First Capital records Rs.231mn profit for FY16/17

First Capital Holdings PLC, a full-service investment bank providing a diverse range of advisory services and financial products through its subsidiaries, reported a consolidated profit after tax of Rs.231 million for the financial year 2016/17 (FY16/17) compared to Rs.47 million in the previous year. 

Tourism Minister unsure of return on investment of foreign tours by officials

Tourism Development and Christian Affairs Minister John Amaratunga shied away from accounting for the numerous foreign tours of tourism officials at the cost of millions of rupees in taxpayer money over the past two years despite noting their lack of contribution to Sri Lanka’s tourism industry.

Private sector views Mangala’s appointment in positive light

The appointment of Mangala Samaraweera as the country’s Finance Minister yesterday drew positive responses from the private sector, which insisted that he should continue the reform process that has already been set in motion. 

Construction activities lift Access Engineering 4Q profit over 50%

Access Engineering PLC, a leading infrastructure developer with diversified business interests saw its group earnings increasing to a little over a billion rupees during the January-March quarter (4Q17) from Rs.650.3 million during the same period last year, recording an increase of 55 percent, the interim earnings report for the period showed. 

Leo Burnett distributes 10,000 apples at its annual dansala to celebrate Vesak

Leo Burnett Sri Lanka, commemorated the UN international Vesak day with its apple dansala at Bauddhaloka Mawatha Vesak Kalapaya for the 7th consecutive year. This year, the dansala featured 

Allianz Lanka Registers Impressive Q1 2017

Allianz Lanka continued to maintain its growth momentum across its life and general insurance businesses through Q1 2017.

Oman Air wins the “Best Arab Air Carrier supporting Arab Tourism” Award

Oman Air, the National Carrier of Sultanate of Oman, is celebrating the latest in a string of prestigious wins, following the presentation to the airline of the ‘Best Arab Air Carrier supporting Arab Tourism’ 

Mobitel hosts ‘Google I/O Extended Sri Lanka 2017’ for 4th time

The national mobile service provider Mobitel, recently hosted the extended event of the highly anticipated Google I/O 2017 on May 17th at the Stein Studio Complex in Ratmalana, for the 4thtime.

Fortinet urges organisations in Sri Lanka to take preventive measures

As ransomware ‘WannaCry’ and its variants continue their global ‘cyber-siege’ across multiple industries, Fortinet, a global leader in high-performance cyber security solutions strongly advises organisations in Sri Lanka to take immediate steps to protect against the highly virulent ransomware strain.

edotco deploys innovative bamboo telecom tower

edotco Group “edotco” recently became the first to utilize bamboo in the construction of a telecoms tower, which was installed on a rooftop in the Uttara region of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Intelligent Cloud, analytics demonstrate SAP’s vision for tomorrow’s business

SAP SE recently presented its roadmap and new tools to help customers conquer the complex challenges that businesses face in a world of ubiquitous data. 

Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing calls entries for NASCO Awards

The Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) invites entries for the 17th National Sales Congress (NASCO) award ceremony which is to be held in October 2017.

Total PR rebrands as Protean

Total PR public relations agency operating under Omnicom Media Group, rebranded themselves recently as Protean. 

IPM Sri Lanka felicitates resource personnel at ‘IPM Upahara 2017’

IPM Sri Lanka - the nation’s leader in human resources organized the felicitation event ‘IPM Upahara 2017’ on 30th April at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel to honour, recognize and felicitate the immense contribution being made on a day-to-day basis by the resource personnel attached to IPM whose passion and dedication impact the lives of many. 

The Kingsbury staff undergoes training at Australia’s William Angliss Institute

A key aspect of The Kingsbury’s human resource strategy is its continuous and investment towards training and development to instil world class quality service delivery. In order to achieve that  The Kingsbury had partnered with the prestigious William Angliss Institute, Australia to raise the benchmark in the Sri Lankan hospitality sector.

hSenid celebrates 20 years of connecting minds

During two decades of operations in the software industry, a workforce of almost two million has been empowered by hSenid. 

Pan Asia Bank recognizes top performers at Retails Awards Night

In a night filled with glitter and glamour, Pan Asia Bank recently held its Retail Banking Awards ceremony to recognize and reward outstanding performers in the bank’s retail and SME banking unit. All the branch managers as well as retail product management staff took part in this ceremony.

A cabinet reshuffle must be done with a clear purpose

Events, as they say in politics, have conspired to force the president to reshuffle his cabinet, to sharpen the government and to shine. According to a weekend newspaper, it is reported that President Maithripala Sirisena had finally decided to reshuffle his cabinet of ministers and that a few new faces are expected to be appointed to the cabinet, while a few changes in the existing portfolios would also be done.

Can Asia reach high-income?

In a single generation, Asia has transformed itself from a low-income continent to a middle-income one. In 1991, more than 90 percent of the region’s population still lived in low-income countries. By 2015, more than 95 percent lived in middle-income countries (Figure 1).

Leading others starts with leading yourself

Most leadership failure is the result of poor self-leadership. Personal leadership begins with the recognition that unless you lead yourself, you cannot lead others. It is a commitment to take the opportunity to create, design and live a life of meaning and purpose. 

CMA conducts thought-provoking session on emotional intelligence

A seminar on the topic ‘Manage Your Emotions: Lift your Life’, organised by the Institute of Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka (CMA) and Certified Professional Managers (CPM) recently, at the CMA auditorium, had a huge impact on the hearts and minds of the participants. 

‘Mentor On Road’ to kick off in Sri Lanka

‘Mentor on Road’ is a concept, envisaged by Jagat Shah from India, in which micro, small and medium-scale enterprises, women and women empowerment institutions and start-ups are mentored while travelling on the road, on various topics, free of charge.

Janashakthi March profit down 39% over higher claims

Janashakthi Insurance PLC saw its group net profits falling by 39.3 percent to Rs.217 million or 40 cents a share for the March quarter (1Q17) as the benefits and claims paid during the period rose from last year, the interim financial accounts released to the Colombo Stock Exchange showed. 

CA Sri Lanka’s Business Plan Competition grand finale winner off to Australia

Mahamaya Girls College, Kandy which won the grand finale at the CA Sri Lanka Business Plan competition will leave for Australia next week to take part at the blueshift International Business Case Competition organized by the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane. 

HNB takes ‘Salary Smart’ to new heights launching benefits-rich scheme

HNB recently announced the launch of ‘Salary Smart’, their benefits-laden salary saver product, offered not just for the salaried account- holder but the immediate as well as extended family. 

SDB bank Chairperson to attend Bhutan Economic Forum

Samadanie Kiriwandeniya, chairperson of SANASA Development Bank will be participating at the Bhutan Economic Forum for Innovative Transformation and will represent the banking sector of Sri Lanka in the forum.

Global default risks mostly receded in past year: StanChart

REUTERS: Risk perception for most of the world’s countries have improved in the past year, according to a Standard Chartered analysis of credit default swaps (CDS), contrasting with deterioration in France, Italy, the United States and Germany.

Colombo bourse among top 10 performers in April

The Colombo Stock Exchange has been ranked 9th among the 10 best performing equity markets in the world for the month of April, Bloomberg statistics show. 

SriLankan poised to become largest foreign carrier to India

SriLankan Airlines will have the largest network in India for a foreign airline with the addition of three new routes in July as a part of its regional expansion plans, the national carrier’s head told the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Annual Summit that concluded in Negombo yesterday. 

Govt. not prepared to further increase people’s tax burden: Ravi K

It is up to the people to decide whether to obtain more foreign loans as the previous regime did or to increase government revenue in order to reduce tax burden currently being put on them, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake told a gathering in Colombo.