Thomas Cook folds, sparking worldwide repatriation of tourists

(London) AFP: British travel group Thomas Cook yesterday declared bankruptcy after failing to reach a last-ditch rescue deal, triggering the UK’s biggest repatriation since World War II to bring back tens of thousands of stranded passengers.

National prices up 3.4% in August

Sri Lanka’s countrywide inflation measured by the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) rose to 3.4 percent in August, from 2.2 percent in July, amid the low base that prevailed in the corresponding month of the previous year and the increases in the prices of food and non-food items.

Dankotuwa Porcelain shines at Presidential Export Awards

Dankotuwa Porcelain PLC was adjudged as Best Exporter in the Porcelain and Ceramic category at the recently concluded Presidential Awards 2018/19.

FMI sets benchmark in customer satisfaction with ISO certifications

Raising the bar higher for excellence in the field of customer satisfaction, application of exemplary facility management practices with a commitment to protect the health and safety of the community at large, Facilities Management Integrated has set the benchmark with its achievement of two ISO certifications.

Top exporter Anverally and Sons wins three accolades

Anverally and Sons (Pvt) Ltd., one of Sri Lanka’s oldest exporters of tea, with a history of 129 years, has won three awards on consecutive days last week, demonstrating the company’s continuing dynamism.

Pearson relocates global technical operations hub to MAGA ONE

Pearson Lanka this week officially announced the relocation of their 300-strong global Technical Operations team to an ultra-modern facility located at the iconic ‘MAGA ONE’ building in Colombo 5.

New impetus to revive economy: An expressway covering entire country

Sri Lanka is a country in the shape of an ellipse. While the central part is mountainous, the rest of the island is a flat plain. The distance from the North to South is about 420 km and from East to West, it is about 220 km at the maximum point.

State intervention sought at tea auction to control prices

As efforts to introduce a productivity-based wage model to the plantation sector have repeatedly proved futile with politicised estate sector trade unions, Sri Lanka’s Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) now seek State intervention at the Colombo Tea Auction to control tea prices to avert crisis. “During last three years, we have gone through two worker wage negotiations with almost 17 percent increases granted in each wage increase. This has ha

Western Province economic growth could be accelerated by 10% with MCC grant

The economic growth of the Western Province could be accelerated by 10 percent per annum with the implementation of the advanced traffic management system proposed under the US$ 480 million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant to Sri Lanka, according to a top Road Development Authority (RDA) official. Under the proposed

Need for smarter revamping of higher education sector highlighted at SLES 2019

A leading academic in the country has called for smarter revamping of the local higher education sector, as Sri Lanka falls behind lower middle-income economies in this regard. While a large proportion

Gota would restore relations with China, says adviser

Sri Lankan presidential nominee Gotabaya Rajapaksa would ‘restore relations’ with the country’s top lender China if he wins the Nov. 16 vote and met with a senior Chinese official this week, according to an adviser

SLTPB plans aggressive marketing push at WTM London

The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) has made arrangements to participate at the World Travel Market (WTM) 2019 at a grand scale, which the agency said is set to bring a wide variety of opport

Fresh probe ordered into Easter bombings

(Colombo) AFP: A fresh inquiry into the Easter suicide bombings that hit Sri Lanka killing at least 258 people was ordered by President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday, after concerns from the Catholic Church that current probes are not independent. The government has blamed a local jihadi group, the National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ) for the April 21 attacks on three churches and three luxury hotels, while the Islamic State group also claimed resp

Digital threats multiply ahead of 2020 US elections

(Washington) AFP: It could be a manipulated video embarrassing a candidate. Or a computer voting system locked by ransomware. Or doubts about electronic voting machines with no paper backups.

Asian markets enjoy gains as focus turns back to trade talks

HONG KONG (AFP) - Asian markets edged up yesterday as investors turn their attention to the China-US trade talks, while keeping an eye on the Gulf region after last week’s air strikes on Saudi oil facili

Abans Auto to launch Hyundai Experience Centre at CCC

As part of their milestone partnership with Hyundai Motor Company, Abans Auto will be launching a Hyundai Experience Centre at Colombo City Centre (CCC) on November 8. This embodies Abans Auto’s aim to offer a transformative dealership experience that stays relevant and up-to-date on the ever-evolving consumer preferences of today. The Hyundai Experience Centre will feature immersive digital technologies including 3D and Augmented Reality to en

Argentina crisis would have been much worse without IMF: Lagarde

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The crisis hammering Argentina would have been much worse had the International Monetary Fund not stepped in with a massive rescue programme, outgoing IMF chief Christine Lagarde said this week. “I look at Argentina when it came knocking on the door and it was in a tough place, and we were the only game in town,” Lagarde told AFP in an interview. But she said she regretted that the record US$ 57 billion loan fr

Google to invest 3 bn euros in European data centres

REUTERS - Google will make an additional investment of 3 billion euros (US$3.3 billion) over the next two years to expand its European data centres, Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said in Finland.

Rupee ends weaker; stocks down

(REUTERS) - Sri Lanka’s rupee closed weaker for the fifth straight session yesterday on continued demand for dollars from banks, while equities ended the week on a negative note.

Mitsubishi Corp unit loses US$ 320 mn in unauthorised trades

TOKYO (AFP) - Major Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp said yesterday it was carrying out an investigation after its Singapore-based subsidiary lost US$ 320 million because of unauthorised trades by an employee. In a statement, the fir

Under-pressure Indian govt. slashes corporate taxes

MUMBAI (AFP) - India said yesterday it would slash corporate taxes to among the lowest in Asia as part of its drive to kickstart the stuttering economy, sending the country’s stock market surging as analysts predicted

Brandix clinches ‘Exporter of the Year’ award

Brandix was bestowed with the accolade ‘Exporter of the Year’ by President Maithripala Sirisena at the Presidential Export Awards 2018/2019 held yesterday. The award was accepted by Brandix Directors Ranga Ranmadugala and Dave Ranasinghe (L to R) on behalf of the company.

Global advisory leader calls for urgent establishment of ‘Credit Guarantee Corporation’

Global leader in advisory services, Ernst & Young said Sri Lanka’s SMEs sector urgently requires the establishment of a ‘Credit Guarantee Corporation’, so that it receives the much needed boost, as current efforts taken by authorities are not reaching this budding sector. EY Senior Partner Arjuna Herath while pointing out that in the current operative environment the SME sector is observed to be struggling to sustain and grow, implied that a mor

SL healthcare system can no way be uplifted with current income tax levels, says IHP chief

Head of the Institute for Health Policy (IHP), a regional centre of excellence for health policy research stated that the country’s current healthcare system is unable to undergo any improvements as the low tax income and political interference make it challenging to embark on any service upgrades. IHP Executive Director (ED) Dr. Ravindra P. Rannan-Eliya, while addressing the Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2019 earlier this week pointed out that despi

Visa launches new roadmap to secure Sri Lankans engaging in e-commerce

As Sri Lanka’s electronic transaction grows rapidly driven by evolving e-commerce space, Visa, the global payments technology company launched a new roadmap to secure Sri Lankan consumers and businesses from breaches.

Sri Lanka to strike US$ 250 mn tea-for-debt barter deal with Iran

Sri Lanka is moving ahead to strike a US$250 million worth tea-for-debt barter deal and revive tea exports to Iran while settling outstanding oil credit over a 50-month period, subsequent to securing Cabinet approval. The Cabin

Sinhaputhra given time to raise capital

Sinhaputhra Finance Plc, non-bank lender in Sri Lanka has been given time to raise capital, the Central Bank said. “In view of the proposed capital augmentation plan submitted by the Sinhaputhra Finance PLC (SINF) and in the interest of depositors, the Monetary Board decided to provide SINF with an opportunity to implement the proposed capital augmentation plan within the timeframe stipulated,” the regulator said in a public statement.

CB cancels license issued to TKS Finance

Sri Lanka’s Monetary Board of the Central Bank has decided to cancel the licence issued to TKS Finance Limited (TKSF) to carry on finance business with effect from yesterday. The Central Bank said the financial condition of TKSF is not satisfactory due to deficient capital level, poor asset quality, continuous losses and failure in repaying depositors’ money on demand or at maturity.

Second quarter GDP growth slumps to over 5-year low as Easter attacks weigh

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka’s economy grew at its slowest pace in more than five years from April to June, government data showed on Wednesday, as the Easter Sunday bomb attacks that killed over 250 peop

Bureaucracy slowing down SL tourism sector: expert

Sri Lanka’s tourism sector is acknowledged as one of the highest revenue earners for the economy but poor planning and slow execution by the relevant authorities are observed to be pulling the sector down, implied a senior industry representative. Deliberating on the ‘key’ to unleashing Sri Lanka’s next growth drivers at Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2019, Jetwing Hotels Chairperson Shiroma