business Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Tea production in November 2019 totalled 23.9 M/kgs, showing a decrease of 0.9 M/kgs vis-à-vis 24.8 M/kgs of January-November 2018.

High Growns have shown a fairly significant growth YOY followed by Mediums, whilst Low Growns show a decline as against November 2018. January-November cumulative production for 2019 of 278.1 M/kgs shows a marginal gain of 0.5 M/kgs vis-à-vis 277.6 M/kgs of January-November 2018.

On a cumulative basis, Medium Growns have shown a growth, whilst Low Growns have remained static. High Growns, however, show a decrease compared to January-November 2018, according to Forbes and Walker Tea Brokers.

CTC production for November 2019 totalled 2.2 M/kgs, showing a gain of 0.4 M/kgs vis-à-vis 1.8 M/kgs of November 2018. High Grown production has shown a substantial growth YOY with Mediums too showing a fairly significant gain, whilst Low Growns show a decrease compared to the corresponding month of 2018.

Ethiopian Airlines (EAL) will operate flights to Colombo from April. The airline wholly owned by the Ethiopian government is looking at operating four flights per week.

Chairman Managing Director VMS Aviation Air Services Ltd, A Vigneshwaran, the General Sales Agents for Ethiopian airlines in Sri Lanka for the past 25 years said that the airline is rapidly expanding to new destinations and their last added Bangalore to their radar last October consisting 108 new fleet under 05 years.

The airline with their hub is Addis Ababa, will add Chennai to their flight schedule from April and they are initially looking at a turnaround flight to Colombo. “This allows Sri Lankan passengers to fly to Addis Ababa and then fly to any African, European, North America and South America including Canada destination thus becoming the only African airline from Colombo to operate flights to the African continent.”

The airline will also help to open up new business and tourism opportunities (both countries offer online visa) due to direct connectivity and will also be the preferred channel for cargo. The airline will either operate its new fleet A350 or Dreamier 777 to Colombo.

“We have also applied for fifth freedom rights allowing the airline to take passengers from Colombo to Chennai as well.”

The Plastics and Rubber Institute of Sri Lanka has signed an MoU with the Plastics and Rubber Institute of Singapore. This was announced by the President of the PRISL, Kaushal Rajapaksa at the Institute’s Annual Awards Night held recently at the Taj Samudra Hotel.

Karu Jayasuriya, Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka and a past President of the PRISL graced the occasion as Chief Guest. Hu Wei the Deputy Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China and W.T. Ellawala, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, C.W. Mackie PLC and President of the Sri Lanka Society of Rubber were the Guests of Honor at the ceremony held to award certificates to students who successfully completed the Certificate and Diploma Courses conducted by the Institute.

The services of two members of the PRISL were recognised with Merit Awards for their outstanding contributions to the institute and the industry. Koenraad Pringiers,

CEO of Camso Loadstar was President of the PRISL for three years. In 1992 he joined Camso Loadstar, the leading global manufacturer of industrial solid and pneumatic tires, tracks & wheels. He is also the Honorary Consul for Belgium in Sri Lanka. G. Anura De Silva has been associated with the Rubber Industry having begun as a Technical Assistant at the Rubber Research Institute of Sri Lanka. He has two patents to his credit and now functions as a lecturer.

A new book on elastomer science was also launched at the event. The book outlines some of the newest technologies used in the rubber industry.

Speaking on the occasion, Kaushal Rajapaksa outlined the services of the Institute. “The PRISL’s main areas of focus have been on Education, Seminars and publications for the industry, and social events to promote interaction and networking. We also serve as an advisory body to the government and other relevant organizations on policy and development matters on the plastic and rubber sectors.”

SDB bank completed a Tier 2 capital investment from the Belgian Investment Company for Developing countries (BIO) recently. Effected via a debt capital instrument amounting to USD 8 million,the investment is expected to further strengthen the bank’s capital base.

BIO are pioneers in the area of making structural contributions through direct investments in private sector projects, towards the end of nurturing socio-economic growth. BIO placed their trust in the potential of the bank amidst a general economy-wide downswing, bolstering the loan book of SDB bank by USD 40 million through this capital infusion. The investment is set to support SDB bank’s future growth plans in a significant manner. Further, the USD-based currency facility of the investment not only benefits SDB bank but it will have a far-reaching impact on the local economy as well.

The improvement in SDB bank’s capital adequacy will directly benefit the bank in sustaining its balance sheet growth, while the funds generated through the investment facility will further support the bank’s already considerable lending activities for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs). ‘Consistent investment efforts through reputed Development Finance Institutions like BIO will ensure that SDB bank’s credibility and subsequent credit rating improve, drawing greater investor interest and confidence in funding our continued growth plans,’ stated CEO Thilak Piyadigama.

The pattern of asset growth, digital expansion and innovation that took place in 2019 helps SDB attract investors of this stature. The addition of the mobile payment app UPay to its fold stands as a key highlight.

The Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT) has announced it handled a total of 2.9 million teus in 2019, achieving an 8.6 per cent increase in its throughput and accounting for 40 per cent of the volume of the Port of Colombo in the 12 months ending 31st December 2019.

The Company, which manages the Colombo South Terminal, said its 2019 performance represented a four-fold or 322 per cent growth over the past five years, from 686,639 teus handled in 2014.

CICT’s performance helped the Port of Colombo increase its total throughput by 2.6 per cent in 2019, despite the slower growth of maritime transport in the region.

Announcing the year’s final volume, CICT said ULCCs (Ultra Large Container Carriers) of a size that only CICT is capable of handling, had contributed approximately 72per cent to the volumes the Terminal achieved for the year.

“We believe that our unwavering commitment to efficiency and other key performance indicators coupled with our deep water capacity enabled us to grow faster than some of the other terminals in the region,”CICT CEO Jack Huang said. “True to our mandate, we continue to explore ways of maximising capacity utilisation to generate growth for the Port of Colombo.”

CICT was adjudged the Best Container Terminal in Asia in the Under 4 million teus category at the Asian Freight, Logistics and Supply Chain (AFLAS) Awards for the third consecutive year in 2019 in recognition of its performance. The concluded year was also a busy one in terms of investments in the terminal’s infrastructure. CICT commissioned Sri Lanka’s first, and South Asia’s most advanced, Dangerous Goods Storage Facility (DGSF) in 2019 with an investment of US$ 1.5 million and also completed the addition of two new mega Quay Gantry Cranes (QGCs), six new Rubber-tyred Gantry Cranes (RTGs) and 12 Prime Movers to enable the handling of 22,000+ TEU vessels.

Information technology plays a vital role at CICT, and many projects like the e-LTE project, e-payment systems, ITT auto gates, electronic vessel info and customs info release systems were developed by the Company. Additionally, mobile apps such as truck scheduling apps and HSE monitoring apps were introduced to increase productivity, efficiency andsafety and reduce the usage of paper. These developments have also helped to cultivate better customer loyalty, the Company said.

In terms of good corporate citizenship, CICT continued to be the principal sponsor of the SLTA’s wheelchair tennis programme in 2019, and with the support of the China Merchants Charity Fund (CMCF)gifted stationery and school bags to more than 300 students and donated gift packs containing nutritional food and other essential items to 120 elderly persons in the village of Pannila in Horana.

Besides its significant contributions to the growth of the Port of Colombo in volume terms, CICT is also responsible for several firsts in service innovation and eco-friendly operations.

The Government is once again opening up ‘Grand Hyatt in Colombo’ property for international investors, State Minister of Information and Communication Technology Laksman Yapa Abeywardane said.

The Grand Hyatt Colombo is a 47-story five star hotel in Colombo, The hotel will feature 475 guestrooms and 84 serviced apartments. Consortium consisting of Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation, Litro Gas Lanka limited and the EPF along with Sino Lanka Hotels and Spa (Pvt) Limited had almost complied 70% of work of the building opposite Temple Trees.

However the previous government had stopped payments due to contractors and some contracts too had been terminated. “This has resulted is several companies taking legal action. Now the present government will have to pay for contractors, settle legal claims and also complete the balance construction and finishing. However with investor confidence returning we hope to find a new investor soon and get the project up and running as it’s a major icon for City of Colombo.”

The new government last week also approved a US$ 250 million mixed project investment for a 30 storied Commercial Tower with 700 residencies by a foreign investor, Perennial Real Estate Holdings.

Asked if the government was going ahead with the plans to find investors or privatize/divest Colombo Hilton and Grand Oriental Hotel he answered in the negative. Bank of Ceylon would run GOH and while a locally constituted board would operate Colombo Hilton.” Yapa also said that the previous Mahinda Rajapaksa government has paid over US$ 480 million towards the settlement of the Hambantota harbor to Chinese constructors and the balance was been paid through profits made from the Colombo Harbor. “There was no reason to lease this harbor to Chinese for 99 years and this was a huge mistake made by the government in 2018.”

The previous government similarly also stopped work of the Colombo Port City for two years for reasons best known to them.

Minister Yapa said that all the tax incentives offered by the government will come in to effect from today (January 1) and some private companies have announced that they will pass this benefit to customers.

CEAT Kelani Holdings, which manufactures nearly half of Sri Lanka’s pneumatic tyre requirements, has announced that it has already begun passing on the full benefit of the recent tax reductions to its customers.

Tea, Cinnamon and Pepper prices up due to import ban

The government decision to stop import of tea, pepper and other commodities available in Sri Lanka has given a major boost for the local agri sector. Today the a kilo of Green leaf (tea) which was purchased at around Rs. 80 is now fetching Rs. 95 to 100. Similarly a kilo of Cinnamon has increased from Rs. 1,350 to Rs. 1,700 while kilo of Pepper is been purchased at Rs 700 as against the previous price of Rs. 375.

The latest Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship Development Programme of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon focused on empowering women in Handapanagala, Wellawaya, when the Bank in collaboration with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka conducted a seminar for 265 members of the Uva Wellassa Women’s Society.

The participants were mainly cultivators of ground nuts, who additionally grow organic vegetables. Beyond enhancing the financial literacy levels of the members of this Society, the Bank’s objective in conducting this programme was to foster financial inclusivity in this unbanked and under-banked segment.

The resource person for the programme was Mr Rohitha Abeykoon, the Senior Assistant Director of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, who is an experienced speaker on financial literacy and business development. Commercial Bank has organised eight similar programmes in 2019 alone, benefitting 1,056 micro-entrepreneurs.

Formed in 2010 to empower rural women, the Uva Wellassa Women’s Society supports female farmers by facilitating cultivation and purchasing the harvest of its members. This protects the farmers of the Society from exploitation and enables them to sell their produce at competitive prices.

Commercial Bank has been conducting awareness programmes for micro-entrepreneurs in different sectors of business in many areas of the country for the past seven years, and has helped more than 9,000 entrepreneurs to date through this series.

These programmes are supported by the Bank’s 17 Agriculture & Micro Finance Units which play a key role in helping the Bank to identify specific needs of entrepreneurs who require assistance to develop either their agriculture activities or micro businesses.

These units are dedicated to promote agriculture lending and micro finance.

Commercial Bank’s Agriculture & Micro Finance Units (AMFU) are located in Ratnapura, Narammala, Kandy, Anuradhapura, Kilinochchi, Bandarawela, Wellawaya, Hingurakgoda, Galewela, Achchuveli, Vavuniya, Kattankudy, Tissamaharama, Neluwa, Mathugama, Pottuvil and Akkaraipattu.

Integrity Associates (Pvt) Ltd recently won Gold award for the Best Local SME Brand of the year 2019 at the SLIM Brand Excellence Awards Ceremony.

Integrity Associates had been providing high quality service for the past 15 years and winning the SLIM award, among a large number of other serious contestants, shows that it has continuously enhanced the quality of its service delivery.

“SLIM is the Institution that decides on what the best Sri Lankan brands are. Some of Sri Lanka’s top marketers inspected a number of Sri Lankan brands and chose us. We have been delivering high quality services for the last 15 years and we have continuously enhanced our quality,” Bhaagya Kariyawasam, Founder and Managing Director at Integrity Associates (Pvt) Ltd said.

Integrity Associates is also the only plumbing and electrical maintenance service provider that operates 24 hours a day.

Kariyawasam said.Integrity Associates had won a number of national and provincial awards in the last four years. Among them is a Sri Lanka National Quality Award. It has also obtained ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, OHSAS 18001:2007 certificates.

CIPM Sri Lanka – the Nation’s leader in human resources management teamed up with the Enable the Disabled (ETD) Foundation to upgrade the Children’s Park at the BRC Grounds – Park Road in Colombo 5 on Wednesday 10th December 2019 to cater to the special requirements of differently-able children.

A large number of delegates including CIPM Sri Lanka President – Dhammika Fernando, Ken Vijayakumar – Hony. Treasurer, Director CIPM Business School – Chris Obeysekera, Chief Executive Officer CIPM Sri Lanka – P. G. Tennakoon, CIPM Sri Lanka Council Members, members of the faculty and staff of CIPM Sri Lanka together with the Chairperson – Jezaayar Hassendeen, Enable the Disable Foundation, members of the Foundation and the children and their parents and well wishers were present at the handing over ceremony.

“As responsible corporate citizens it is our obligation and our duty to ensure inclusivity for the differently-able to join the mainstream of life. This newly upgraded Children’s Park with special equipment caters to the special needs of special children will go a long way in providing opportunities for recreation which is an essential ingredient in leading a healthy life” said Dhammika Fernando – President, CIPM Sri Lanka addressing the gathering.

“Experiencing the joy of seeing their faces light up today is our justification for CIPM Sri Lanka’s mega CSR initiative in inclusivity,” he added.

The project was organized and coordinated by the Standing Committee on Member Services & Related Events of CIPM Sri Lanka. The effort to raise the required funds to meet the expenses was started with the “CIPM Great HR Charity Walk & Carnival” on 26th January 2019. This was a charity walk from the CIPM Sri Lanka Head Office at “HR House”, Colombo 5 to Campbell Park, Borella which was followed by a mini-carnival.

All the funds collected at this event was channeled to procure the necessary equipment to upgrade the park to provide inclusivity to the differently-able children. This was the main fund raising event held on to generate the necessary funds for this project.

With a heritage as a premier development bank in Sri Lanka, DFCC Bank is now a full service commercial bank that offers a gamut of products and services catering to the Sri Lankan population island wide.

DFCC Bank announced its compliance with the Central Bank (CBSL) directive on lending rates as of 27 December 2019.

Commenting on this, CEO of DFCC Bank Lakshman Silva said, “In keeping with the good governance we practice DFCC Bank has honored the directive given by CBSL and is compliant with the reduction of the weekly average weighted prime lending rate (AWPR) by 150 basis points (bps) by 01st November and 250 basis points by 27th December compared to the AWPR as at 26th April, 2019.

Lakshman Silva re-iterated that as at December 27, 2019 DFCC is fully compliant with this regulatory requirement.

DFCC Bank has set for itself a goal of becoming the Bank that offers the best customer experience in banking by adhering to a customer centric approach while embracing the digitally enabled culture to offer discerning customers unparallel financial solutions.

Throughout 2019, DFCC Bank is on an expansion drive touching the hearts and lives of the Sri Lankan population with a promise of being The Bank for Everyone. During this month we expanded our branch network by opening 20 full service branches in 30 days at varied locations.”

DFCC Bank PLC is a fully fledged commercial bank offering the full range of commercial and development banking services. The Bank was also ranked amongst Business Today’s Top 30 businesses in Sri Lanka and was placed in the 25th position in Brand Finance Top 100 Most Valuable Brands, 2019. DFCC Bank is rated AA- (lka) by Fitch Ratings Lanka Limited.

With a heritage as a premier development bank in Sri Lanka, DFCC Bank is now a full service commercial bank that offers a gamut of products and services catering to the Sri Lankan population island wide.

DFCC Bank announced its compliance with the Central Bank (CBSL) directive on lending rates as of 27 December 2019.

Commenting on this, CEO of DFCC Bank Lakshman Silva said, “In keeping with the good governance we practice DFCC Bank has honored the directive given by CBSL and is compliant with the reduction of the weekly average weighted prime lending rate (AWPR) by 150 basis points (bps) by 01st November and 250 basis points by 27th December compared to the AWPR as at 26th April, 2019.

Lakshman Silva re-iterated that as at December 27, 2019 DFCC is fully compliant with this regulatory requirement.

DFCC Bank has set for itself a goal of becoming the Bank that offers the best customer experience in banking by adhering to a customer centric approach while embracing the digitally enabled culture to offer discerning customers unparallel financial solutions.

Throughout 2019, DFCC Bank is on an expansion drive touching the hearts and lives of the Sri Lankan population with a promise of being The Bank for Everyone. During this month we expanded our branch network by opening 20 full service branches in 30 days at varied locations.”

DFCC Bank PLC is a fully fledged commercial bank offering the full range of commercial and development banking services. The Bank was also ranked amongst Business Today’s Top 30 businesses in Sri Lanka and was placed in the 25th position in Brand Finance Top 100 Most Valuable Brands, 2019. DFCC Bank is rated AA- (lka) by Fitch Ratings Lanka Limited.

UNP Pradeshiya Sabha councillor of Pannala PS in the Kurunegala District H. A. Damian Jayalal (47), a father of three met with a road accident on December 28 and died on the following day.

Following the accident he was admitted to Colombo National Hospital where he passed away. The death occurred due to serious injuries sustained in the accident. He was elected to the Pannala PS in 2018 at the Local Government Elections. IP P. Kumaradasa, OIC of Pannala Police is investigating.

 ICRA Lanka Limited, Subsidiary of ICRA Limited, group company of Moody’s Investors Service, has reaffirmed the Issuer rating of [SL]A- (pronounced S L A minus1) with stable outlook for Construction Guarantee Fund (“CGF”/ “the Fund”).

ICRA Lanka reaffirms the rating of Construction Guarantee Fund, primarily by factoring in the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) ownership and the sovereign support to the Fund; coupled with the well-established acceptance and position of the Fund in the Sri Lankan construction sector with two decades of experience. ICRA Lanka notes the Fund’s unique operational model as a non-profit service organization in Sri Lanka, its relatively stringent underwriting standards, and its self-sustaining operational structure that requires minimal support from the GOSL.

This coupled with the entity’s senior management and governance system through a Board of Trustees, representing key public and private sector officials, has enabled the Fund to operate as an autonomous body without direct interference from the GOSL.

The reaffirmed rating strengths are partly offset by the continued downturn in the domestic construction sector, which is closely correlated with the macro-economic conditions of the country. Historically, the Fund’s bond exposure has been highly skewed towards the state funded construction contracts. Given the government’s fiscal constraints, ICRA Lanka views this exposure on a negative note as delayed payments from the government sector have affected the construction industry in Sri Lanka over the past few years.

Moreover, the small to medium scale construction contractors have been adversely affected by the continued downturn in the construction industry during this period under review. However, the Fund’s overall financial performance has not been significantly affected during CY2018/19, largely due to increased market share and the additional services that were offered by the Fund.

During CY2018/19, although, the Fund has experienced some claims due to industry downturn, the overall invocations remain at a lower level compared with the Fund’s capital position.

The reported contract-disputes during the past few years are largely due to employer’s fault to settle the payment on behalf of the contractors on a timely manner and therefore, this has also contributed to the lower invocation levels by the employers.

India is expected to overtake Germany to become fourth-largest economy in 2026 and Japan to become third largest in 2034, according to a recent report by the UK-based Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). It further said India is also set to reach a gross domestic product (GDP) of USD 5 trillion by 2026, 2 years later than the government’s target.

“India has decisively overtaken both France and the UK to become the world’s fifth-largest economy in 2019. It is expected to overtake Germany to become fourth largest in 2026 and Japan to become the third largest in 2034,” the report, titled ‘World Economic League Table 2020’, said. Japan, Germany and India will battle for third position over the next 15 years, according to the CEBR.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government’s target of taking the economy to 5 USD trillion by 2024, it said, “India is also set to reach a GDP of USD 5 trillion by 2026 - 2 years later than the current government target.”

But, dark clouds gathering all over the economy are leading many to question the maintainability of the target.

Recently, former Reserve Bank governor C. Rangarajan, said that at the current growth rate, reaching the USD 5-trillion GDP target by 2024-25 is “simply out of question”.

Noting that Indian data revisions mean that 2019 was the year when the country’s economy finally overtook the UK and France, the report said, “But, slow growth during the year has increased pressure for more radical economic reforms.” Despite the rapid ascent of countries such as India and Indonesia, it is striking how little an impact this will have on the US and China’s dominant roles in the global economy, said Pablo Shah, senior economist at Cebr.

India, which till recently was hailed as the world’s fastest-growing major economy, has seen growth rate decline to a six-year low of 4.5 per cent in the September quarter of 2019-20.

This has largely been attributed to the slowdown in investment that has now broadened into consumption, driven by financial stress among rural households and weak job creation.

The World Economic League Table is an annual calculation by Cebr jointly published by Cebr and Global Construction Perspectives. The base data for 2019 is taken from the IMF World Economic Outlook. (www.indiatimes.com)

Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLDA) cautions the licensed establishments which adopt discriminatory practices against local tourists with ‘foreigners only’ policy with stern actions.

“Several complaints have been made by domestic tourists stating that they are not allowed to enter certain restaurants and hotels in the areas of Hikkaduwa and Arugambay, where these establishments seem to have a ‘foreigners only’ policy,”

“Our Constitution affords equal rights to all citizens; where no person shall, on the grounds of race, religion, language, caste, sex or anyone such grounds, be subjected to any disability, liability, restriction or condition concerning access to shops, public restaurants, hotels, places of public entertainment and places of worship,” shared SLTDA Chairperson Kimarli Fernando.

During off-seasons and in any difficult period such as the Easter Sunday Attacks’ it’s the local tourists who support the tourism industry to function therefore SLTDA cautions licensed establishments to avoid such discriminatory practices.

The Chairperson further stated that SLTDA will take action to suspend or cancel licences of such establishments and if found to guilty, will take steps to issue fresh licenses in such areas to establishments that will serve Sri Lankans as well as foreign guests.

The Sri Lankan unemployment rate has increased from 4.7% to 4.9% in the second quarter of 2019. The numb r of unemployed persons was estimated at 420,231 during the second quarter 2019.

The estimated economically active population was about 8.6 million in the second quarter 2019. Of which 64.7 percent are males and 35.3 percent are females. The economically inactive population is about 7.8 million. Out of the economically inactive population 26 percent are males and 74 percent are females

It is important to note that, male participation to the labor force is always higher than that of female according to the Department of Census and Statics. The highest participation rate for male is reported from age group 35—39 years (97.4%), while that for female is reported from 40—44 age group (48.9%).

During second quarter of 2019, the total number of employed persons in Sri Lanka is estimated at about 8.2 million. Of which, about 47.5 percent engaged in Service sector, 28.3 percent in Industries sector and 24.3 percent in Agriculture sector. Compared to 2nd quarter 2018 in 2nd quarter 2019 an increase in employment numbers can be observed in Agriculture and Industries sectors.

Highest employment share is in service sector and this is true for both male and female, while the lowest shares are for agriculture sector.

The highest unemployment rate is reported from the G.C.E (A/L) and above group which is about 9.5 percent. Corresponding percentages are 5.1 percent and 14 percent for males and females respectively. Female unemployment rates are higher than those of males in all levels of education.

Survey results further shows that the problem of unemployment is more acute in the case of educated females than educated males, which was observed consistently over the re-sults of previous survey rounds as well.

In terms of electricity demand growth and investment needs, single-buyer and transmission licensee Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) forecasts that sales will grow at the rate of about 7.5% until 2021 and then decline to about 5% per year by the end of the decade.

The peak demand is forecasted to cross 3,000 MW by 2020 and reach 4,800 MW by 2030. Significantly, the time of occurrence of the peak demand is expected to shift from the present late evening (typically 7 p.m.) to early afternoon (typically 1 p.m.), by 2027, according to Asian Development Bank’s Sri Lanka Energy Sector Assessment Strategy and Road Map Sri Lanka.

To meet the growing demand at the lowest cost, CEB plans indicate the investment requirements for power generation to be $2,400 million from 2020–2025.

“Matching investments are required for transmission (to interconnect generating facilities), estimated to be $320 million and in distribution (to serve the growing demand and to improve reliability of supply to customers) a further $60 million,” the report said. In terms of petroleum sales growth, no formal forecasts are published by Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), but it is expected that the growth in sales of petroleum products will remain at 5%– 10% per year. No specific investment plans are published by petroleum industry entities.

Giving an overview of the Electricity industry in Sri Lanka, the report highlights that at present, the electricity industry has three major constraints, such as capacity shortage and delays in implementation of mainstream power plants, slow growth in renewable energy development and severe financial crisis, mainly attributed to non cost reflective tariffs.

“The capacity shortage has to be resolved by building larger power plants. CEB has proposed that the two cancelled coal-fired power plants be revived and built using the latest technology. Additionally, two combined cycle power plants are required to be built to cater to seasonal shortages of hydropower.”

CEB expects the liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal to be ready by 2023, already behind its previous schedule at 2020. Renewable energy development through solar and wind investments by the private sector is effectively at a standstill, owing to legal impediments and lack of clarity on the feed-in tariffs. Solar and wind parks have been put out for competitive bids, but only a handful have materialized. These shortcomings have to be resolved, to create a healthy environment for private investors to build solar and wind power plants in the long term.

Prime Minister’s Senior Advisor on Economic Affairs Ajith Nivard Cabraal, met with the Central Bank top officials, Bank CEOs and the Auditors of Banks last week at the Prime Minister’s Office at Temple Trees.

The structure and implementation of the Moratorium of capital repayments by SME borrowers during the 2020, while interest at the contracted rates is being serviced, as well as the restructuring of non-performing loans were discussed and resolved at the meeting.

At the meeting, Bank CEOs also agreed to withhold the auctioning of any properties belonging to borrowers, in instances where borrowers’ service the interest payments diligently, in accordance with the scheme. The accounting and reporting issues arising from the scheme were also discussed and resolved.

Cabraal explained that this scheme will assist to kick-start and revive businesses that had faced difficulties in the past few years, thereby making a positive contribution to the economy once again.

Sri Lanka Telecom, the leading ICT and digital solutions provider in the country successfully concluded the company’s SME Solutions Partnership Day 2019, at Taj Saumudra, Colombo.

This event was organized to showcase the solution portfolio of SME solutions partners, sign agreements with them and to build & strengthen relationships between partners and SLT sales staff. SLT signed agreements with 27SME solutions providers for a period of three years.

Through these agreements, SLT will able to take responsibility of providing “total solutions” to the Small & Medium Enterprises. This will minimize the difficulties SLT’sSME customers face in dealing with multiple vendors to receive certain solutions. The agreements covered a wide range of solution categories including Unified communication, Networking infrastructure, CCTV, Cabling, software etc.

The following Private Limited Companies signed agreements with SLT. Advanced Network Technologies, Aiken, Bartleet Electronics, Ceylon Innovation, Ceymplon., Digital Content., E Solutions Lanka., East Link Engineering Company., Epic Lanka Technologies, EZY Distributions, Fentons, Finco Technologies , Fintechnology Asia Pacific Lanka, GreenWin Technologies Lanka, Just In Time Technologies., Metropolitan Communications, Onestep Solutions, P.W .J. Lanka Technology, SALA Enterprises, SEC Vision, Siyol International, Smartcom Engineering, Softlogic Retail, Sri Lanka Telecom Digital info Services, Sri Lanka Telecom Services, Starcom international & investment and Vista Solutions.

The SME Solutions Partnership Day hadtwo sessions: The morning session comprised of valuable product demonstrations, giving a unique opportunity for SLT sales staff to obtain firsthand experience on the products and solutions offered by the partners.Through this “one-stop-shop” concept.

Boosting the revival of the tourism industry in Sri Lanka, Aitken Spence Maritime facilitated Marella cruises sailing their largest super-luxury cruise ship, Marella Discovery of the Marella fleet, to the Port of Colombo.

Marella Discovery commenced its voyage from the Persian Gulf and cruised past Cochin to reach Colombo and continued to cruise towards South-East destinations after visiting Sri Lanka. Marella is the third-largest cruise line in the United Kingdom, with a fleet of six ships. Marella cruises is a division of TUI U.K. and Ireland; TUI Group is the world’s leading integrated tourism group operating in more than 100 destinations worldwide.

The super luxury passenger vessel ‘Marella Discovery’ docked at the Colombo Harbour

Marella Cruise line offers holidays around Europe, Mediterranean, Caribbean and Asian destinations. Marella Discovery is approximately 264 meters in length and 32 meters wide having 902 state rooms with a capacity for up to 2,074 passengers. The ship boasts many features such as an outdoor cinema, a rock-climbing wall, a mini-golf course, five-storey atrium and an indoor pool.

Aitken Spence Travels was the shore excursion partner in Sri Lanka. The company offered excursions for over 800 passengers covering many locations close to Colombo, low grown tea estates, historical sites, Madhu ganga river safaris and tours across the city of Galle. The excursions are designed to create memories in Sri Lanka through experiences with culture, cuisine, architecture, heritage and way of life.

The company is a joint venture between Aitken Spence PLC, a leading blue-chip conglomerate, and TUI.

Aitken Spence Maritime is a pioneer in the industry and was the first Sri Lankan company to undertake port efficiency enhancement management overseas with its entry into the African continent and subsequently the South Pacific.

The Institute of Chemistry Ceylon is conducting a seminar on “Good Laboratory Practices, Quality Management & Accreditation on January 7, 2020. from 8.30 am to 4 pm at the Institute premises, Kotte Road, Welikada, Rajagiriya

Quality management ensures that an organization, product or service is consistent and focuses not only on product and service quality, but also on the means to achieve it. Accreditation is the process in which certification of competency, authority or credibility is presented.

The resource persons of this seminar intend to update laboratory technicians, quality managers, industrialists, chemists, technologists, scientists, researchers as well as undergraduates on Quality Management & Accreditation, Quality Assurance in Analytical Laboratories, Laboratory Safety Attitudes and Practices for Academic, Government and Researchers, Quality Management and Accreditation of Clinical/ Medical Laboratories, Food Quality and Safety Management, Human Resource Development to Enhance Quality & Productivity in Labs and the role of a Chemist. Further information could be obtained from the Deputy Registrar, Institute of Chemistry, Ceylon on E-mail: ichemc@sltnet.lk

Dreamforce, Esri, the global leader in mapping and location intelligence, announced that Salesforce has selected Esri as the key geospatial partner for Salesforce Maps. Salesforce is integrating Esri’s ArcGIS Living Atlas, the foremost collection of global geographic data and basemaps. Salesforce Maps users will be able to access Esri’s ArcGIS Online, the leading geospatial cloud, giving businesses the ability to analyze and visualize massive amounts of geographic and demographic data.

“Geo-services are becoming mainstream. Now Salesforce customers will unlock new insights and patterns in their customer data, enabling them to ‘See What Others Can’t’ through geographic visualization, using maps that contain Esri’s dynamic Living Atlas,” said Jack Dangermond, Esri founder and president.

“The Salesforce and Esri technology integration will enable organizations around the globe to combine their business data with geospatial analytics and mapping for competitive advantage.”

Salesforce Maps will bring a geographic context to the enterprise for categorizing and understanding the customer and business needs. By integrating demographic, economic, and behavioral data from Esri, businesses can gain unique insight into new market opportunities.

Esri is a privately held, multi-billion-dollar company that provides over 350,000 organizations of every size and industry the tools to get deeper insights from their geographic and transactional data to improve operational and business results. In the US and globally, Esri is deployed in most local, regional and state governments.

It is also used across most national governments including all of the US Federal executive departments. In the non-government sectors, customers include the majority of the Fortune 1000 companies, most utilities, and all the leading colleges and universities.

GIS Solutions (Private) Limited was appointed by Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc. (ESRI) as its sole Distributor for Sri Lanka. GIS Solutions is a group company of the Just In Time Group, a foremost systems integrator in Sri Lanka with a 23+ year history, providing ICT solutions and service support to a niche market in Sri Lanka.

Indian start-ups in the agritech sector received more than $248 million funding in the first six months this year, according to a report unveiled by NASSCOM on Monday.

The report, titled “Agritech in India -Emerging Trends in 2019”, said that Indian agritech start-ups have received $248 million funding in H1 2019, registering 300 per cent growth as compared to H1 2018 funding.

According to the report, growing at the rate of 25 per cent year-on-year, India currently hosts more than 450 start-ups in the agritech sector. “Over recent years, the agritech sector in India has witnessed some of the global and sector-focused funds directly investing in agritech start-ups,” the IT industry body said in its report. “With the recent rise in funding, 48 per cent Agritech CEOs, as per the NASSCOM Agritech CEO survey, believe to have the next agritech unicorn in coming 3 years,” it added.

At a time when agriculture sector is passing through distress with high price volatility, climate risks, and indebtedness, the spike in interest in the agritech sector, both from entrepreneurs as well as investors, could help in improving the farm sector.

The report said that every ninth agri-tech startup in the world is originating from India, adding that there has been a 1.7-times increase in average farmer income in last decade, enabling farmers to try new tech solutions.

“Adoption of technology in agriculture has always needed a structured institutional focus and technology firms are trying to break into the agricultural landscape using newer business models,” said Debjani Ghosh, President, Nasscom.

“The findings of the report are a testimony to the potential of the agritech industry and the opportunities that India presents in the agriculture and farming landscape,” she added.

The report noted that Indian companies are increasingly looking at global markets to expand with a focus on regions like South East Asia, Europe, Africa and South America. According to the report, more than five global agritech companies have ventured in India in the last 5 years, as compared to more than 25 Indian agritech companies with a global presence.

“Corporates and investors are playing a vital role in supporting this with over $200 million investment in B2B start-ups in the past 18 months, making it as a key revenue-generating segment in the overall agritech sector,” the report highlighted.

“New emerging areas like market linkage, digital agriculture, better access to inputs, FaaS and financing are attracting large traction. These technology adoptions are enabling numerous agritech start-ups to bring forth farming-related advanced technological mechanisms to help local farming become a sustainable and profit-yielding enterprise,” it said.

(BBC)

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon, the private bank with the largest branch and ATM network operation in the country, recently opened a branch in Madampe in the Puttalam District, bringing its branch count in Sri Lanka to 268 and its ATM count to 865 terminals at the close of 2019.

The new branch declared open by Commercial Bank Deputy Chairman Mr Preethi Jayawardena is located on the Chilaw Road, in New Town, Madampe. It is an Automated Banking Centre featuring an Automated Teller Machine (ATM), a Cash Recycler Machine (CRM) and a Cheque Deposit Machine (CDM) making its services accessible any time of the day or night.

With the opening of this branch, the number of Cash Recycler Machines within Commercial Bank’s network of ATMs in Sri Lanka grows to a milestone 200. Notably, the Bank’s ATM network has expanded by 65 terminals in one year, after the 800th ATM opened at the Bank’s Giriulla branch in November 2018.

Commercial Bank was the first bank in Sri Lanka to upgrade its entire ATM network to EMV Chip capability, significantly enhancing security against fraud by conforming to the EMV standards of the various card brands that it accepts. As a result, every Commercial Bank ATM now accepts and processes transactions based on Smart Card Integrated Circuit (IC) data as well as magnetic strip data.

About a fifth of Commercial Bank’s ATM network is located outside the precincts of its branches, with terminals installed in places such as industrial zones, railway stations, central bus stands, apartment complexes, shopping malls and large scale factories, enhancing access for customers and non-customers alike.

Electrodeals.lk the novelty online store, opened its official showroom at Galle Road, Bambalapitiya, on December 13.

Electrodeals.lk offers a brand new online shopping experience with a huge variety of choices and fabulous deals for all electronic devices ranging from household utensils to kids’ IT needs, catering many multinational brands such as GeePass, SamSung, LG, BenQ, Panasonic and many other world renown accessories with warranty. Guaranteed after sales services and a hassle free delivery is ensured, saving time and money.

The Director of Electrodeals.lk, Mizal Mujahidh said, “The shopping trend has drastically changed during last 5 years in Sri Lanka. The customer has shifted from street bargain to online purchases whether it be food, transport services or white goods. A majority of us use the internet to search places and products. Research suggests that 39% offline sales are influenced by online browsing. Hence this is a need of the hour catering to the young generation of online buyers. We are geared with cutting edge technology of online software and IT hardware which will run flawlessly on a high-end secured IT platform to secure the data of our valued consumers.”

The opening ceremony was graced by Dhanasiri Amaratunga and Fahmy Ismail, Chairman and Managing Director of Technocity Pvt Ltd.

The Industrial Development Board of Ceylon (IDB) Moratuwa, which is celebrating their Golden Jubilee this year, has organized SMIDEX 2019 an award and felicitation ceremony for selected successful Small and Medium Industrialists at the BMICH recently.

Minister of Industries, Logistics and Supply Chain Management Wimal Weerawansa was the Chief Guest.

The event was organized by Director General, Industrial Development Board P. L.U. Rathnamalala, under the guidance of Secretary, Ministry of Industries, Logistics and Supply chain Management, J. A. Ranjith.

The best SMI’s were selected and awarded after the District, Provincial and National level competition organized by the IDB. The 14 categories recognized to be awarded were, Electronic, Electrical Appliances & Machinery, Food & Beverage, Footwear, Leather and allied products, Foundry, Light Engineering & Engineering Industries, Coir and Fibre based products, Timber, Wood and Wooden based products, Chemical based industries, Rubber & Plastic based products, Building and Building material based industries, Readymade garments, Textiles and allied industries, Mineral based products, Printing paper, _Packaging and Paper pulp based products, other products and Micro Industries.

The IDB’ vision and main objective is development of all industries across the country by encouraging, promoting and developing industries in Sri Lanka.

New Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tea Board Jayampathy Molligoda stressed that Sri Lanka could easily leverage on our rich ‘Ceylon’ heritage but, we needed to understand the global trends in consumer preferences and align.

He said that the next generation viewed sustainability as a key buying consideration.

He also noted that Sri Lanka could also use its country’s geographical positioning as it was strategically located. The present generations were moving away from traditional teas and are looking to lifestyle and health products such as flavours, infusions, natural and organic and ‘HORECA’ products such as Latte, Chai, Bubble etc.

“Unfortunately, the ‘origin’ will be increasingly lesser a factor of importance. We need to work on this area,” Molligoda told Daily News Finance.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa wanted us to make use of our Ambassadors to promote Ceylon Tea to develop this industry.Molligoda also stressed that lanka’s main strengths were its expertise - wealth of experience in tasting, blending and product creations, availability of labour (packaging etc.) at competitive rates, vast pool of tea knowledge in marketing, growing & manufacturing including value added bagging, flavor etc.

Commenting on the importance of reaching a consensus among the stakeholders, he said “The way forward would be to have a shared understanding among stakeholders and reaching a consensus on implementing this industry strategy. The ultimate success depends on the commitment by the stake holders to implement this ‘new business model’ efficiently and effectively.

The speedy solutions to problems will shape the future sustainability of the Sri Lankan tea industry.

Vehicle registrations in November across most categories in comparison with the previous month are down. The slowdown maybe on account of the elections said J. B. Securities.

Brand new cars recorded 264 units in Nov down from 363 units in Oct and 365 units 12 months ago. Small cars (under (<) 1,000 engines) accounted for 60.6% of volumes followed by Medium cars that accounted for 38.3% of volumes.

Preowned cars recorded 1,766 units in Nov down from 2,149 units in Oct and significantly down from 2,989 units 12 months ago. Small cars (< 1,000 cc engines) accounted for 71.6% of total volumes.

Premium motor cars recorded 90 units in Nov down from 132 units in Oct and significantly down from 158 units 12 months ago.

Electric cars recorded 14 units in November slightly up from 12 units in Oct and 6 units 12 months ago.

SUVs recorded 638 units in Nov down from 738 units in Oct and significantly down from 1,301 units 12 months ago. Hybrid vehicles recorded 389 units in Nov down from 482 units in Oct and significantly down from 1,585 units 12 months ago.

Vans recorded 535 units in Nov down from 687 units in Oct but up from 451 units 12 months ago. Mini vans (< 1,000 cc) recorded 470 units.

3-wheelers recorded 995 units in Nov down from 1,244 units in Oct and 1,314 units 12 months ago.

2-wheelers recorded 18,540 units in Nov down from 21,918 units in Oct and 22,373 units 12 months ago. Brand new accounted for 18,274 whilst the balance 266 units were preowned. Electric 2 wheelers recorded 31 units. Pickup trucks recorded 85 units in Nov up from 59 units in Oct and significantly down from 207 units 12 months ago. Mini trucks recorded 101 units in Nov down from 149 units in Oct and significantly down from 222 units 12 months ago. Light trucks recorded 158 units in Nov down from 217 units in Oct and 233 units 12 months ago while Medium trucks recorded 129 units in Nov down from 212 units in Oct and significantly down from 240 units 12 months ago.

 Senior Lecturer at the Department of Sociology, University of Colombo, Jagath Wellawatta has been appointed as the Chairman of Sri Lanka Insurance with effect from December 27, 2019.

Wellawatta’s corporate experience spans across a spectrum of diverse fields. He served as the Chairman of the State Mortgage and Investment Bank (from May 2010 to January 2015) and was the former Chairman of National Child Protection Authority (from April 2007 to May 2010). He also served as the Chairman of Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (from December 2005 to March 2007).

His academic excellence records Master of Philosophy in Sociology from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Master of Arts in Sociology and a Bachelor of Arts (Hon) degree from the University of Colombo. He is currently reading for his PhD in Sociology at the University of Colombo affiliated to Deaking University, Australia.

Anil Kumara Meegahage, Anil Koswaththa, Nishantha Dayananda, and Pubudu Wimalarathne are appointed to the board while K.A Vimalenthirarajah Treasury Representative will continue to serve as a Director in the Sri Lanka Insurance Board.

Tea industry stakeholders have now come under one banner to come up with a 10- year Master Plan.

This includes the Colombo Tea Traders Association (CTTA) , the Planters’ Association (PAC), Tea Factory Owners’ Association and representatives from Tea Small Holders and others, who have now teamed up to come up with ‘Tea strategy- Road Map 2030’, new Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tea Board Jayampathy Molligoda told Daily News Finance.

“Presently, Sri Lankan tea industry was facing many challenges and is at crossroads and that was why we are coming up with this Master Plan, the new Tea Board Chairman said in what was his maiden media interview.

Molligoda, also a Fellow Member of CA Sri Lanka (FCA) and a MBA Holder and a former Deputy Chairman of Bogawanthalawa Tea Estates PLC in a career spanning 28 years, said the Master Plan was being drawn up –‘focusing on the entire tea value chain’ from the growers- with benefits to community, preserving the environment, generating profits on a sustainable basis. In addition, the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Export Agriculture was also drawing up a five- year plan. Both are working simultaneously, he said.

“I think the following three aspects need to be properly analyzed and factored in our future policy shaping and implementing such policies and programs; (a) the realities of the global tea market trends (b) capabilities of our competitors (c) rapid modernization and technological interventions without compromising the traditional practices.

In other words, we are to look at tea as a beverage in the global market, worth US$ 38 billion as compared with our narrow perception of tea industry as a perennial crop, generating only US $ 1,450 million per year.

Ceylon Tea will eventually stagnate or decline at these levels if the industry was not aligned with the global changes taking place, he said.

The current issues pertaining to tea plantations do not warrant Sri Lanka to continue those plantations in the same traditional phase. Instead, my view is ‘high quality plantations’ can only be promoted. It is a pity that we still talk about going back to basics- need to practice ‘Total Quality Management’ (TQM).

Molligoda has also briefed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa recently that his priority was to put in place a system to improve the green leaf quality count.

Let us follow it to the letter and spirit and this was only the beginning- we have a long way to go in this ‘TQM’ on bush to cup. I am happy the newly appointed Cabinet Minister and State Minister too have understood these sector issues and challenges well, he said.

With the revival of economic activity Sri Lanka will double its economic growth rate from the current 2.7% to 4.5% in 2020 and will further accelerate growth to around 6.5% with necessary reforms thereafter new governor of Central Bank, Prof. W D Lakshman told the Monetary Policy review meeting last Friday.

Prof. Lakshman who is the 15th Governor of CBSL said that inflation too would be maintained in the range of 4 to 6% in 2020.

“The country has been struggling with less than 5% growth for several years, and the growth has now slowed down to below 3 per cent. Although inflation has been contained from the demand side, weather related food price volatility and dependence on imported commodities constantly threaten cost of living.”

“Statistics on unemployment appear acceptable, but they hide issues such as underemployment, low labour force participation, high unemployment among educated youth, an ageing labour force, and low productivity.

These need to be addressed if the government is to realise its goal of eliminating poverty through effective utilization of labour resources.”

In the external sector, sluggish export performance, large trade deficits, persistent current account deficits, dependence on debt inflows in the absence of alternative levels of FDI inflows, as well as high foreign financing needs are major concerns.

“ In addition, we need to be watchful of developments in the global economy and financial markets as well.

In this context, we hope to engage with the IMF and other multilateral agencies while remaining within the framework of national policy to ensure that the country reverts to a sustainable path of reserve accumulation, a prerequisite for exchange rate stability as well.”

The government is aware of the need for fiscal consolidation and in addressing longstanding issues in the fiscal sector while supporting the revival of the economy.

“In the monetary sector, we have seen credit flows coming to virtually a standstill. Monetary and regulatory measures taken so far, as well as the measures that are being contemplated by the government, including the moratorium on capital repayments of bank loans by SMEs, supported by improving business confidence will result in an acceleration of credit flows in the period ahead.”

This will also help address the increased NPL ratios of the financial sector. In the present context of subdued growth and development, continuing prevalence of poverty pockets despite poverty alleviation policies of over several decades in the past, and prevalence of unemployment and under-employment at worrying levels, the fiscal and monetary authorities and decision makers in different real sectors of the economy are confronted with the challenge of searching and identifying alternative policy sets of greater efficacy than the neo-liberal policy set.

“I hope to be able to make my contribution in this search for alternatives, together with the other authorities. The monetary policy announcements made today, we hope, will be of positive impact, helping and supporting the various measures announced from time to time by fiscal and other authorities.

It is in this overall context that the Monetary Board decided to maintain its accommodative policy stance unchanged at the last meeting.

This is a time of important changes in Sri Lankan development policy and practice. Questions are being raised extensively about the validity and relevance of Washington Consensus type or neoliberal type policies to achieve the desired goals of inclusive, sustainable and shared development. This questioning may also apply to Central Banking nowadays.

He also made a reference to his immediate predecessor, Dr. Indrajith Coomaraswamy. “He has contributed a great deal to re-establish the Bank’s respect within our socio-economic system in general and the country’s financial community in particular.

 Fitch Rating on Lanka, premature  decision - Dr Weerasinghe

The Fitch Rating has rushed to change Sri Lanka’s rating without investigating true facts, said Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe Senior Deputy Governor CCBSL.

”This is a pre mature decision.”

“However Fitch has not downgraded Sri Lanka, but changed the rating from Stable to Negative.” He said that though it is easy to change a rating in this manner it will take a longer time to revise it.

Such an action only on the premise of heightened political uncertainty, with no evidence of slippages in macroeconomic policies or fundamentals, cannot be justified. He however said that the other two international rating agencies have not changed their ratings on Sri Lanka.

 CBSL to call for fresh bids to bail out The Finance

 The Central Bank will call for fresh proposals to find an investor to bail out The Finance Company Deputy Governor H. A. Karunaratne said.

He said that earlier the CBSL did call for proposals from investors but there were no response. “This may be because the economic and political condition during that time was not conducive. “ We have now called for fresh proposals and expect a better response.”

He said that the proposals will only be open for a short time.

The Deputy Governor said that if this too fails CBSL will look at alternatives.

“The CBSL will also consider paying and settling depositors who maintain deposits for less than Rs 600, 000 initially.”

He said that Lanka Credit and Business Limited( LCB) came forward to revive the distressed finance company, City Finance Corporation Limited (CFCL), which was under the purview of the CBSL.

This landmark transaction was valued at Rs 1.3 billion and this could set as the benchmark case study for the revival of other distressed finance companies in Sri Lanka.

Earlier CBSL through their liquidity support scheme paid a maximum of Rs. 600,000 to some depositors of CIFL.

The Tourist Information Centre (TIC) at The Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) of Sri Lanka Tourism had a different atmosphere altogether, getting into the festive mood and bracing up to share the festive cheer with both local and foreign tourists, with simple yet an elegant way.

with Santa distributing gifts to visitors who dropped in to gain information and also to know about the best tourist attractions to visit during the holiday season, and the iconic Christmas tree adding more color to the occasion.

The foreign visitors seemed to be pleasantly surprised at this unexpected welcome, and received a souvenir each. They enjoyed the experience of receiving this kind of welcome on their arrival to the destination, during the festive season.

The Santa was arranged by Sri Lanka Tourism, which was the most highlighted attraction of the celebrations at the BIA.

he Information Centre in Colombo was also illuminated with the festive colors, and was able to catch the attention of the visitors and the passersby, with its Christmas decorations including the beautiful Christmas tree decorated in eye catching colors.

The main purpose of making these arrangements was to display the festive spirit and convey the message of peace and harmony among all, regardless of religion or ethnicity.

 The National Carrier of Sri Lanka and member of the One World alliance, reaffirming the success of its marketing communication endeavors, concludes the year with seven global awards. The Airline’s communication focus that signifies its ambassadorial role of taking Sri Lanka to the world through a global dialect, has been well received by the public and the passengers and was recognized by communication experts and members of juries across major travel and tourism award ceremonies worldwide.

The Airline’s purple patch began at ITB Berlin earlier this year, where it won three coveted awards at the Golden City Gate Awards, beating over 148 submissions by 32 countries. The three awards included a First Star award in the ‘Airlines- corporate’ category for its product video, another ‘First Star’ for its India Outbound video in the TV Cinema spot category and a ‘Third Star’ award in the same category for its Melbourne Marathon video 2018.

This was the third consecutive time that SriLankan Airlines was applauded at this podium and the second consecutive time that the Airline managed to bag three awards.

Following the Easter Sunday tragedy that created a massive negative impact on the country’s tourism industry, SriLankan Airlines steered a passenger interaction initiative at its home base, the Bandaranaike International Airport, coinciding with the cultural festival Vesak. Tourist arrivals continued to dwindle, while travel advisories aggravated the situation even though the country’s security was reinstated and Sri Lanka was once again ready to welcome the world.

As a Sri Lankan entity that has a strong global voice, it was vital that SriLankan Airlines took this message to the world. The campaign proved to be an overwhelming success, reaching an audience of 7.6 million people with 1.2 million engagements via live streaming over YouTube and Facebook, which went on to win the ‘Best Marketing Innovation’ award from the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX), beating Qatar Airways and Virgin Atlantic that were the other shortlisted nominees in the category.

PATA Awards 2019, was another global platform where SriLankan Airlines was applauded after a break of 12 years. The Airline’s marketing campaign that marked the commencement of operations between Melbourne and Colombo titled ‘Two Cities, One Spirit’ received a gold award in the category ‘Marketing - Carrier.’ “Two Cities, One spirit” stems from a place of honouring and celebrating the kinship between Melbourne and Sri Lanka, which was aimed to appeal to the Sri Lankan Diaspora in Melbourne and the Australians who are attracted to adventure on the island.

Proving the Airline’s network strength and consistency of its marketing communication endeavors, the Airline managed to bag ‘Asia’s Leading Airline to the Indian Ocean’ title for the third consecutive year and ‘World’s Leading Airline to the Indian Ocean’ for the fourth consecutive year at the esteemed World Travel Awards, Asia and World ceremonies consecutively. The Airline was also nominated for the titles ‘World’s Leading Airline,’ ‘World’s Leading Airline - Business Class,’ ‘World’s Leading Airline – Economy’ and ‘World’s Leading Cultural Airline.’

SriLankan Airlines also went down in history as one of the title sponsors of the historic Melbourne Marathon, as it became Australia’s largest ever Marathon this year, attracting a total of 37,185 athletes, whilst SriLankan Airlines’ Half Marathon event recorded yet another sellout.

SriLankan Airlines looks forward to continue its award-winning stint in the year 2020, reaching out to more of the world with the message of the country’s multi-faceted beauty and inherent characteristics that have shaped the core of its award-winning service.

The Grand Kandyan Hotel reiterated its excellence when it emerged victorious, clinching the Award at the National Business Excellence Awards 2019 organized by the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka held on 13 December.

The Grand Kandyan proved its stature by securing the prestigious Award in the Hospitality & Tourism Sector.

The hotel commenced its operation in October 2014 and was able to obtain 5-Star status from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and Standards Certifications of ISO 22000, HACCP & GMP from the Sri Lanka Standards Institute within a short period of two years of its operation.

The hotel also received the “best star award” from the Department of Industrial Development and Enterprise Promotion of Ministry of Industries -Central Province in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

Fitch has revised the Outlook on Ceylon Electricity Board’s (CEB) National Long-Term Rating to Negative from Stable and has affirmed the rating at ‘AA+(lka)’.

The rating on CEB, which is fully state owned, is equalised with that of the Sri Lankan sovereign to reflect strong linkages, in line with Fitch’s Parent and Subsidiary Rating Linkage criteria. The equalisation takes into consideration CEB’s strategic importance to Sri Lanka in ensuring power security and supply of affordable electricity to the public. Strong Linkages with State: Fitch assesses linkages between CEB and the state to be strong, reflecting explicit guarantees and financial support through equity infusions and debt funding. The government also implicitly guarantees CEB’s project loans, which account for around 80% of its outstanding debt. These loans are extended by bilateral and multilateral agencies and routed through the government for power infrastructure development.

Fitch believes the Sri Lankan government uses CEB as a vehicle to provide an essential public service. CEB provides electricity at subsidised tariffs without adequate and timely financial compensation from the government.

Fitch Ratings has revised the Outlook on Sri Lanka Telecom PLC’s (SLT) National Long-Term Rating to Negative from Stable and affirmed the rating at ‘AA+(lka)’. Fitch also affirmed the National Ratings on SLT’s outstanding senior unsecured debentures at ‘AA+(lka)’.

SLT’s ratings are constrained by the sovereign as per Fitch’s Parent and Subsidiary Rating Linkage criteria. We assess the relationship between the sovereign and SLT as one of a weaker parent and stronger subsidiary with strong operational and strategic linkages.

The state holds a majority stake in SLT directly and indirectly, and can exercise significant influence on its operating and financial profile. SLT’s second-biggest shareholder, Malaysia’s Usaha Tegas Sdn Bhd at 44.9%, has no special provisions in its shareholder agreement to dilute the government’s significant influence over SLT.

We expect SLT to have negative free cash flow (FCF) during 2019-2020 (2018 negative FCF of LKR3.4 billion), as cash flow from operations could be insufficient to fund capex requirements to expand the fibre infrastructure and 4G mobile networks.

Sri Lanka remains electrically isolated from the larger Indian subcontinent. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has supported studies on technical and commercial aspects of a prospective India-Sri Lanka interconnection, on which the progress has been slow.

The feasibility study on the interconnection jointly conducted by India and Sri Lanka is yet to be completed, according to Asian Development Bank’s recent report on Sri Lanka Energy Sector Assessment strategy and Road Map.

“Clear indications on how best such an interconnection should be sized, financed, and structured into the markets of the two countries have emerged in the feasibility studies, but no firm decisions have been made.

As more renewable energy enters the grid, sharing reserve and spinning capacity become increasingly important, as well as real power interchange between countries. The larger Indian grid would offer such stability to the Sri Lanka grid, and the bottlenecks on the Indian side, especially in the southern grid, are gradually cleared”, the report stated.

The report also said that Investments on bulk power generation, to match forecast demand, are required to be made in accordance with the long-term plan, such that new power plants of the correct fuel type (to manage cost of supply) would be built on schedule (to avoid capacity shortage and blackouts).

The inevitable transition to fossil fuels for bulk power generation from previously hydro-dominated status caused a debate that extended from 1985 to 2005, during which period; the increasing demand was met with all oil-fired generation. The debate to move into cleaner fuels, including renewables has commenced, while for major power plants to produce bulk power has been postponed or canceled, the report said.

Therefore, Sri Lanka’s power generation situation continues to be at high risk and threatens to fall back into oil dominance. The current forecast share of electricity to be generated from oil in 2020 is 25%, with a further 20% produced from new renewable energy (small hydro, wind, and solar). With both oil-fired generation, wind, and solar PV priced in the range SLRs20/kWh to SLRs22/kWh, Sri Lanka’s cost of supply, at constant December 2016 fuel prices, is forecasted to increase again to about $0.15/MWh.

The additional burden on the fuel bill is estimated to be Rs. 63,000 million (about $430 million) annually by 2020, at December 2016 oil price levels.

Energy efficiency and demand management in Sri Lanka has had modest achievements, with a stable commercial specific energy consumption66 in the economy, and declining energy consumption in overall energy use. However, energy performance standards and labeling regulations have not been established for appliances that deserve such standards. Demand-side management (DSM) projects have not been implemented by any of the utilities, except for indirect initiatives, such as time-of-use pricing of electricity. In addition, the government is planning—with ADB support—a major upgrade and electrification of the suburban railway network, of which, energy efficiency in transport is a key objective. Accordingly, enhanced energy efficiency and accelerated demand management is included in ADB’s strategy for Sri Lanka.

By the end of 2016, Sri Lanka’s electricity generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure has reached the key milestones of (i) a reasonable fuel mix in generation, with over 48% of electricity being produced from renewable energy sources, 34% from coal, and 17% from oil; (ii) transmission network completed to cover the entire country; (iii) distribution network expanded to reach over 98.5% of households; and (iv) transmission and distribution losses below 11% of net generation. 

Gulf Air - the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain – and SriLankan Airlines - the national carrier of Sri Lanka - have entered into a codeshare partnership with effect from December 18, 2019, significantly enhancing the travel options of their respective valued customers.

With nearly 70 years of operations for both Gulf Air and SriLankan Airlines, this partnership will further strengthen the commercial ties between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

Under this agreement, SriLankan Airlines will place its ‘UL’ code on Gulf Air’s flights from Bahrain to Colombo, the Greek capital Athens, Larnaca in Cyprus (effective from 18 December 2019) and the Moroccan city of Casablanca (effective during the current winter schedule). Gulf Air will in turn place its ‘GF’ code on SriLankan Airlines’ flights from Colombo to Bahrain.

Krešimir Kučko, Gulf Air’s Chief Executive Officer said: “We are happy to sign this codeshare agreement with SriLankan Airlines and increase number of direct flights between the Kingdom of Bahrain and Sri Lanka”. He also added: “We value our partnerships and SriLankan is our newest codeshare partner in our overall strategy to expand our operations. I feel confident that this codeshare will add value to customers of both airlines”.

Vipula Gunatilleka, SriLankan Airlines’ Group Chief Executive Officer added: “It is part of SriLankan’s operational strategy create and strengthen partnerships with airlines of globally reputation in terms of quality, service and reliability and we have no doubt that SriLankan’s valued passengers will enjoy their travel with Gulf Air.”

The codeshare agreement followed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two airlines and is also intended to further strengthen the longstanding friendship between the two nations of Sri Lanka and Bahrain.

Easter Sunday attacks had a major negative impact on the shipping sector and the Colombo Dockyard too saw the cancelation of a US$ 50 million order due to it.

Minister of Roads & Highways Ports & Shipping Johnston Fernando made these remarks while launching two Pilot boats built by Colombo Dockyard at a cost of US$ 3.2 million to the Sri Lanka Ports Authority. The addition of these two pilot boats will increase the SLPA fleet of Pilot boats to 8.

Minister launching the two pilot boats with SLPA and CDL officials in Colombo