Govt. pledges to improve local accreditation and certification process to international standards

As Sri Lanka is on the lookout for avenues to boost the quality of the products moving in and out of the country, the government yesterday pledged to iron out issues in the local accreditation system and bring it on par with international standards.

May countrywide inflation rises to 2.1%

Sri Lanka’s country wide inflation measured by the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) rose to 2.1 percent in May year-on-year basis, accelerating from 1.6 percent recorded in April, the Department of Census and Statistics said.

Correction

In a note of clarification with regard to the news item titled “Colombo apartments to account for 4.5% of overall housing units next year” that appeared yesterday (21st), Condominium Developers’ Association of Sri Lanka Chairman and Director, Indocean Developers Private Limited, Pradeep Moraes, says the apartment units in Colombo are only

New film industry alliance formed to lobby against NFC’s takeover effort

 Sri Lanka’s film theatre owners, managers and film producers during a meeting held yesterday at the Ruby Cinema Theatre premises in Maligawatte formed a new industry association to lobby against the recent move by the National Film Corporation (NFC) to take over the distribution of films from the private sector.  Until now, five private entities—

ICTA begins fresh talks with CB, LankaClear to implement NPP

The new administration of the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA), along with Central Bank and LankaClear, the operator of LankaPay, has launched a fresh attempt to revive the suspended National Payment Platform (NPP) project.

Deepal Abeywickrema to take over as Nestlé B’desh MD

Deepal Abeywickrema, currently Senior Vice President - Sales for Nestlé Lanka, has been appointed Managing Director for Nestlé Bangladesh.  Backed by 32 years of experience i

Abans announces appointment of Sriyan as CEO

Abans yesterday announced the appointment of Sriyan de Silva Wijeyratne as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The company said he would assume duties effective mid-August 2018.

Colombo apartments to account for 4.5% of overall housing units next year

The apartment units in Colombo are poised to grow from 1.7 percent of the current total housing units in Colombo to 4.5 percent units by next year, with several new large-scale apartment projects coming into the market next year, a leading real estate developer in the country said.

CPC begins local production of bitumen

Ushering a new era for the local construction sector, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) yesterday commenced bitumen production at the country’s sole refinery located in Sapugaskanda.

New IR Act has shown positive outcome already: FinMin

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera on Tuesday said the outcome of the new Inland Revenue (IR) Act is positive though it has been only two months since it was implemented. 

NDB to raise Rs.6.2bn through rights issue

National Development Bank PLC (NDB) on Tuesday conveyed its plans to the Colombo bourse to raise Rs.6.2 billion via a rights issue.

Uber bets big on Sri Lanka

Joining for a discussion with Mirror Business recently, Uber General Manager Sri Lanka and South India Christian Freese and Uber Chief Business Officer India and Emerging Markets Madhu Kannan assured that Uber is committed to reshaping Sri Lanka’s urban mobility landscape while revealing several expansion plans are underway for the Sri Lankan market. 

Cabinet holds back Kerawalapitiya LNG tender awarding

The Cabinet of Ministers yesterday decided to hold back the awarding of the controversial 300MW Kerawalapitiya Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) power plant tender to the second lowest bidder, GCL

NDB to raise Rs.6.2bn via rights issue

National Development Bank PLC (NDB) yesterday conveyed its plans to the Colombo bourse to raise Rs.6.2 billion via a rights issue. Accordingly, the bank pl

Rupee down on importer dollar demand

(Colombo) REUTERS: The Sri Lankan rupee ended weaker yesterday in dull trade, near a record low hit in the previous session, as importer dollar demand surpassed greenback selling by exporters a

Renewed approach for bilateral investment treaties urged

 The Department of Commerce (DoC) yesterday called for a renewed approach to bilateral investment treaties, as Sri Lanka has become a victim of investor-State disputes in the backdrop of a surge in investment treaties-based disputes globally.

New IR Act has shown positive outcome already: Fin Min

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera yesterday said the outcome of the new Inland Revenue (IR) Act was positive though it has been only two months since it was implemented. 

EDB says National Export Strategy ready for Cabinet approval

The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) yesterday said the National Export Strategy (NES) it has designed in collaboration with the export sector stakeholders is ready to be presented to the Cabinet of Minist

Govt. likely to stick with PAB decision on 300MW Kerawalapitiya LNG plant tender

The government has decided to stand by the decision of the Procurement Appeal Board (PAB) and Power and Renewable Energy Ministry to award the tender for 300MW Kerawalapitiya liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plant to the second lowest bidder, GCL Windforce & RenewGen, a highly placed government source told Mirror Business. 

May manufacturing activities expand; services show upturn

Sri Lanka’s manufacturing sector expanded in May following the seasonal contraction observed in April, while the services sector also showed a strong upturn.  According to the Sri Lanka Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), compiled by the Central Bank, the manufacturing sector PMI recorded an index value of 60.6 in May, with an increase of 15.1 points 

Economy grows at 3.2% in 1Q18

Sri Lanka’s economic growth in the first quarter of 2018 (1Q18) has been estimated at 3.2 percent, against the 3.3 percent growth recorded for the same period last year, the Department of Census and Statistic (DCS) said, yesterday. 

One-off gains, business growth boost Melstacorp March profit

Profits at Melstacorp PLC surged mostly due to one-off gains amid mixed performance in its business segments as the former Distilleries group is still undergoing a far- reaching restructuring process with buying and shedding entities. 

S&P Sri Lanka 20 index gets new constituents

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has announced the following changes in the S&P Sri Lanka 20 index constituents made by S&P Dow Jones Indices at the 2018 mid year index rebalance.

New national procurement guidelines to cut public procurement cost by 10%

Sri Lanka is to replace the 12-year old public procurement guidelines by this August with a new set of guidelines, aiming to enhance transparency, accountability and efficiency of the procurement process, while cutting down related costs by almost 10 percent.

UAE’s Rescom to buy 25,000 MT of ilmenite from Lanka Mineral Sands

Sri Lanka’s State-owned Lanka Mineral Sands Limited is to sell 25, 000 metric tonnes of ilmenite to the United Arab Emirates-based Rescom Mineral  Trading FZE.

Controversy looms over Kerawalapitiya LNG plant tender awarding

The Procurement Appeal Board (PAB) has rejected the 300MW Kerawalapitiya Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) power plant tender contract to the lowest bidder, Lakdanavi Ltd, a subsidiary of LTL Holdings, and instead recommended the contract to be awarded to the second lowest bidder, GCL Windforce & RenewGen, triggering a potential loss of Rs.42.5 billion to the country over a 20-year period, industry sources told Mirror Business. 

Sri Lanka-Singapore FTA challenged in Supreme Court

President’s Counsel Sanjeeva Jayawardane impugned before the Supreme Court that the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Sri Lanka has entered into with Singapore is inimical to the interests of Sri Lanka. He lamented that it is totally incompatible with the interests of Sri Lanka and grants totally an unfair and an uneven asymmetric advantage and benefit to Singapore’s interests at the cost of Sri Lanka’s interest.     

US Federal Reserve raises key interest rate, signals more hikes coming

(Washington) AFP: The US Federal Reserve raised the benchmark lending rate on Wednesday for the second time this year, and signaled it will be more aggressive about rate increases in 2018 and 2019 amid “strong” economic growth.

Industrial production slows by 0.7% in April

The Index of Industrial Production (IIP), which measures the volume of industrial production, has decreased slightly by 0.7 percent in April compared to the corresponding month of the previous year, the Census and Statistics Department (DCS) Director General A.J. Satharasinghe said. He attributed the change to th

Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka  highlights need for strong IP policy for Sri Lanka

The protection for Intellectual Property (IP) is vital to support growth and stimulate innovation in developing countries, provided that they are implemented at the right time, and Sri Lanka is at the right st