Banning oil palm cultivation: Throwing baby away with bathwater?

It is very unfortunate that the government has decided to stop the expansion of cultivation of oil palm without considering in depth, the merits and demerits. Totally banning the globally most widely used weed killer, glyphosate in 2015, was a similar folly of the previous regime, overlooking the views of the scientists and government high officials and largely on a highly erroneous scientific hypothesis that it was a causal factor in the Rajarat

Azim Hashim Premji: Extraordinary compassionate Indian entrepreneur

Azim Hashim Premji (born July 24, 1945) is an Indian business tycoon, investor, engineer and philanthropist. He is popularly known as the Czar of the Indian IT industry.

US on verge of landmark China trade deal: Trump

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States was poised to announce a historic trade deal with China, days before new tariffs are due to kick in between the world’s two largest economies, easing a commercial dispute that has roiled markets for almost two years. Reports that Washington and Beijing had struck a bargain at last -- subject to approval by US President Donald Trump - sent US stocks sailing to their first record closes of December. “Getting Ver

Boeing acknowledges 737 MAX won’t fly until 2020

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Chastised by the top US aviation regulator, Boeing on Thursday at last acknowledged that its 727 MAX aircraft will not return to the skies until next year. Steve Dickson, head of the Federal Aviation Administration, met Thursday with Boeing chief Dennis Muilenburg to express concerns the company is rushing to get the jets back in the air, the agency said.

High profile delegation from Holland in Sri Lanka on familiarization visit

A delegation from the Vereniging van Kleinschalige Reisorganisaties (VVKR); Small & Medium Tour Operators Association in The Netherlands arrived in Sri Lanka on December 02nd, on an invitation from Sri Lanka Tourism. Upon their arrival, they were given a warm welcome amidst a distinguished gathering, and also had the opportunity of witnessing a cultural performance. The delegation was in Sri Lanka till December 08.

Microsoft unveils Xbox Series X as console war heats up

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Microsoft has unveiled a name and look for its new gaming console, the Xbox Series X, promising a still-more immersive experience as it fends off threats from streaming and rival Sony. The US company in June p

Mexico ratifies modified N. American trade deal

MEXICO CITY (AFP) - The Mexican Senate ratified the modified North American free trade agreement with the United States and Canada on Thursday after more than two years of arduous negotiations.

Germany’s Delivery Hero gobbles up South Korean food app Woowa

FRANKFURT AM MAIN (AFP) - German takeaway giant Delivery Hero yesterday said it had agreed to buy South Korea’s largest food delivery app Woowa in a 3.6 billion euro (US$ 4 billion) deal aimed at beefing up its

Japan business confidence drops for 4th straight quarter: survey

TOKYO (AFP) - Confidence among Japan’s biggest manufacturers has s lipped for the fourth straight quarter, a key survey showed yesterday, reflecting lingering worries over the US-China trade war. The Bank of Japan’s December Tankan business survey - a quarterly poll of about 10,000 companies showed a reading of 0 among major manufacturers, a worse-than-expected fall from +5 in the previous quarter. The

EU extends Russia’s economic sanctions by six months

BRUSSELS (AFP) - European Union leaders on Thursday extended punishing economic sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine for another six months, senior EU officials said. The move comes days after a four-way summit in Paris between Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany failed to yield a major breakthrough in solving the five-year conflict. The sanctions, which target whole sectors o

Saudi Aramco hits crown prince’s US$ 2 trn goal as shares soar

(Riyadh) AFP: Saudi Aramco soared yesterday above the US $2 trillion valuation target sought by the kingdom’s de facto ruler as the energy giant’s share price surged on its second day of trading.

Government exempts PAL on capital goods eyeing growth

The government has effected further changes to taxes and levies as the Finance Minister had ordered the exemption of Ports and Airports Development Levy—which is often referred to as the PAL—on a range of imported capital goods in a bid to provide the much-needed fillip to the construction and export-oriented manufacturing and services sectors.

Cabinet nod to set-up 100,000-strong ‘multi-purpose task force’ under separate department

Sri Lanka’s Cabinet of Ministers has decided to set-up a ‘multi-purpose task force’ comprising 100,000 qualified low-income youth under a separate department.

Overwhelming majority of Lankans say SOE service levels don’t justify losses: survey

About 81 percent of Sri Lankans believe that the losses sustained by State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are not justified, compared to the services they provide, according to a public opinion poll conducted by Colombo-based think tank, Advocata Institute.

CSE to conduct full-day of trading from disaster recovery site

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) is to conduct a planned full-day of trading from the disaster recovery site using ATS Version 7 Disaster Recovery Solution today as a part of its routine business continuity planning (BCP).

Entire public sector going through restructuring process under new govt. -Susil

Sri Lanka’s entire public sector is going through a restructuring process under the new government led by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a government minister said.

Govt. to reduce duty on wheat flour imports

The government will reduce duty on wheat flour imports for a limited period in order to ease the cost of living amid a hike in rice prices, Cabinet Spokesperson Dr. Ramesh Pathirana said.

Treasury approves State-sector employee bonuses

The Treasury has approved bonus payment for the year 2019 for the employees of State-owned statutory bodies and fully State-owned companies.

Shares snap six-day losing streak, rupee ends firmer

(Colombo) REUTERS: Sri Lankan shares gained for the first time in seven sessions yesterday, helped by large-cap LOLC Holdings Plc, while the rupee ended higher.

Sri Lanka’s need for data scientists

In 2012, the Harvard Business Review named being a ‘data scientist’ the “The Sexiest Job of the 21st Century”. If that is not appealing enough, it is estimated that by 2020, there will be 40 trillion gigabytes (40 zettabytes) of data created.

Shifting narrative on trade policy: From int’l to domestic

The multilateral trading system and the liberal order on which it is founded are under immense strain. A toxic mix of populist appeals to protectionism and the invocation of national security concerns is disrupting and weakening the global value chains that have underpinned growth in international trade since 1970s.

Top Lankan businesses pledge support to tackle high malnutrition

The Scaling Up Nutrition Business Network (SUN BN), led by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), recently brought together 30 leading Sri Lankan businesses to pledge their support for three important agendas—improving workplace health and nutrition efforts, producing healthy food and promoting healthy food consumption. A global network spanning 41 coun

SL in high human development category, says UNDP’s latest report

Sri Lanka’s Human Development Index (HDI) value for 2018 is 0.780— which puts the country in the high human development category— positioning it at 71 out of 189 countries and territories, according to the 2019 Human Development Report released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Launched this Tuesday, at an event held at the United Nations Compound in Colombo, the report titled ‘Beyond Income, Beyond Averages, Beyond Today: Ineq

LOLC to sell stake in Cambodia’s Prasac Microfinance

LOLC Holdings PLC plans to sell its stake in a microfinance outfit in Cambodia to use the proceeds to fund acquisitions of microfinance firms in emerging markets such as Brazil and India, a Bloomberg news report said.

Govt. likely to raise some taxes to balance loss of revenue from stimulus package

The government may raise some taxes to compensate the loss of tax revenue stemming from the sweeping tax cuts announced about three weeks ago aiming to stimulate economic growth, according to ICRA Lanka, the local arm of credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service. “Reduction in tax revenue is highly unlikely to be compensated by raising non-tax revenue in the short-run. Therefore, we expect the government may consider raising some taxes to co

Only 3% have tertiary education in SL’s agri sector: survey

In what could be termed as a crucial finding, only 3 percent of the population involved in Sri Lanka’s agricultural sector have a degree-level education or any form of tertiary education and the majority in the trade has completed schooling only up to the 10th Grade. At the bottom end, 4 percent of the population in agriculture had no form of schooling while 19 percent had passed up to Grade 6 and a further 46 percent had passed up to the 10th G

Dr. Mobius meets Cabraal

Legendary investor and former chief of the Franklin Templeton Emerging Markets Fund, Dr. Mark Mobius, met with Prime Minister’s Senior Advisor on Economic Affairs Ajith Nivard Cabraal, at the Office of the Prime Minister, Temple Trees, yesterday. Discussions centred on attracting equity and fixed market investments into Sri Lanka and about Sri Lanka’s plans to realise the growth potential of the country.

reporting mechanism key to fighting graft, says TISL

Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) yesterday revealed that while efforts are being taken to curb corruption in Sri Lanka, the lack of awareness on the mechanism to report the same remains a major obstacle to development and requires urgent attention.

One-day trading suspension imposed on Bartleet Religare Securities

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has suspended the trading activities of equities broker Bartleet Religare Securities (Pvt.) Ltd (BMS), for one day.

Shares fall for 4th straight session

(Colombo) REUTERS: Sri Lankan shares closed weaker for the fourth straight session yesterday, weighed down by foreign sell-offs and profit-taking in construction shares, while the rupee ended steady.