ETI Finance and Swarnamahal Financial placed under CB watch

The financial arms of the ETI Group, ETI Finance Ltd and Swarnamahal Financial Services PLC were subjected to temporary regulatory action by the Central Bank yesterday in view of the financial status of the companies.

Central Bank gives seal of trust to tourism statistics

Governor Coomraswamy says SLTDA’s survey methodology “pretty robust”

Flurry of board level changes at JKH; Krishan appointed Dep. Chairman

Sri Lanka’s top blue chip John Keells Holdings PLC (JKH) kicked off the New Year with a flurry of board level changes with the retirement of Deputy Chairman Ajit Gunewardene and Group Finance Director Ronnie Peiris with effect from December 31, 2017.

SL-Singapore FTA first draft forwarded for Cabinet approval

The first draft of the Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement has been forwarded to the Cabinet of Ministers for approval ahead of the visit of Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsieng Loong to Sri Lanka later this month, a leading civil servant said.

2017 being a Record Year in Turnover and Volume for Takas.lk

Takas.lk finished December with a record year in terms of both Revenue and Volume. This is highly significan

Pee Bee Group bags prestigious ACES and BIZZ global awards

With a continuous drive towards achieving excellence, Pee Bee Management Services Pvt Ltd, manufacturer

Amana Bank Opens First Self Banking Centre

Amãna Bank inaugurated its first Self Banking Centre at Slave Island under the patronage 

Sri Lanka enjoys success at 25th TT Warsaw Travel Show

Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau recently participated at TT Warsaw International Travel Show 2017 together with the Sri Lankan Embassy in Warsaw, Poland with key travel industry members from Sri Lanka. 

Melania’s birth country Slovenia sees strong tourism growth

REUTERS:  Slovenia, birth country of U.S. First Lady Melania Trump, expects revenues from foreign tourists to jump by about 9 percent this year and by at least 5 percent in 2018, Economy Minister Zdravko Pocivalsek said recently.

SQ’s new A380 cabin products debut on Sydney route

Customers travelling between Singapore and Sydney have become the first to experience Singapore Airlines’ all-new cabin products, with the entry into service of its recently-delivered Airbus A380 aircraft equipped with the new seats and in-flight entertainment system.

Coffee, tea or bikini? VietJet stands by racy calendar in face of criticism

REUTERS:  Vietnam’s VietJet Aviation said last week it was standing by a controversial “bikini” calendar, a marketing ploy featuring scantily clad female models that has prompted criticism in conservative Southeast Asia and beyond.

Qatar Airways ‘remains committed’ to expanding global network: Al-Baker

Gulf News: Qatar Airways “remains committed to expanding our global network and taking our passengers anywhere in the world they wish to go”, said Group Chief Executive Akbar al-Baker as the national carrier celebrates a successful year of tremendous growth, network expansion and record-breaking award wins.

Macau casinos post first annual revenue gain in 3 years`

REUTERS: Gaming revenue in the Chinese territory of Macau rose for the first time in three years in 2017 as high-end punters’ appetite for gambling recovers after a protracted government campaign against shows of wealth among public officials and slowing economic growth. 

President Maithripala Sirisena’s opportunity ahead in 2018

January 8, 2018 will mark three years since Maithripala Sirisena was elected as the Sri Lankan President, after defecting from the cabinet of his predecessor, Mahinda Rajapaksa. 

Forget globalization; Internetization sums up our global economy better

The word globalization has lost its relevance and lustre with the emergence of the new global economy of the 21st century. In fact, it’s become an anachronism.

IIT students win accolades for innovative software products

Students from leading private higher education institute and pioneer in private tertiary education in Sri Lanka, Informatics Communication Technology (IIT), recently participated and performed exceptionally at both TADHACK Sri Lanka 2017 and National Best Quality ICT Awards (NBQSA) 2017. 

Apple CEO Tim Cook’s 2017 pay jumped 47%, to US $ 12.8mn

Variety.com: Tim Cook took home a much sweeter pay check this year -- thanks to Apple exceeding its financial targets for 2017.

Amazon hits Christmas jackpot as ‘tens of millions’ of Echo devices sold

Siliconvalley.com: Amazon enjoyed its ‘biggest’ Christmas yet, powered by a holiday sales surge for its Amazon Echo products, the company said last week.

Cybercriminals successfully use common exploits, ‘swarm’ tech to attack at speed, scale: Fortinet

Fortinet, the global leader in high-performance cybersecurity solutions, announced the findings of its latest Global Threat Landscape Report. 

Vietnam unveils 10,000-strong cyber unit to combat ‘wrong views’

REUTERS: Vietnam has unveiled a new, 10,000-strong military cyber warfare unit to counter “wrong” views on the Internet, media reported, amid a widening crackdown on critics of the one-party state.

WhatsApp messaging service returns after global outage

REUTERS: WhatsApp, a popular messaging service owned by Facebook Inc., suffered a global outage for about an hour on Sunday before the problem was fixed.

Management of step-in risk in banks

The growth of the global banking system is a function of synergy between banks and non-bank entities. They coexist and complement the role to support the growth of the economy. As a result, many times, banks have to enter into dealings even with less regulated/unregulated financial entities. 

China to cap overseas withdrawals using domestic bank cards

REUTERS: China’s foreign exchange regulator will cap overseas withdrawals using domestic Chinese bank cards at 100,000 yuan (US $ 15,370) per year in an effort to target money laundering, terrorist financing and tax evasion, it said 

CB extends deadline for exchange of mutilated currency notes

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), considering the immense requests from the public and the difficulties that the public is facing in exchanging wilfully defaced currency notes at licensed commercial banks (LCBs), has decided to extend the time period for such exchange of currency notes at LCBs up to March 31, 2018.  

NDB Good Life credit cards offer savings at leading bookstores, shoe shops

Going back to school after the December holidays is always an exciting affair, especially when all your stationery and books are brand new. The NDB Good Life credit cards now offer massive discounts for all purchases from leading bookstores and shoe shops for products that will give your child all the more incentive to go back to school. 

MTI’s reflections for the New Year

Humanly, on an on-going basis, we can only be awake about 16-17 hours in a day. This has not changed much with time. But the choice of things we can do a day, be it food, entertainment, socializing, travelling etc. (and the sub choices within each of these) have exploded.  This has several implications for the way we live today: We are over-consuming almost everything and we have so much of idling / low utilization assets, from cars to wardr

Cyaniq partners Islander to unveil flavoured water-based beverages

Islander, the newest lifestyle brand to be introduced to the local market unveiled its brand identity and range of beverages in collaboration with Cyaniq, the premier marketing and communications consultancy. 

David Pieris Racing to host Sri Lanka’s first international Go-karting event

David Pieris Motor Company Ltd (DPMC) has come out with an innovative idea to offer discerning motorsport enthusiasts, both local and foreign, the chance to witness and partake in an event that would otherwise be difficult for most to attend, as it takes place in other countries.Extending its arms into the leisure/tourism 

Market looks to govt. for impetus in 2018

The performance of the Colombo bourse in the year 2018 will depend a lot on the execution of the plans already proposed by the government, including the listing of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), the stock market stakeholders opine.

November vehicle registrations slow

Vehicle registrations in November 2017 were subdued owing to the regulatory limitations placed on the automotive industry, with 37,412 vehicles registered during the month, according to a market report by JB Securities (Pvt.) Ltd.