China declares all crypto-currency transactions illegal

China’s central bank has announced that all transactions of crypto-currencies are illegal, effectively banning digital tokens such as Bitcoin.

Uber Eats adds 5th city in SL

Uber Eats announced its launch in Gampaha, its fifth city in Sri Lanka, bringing convenient food and grocery to the region and connecting local restaurants and merchants with new customers.

Delivery of school education could turn hybrid post pandemic

School education could be the next thing which could go hybrid in the post-pandemic world, when the governments begin to safely return the children to school after more than one and half years of remote learning necessitated by the pandemic.

Labour Ministry promises not to charge for PCR tests at BIA for all returning migrant workers

The Labour Ministry promises to take the necessary steps to conduct the COVID-19 testing process of the returning migrant workers at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) free of charge and without much hassle.

ComBank provides COVID support to 4 more hospitals

Four more government hospitals around Sri Lanka have received medical equipment pivotal in the treatment of critical patients battling the coronavirus under an ongoing initiative of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon.

Sampath Bank commences restoration of 10th tank under ‘Wewata Jeewayak’ programme

Continuing to empower rural communities across the nation, Sampath Bank embarked on the restoration of the Athawetuna Wewa in Divulwewa, Anamaduwa under its flagship community outreach initiative, Wewata Jeewayak recently.

Fairfirst donates hundred computers towards promoting online education for children

Fairfirst Way refers to Fairfirst Insurance’s commitment to do good for the community that it serves.

SAGT engages in road resurfacing with modified plastic asphalt

South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT), the first public private partnership container terminal in Sri Lanka, furthered its commitment to driving sustainable business practices throughout its operations in a recent road surfacing project carried out at the terminal.

Janashakthi Foundation pledges Rs. 50 mn to support nation’s battle against COVID-19

Janashakthi Foundation – The philanthropic arm of Janashakthi Group, together with the Janashakthi Group companies initiated several support initiatives relating to COVID-19 in response to the nation’s ongoing battle against the pandemic. Furthermore, the Group committed Rs. 50 million for COVID-19 related support initiatives for its ongoing efforts through the philanthropic arm of the Group.

For the First Time in South Asia, Dialog 5G Trial Network Made Available for Samsung S21 Series

Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provider partnered Samsung Sri Lanka to enable all Samsung Galaxy S21 flagship series users to experience the power of 5G through their devices on Dialog’s 5G trial network, the first of its kind in South Asia.

CEB engineers fear the worst if govt. moves ahead with New Fortress deal

Sri Lanka stands to lose up to US$ 400 million over the next five-year period if the government decides to move ahead with the unsolicited proposal submitted by the US-based New Fortress Energy (NFE),

EDB proposes tax cut on incremental exports in upcoming budget

Some form of a tax relief on incremental exports is the least that could be granted by the government from the upcoming budget given its fiscal constraints to incentivise exporters who continuously strive to add more capacity and bring foreign exchange at this critical juncture, according to the Export Development Board (EDB), the main export promotion office in the country.

Agriculture, industrial sectors seek higher R&D allowance for tax from impending budget

Agriculture and industrial sector players sought a higher allowance for Research and Development (R&D) expenses they spend for tax purpose from the upcoming budget to further incentivise the businesses to spend more on new product development,

Producer prices up 8.6% in July, slowing from 10.3% in June

Sri Lanka’s producers across agriculture, manufacturing industries and utilities continued to experience near double digit prices through July 2021 continuing the momentum set forth from the beginning of this year as supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic, higher global commodities prices and more recently the foreign currency shortage added to the woes by way of expensive input cost.

A blueprint for cultivating innovators and leaders of tomorrow

Some of the biggest challenges of our time—poverty, income inequality, lack of economic opportunity—can be linked in many parts of the world to insufficient access to quality education and training.

Sinetcom awarded coveted title Emerging Distributor for Sophos security products

At the recently concluded regional partner awards ceremony, Sinetcom, a Debug group company, was awarded the coveted title of Emerging Distributor Sri Lanka and the Maldives, amongst all the Sophos regional distributors under the South India, Sri Lanka and Maldives zone.

Koach Hub expands boundaries with Daryll Cullinan

Singapore-based Koach Hub, the revolutionary sportstech platform, signed a partnership with renowned South African cricketing legend Darryl Cullinan to expand its platform to cricket.

JCB certifies Epic Lanka as first South Asian ACS operator in J/Secure 2.0

JB Co., Ltd (JCB), a leading global payment scheme, has announced that the company has granted the J/Secure 2.0 Third Party Provider (TPP) certification to Epic Lanka (Private) Limited (Epic Lanka), a leading Sri Lankan IT conglomerate, as the ACS Operator for its service with Epic ACS.

AIA hosts hackathon challenge for local and international IT companies and start-ups

Sri Lanka’s Best Life Insurance Company (awarded by Global Banking and Finance Review for 2019 and 2020) AIA Insurance kicked off AIA Sri Lanka Hackathon Challenge 2021, on August 19, 2021.

Singer wins Best Distributor in South Asia from Dell Technologies

Singer Sri Lanka PLC, the country’s premier consumer durables retailer, won the Best Regional Distributor of the Year and Best Distributor of the Year – Sri Lanka Awards, at the Dell Technologies South Asia CSB Partner Connect event for the year 2021.

Arimac spearheads 10 years of digital transformation in Asia

Arimac Digital launched its journey 10 years ago in the digital industry as an up-and-coming innovative tech company. Today, Arimac is spearheading digital solutions for customers around the world and is dominating the Asian region markets, moving from strength to strength with disruptive solutions in web and mobile development, immersive technologies, robotics and cognitive sciences and game development to cater to the rapidly changing dynamics

Planters’ Association to host first virtual AGM on Sept. 30

The Planters’ Association of Ceylon (PA) will be hosting its 167th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on September 30, 2021.

99x acquires Seeds Consulting as part of growth strategy in Europe

Shortly after a group of investors, led by the private equity firm Herkules’ ‘Deal-by-Deal’ team, invested in 99x, they have now completed the transaction to purchase Seeds Consulting AS.

REC Campus sues YouTube and YouTube channel for defamation

REC Campus (AKA Russian Education Centre), a Colombo-based leading foreign educational pathway provider in Sri Lanka, has instituted legal action in the District Court of Colombo against YouTube LLC, a California-based social media network offering a popular video sharing platform, over publication of defamatory videos, injuring the business reputation of REC Campus.

HIP signs MoU with King Long after promotional push in Fujian

Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Xiamen King Long United Automotive Industry Co., Ltd (King Long) in Fujian China, last week.

Current & capital account controls aimed at fixing BOP could backfire: ICRA Lanka

The prolonged and recently tightened controls on imports and outward remittances are unlikely improve the country’s Balance of Payment (BOP), instead would backfire by way of commodities shortages and rising prices, hurting the supply chains and denting the overall economic activity, according to ICRA Lanka Limited.

Sri Lanka likely to record highest ever BOP deficit this year

Sri Lanka is on course to record its highest ever Balance of Payments (BOP) deficit in 2021 as the first 7-month deficit in the overall foreign inflows and outflows surpassed the deficit recorded in the entirety of 2020.

Effective revenue generation system a must to overcome macroeconomic stress: Dr. Coomaraswamy

As Sri Lanka’s macroeconomic outlook remains bleak, just as it has been in the past, it is about time the country embarks on serious initiatives to establish an effective revenue generation system that will result in sustainable outcomes without further delay, said veteran economist Dr. Indrajith Coomaraswamy.

Construction and real estate activities continue to add more heft defying pandemic

Sri Lanka’s construction activities delivered their fastest growth in five years during the quarter ended June 2021, while the complementing real estate activities continued to add strength into its growth,

ServeAlly – Digitalizing Talent Acquisition with the Launch of its New Website

With an abundance of global resources, declining rates, and narrowing of margins dictating trends, organizations are urgently realigning their digital transformation journeys and are now shifting towards the use of contingent workers