Sri Lanka second best place to visit

Sri Lanka is ranked second among the top 16 places recommended by the world famous travel and life style magazine Condé Nast Traveller to visit in 2016.  Endorsing Sri Lanka as the second 

Japan’s ANA airline in billion-dollar Airbus deal: reports

AFP - Japan’s All Nippon Airways is buying three Airbus A380s in a billion-dollar deal, business daily Nikkei said yesterday, making it the first Japanese carrier to own the superjumbo jet.

ASEAN launches economic bloc but analysts sceptical

AFP - Southeast Asian nations officially launched an EU-inspired economic bloc this week aimed at boosting the region’s trading clout and attracting more investment, but analysts said a true single market was still a long way off.

​China’s new two-child policy law takes effect

AFP - Married couples in China will from yesterday be allowed to have two children, after concerns over an ageing population and shrinking workforce ushered in an end to the country’s controversial one-child policy.

EU-Ukraine trade deal comes into force, angers Moscow

AFP- Ukraine’s free-trade deal with the EU comes into effect from yesterday, coinciding with the start of Moscow’s food embargo against Kiev that will force the impoverished former Soviet republic to revisit its economic model.

China new home prices up in December as stimulus kicks in

AFP - China’s new home prices increased in December for the fifth straight month, a survey showed yesterday, following a series of stimulus measures aimed at boosting lending.

GE wins Saudi power plant contract worth nearly $1 bn

AFP - General Electric announced Thursday that it had won a contract worth nearly $1 billion from the Saudi Electricity Company to build and supply a power plant in northern Saudi Arabia.

US tuna fleet shut out of lucrative Pacific region

AFP - The US tuna fleet has been blocked from fishing in the lucrative western Pacific for the first time in three decades as a conflict over fees remains unresolved.

Obama to talk trade in Germany in April: White House

AFP - President Barack Obama will travel to Germany in April to talk trade with Chancellor Angela Merkel and promote US exports at a major industrial fair. Obama will attend the Hannover Messe

Nolimit rewards Arapaima loyalty members with hot air balloon tour

Sri Lanka’s biggest fashion chain, Nolimit’s Annual Grand Promotion 2015 for its Arapaima loyalty members, titled ‘Win with Arapaima hot air balloon tour with your partner’ concluded successfully, with 20 lucky loyalty members winning seats on this tour with their partners.

HSBC and British Council organise 24-hour hackathon for young entrepreneurs

HSBC Youth Enterprise Awards jointly organised by the British Council and HSBC is a business plan contest aimed at recognising and supporting young entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka to start-up their businesses. The competition, 

Gulf Insurance retains MTI for Strategizing

Gulf Insurance company (GIC), which is owned by Kuwait-based KIPCO and Canada-based Fairfax Financial Holdings , has recently concluded its 2016 Strategizing Exercise for Bahrain Kuwait Insurance  (BKIC) subsidiary. “The senior management team of BKIC-GIG was actively involved in this strategically 

Godrej discovers country’s best marketing brains through ‘Imminent Marketer’

Godrej Sri Lanka, a leading FMCG manufacturer of household and personal care products, partnered with the Department of Marketing Management of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura to discover the best marketing brains in Sri Lanka. 

LankaWalltiles and Lanka Tiles receive Green Building Certification

LankaWalltiles PLC and Lanka Tiles PLC, the pioneers in wall and floor tile manufacturing in Sri Lanka, have been committed to the well-being of the environment in order to preserve its beauty. 

CDB crowned Best Corporate Citizen 2015

Wins in the Less than Rs 15 Bn turnover category and recognised among the Top Ten Corporate Citizens in Sri Lanka Placed among the country’s largest conglomerates and business stewards, Citizen’s Development Business Finance proudly donned the crown of being 

Metropolitan Resource Holdings to delist

Metropolitan Resource Holdings PLC (MRH) announced yesterday that it is looking to delist from the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). In a filing to the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), the company MRH shared it proposal to delist the securities of the company from the official list.

TRCSL asserts no plans to abandon high-speed Internet initiative

In response to Wednesday’s (Dec.30) Mirror Business front page story titled “End of the road for high speed Internet in Sri Lanka?” Telecommunication and Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) yesterday affirmed that it had not taken any decision to abandon the National Broadband Initiative (NBI).

‘Sri Lanka Economic Forum 2016’ to be held on Jan.7-8 with Soros, Stiglitz and many other top speake

‘Sri Lanka Economic Forum 2016,’ a forum organized in Colombo under the patronage of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is to take place with the likes of international investor and founder and Chairman of Open Society George Soros and Nobel Laureate economist Joseph Stieglitz in attendance,

December inflation slows down to 2.8% over base effect

Sri Lanka’s inflation in December as measured by the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) slowed to 2.8 percent from 3.1 percent in November, the Census and Statistics Department said yesterday.

US$85mn Sri Lankan Catering IPO to hit market in first quarter of this year

SriLankan Catering, a fully-owned subsidy of state-owned national carrier SriLankan Airlines is considering going for a US$85 million initial public offering (IPO) in the next 2-3 months. 

CB Chief says no dire need for emergency funding

?The country has no need to raise emergency funds, though the government may decide to make a formal request to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for “some sort of arrangement” between Sri Lanka and the multilateral lender, Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran said. 

Intel completes Altera acquisition

Intel Corporation (“Intel”) announced that it has completed the acquisition of Altera Corporation (“Altera”), a leading provider of field-programmable gate array (FPGA) technology. 

New app allows to get a Tuk Tuk faster, connect to your ride in minutes

?Tuk Tuk App a mobile application that helps to get a Taxi or a Three wheeler at your convenience was launched recently. Launched by the Tuk Tuk Network the Tuk Tuk App makes it easy to get any ride across cities in Sri Lanka with the largest network of registered taxis and Three wheelers in the country. 

IronOne’s BoardPAC gains access to Bangladesh govt. & military bodies with new partner GRAM

IronOne Technologies, the Sri Lankan developer of BoardPAC, the sophisticated and secure mobile solution for paperless communication, has made significant advances in Bangladesh, gaining access to government agencies...

Chrysotile Information Center Asia educates medical professionals on safe usage of Chrysotile

?The Chrysotile Information Center Asia, which is a non-profit organization established to provide scientific information, public education and assistance in relation to the responsible and safe use of Chrysotile, held a special knowledge sharing seminar at the Taj Samudra in Colombo. 

Emission levy jolt Lanka’s clean air policy –experts

?Imposing the proposed emission testing levy by the government has created an adverse effect, negatively impacting the industry which does a yeoman service in maintaining Sri Lanka’s high environment performance ranking in South Asia, emission control industry experts say.

Land, capital and technical training must for village development: Dr Amunugama

 “In order to develop the village the rural population must be provided with land, capital and technical training” said the Minister for Special Assignments Dr Sarath Amunugama addressing the 26th Annual Session of the Women’s Development Federation ( Kantha Sanwardhana Maha Sangamaya), recently.

HSBC and British Council organize 24-hour hackathon for young entrepreneurs

?HSBC Youth Enterprise Awards jointly organised by the British Council and HSBC is a business plan contest aimed at recognising and supporting young entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka to start-up their businesses. 

New proactive approach to promote SL-Pakistan bilateral  relations

?The 66-year old Sri Lanka Pakistan Friendship Association has taken a bold step in transforming itself into the Sri Lanka Pakistan Friendship, Trade & Investment Association, in keeping with current trends internationally of the need to promote trade and investment between nations in a pro-active manner.

Private sector wish list for 2016

Hoping for better times, greater prosperity, and further developments, Sri Lanka enters the New Year with a lot of plans.