Sri Lanka . 

Hirdaramani tops JASTECA awards list for second year

Hirdaramani repeated its sterling performance at the JASTECA Awards held recently, topping the awards list for the second consecutive year. 

Nestlé Lanka celebrates Avurudu with employees

Nestlé Lanka recently celebrated Avurudu with its staff at its head office premises, with the participation of Nestlé Lanka’s Managing Director Shivani Hegde. 

Top toy maker Mattel aims to stimulate growth in Lanka’s toy industry

Mattel, a multinational toy manufacturer that for decades inspired the wonder of childhood across the globe, has identified Sri Lanka as a key market for growth. 

IMF warns against protectionism as Trump, Brexit loom

AFP: The International Monetary Fund renewed its warnings against protectionism on Thursday as nationalist political trends threaten trade integration on both sides of the Atlantic.

SLIM elects new President at 47th Annual General Meeting

The Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM has elected Elangovan Karthik as its 39th president at the 47th AGM held on the 29th of March at the Kingsbury hotel, with a new council along with the ten-member executive committee of SLIM for the year 2017/18.

Degraded coral imperils coastal people: study

AFP: Coral reefs may be losing their ability to shield coastal communities from storms, sea surges and tsunamis, geologists said on Thursday.

Delmar, Dunsinane and Cee Tee Hills achieve all-time record prices

The following estates established all-time record prices at the weekly tea auctions held on April 18. Delmar Estate

JCT Oil Bank profits grew 113% last year, no need to privatize: Minister Ranatunga

Jaya Container Terminals Limited of Sri Lanka Ports Authority [JCT Oil Bank] has enhanced its profit in the previous year by 113 percent in relation to the year 2015, Minister of Ports and Shipping Arjuna Ranatunga said. 

War-torn Afghanistan sets up tourism ministry

AFP:  The president of war-torn Afghanistan is creating a tourism ministry in a bid to attract visitors to the country endowed with stunning landscapes and archaeological sites, but wracked by nearly four decades of conflict.

Sri Lanka joins Wings for Life World Run

Join Sri Lanka in the Wings for Life Organised App Run on May 7, 2017 and find a cure for spinal cord injury.

Avurudu vibes at Leo Burnett Sri Lanka

In keeping with the traditions of the national new year, the team at Leo Burnett Sri Lanka, the local office of the global advertising network Leo Burnett Worldwide celebrated the joy with the agency team and  their families. 

iflix premieres The Good Place comedy

iflix, Southeast Asia’s leading subscription video on demand (SVoD) service, offering subscribers unlimited access to thousands of TV shows, movies and more, is thrilled to premiere the new hit comedy, The Good Place. All 13 episodes of the hilarious first season are now available to stream or download for in Sri Lanka, only on iflix.

Silver sponsors Foxhill Super Cross

The famous brand of Rainco (Pvt.) Ltd, Silver, has come forward as one of the main sponsors of Sri Lanka’s most popular motor and motorcycle racing event Foxhill  Super Cross Diyatalawa.  The Foxhill Super Cross, which is organised by Sri Lanka Army’s Military Academy for the 25th time, will be held at the Nariyakanda racing track  today.

BMICH holds Avurudu Bakmaha Ulela for employees

Inviting an auspicious start to the new year, the BMICH recently hosted an expansive and entertaining Bakmaha Ulela celebration featuring over 20 events, including the commonly popular fancy dress parade,

FITIS offers FAMOUS award for 7th time

The Federation Award for the Most Outstanding University Student (FAMOUS) award has been offered by the Federation of Information Technology Industry Sri Lanka (FITIS) at the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) convocation held recently, at the SLIIT auditorium.

Sony nearly triples annual profit forecast

AFP: Sony yesterday nearly tripled its annual net profit forecast, citing lower-than-expected costs in its chip business and other divisions, including the PlayStation games business.

Government expects to bag US$ 4bn from 2.5mn tourists this year

Sri Lanka’s tourism authorities are hoping to attract 2.5 million tourists and generate US$ 4 billion in foreign exchange for the country this year, backed by a short-term Rs.500 million digital media campaign, which is currently being planned.

All set for PATA Annual Summit 2017 next month in Negombo

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) will be holding the PATA Annual Summit 2017 in Sri Lanka next month, under the theme ‘Disruption, Innovation, Transformation: The Future of Tourism’.

Ninety five percent engineers in India unfit for software development jobs

PTI: Talent shortage is acute in the IT and data science ecosystem in India with a survey claiming that 95 per cent of engineers in the country are not fit to take up software development jobs.

MBSL debenture first tranche snapped up on opening day

Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka & Finance PLC (MBSL), a unit of State banking giant Bank of Ceylon yesterday said its first tranche issued to raise Rs.1.0 billion in debentures was oversubscribed on the opening day as the company received applications in excess of 10 million debentures issued by 12.30 p.m. 

Piramal Glass margins, profits to remain flat, but stock has upside: research

The recent capacity enhancement and the commissioning of the dual furnace firing at Piramal Glass Ceylon PLC appears to be having a limited positive impact on the company’s immediate financial performance as profits and margins are projected to remain flat though the medium-term outlook is expected to remain positive, an equity research on the company’s  stock said. 

Lankem gains full ownership of packaging subsidiary for Rs.320mn

The diversified manufacturing and trading conglomerate, Lankem Ceylon PLC (Lankem), last week gained the full ownership in its subsidiary JF Packaging (Pvt.) Limited for Rs.320 million, a disclosure to the trading floor of the Colombo bourse said.

LMD – Brands Annual lists MyDeal.lk amongst top 10 e-Commerce brands

LMD – Brands Annual 2017 edition has listed leading e-Commerce company, MyDeal.lk amongst Sri Lanka’s 10 top e-Commerce brands. 

Kelani Saviya to extend for five more years

Kelani Cables PLC’s unique joint CSR programme ‘Kelani Saviya’ which served the youth of the country by producing professional electricians continuously for the past 10 years will be extended further for a period of five years by the Kelani Cables management and the Peradeniya University administration.