Governance key for renewable energy development: expert

Lack of progress in enhancing energy sector governance hinders renewable energy development in Sri Lanka, whereas its neighbours are already speeding ahead with renewable energy development backed by improved energy sector governance, an energy sector expert opined.

Treasury bill yields fall for 20th consecutive week

Sri Lanka’s Treasury bill yields fell across all maturities for the 20th consecutive week yesterday, at the auction held at the Public Debt Department (PDD) of the Central Bank.

Softlogic makes significant inroads into govt. tender market

Softlogic Holdings PLC, which has an exclusive authorised dealership for Ford vehicles and King Long buses in Sri Lanka, has made significant inroads into the government tender market, strengthening its position as a leading supplier of vehicles to the state sector.

Stocks hit over 3-month high on local buying

(Colombo) REUTERS: Sri Lankan shares rose for the sixth straight session yesterday to hit a more than three-month closing high, as diversified and banking stocks gained, while the rupee ended steady.

Moody’s to sell analytics unit to PE firm Equistone Partners

Moody’s Corporation this week said it has agreed to sell its Moody’s Analytics Knowledge Services (MAKS) business to Equistone Partners Europe Limited (Equistone), a European private equity firm.

Are hotel schools staying relevant to industry needs?

An often-asked question in the hospitality industry is whether graduates of hospitality education programmes possess the competencies that the hospitality industry believes students should possess. In an industry as dynamic and diverse as hospitality, where new trends and changes are driving the sector, educators must tailor their programmes to ensure they are designed to equip graduates with the relevant knowledge that will help them advance the

Investor interest wanes in Chalmers Granaries project

The second attempt in two years to attract investors to develop the nine-acre Chalmers Granaries land opposite the Fort railway station as a mixed development project has proven unsuccessful as investor interest had waned following Easter Sunday bomb attacks, Mirror Business learns.

Softlogic eyes Asia, Africa for healthcare and insurance business expansion

Diversified conglomerate Softlogic Holdings PLC is looking to expand its business interests beyond Sri Lankan shores while evaluating options to reduce its gearing, a top official said.

New regulations on ship emissions to impact cargo transport costs: Expolanka

Leading freight and logistics player, Expolanka PLC, a unit of Japan’s SG Holdings says regulations on ship emissions that are set to come into effect from next year will add to cargo transport costs.

BOC to raise Rs.12bn via private debentures to beef up capital

The Bank of Ceylon (BOC) this week said it would raise as much as Rs.12 billion through a private placement of subordinated debentures to prevent its capital base from falling towards the regulatory minimum under the new capital rules stipulated by Basel III.

Factory output gathers momentum in June; services recover

Sri Lanka’s factory output picked up pace in June, as activities returned to normalcy after Easter Sunday attacks with employees returning to work and production gathering steam after two months of paralysis across sectors in April and May.

Sunshine-CIC abandon plan to merge healthcare biz

Sunshine Holdings PLC and CIC Holdings PLC this week said they called off plans to combine their healthcare sector operations as announced in March this year.

It’s not the interest rates, stupid!

The government and Central Bank have launched a campaign to bring down the lending interest rates to stimulate economic growth. The Central Bank in May cut the policy rates by 50 basis points and slapped the caps on deposit rates. The government is offering loans at highly subsidised rates through its Enterprise Sri Lanka programme and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was quoted as saying in recent news reports that his government has made arr

Mirror Biz Toon

The saga of tourist arrivals after 21/4 attacks

Traditionally, one of the main indices by which tourism performance is assessed the world over is analysing the total tourist arrivals into a country. Historically, Sri Lanka also has been adopting this method. However, Sri Lanka seems to place too much of emphasis on arrivals, only to determine the ‘health’ of tourism in the country. In addition, due to certain inherent country-specific issues related to gathering this source data and other oper

LOLC Finance share sale boosts bourse

A sale of shares of LOLC Finance PLC (LOFC) to a subsidiary incorporated overseas boosted the Colombo Stock Exchange yesterday, which allowed the bourse to report a turnover of over Rs.9 billion for the first time thi

“They bombed our livelihoods”: Sri Lanka’s tourism firms struggle after attacks

(Unawatuna/Galle) REUTERS: Pearl Divers, a diving school on one of Sri Lanka’s most popular southern beaches, shut shop for two months after suicide bombers attacked churches and hotels on the island on Easter Sunday, killing about 250 people. It had no customers as tourists cancelled holidays and its manager Nuwan Harshana says he took two months leave and a pay cut.

Australian travel and tour operators arrive on 10-day familiarisation visit

A team of 18 Australian travel and tour operators arrived in Sri Lanka on a 10-day familiarisation tour hosted by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB). Tourist arrivals from Australia have shown a steady increase in recent months and it is envisioned that the familiarisation tour would capitalise on this wave of interest. Over 4000 tourists had arrived from Australia to Sri Lanka, mostly by air, during June this year. The tour operator

Bank of England picks WW II code-breaker Turing for banknotes

(Manchester) REUTERS: Mathematician Alan Turing, whose cracking of a Nazi code helped the Allies to win World War Two but who committed suicide after being convicted for homosexuality, will appear on the

China 2Q GDP growth slows to 27-year low

(Beijing) REUTERS: China’s economic growth slowed to 6.2 percent in the second quarter, its weakest pace in at least 27 years, as demand at home and abroad faltered in the face of mounting US trade pressure. While more upbeat June factory

JICA supports Sri Lanka’s tourism recovery after Easter bombings

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), in cooperation with the Tourism, Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs Ministry, successfully completed a joint seminar themed ‘Recovery of tourism sector in Sri Lanka after the Easter bombings 2019’, targeting the officials and professionals in the tourism sector.

Public transportation services to be available on Google Maps

Transportation and Civil Aviation Ministry last week said it had started the process of upgrading Google Maps to show public transportation services as a part of Google Transit, and it would be available for use in Google Maps covering the Western Province shortly.

Industrial production recovers in May

Industrial production recovered in the month of May after hitting a 3-year low in April due to traditional New Year holidays and Easter Sunday bombings that kept workers away from factories. The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) increased by 0.4 percent to 106.1 points in May from 105.7 points in May 2018, the data released by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) showed.

Export-oriented manufacturing the way forward for Sri Lanka

Diversified and export-oriented manufacturing is the way forward for Sri Lanka to develop as a nation, as no country has ever advanced without export-oriented manufacturing, world renowned Lankan

Enterprise Sri Lanka exhibition to be held in A’pura from July 24

The Enterprise Sri Lanka exhibition organized by the Ministry of Finance will be held in Anuradhapura Walisinghe Harischandra playground from 24th to 27th this month from 10.a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

Pakistan to pay foreign firm US$6bn over mine closure: World Bank

ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistan will have to pay almost US$ 6 billion in damages to a foreign gold mining firm whose dig was shut down by the government in 2011, the World Bank said yesterday.

Parliament to pass resolution to declare Port City part of Colombo district

Parliament is scheduled to take up a resolution on July 24 to grant authority to the President to declare the reclaimed Colombo International Financial City (CIFC) land as part of Colombo district. The Secretary to

Shares rise for fourth session; rupee edges lower

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lankan shares rose for the fourth straight session yesterday to a more than 12-week closing high, a day after the central bank kept its key policy rates steady. The Central Bank left key interest rates unchanged on Thursday as expected, after cutting them in May to support the economy as tourism and investment plummeted in the wake of deadly suicide bombings

S’pore economy shrinks in warning for global trade

SINGAPORE (AFP) - Growth in export-reliant Singapore suffered a surprise sharp contraction in the second quarter, official data showed yesterday, sending a stark warning that US-China trade tensions are hurting the global economy. The city-state’s gross domestic prod

SLGMBC concludes successful biz promo mission to Myanmar

The Sri Lanka – Greater Mekong Business Council (SLGMBC) of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce organized a successful business promotion mission to Myanmar recently. The delegates met with the Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Myanmar and attended the Yangon Investment Forum organized by the Yangon Regional Government. The Council together with Pricewater