India’s under-pressure telecom firms hit with US$ 13 bn bill

MUMBAI (AFP) - India’s beleaguered telecom companies were dealt a blow yday after being told to pay a whopping US$ 13 billion bill, though boosting Asia’s richest tycoon Mukesh Ambani who has shaken up the sector with his low-cost deals.

BMW CEO says trade war could cost U.S. jobs

Germany (Reuters) - BMW has told United States trade representatives, including Robert Lighthizer, that intensifying a global trade war could threaten jobs in South Carolina, Chief Executive Oliver Zipse said yesterday.

Thailand’s largest company CP Group signs US$ 7.4 bn rail deal

BANGKOK (AFP) - A consortium led by Thailand’s largest conglomerate CP Group on Thursday signed a US$7.4 billion deal to build a high-speed railway connecting three airports, the spine of an infrastructure scheme set to transform the southern coast into a tech hub.

Shares end at 11-week high; rupee edges down

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Banking and beverage stocks pushed Sri Lankan shares to a near 11-week peak yesterday after one of the presidential front-runners released his policy manifesto, while the rupee closed tad weaker.

Amazon shares hit by earnings disappointment

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Amazon on Thursday reported that quarterly profits shy of Wall Street forecasts, sending shares of the tech giant tumbling in after-market trades.

Pound slips further as Johnson eyes poll to break Brexit logjam

HONG KONG (AFP) - Sterling extended losses yesterday owing to renewed Brexit uncertainty after Boris Johnson proposed a general election to resolve the long-running saga, while Asian markets were mixed after a broadly positive week.

Tourism industry visits Jaffna Airport to explore future opportunities

The officials and stakeholders of the tourism industry visited the Jaffna International Airport to explore future tourism opportunities with Tourism Development Minister last week.

Galadari steals the spotlight at Culinary Art Food Expo 2019

The Galadari Colombo triumphed at the recently concluded Culinary Art Food Expo 2019 which is organized by Chefs Guild of Lanka with the support of the World Association of Chefs Societies during the Food EXPO held at the BMICH recently.

Sri Lanka told to think big and bold to drive tourism

Showing his fondness for Sri Lanka in abundance by declaring the island nation his second home, Emirates President Sir Tim Clark this week advised Sri Lankan policy makers to “think big and think bold,” to drive the country’s tourism industry forward. Drawing i

Big firm products top worst plastic litter list: report

(Manila) AFP: Tens of thousands of pieces of plastic littering the planet come from just a handful of multinational corporations, an environmental pressure group said Wednesday. Coca-Cola, Nestle and PepsiCo were named b

Sanken to build US$ 9.3mn business hotel in Union Place

Sanken Constriction (Pvt.) Ltd. has entered an investment agreement worth US$ 9.28mn with the Board of Investment (BOI) to build a 122-room one-star business hotel in Colombo. “We will be building a 112-room business hotel in the one-star category, but which will be of a much higher standard. This will be a 10-storey building, and we are seeking an international hotel operator to work wi

Sri Lanka fails to maintain momentum in making climate easy for business

Sri Lanka remains stagnant in the World Bank (WB) Group’s Doing Business Index 2020, making a marginal improvement by one place to 99th position among 190 economies, as the business regulatory reform process came into a grinding halt during the review period. In comparison with Do

Keells Foods 2Q profit down despite higher top line

Keells Food Products PLC (KFP), the processed food maker of John Keells group, reported lower profits for the quarter ended September 30, 2019 (2Q20), despite gains at the top line level, signaling somewhat improved consumer sentiment. KFP, the manufacturer of Keells br

Shares, rupee gain ahead of manifesto announcements

(Colombo) REUTERS: Sri Lankan shares and the rupee gained yesterday, with investors waiting for policy manifestos of the two front-runners in next month’s presidential poll. Former defence chief Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Housing Minister Sajith Premadasa will announce their policy framework on Friday and Nov. 1, respectively. Analysts had said investors were waiting to see their views on tax, subsidies and private businesses.

Chevron Lanka ends declining streak with 20% profit increase

Ending the long declining streak in earnings, Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC yesterday reported some solid top and bottom line performance for the quarter ended September 30, 2019 (3Q19) as the fortunes of the market leader in lubricant sales appeared to be changing under its new leadership. Chevron Lubricants repor

Anger at Singapore restaurant ‘grab-a-crab’ machine

(Singapore) AFP: A Singapore restaurant yesterday suspended a bizarre promotional stunt where customers use an arcade-style machine with a mechanical claw to catch live crabs after it sparked uproar online.

SLTPB plans Rs.100mn TV campaign in Germany this year

Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) yesterday announced plans to launch a Rs.100 million promotional campaign on a selected German TV channel within the next two months in an attempt to lure more German tourists to the country.

CB issues notice to cancel The Finance license

The Central Bank yesterday said it has given notice of cancellation of the license issued to the liquidity-hit The Finance Company PLC (TFC) with effect from October 23, 2019, to safeguard the interests of depositors and other creditors.

Swisstek bags US$4.5 mn Cinnamon Life flooring contract

Swisstek (Ceylon) PLC has secured a US$4.5 million contract for the supply and installation of solid wood flooring for the John Keells Holdings’ Cinnamon Life project, which is the single largest ever timber flooring project to be awarded in the country.

Several key tax amendments announced

The Finance Ministry yesterday introduced several key tax amendments among many other things.

Bhutan takes No.1 spot in Lonely Planet’s 2020 list

Bhutan has been chosen as the Lonely Planet’s number one tourist destination to visit in 2020 due to its majestic beauty and plans to become the first fully organic nation.

Shares, rupee edge up ahead of manifesto announcements

(Colombo) REUTERS: Sri Lankan shares and the rupee gained on Wednesday, as investors waited for policy manifesto announcements by the two frontrunners for next month’s presidential poll.

Melstacorp to remain acquisitive in non-alcobev sector

Melstacorp PLC will continue to look for acquisition and investment opportunities in the non-alcoholic beverage segment as the company is looking to further reduce its over-reliance on its alcohol business, which is largely susceptible to the country’s lopsided and frequently changing public policy.

Teejay eyes US$ 300mn revenue mark by 2021/22

Following is an interview with Teejay Lanka CEO Shrihan Perera, which is a part of an interview series of S&P SL20 companies conducted by the Colombo Stock Exchange in partnership with Mirror Business.

ICCSL will help boost exports and SMEs: Dinesh

International Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka (ICCSL) elected a new Executive Committee for 2019/20 at the 53rd Annual General Meeting of the Chamber held recently in Colombo. Dinesh Weerakkody, Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka outlines many of the opportunities for the Chamber given ICCs global network of over 45 million member companies, chambers of commerce and business associations in over 130 countries. Weerakkody po

Letter to the Editor Why berate these heroic civil society activists?

I was highly saddened and extremely perturbed over the news that two of our civil society activists were threatened with death for moving the courts questioning the eligibility of presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa to contest the forthcoming presidential election. I was so disturbed because of the simple reason that it was amply proved that the case in itself was not without substance or any validity because of the following reasons.

Protests, petitions as green spaces in Indian cities vanish

Just hours after the high court dismissed petitions against cutting trees in a heavily wooded area in suburban Mumbai for a metro rail depot, hundreds of protesters swarmed the site, crying and clinging to trees as the felling began.

Low interest rates set to provide flywheel to mutual fund industry

The mutual fund or the unit trust industry, which went on a rollercoaster ride due to the exodus of funds following new tax laws, is expected to make a comeback with fund managers eying a slice of the banking sector savings, offering attractive returns. Several fund managem

Omega Line to invest US$ 24mn in new lingerie factory

Omega Line Limited, a unit of Luxembourg–based Calzedonia Finanziaria, is to expand its existing current factory complex in Sandalankawa by constructing a US$ 24 million new lingerie factory.

Emirates President Sir Tim Clark to address THASL AGM

Sir Tim Clark, who led Emirates Airlines since 1985, will speak at the 54th Anniversary AGM dinner of The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL), taking place at Cinnamon Grand this evening. In 2003, Sir Clark becam