Cartoon 27.06.2024

National Business Excellence Awards concludes on a high note

The National Chamber concluded the ‘National Business Excellence Awards 2024’, celebrating its 19th year successfully with the gathering of business community, leaders from corporate world, distinguished guests and invitees. Being one of the pioneering Awards Competitions initiated as way back as 2004, by the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka, the National Business Excellence Awards (NBEA), has maintained its highest standards and gained

99x names Sri Lanka as a top talent source for IT

Spotlighting the growing trend of Sri Lanka’s IT talent, leadership representatives of 99x Group recently named Sri Lanka as one of its top sources for recruitment.   The company last week hosted a high-profile round-table for local media representatives, bringing together 99x’s industry leaders from Norway, Portugal, Brazil, and Sri Lanka.    At the event, 99x Technology CEO Hasith Yaggahavita emphasized the depth of talent and

Hayleys Solar introduces ‘Nayak Nowena Nayak’

Hayleys Solar, the renewable energy arm of Hayleys Fentons, is empowering Sri Lankan families to take control of their energy needs with ‘Nayak Nowena Nayak’ – an exclusive financial schemes designed to make solar power affordable for everyone. Given the current economic conditions, electricity bills have become a significant expense for many families. While switching to solar power could easily eliminate this expense, financing remains a challe

HNB and UNIMO forge strategic partnership to revolutionize vehicle financing

HNB PLC recently announced their partnership with UNIMO, the automotive arm of United Motors, to provide affordable financing options and exclusive perks for customers looking to purchase vehicles. The partnership offers customers looking to invest in automobiles with exclusive interest rates anchored to numerous benefits from both organisations. HNB Head of Retail Banking, Kanchana Karunagama, and UNIMO General Manager Shalain De Silva were pre

CFA Society Sri Lanka launches Ravi Abeysuriya Memorial Award

CFA Society Sri Lanka announced the launch of the Ravi Abeysuriya Memorial Award for Best Stock Brokering Research Team recently. The renaming of the gold award as the Ravi Abeysuriya Memorial Award for Best Stock Brokering Research Team at the 2024 Capital Market Awards stands as a testament to his enduring legacy. This honor symbolizes the society’s gratitude and reverence for Ravi’s larger-than-life impact on the industry. Ravi Abeysuriya, the

Laugfs Rubber shines at National Business Excellence Awards

Laugfs Rubber has won multiple accolades at the National Business Excellence Awards (NBEA) 2024. Laugfs Rubber emerged as the ‘Winner in the Large Category’ and secured the title of ‘Winner for Excellence in Business and Financial Results - Large Category’. Additionally, the company earned the ‘Bronze Award - Overall’ and was recognised as the Runner-Up in the Export Sector for the third consecutive year, as well as received a Merit Award for Gl

EDB-UoM R&D solutions to support construction and energy sectors

Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) in collaboration with the Engineering Faculty of the University of Moratuwa (UoM), launched a new programme to integrate the construction related and power & Energy industry with the University Research Projects to address challenging research questions with real-world applications. This programme is planned for two years commencing from 2024 till end of 2025 with the participation of selected companies.

Covalent reveals new identity pioneering IFS deployment excellence

Covalent, a player in the IFS ecosystem, announced its recent rebranding, marking a significant milestone in its mission to revolutionise IFS deployments for its clientele. Founded in 2018 by industry veterans Simon Green and Namal Mohottige, each with over two decades of IFS experience, Covalent has emerged as a Silver Partner of IFS in the UK. At the heart of Covalent’s operations lies a commitment to leveraging IFS expertise to empower busine

Star Garments Group wins Silver for ‘Energy Efficiency’

Star Garments Group (Star) was recently recognized at the first-ever International Symposium on Green Industry Initiative for Sustainable Industrial Development (ISGSD), winning a Silver Award in the ‘‘Energy Efficiency in Industry” category for its Innovation Center based in Katunayake, the first ‘Passive house factory building’ in the world and first ‘Passive House Design’ in South Asia. It is also the first LEED Platinum building in Sri Lanka

Heritance Kandalama marks 30 years of iconic hospitality

Heritance Kandalama, the flagship property of Heritance Hotels and Resorts by Aitken Spence Hotels, marked its 30th anniversary on 24 June 2024. Nestled within Sri Lanka’s Cultural Triangle, Heritance Kandalama stands as the leading eco-retreat in the region, blending seamlessly into its natural surroundings while offering immersive experiences. Designed by Deshamanya Geoffrey Bawa, the resort holds the distinction of being the first LEED certif

Amana Bank relocates Puttalam branch

Amana Bank recently relocated its Puttalam branch to a spacious location at No. 34, Kurunegala Road, Puttalam. This move reflects the bank’s commitment to enhancing customer service and banking convenience to both its existing and new customers. The relocation opening ceremony was held recently under the patronage of Managing Director/CEO Mohammed Azmeer alongside Chief Operating Officer Imtiaz Iqbal, Chief Risk Officer M. M. S. Quvylidh, Chief

Alliance Finance Company records solid performance in challenging year

Alliance Finance Company PLC (AFC), Sri Lanka’s oldest finance company, recorded a solid financial performance for the fiscal year 2023/24. Amid economic challenges, AFC has demonstrated remarkable growth and resilience, a testament to its strategic focus on sustainable finance and robust governance. The financial results for FY 2023/24 reveal substantial progress compared to the previous year, with Profit After Tax climbing by an overwhelming 8

Design thinking driven creative economy to divert conventional SL’s economic policies

Bunch of sequential incidents commencing from Easter Sunday attack, Covid outbreak etc., drastically contributed and accelerated the economic crisis of Sri Lanka in 2022. However, the reasons for the Sri Lankan economic crisis cannot be confined to few years, as it has been implying via several economic and social indicators throughout the time after the trade liberalization in 1977. The recent efforts mainly focus on pushing the economy from

Foreign buying continues

Indices edged down as a result of price losses in counters such as Melstacorp, LOLC Holdings and Hatton National Bank with the turnover crossing Rs. 1.8 bn. Crossings were witnessed in Windforce, Central Finance Company and Hayleys, accounting for 43.3% of the turnover. Mixed interest was observed in John Keells Holdings, Marawila Resorts and Hemas Holdings whilst retail interest was noted in Beruwala Resorts, LVL Energy Fund and Browns Investm

Lingering uncertainty limits investor activity

The secondary market further continued its lacklustre sentiment from the previous sessions yesterday as investors further sought clarity on the market sentiment, backed by the Rs. 75.0bn T-Bond auction that is scheduled for today 27th June. Limited trades and low investor interaction was witnessed during the day whilst 15.10.27 traded at 11.03% prior to the T-Bill auction which was held yesterday. Meanwhile, CBSL held i

Export price pinch pressures SL apparel

Sri Lanka’s apparel industry is experiencing a downturn, with the export performance in the recent months not being at the expected levels.

Debt stock rises over Rs.4.0tn amid hoopla around restructuring deals

As Sri Lanka is set to ink debt deals with the Paris Club creditors, bringing to close more than a year-long negotiations wi

Crafting Colombo’s digital destiny

President Ranil Wickremesinghe and IFS Global CEO Mark Moffat engaged in a discussion at the DigiEcon conference yesterday.

Govt. stands firm: No tax-free vehicle imports

The government has not decided to grant permission to the state officials or any other individuals to import vehicles tax-free or allocate foreign exchange for them, Cabinet spokesman and Minister Bandula Gunawardana said.

Brown and Company sells knit fabric manufacturing plant

Diversified conglomerate Brown and Company PLC yesterday announced the selling of its subsidiary Browns Fabric Limited.In a filing to the Colombo Stock Exchange, Brown and Company shared the entity was sold to Ceylon Knit Trend (Pri

SL’s apparel industry hosts first textile, apparel road show in UK

The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB), Sri Lanka Apparel Sourcing Association (SLASA), Sri Lanka High Commission in the UK and Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) have collaboratively organised a unique export promotion progra

AIA secures Gold at ACEF Global Customer Engagement Awards

AIA Insurance, Sri Lanka’s most loved insurer in the corporate brands category (compiled by LMD based on a survey commissioned to PepperCube Consultants), has emerged victorious at the prestigious ACEF Global Customer

Ceylon Tea will soon vanish: Yogarajan

Sri Lanka is facing the danger of losing its reputation it has created for itself over the years, a politician representing the

Bank of Ceylon celebrates 43 years of banking excellence in Maldives

The Bank of Ceylon, one of the most esteemed financial institutions in the Maldives, commemorated its 43rd anniversary on May 28th 2024, marking over four decades of distinguished service and significant contributions to the economic development of the island nation. Established on 7

SHMA Hospitality Skills and Development Programme holds inaugural graduation ceremony

The Skills for Sustainable Growth (SSG) program, a partnership initiated and funded by the Swiss government, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and A. Baur & Co. Pvt. Ltd (Baurs), is making strides in bridging the skills gap, grooming and preparing the youth to take on the numerous opportunities in the hospitality and tourism secto

President pushes for high-tech infrastructure to accelerate growth

As Sri Lanka is looking towards a digital economy to accelerate growth, President Ranil Wickremesinghe stressed the need to establish the necessary infrastructure for high-tech cities.

WB approves US $ 150mn to uplift primary healthcare in SL

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors yesterday announced it has approved US$ 150 million in financing for Sri Lanka to impro

CCC launches SPARK 2024 Youth Entrepreneurship Competition

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) officially launched the SPARK Youth Entrepreneurship Competition – 2024, setting the stage for aspiring young entrepreneurs across the country to pitch their innovative business ideas and win big at the

First Capital empowers girls’ education with Room to Read

Building on its commitment to improve the lives of all Sri Lankans through financial solutions, Sri Lanka’s pioneering investment institution, First Capital Holdings PLC, renewed its partnership with the non-profit organisation Ro