New Sri Lankan President expected to kill James Packer’s casino plans

Billionaire James Packer is expected to walk away from a plan to build a US $ 400 million casino and hotel in Sri Lanka after the island nation elected a new president, Maithripala Sirisena, who has promised to block the project.Sirisena, who is described as a social conservative, defected from the ruling party in November after previously serving under former president Mahinda Rajapaksa as Health Minister. The manifesto released by his new party

Amãna Takaful Relocates in Kandy

Amãna Takaful PLC (ATPLC) the only fully-fledged Takaful operator in the country and the flag bearer of the Takaful way of insurance in Sri Lanka recently relocated its Central Region office to a more accessible location for customers. The new office located at No. 111/1/1, Kotugodella Veediya, Kandy, is situated in the heart of the city and provides a modern and more comfortable environment for customers. The new office was ceremoniously

November global air freight growth concentrates in Asia and Middle East

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported November 2014 data for global air freight markets showing that demand measured in freight tonne kilometres (FTK) grew 4.2 percent compared to November 2013. Capacity grew by 3.3 percent over the previous November. Compared to October 2014, air freight demand expanded by a healthy 0.8 percent.

Lanka Rating Agency upgrades Amana Takaful’s rating to BBB/P3/Stable

Lanka Rating Agency has upgraded Amana Takaful PLC’s (“ATL” or “the Group”) long and short-term claims-paying ability rating to be from BBB- and P3 to BBB and P3, respectively.The outlook on the long-term rating is to be stable. The upgrade is premised on ATL’s improving performance, above-average general insurance underwriting performance and average capitalisation levels.

Aitken Spence Hotels Bags Gold Once Again at the 50th CA Annual Report Awards

Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC emerged victorious once again walking away with the Gold Award in the Hospitality Sector category at the prestigious of Chartered Accountants Annual Report Awards. 

CIC Bids Farewell to Former Director E.F.G. Amerasinghe

CIC Holdings recently bid farewell to E.F.G. Amerasinghe who served as a Director on the board of CIC Holdings PLC from 2002 to 2014.  E.F.G. Amerasinghe  resigned from his position as Director effective of 2 January 2015.

Softlogic Office Automation unveils Panasonic Toughbook Laptops and Toughpads

Softlogic Retail (Pvt.) Ltd. a pioneering subsidiary of Softlogic Holdings PLC in collaboration with Panasonic India recently introduced Panasonic Toughbook Laptops and Toughpads- the world’s first Windows 8 enterprise-grade Ruggedized Mobile Devices for the Sri Lankan market.

Sri Lanka Insurance powers CA Sri Lanka with lead sponsorship

One of the country’s leading Insurance providers, Sri Lanka Insurance has once again extended its support t o t he Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) with a lead sponsorship for 2014/2015.

Seylan Bank opens newest branch at Deal Place

Seylan Bank, ‘The Bank with a heart’, opened its newest branch at No.03, Deal Place, Colombo 3 recently. The fully-fledged branch is now open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on weekdays to serve all customers in and around the area.

HSBC launches New Year resolutions campaign

HSBC has launched a New Year resolutions campaign to help customers stay on track of their targets be it selfimprovement, spending time with family, enjoying some retail therapy to keeping in check of one’s health and well-being in 2015.

Pan Asia Bank offers assistance to tackle pensioners’ financial woes

Pan Asia Bank recently conducted an awareness session for the senior citizens and the families of t he members of t he defence forces in the North Western Province on its flagship product ‘Sammana’ and ‘Ranaviru Harasara’ loan schemes.

Hyundai Telecom brings highquality CCTV expertise to Sri Lanka

Security is a topic of paramount importance today – whether for the home or for the office. From organisations to individual home owners, making their premises secure is considered a priority.

Janashakthi segregates life and general insurance biz

Janashakthi Insurance PLC has created a wholly owned subsidiary named Janashakthi General Insurance Ltd. to conduct its non-life insurance business.This is to conform to section 53 of the Regulation of Insurance Industry (Amendment) Act No.03 of 2011, which calls for the segregation of life and general insurance businesses by January 2015.

Arpico Finance makes new appointments to board

Arpico Finance Company PLC yesterday announced five new appointments to the company’s director board in furtherance of its merger with Associated Motor Finance Company PLC, under Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s (CBSL) plans for consolidation of the Non-Banking Financial Institutions (NBFI).New appointments to the Board of Directors are; J.P.I.N. Dayawansa – Executive Director, J.P.I.S. Dayawansa – Executive Director, T.M.A. Sa

NSB defends charges against international bond issue

State-owned National Savings Bank (NSB) yesterday said no individual investors were among the subscribers to its bond issue in 2013 and the proceeds were never deployed below the cost, contrary to certain news items and statements made at various forums recently.

Industrial Asphalts introduces full range of colour anti-corrosive paints

History is being made by Industrial Asphalts (Ceylon) PLC by introducing for the first time in Sri Lanka the full range of color to anti-corrosive paints. Upto now anti-corrosive paints were available only in 4 basic colors.

Kadirgamar Review Volume 3 released

The Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKIIRSS) released its annual flagship research journal - ‘Kadirgamar Review’- on January 1, 2015.

Ceylinco Healthcare treats 100 cancer patients with TomoTherapy

Ceylinco Healthcare Services Ltd, the pioneer of cutting-edge technology in cancer treatment in Sri Lanka’s private healthcare sector, reached a significant milestone when it completed the treatment of the 100th patient at its TomoTherapy Centre which opened in October 2013.

Lankan banks should not become everything to everyone: global consultancy

Sri Lanka’s post-consolidation banking sector will have to focus on areas where they are good at, rather than trying to become ‘everything to everyone’, in order to be competitive and increase margins going forward, a global strategy consultancy firm said.

Mobitel & Ericsson Partner to Drive Sri Lanka’s Smart Society Vision

Mobitel and Ericsson today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two companies, stating that in 2015 they intend to forge a strategic business partnership that aims to significantly contribute to the nation’s Smart Society vision and Knowledge Hub strategy. The collaboration, which focuses on jointly working together to make WiFi broadband services more accessible and affordable to university students acro

ComBank to keep 64 branches open on January 5th

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has announced it will keep 64 branches open for business on Monday, 5th January, declared a Special Bank holiday on account of the Holy Prophet’s Birthday.

Arpico adds 6 more ‘Daily’ outlets to retail chain

The Arpico retail chain in Sri Lanka has opened six more ‘Daily’ supermarkets between October and December 2014, taking the total number of Arpico retail outlets in Sri Lanka to 60.

Sampath Bank welcomes new year

?The management and staff of Sampath Bank welcomed the new year with religious ceremonies conducted yesterday morning at the Gangaramaya Temple.The occasion was attended by staff and senior management of Sampath Bank, including Managing Director Aravinda Perera. The religious observances for the day included a ‘Budda Pooja’ and ‘Seth Pirith’ to invoke blessings on the entire nation, prior to commencing business for the yea

NSB begins 2015 on a high note

National Savings Bank (NSB) commenced the first working day of the new year, 2015 with a ceremonious event held at the head office premises of NSB in Kollupitiya, yesterday, in the morning hours.

IBSL issues licenses to 7 new insurance companies

The Insurance Board of Sri Lanka has granted licenses to seven new insurance companies, to commence business operations from 1st January 2015.These new companies were established by composite insurance companies to comply with the segregation requirement laid down in the Regulation of Insurance Industry (Amendment) Act, No. 3 of 2011. The law requires composite insurers to segregate the two classes of insurance businesses, life and general, in to

SriLankan renews IOSA/ISAGO re-registration

State-run SriLankan Airlines has renewed its registration under the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) and I ATA Safety Audit for Ground operations (ISAGO) for the years 2015-2016 in conformity with standards introduced by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) t o maintain aviation safety and quality.IOSA assess the airline on eight operational scopes and ISAGO level of conformity as a ground handling service provider at Bandaranai

findmyfare.com Celebrates the Season with Children from the Sri Lankadhara Balika Home

?Embracing the spirit of the Christmas season, the findmyfare.com team recently shared a day of fun and festivities with children from the Sri Lankadhara Balika Home. The findmyfare.com team members decorated the home and joined the children for lunch, thereafter they played games with the children and sang Christmas carols with them. One of the team members  dressed up as Santa Claus to surprise the children with gifts, sweets and toys, the

Get ready for the time of your life!

Get ready for the time of your life!

Virtusa named ‘Monster of HR Award’ finalist

Virtusa orporation (NASDAQ GS: VRTU) announced it was recognized as one of the top three finalist in the 2014 Monster HR award, presented by Monster.Virtusa was recognized for its innovative use of Monster recruitment technology solutions to help boost its Millennial hiring efforts.

‘BOC Smart Remit’ facilitates safe and instant money transfer: DGM

As the first Bank that introduced the Non Resident Foreign Currency ( NRFC) account, the Bank of Ceylon has established an unassailable position in the financial services market.At the time of writing, Bank of Ceylon held a 40 percent share of the Inward Remittances Market and a 35 percent share of the NRFC Deposits market. Many steps have been taken recently by Bank of Ceylon to increase the volume of NRFC deposits and Inward Remittances. In thi