Minor Hotels debuts NH Collection in Sri Lanka rebranding Mövenpick Colombo

Minor Hotels, a leading hotel owner, operator, and investor with a portfolio of over 550 hotels and resorts in 56 countries....

Ceylon Hibiscus becomes first to cultivate export quality roselle hibiscus tea

In a remarkable feat of innovation and perseverance, Ceylon Hibiscus (Pvt.) Ltd, founded by D.N. Silva in 2021, has emerged....

McLarens Lubricants wins Silver at ExxonMobil Distributor Excellence Awards

McLarens Lubricants, a fully-owned subsidiary of the esteemed McLarens Group, has been honoured with the Silver award....

Prime Group holds Open Day at 88 Residence Kahathuduwa

With a steadfast dedication to making ownership of dream homes a reality for everyone, Prime Group, the local real....

MullenLowe appoints Lakshika to head LowePublic

MullenLowe Group Sri Lanka (MLG), the largest multidisciplinary brand communications group, has appointed Lakshika....

Rajagiri Hospital with Medicare Global launches int’l patient connect platform in SL

Rajagiri Hospital, Cochin, Kerala, India, has tied up with Medicare Global Connections (Pvt.) Ltd to launch its international...

First-ever carbon-neutral BNI conference on June 6

In a pioneering move towards sustainability, BNI Sri Lanka, the leading business networking organisation dedicated....

IORA Business Conclave spurs trade and strategic MoUs

The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Business Conclave 2024, held from May 28 to 29, facilitated trade and investment across....

Softlogic Capital records Rs.36.7bn revenue, Rs.431mn PBT in FY24

Softlogic Capital, the financial services sector of the Softlogic group consisting of Softlogic Life, Softlogic Finance, Softlogic Stock....

HNB-Groundworth to empower real estate investment market

Sri Lanka’s leading private sector bank HNB PLC entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with comprehensive....

Union Bank achieves PCI DSS version 4 certification

Union Bank has achieved a significant milestone by obtaining the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard....

Sampath Bank’s mini-POS solution empowers SMEs

Responding to the increasing demand for digital payment solutions within the small and medium-sized enterprise....

SEC calls upon listed company secretaries to play an active role in board governance

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) together with the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) conducted....

Colombo inflation cools to 0.9% in May

The Colombo district inflation eased further to 0.9 percent in May, from 1.5 percent in April, as both food and non-food prices continued their months-long streak of declines,

Sri Lanka to host 60th International Coconut Community Session

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal to host the 60th Session and Ministerial Meetings of the International Coconut Community (ICC), in Colombo, in November. The event, proposed by Agriculture and Plantation Industries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, will be funded by the income earned by the Coconut Development Authority. Several private institutions in the coconut sector

Jetwing Symphony records positive earnings with boost in tourism

The boost in Sri Lanka’s tourism sector has helped the entities in the industry, such as Jetwing Symphony PLC, to record positive earnings for the financial year ended on March 31, 2024, after having to deal with several shocks since the outbreak of the pandemic and then the economic crisis. Jetwing Symphony, a holding company with a number of entities involved in the business of hoteliering, for the 12 months ended on March 31 (FY24), saw its ea

Tourism Minister pushes for greater gender representation

Sri Lanka’s tourism sector should immediately focus on achieving greater representation of women, according to the Tourism Minister. Addressing a UN event, Tourism Minister Harin Fernando stressed the importance of inclusive growth in the sector by addressing the grave gender disparity. “One thing that triggers me is the fact that female participation in the tourism sector is below 5 percent. This needs our attention right away,” Fernando state

Tourism sector still reeling from economic crisis

Despite the signs of recovery, the tourism sector is still struggling with the aftershocks of the economic and political crisis, Tourism Minister Harin Fernando said. Addressing a UN event this week, Fernando reflected upon the current state of the industry in his speech. “Many people in the tourism industry, even top-end h

JKH confident in sales momentum pick up of City of Dreams residential units

The sales momentum for the residential apartments at the City of Dreams Sri Lanka integrated resort witnessed a slowdown; however, John Keells Holdings (JKH) expressed confidence in the situation improving going forward. The sales momentum has been slow in line with the trends seen in the luxury segment in Colombo, JKH said in its latest annual report. The subdued demand for residential units was further impacted by the introduction of the Value

Colombo Tea Auction offering declines to 5.8 MnKgs this week

The total availability at the Colombo Tea Auction declined to 5.8 million kilogrammes this week, from 6.4 million kilogrammes on offer the previous week. In general, a firm to easier trend was seen, perhaps due to a combination of a decline in volumes and a preview of better availability in future offerings, Forbes and Walker Tea Brokers said. The Ex-Estate offerings too recorded a decline and totalled 0.8 million kilogrammes vis-à-vis 0.9 mill

Southern Sri Lanka to be promoted as top MICE destination

Southern MICE Expo 2024, organized by the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau kicked off this week at the Cinnamon Bentota Beach hotel. The multi-day event was aimed at positioning southern Sri Lanka as a leading destination for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE). With over 115 buyers and media representatives from over 15 countries in attendance, the event showcased Sri Lanka’s stunning natural beauty, rich cultural heritage, and

AIA Insurance provides clean water to Kimbulpatiyawa

This Vesak, AIA Insurance presented the greatest gift of life to the villagers of Kimbulpatiyawa, Anuradhapura which is clean and safe drinking water. Recognizing that clean water is the essence of life and a fundamental human necessity, AIA Insurance implemented a water purification system in this rural community. This significant initiative is part of their commitment to help all Sri Lankans live healthier, longer, better lives. For the 300 fa

How Uber Eats helped Street Burger thrive

Street Burger started dishing out delicious burgers from a food truck and grew to become a popular eating joint in no time. But Tharique, Founder, Street Burger, had bigger plans. He had confidence in his product and wanted to take it to more Sri Lankans and expand operations. Scale and reach came with Uber Eats. As Sri Lanka’s most popular food and grocery delivery app, it was a big support for the young brand to be available on Uber Eats and t

SLT-Mobitel’s Vesak Health Camp ends on high note

Aligning with the spirit of Vesak, SLT-Mobitel and eChanneling together with the Navaloka Hospitals Group successfully organized a community health camp titled ‘Sabadiyawe Dhahami Sathkaraya Suwa Sahana Health Camp’ recently uplifting the wellbeing of communities in the Ratmalana and Moratuwa areas. Held on May 19, the camp provided an invaluable opportunity for residents of these areas, especially the elderly, to benefit from free blood and diab

Blink International opens Casio store in Kandy City Centre

Blink International (Pvt) Ltd, sole authorized distributor and service agent for Casio watches in Sri Lanka, launched its first store in Kandy in the Kandy City Centre (KCC) recently. The store has the largest watch collection in KCC with nearly 500 watches for customers to choose from and is the only wristwatch battery replacement service provider located inside KCC.  “This is an important milestone for us. We are excited about expanding our ret

May ends with losses

ASPI closed in red as a result of price losses in counters such as Richard Pieris & Company, Commercial Bank and LOLC Holdings with the turnover crossing Rs 1.1 Bn. A similar behaviour was witnessed in the S&P SL20. High net worth and institutional investor participation was noted in Melstacorp, Nations Trust Bank and National Development Bank. Mixed interest was observed in John Keells Holdings, Browns Investments and LOLC Holdings whilst retail

Buying interest on tail end of curve

The secondary market enticed thin volumes and limited activities during yesterday’s session. Mixed activities were observed on the 2028 maturity, with the 15.03.28, 01.05.28, 01.07.28 and 15.12.28 maturities trading between 10.70 percent and 10.85 percent. Meanwhile, buying interest was observed on the tail end of the curve, with the 01.10.32 maturity trading at 11.85 percent. On the external front, the Sri Lankan rupee continued to depreciate

People’s Bank’s ‘Mahajana Mehewara’ empowers seven under-resourced schools

People’s Bank’s ‘Mahajana Mehevara’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme series has left a significant impact on communities by completing various projects with the aim of addressing various social issues by leveraging the bank’s vast resources and network, has become synonymous with the bank’s commitment to community welfare. A crowning achievement of the ‘Mahajana Mehewara’ CSR programme is the successful empowerment of seven under-r

Tony Whitham launches book on ‘Victoria Golf Resort’

Tony Whitham, the first General Manager of the Victoria Golf Resort, launched his book on Victoria Golf Resort recently, after the conclusion of the Mark Bostock Memorial Trophy 2024 awards ceremony at the golf resort. In his newly launched book, he delves into its exciting history and legacy of Victoria Golf Resort. His narrative encompasses the development of the resort and the golf course, right until John Keells Holdings took over as the of

Snehadhana Foundation celebrates Int’l Mother’s Day

Snehadhana Foundation, the social responsibility (CSR) arm of Aberdeen Holdings (Private) Limited, paid tribute to mothers on International Mother’s Day. On May 11th, at the Snehadhana Community Kitchen, the foundation embraced the opportunity to honour and support mothers’ well-being by distributing essential dry ration packs to deserving mothers from the local area. The Snehadhana Foundation ensured that the aid reached deserving mothers with