MTI sets up new smart office at Spence Towers

MTI Consulting, Sri Lanka’s leading strategy consultancy with an international footprint, has moved into its new smart office at the Aitken Spence Towers on Vauxall Street.

Indonesia Central Bank warns over cryptocurrencies

REUTERS: Indonesia’s Central Bank has issued a fresh warning about trading in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin because of the risk of losses to the public and even a potential threat to the stability of the financial system.

Sri Lanka 2017 tourist arrivals hit record high

REUTERS: Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka hit a record high in 2017, with the number of foreign visitors in December rising 8.8 percent year-on-year to an all-time monthly peak.

SLPA receives second payment of US$ 97.3mn from CMPort for Hambantota port

China Merchant Port Holdings (CMPort) made the payment of US$ 97.365million to the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) as the second tranche of its investment in the Hambantota port.

Stanford MBA students visit Aitken Spence on study visit

Thirty MBA students and several professors from Stanford University visited Aitken Spence PLC as part of an intensive study tour to Sri Lanka recently. 

CAL at forefront in Sri Lanka’s capital markets last year

Sri Lanka’s number one investment banking firm and the preferred partner in financial markets, Capital Alliance Partners Limited (CAL), enters the year 2018 on a high note. 

Chile slams World Bank for bias in competitiveness rankings

REUTERS: Chilean officials on Saturday criticized the World Bank, saying it treated the South American country unfairly in its closely watched annual ‘Doing Business’ competitiveness rankings.

People’s Bank celebrates Thai Pongal

A special ceremony was organized to commemorate Thai Pongal at the Kotahena branch of People’s Bank under the patronage of Chief Executive Officer/General Manager of People’s Bank, N. Vasantha Kumar. 

Building higher reserves shouldn’t be done at all costs: IMF

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka must be careful when building up more foreign reserves than planned if they come at the cost of overall macroeconomic performance, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Asian markets mostly higher as Hong Kong extends record run

AFP:  Most Asian markets resumed their positive start to the year yesterday with Hong Kong extending its record run to 14 days while the euro held gains after the previous day’s jump.

BMW drives to new sales record but still lags Mercedes

AFP: German high-end carmaker BMW said yesterday it booked record sales for the seventh year in a row in 2017, but continued to trail rival Mercedes-Benz. The Munich-based group said in a statement that sales of its core BMW-brand cars rose by 4.2 percent to almost 2.1 million last year. 

Rupee ends weaker on importer dollar demand

REUTERS: The Sri Lankan rupee closed weaker yesterday as dollar demand from importers and banks surpassed mild conversions by exporters, dealers said.  The spot rupee traded at 153.97 during the day before ending at 153.95/154.05, compared with Thursday’s close of 153.80/85. 

Shares hit over 1-week closing low; blue chips see selling

REUTERS: Sri Lankan shares fell for a fourth straight session yesterday to hit a more than one-week closing low on profit-booking in blue chip stocks.  The Colombo Stock Index ended 0.35 percent weaker at 6,473.62, its lowest close since Jan. 4. 

John says ‘no tension’ at tourism office

With reference to our news item titled ‘Tensions run high at tourism office as SLTPB Chairman asked to leave’ which appeared yesterday, Tourism and Christian Affairs Minister John Amaratunga had sent the following clarification.

Top sovereign wealth funds explore investment potential of Sri Lanka

Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade organized a two-day Round Table Investment Forum on Sri Lanka with Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) in Colombo, under the patronage of Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe and it was jointly hosted by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and the Board of Investment.  The forum presided by the Minister for Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama. State Minister of Fin

Pakistan Single Country Exhibition 2018 kicks off

The Pakistan Single Country Exhibition 2018, organised by Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) in association with the High Commission of Pakistan in Sri Lanka, kicked off its third edition of the event at the BMICH yesterday.

A food extravaganza at Waters Edge this January

Colombo’s culinary hub Waters Edge is where every food lover needs to be this year. Kick-Starting January the internationally acclaimed culinary and F&B teams at the hotel is putting together an array of food promotions dedicated to some of the culinary favourites from around the world and closer to home.  

Nolimit introduces new ‘deedat Active Wear’ range

The leading youth brand ‘deedat’ ended the year with a unique and exciting launch of the brand’s latest Active wear collection at the Kandy City Centre on December30th2017.

Calamander Unawatuna Beach organises New Year’s Eve Gala Dinner 2017

At Calamander Unawatuna Beach, the guests were treated to a spectacular display of lights, decorations and fabulous array of foods from all over the world. Partygoers feasted whilst the multi-talented band, 16 by Four, played songs from the pantheon of classic pop. And the fabulous Navy drummers, dressed in shimmering Shalwar Kamese and golden turbans, treated the crowd, assembled on the beach side deck, with the heart stirring beat of their drum

Union Bank holds carols programme

Union Bank held a carols programme at St. Andrew’s Scots Kirk Church in Colombo 3 recently. 

LIFT pioneers Colombo’s first online fashion exhibition

Enigmatic fashion icon Coco Chanel once said that fashion changes but style endures, and she was right. Over the millennia of human existence fashion trends have evolved with times and seasons, but ‘style’ has never gone out of fashion.

BOC celebrates 52nd carol service

The Bank of Ceylon (BOC) Christian Association celebrated its 52nd Christmas carol service in December 2017 with the patronage of the bank’s Chairman Ronald C. Perera, general manager and corporate management. 

National SME strategy launched targeting global markets: Rishad

Implementation of Sri Lanka’s first national SME strategy began in earnest as the government moved a top global private advisory firm to lead the process.  Interestingly, the implementation of Lankan SME policy is starting (with a huge Rs. 3.8 million pilot project) in a very short time from its initial national launch last year- within five months.

Finnish firm detects new Intel security flaw

AFP: A new security flaw has been found in Intel hardware which could enable hackers to access corporate laptops remotely, Finnish cybersecurity specialist F-Secure said yesterday.

CAL at the forefront Sri Lanka’s Capital Markets in 2017

Sri Lanka’s #1 investment banking firm and the preferred partner in financial markets, Capital Alliance Partners Limited (CAL)

Huawei Facebook Group for smartphone photography enthusiasts

Huawei, the number one growing smartphone brand in Sri Lanka, commenced a Facebook Group recently as a platform for Huawei users to showcase their photography talents through the quad lenses of the newly launched nova 2i.

Convert FlySmiles to data roaming with Dialog

Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provider, together with SriLankan Airlines extends a conversion offer enabling all FlySmiles customers to convert their FlySmiles Miles in exchange for a per day unlimited data roaming plan.

Cisco unveils strategic initiative to digitally revolutionise SMEs

Cisco recently unveiled its new strategic initiative ‘Cisco Start’, committing itself to help drive Sri Lanka’s digital transformation by focusing on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and skills development and to showcase how digitisation can fuel economic growth, world-class innovation, sustainable competitiveness and prosperity.

Cloud Insurance, helping de-risk your journey to the Cloud

Most large organisations are far from being fully cloud-ready, with only 6 percent of their workloads currently running on cloud infrastructure, according to a report by 451 Research.

Second tea sale of 2018 offers 6.1mkgs

The second sale of the year concluded yesterday had on offer a total of 6.1 million kilogrammes (mkgs). Improved demand was seen particularly for the high and mid grown small leaf teas.