business Sri Lanka

President Colombo Chamber of Commerce (CCC) Saranga Wijeyarathne called on the government to extend the application period of the proposed SME debt moratorium announced in December.

Wijeyarathne said that the circular for implementation was only released in mid-January and there was confusion with how to apply. He commended the scheme and initiative and said an extension would allow more than the current 100 applicants of his 4000 members to take advantage of the scheme to boost the economy. Wijeyarathne was speaking on 29 January at the Colombo Chamber office on Havelock Road.

Wijeyarathne said that most CCC members were taking loans from finance companies and merchant banks and he called on the government to increase the remit of the scheme to involve these institutions. Wijeyarathne said that he had been informed by the Central Bank that they would indicate to the general public the quantity and sizes of loans that had taken advantage of the scheme shortly.

Wijeyarathne said that there was little public awareness of the scheme. He said that given the credit guarantee offered by the scheme the lending institutions should look to increase loans without seeking collateral. Wijeyarathne commended the initiative to issue working capital to businesses.

Wijeyarathne thanked the President for considering the SME sector and said that the scheme should not fail at the implementation stage.

Lanka IOC PLC, (LIOC) would invest over Rs. 350 million to build Sri Lanka’s only Grease Plant in Trincomalee, while installing solar power in fuel stations.

Managing Director LIOC, Manoj Gupta said that Sri Lanka is spending a huge amount to import Grease and they hope to supply the entire local demand in seven months time. “We will build this plant in six to seven months at our facility in Trincomalee,” he said.

Gupta also said that they would invest a further Rs. 75 million for the purpose of solarising the 208 fuel stations owned by the LIOC. “We have already installed solar in 20 fuel stations, while the balance stations too would follow.” He said that they expect ROI on this in five years.

“Simultaneously, we are also automating all our ‘petrol sheds’ which would offer an even better service to the customer.”

LIOC Fuel stations would also install ‘Quick Electric charges’ for electric cars. Lanka IOC believes that Sri Lanka deserves a world-class petroleum industry and is building a healthy and competitive fuel network that would boost both the nation’s economy and care for its environment.

Gupta also expressed his satisfaction on the new tax structure that was introduced by the new government. “This has given us many advantages and a clear mind to plan and invest for the future.”

He said that they would also make investments to develop their oil tank farm in Trincomalee, which was built by British rulers in the 1930’s.

He said that the Trincomalee Port has also introduced ‘night navigation’ which permits them to work extended hours. “This is a step taken in the right direction by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.” Trincomalee is the only port in Sri Lanka offering Ultra Low Sulphur MGO for niche customers.’

‘The company’s Bunker revenue grew by 15% to LKR 20.86 billion (2017/18: LKR 18 billion) supported by continued investments in strengthening the bunkering infrastructure at the Trincomalee Port.

Sri Lanka’s tea production was an overall 301 Million kilos in 2019, a 2 million kilo dip from 2018, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tea Board Jayampathy Molligoda confirmed to ‘Daily News’ yesterday.

“This is a marginal 2 million kilo dip from the previous year from the 303 Million kilos from 2018”, he said.

He also said that the Tea Board was right now in the process of reconciliation, validation and verifications which will go into the breakdowns of the geographical areas and the results should be released very soon.

Meanwhile, Asia Siyaka Commodity Brokers PLC Managing Director / CEO Anil Cooke said that Sri Lanka’s Rupee Auction prices declined sharply in 2019, despite depreciation of the currency. Compared with 2017 when the national total average ranged from a low $3.85per kg (Rs. 591.54)to a high $4.27 (Rs. 648.52).

By 2019 the range was $2.80 (Rs. 494.48) to $3.33 (Rs. 585.92). In fact during the period June to November the average was well under $ 3 per kg and ranged from $2.80 to $2.90 per kg. The effective loss of value from 2017 to 2019 was in the region of 25 – 30%.

The Department of Census and Statistics(DCS) made available the National Accounts for the year 2016 on their website recently. The preface to the document was signed by Director General I R Bandara on December 27, 2019.

Bandara said, ‘In the year of 2015, the National Accounts Division of the DCS revised the base year from 2002 to 2010. In addition, to revising the base year from 2002 to 2010, in the compilation of National Accounts, many other improvements were also made, such as conceptual changes as recommended by the international guidelines.’

The report notes ‘The economic growth rate in the country for the year 2016, reported as 4.5 percent, indicating a slower growth rate when compared to the previous year.’

There had been a 31.3 percent reduction in the growth rate of rice in the economy for the period. The report notes ‘The drought and the unfavorable weather conditions prevailed in the country in the year 2016 has severely affected the paddy production, in both Yala and Maha seasons.’

The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has decided to reduce the Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and the Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) of the Central Bank by 50 basis points to 6.50 per cent and 7.50 per cent, respectively.

CBSL governor Prof. W D Lakshman said the Monetary Board decision was intended to affirm its accommodative monetary policy stance and also create a further reduction in cost of funds raised by the financial institutions thereby allowing them to pass the benefits of reduced cost of funds to the economy.

“Both took into consideration several macro economic developments in making this decision” Prof. Lakshman said.

He said further that this decision supports a continued reduction in market lending rates, thereby facilitating the envisaged recovery in economic activity given the favourable medium -term outlook for inflation, which is well anchored within the 4-6 per cent range.

“On the inflation front, the recent acceleration of inflation particularly at the national level has been a concern. However, there were several factors suggest that this acceleration in inflation is going to be short- lived and this acceleration was caused by food inflation rather than any overheating of the economy.” Prof. Lakshman said.

Domestic supply conditions are already gradually improving and CCPI based inflation has continued to remain within 4-6% range, which CBSL is targeting.

“The growth has remained subdued, economic growth in 2019 is likely to be around 3.6% and there has been a notable improvement in business confidence caused by political stability and targeted measures taken by relevant authorities.

With these developments, the growth is likely to start going up and will exceed 4% in 2020.”

Credit to the private sector has gradually commenced expanding .Revival in confidence and revival in economic activities, fiscal measures credit relief package , declining interest rates will help sustain acceleration of credit growth over time, he said.

“Although market lending rates are generally on a declining path, we were at the Monetary board was of the view that lending rates should continue to decline and this was the key factor that supported the decision of the Board.”

He said further that global economic conditions have been subdued and many advanced and emerging market economies have marinated accommodative monetary policies to address those concerns.

External sector conditions will be monitored closely and managed with appropriate measures of macro prudential, fiscal and monetary measures.

Moreover, he stressed that the monetary policy decision will support a continued reduction in market lending rates, ensuring a broad based and sustained recovery in economic activity. It is essential that market lending rates reduce further in order to support the envisaged pick up in credit growth and economic activity.

The CBSL will continue to monitor macroeconomic and financial market development with a view to maintaining aggregate demand conditions at appropriate levels, thereby ensuring single digit inflation in the medium term. Headline inflation, as measured by the year-on-year change in Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI), accelerated in December 2019 owing to domestic supply disruptions. In spite of such short term fluctuations, the near term forecast suggests that inflation will hover below 5 per cent in 2020, and stabilise between 4-6 per cent thereafter, assisted by appropriate policy measures and underpinned by well anchored inflation expectations.

He added that there has been notable improvement in the external current account despite disruptions that the country faced in 2019.The Exchange rate has remained stable in 2019 as well as in January 2020, he noted

“ There are renewed uncertainties of the global economic activities with the spread of the Coronavirus , which has already caused some disruptions to travel and tourism industry and resulted in volatility in currency and commodity markets,” Prof. Lakshman added.

Before a mysterious respiratory illness emerged in the center of China, spreading with lethal effect through the world’s most populous nation, concerns about the health of the global economy had been easing, replaced by a measure of optimism.

The United States and China had achieved a tenuous pause in a trade war that had damaged both sides. The specter of open hostilities between the United States and Iran had reverted to stalemate. Though Europe remained stagnant, Germany — the Continent’s largest economy — had escaped the threat of recession.

Now, the world is worrying anew.

An outbreak originating in China and reaching beyond its borders has summoned fresh fears, sending markets into a wealth-destroying tailspin. It has provoked alarm that the world economy may be in for another shock, offsetting the benefits of the trade truce and the geopolitical easing, and providing new reason for businesses and households to hunker down.

On Monday, investors dumped stocks on exchanges from Asia to Europe to North America. They entrusted their money to traditional safe havens, pushing up the value of the yen, the dollar and gold. They pushed down the price of oil over fears that weaker economies would spell less demand for fuel.

In short, those in control of money took note of a growing crisis in a country of 1.4 billion people, whose consumers and businesses are a primary engine of economic growth around the world, and they chose to reduce their exposure to risk.

By late Monday, the virus had killed more than 100 people in China. More than 4,500 had been infected — mostly in mainland China, but also in Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, and as far away as Australia, Canada and the United States.

The emergence of the virus in China, whose government jails journalists and tightly controls information, left the world uncomfortably short of facts needed to assess the dangers.

“It’s the uncertainty of how the global economy is going to respond to the outbreak,” said Philip Shaw, chief economist at Investec, a specialist bank in London. That will depend on the severity, the spread and the duration of the outbreak, he said, and “we don’t really know the answers to any of these questions.”

Stocks in Japan and Europe fell more than 2 percent. In New York, the S&P 500 was down 1.6 percent, with stocks of companies whose sales are dependent on China especially susceptible. Wynn Resorts, which operates casinos in the gambling haven of Macau, a special administrative region of China, dropped more than 8 percent.

The virus and its attendant unknowns conjured memories of another deadly illness that began in China, the 2002-3 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, which killed nearly 800 people.

In the end, SARS significantly slowed the Chinese economy, dropping the annual growth rate to 9.1 percent in the second quarter of 2003 from 11.1 percent in the previous quarter, according to Oxford Economics, an independent research institute in London.

The episode is coinciding with the Lunar New Year, a major holiday in which hundreds of millions of Chinese journey to their hometowns to visit relatives.

With air, rail and road links in central China restricted as the government seeks to block the spread of the virus, hotels, restaurants and other tourism-related businesses are likely to suffer.

Some economists assume that those effects will quickly dissipate, leading to a revival in the consumer economy within months. That is how events played out in 2003.

“Our baseline is that it will be a fairly big impact but relatively short-lived,” said Louis Kuijs, the Hong Kong-based head of Asia economics at Oxford Economics.

In the hopeful view, economic damage will be contained by the Chinese government’s aggressive response in effectively quarantining the outbreak’s center — Wuhan, a city of 11 million people, and much of the surrounding area in Hubei Province.

But Wuhan is a hub of industry, sometimes called the Chicago of China, intensifying the quarantine’s implications for the national economy.

“This is really unprecedented,” Lardy said. “The economic effects may be much larger than SARS. Wuhan is a major industrial city, and if you’re basically shutting it down, it’s going to have a major effect.”

Already, China’s government has extended the Lunar New Year holiday by three days, through Feb. 2, ensuring that migrant workers will not return to their factory jobs as soon as anticipated, almost certainly disrupting production. Suzhou, a major industrial city near Shanghai, has extended the holiday until at least Feb. 8.

Given that China’s economy is the source of roughly one-third of world economic growth, the slowdown could be felt widely.

Most directly, China’s neighbors would absorb the effects, especially those dependent on tourists from China — among them Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Over the weekend, China announced that it was barring overseas group tours by its citizens. If China’s factories are hobbled by additional restrictions on transportation that limit factory production, that could become a global event. It could hit iron ore mines in Australia and India that feed raw materials into China’s smelters. It could limit sales of computer chips and glass panel displays made at plants in Malaysia and South Korea.

It could trim sales of factory machinery produced in Germany and auto parts made in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. It could even affect the purchases of additional American farm goods that China agreed to under the trade deal signed this month.

The shock is hitting just as China contends with its slowest pace of economic growth in decades, reviving fears that its reduced appetite for the goods and services of the world could jeopardize jobs on multiple shores.

“China is obviously slowing down in a structural way,” said Silvia Dall’Angelo, senior economist at Hermes Investment Management in London.

“The global economy is clearly more shaky, with sluggish growth. It is clearly more vulnerable to shocks.”

The SARS outbreak prompted the government to stimulate the Chinese economy by directing surges of credit that financed huge infrastructure projects. But whatever damage China confronts this time, its willingness to respond will be limited by the government’s concerns about mounting public debt.

During the SARS outbreak, the government was slow to acknowledge the existence of the virus as local officials actively covered up cases, allowing the threat to multiply.

(The New York Times)

Abbas Kamrudeen, Chairman FITIS and Aruna Alwis, CEO FITIS met with CIMA President of Global Council, Amal Ratnayake for a High Tea at an event organized by CIMA at Kingsbury Hotel, Colombo recently.

At the meeting, FITIS was able to further strengthen its collaboration with CIMA towards promoting Digital Transformation. CIMA’s Digital Focus will enable future talent to focus on areas that are more relevant to the current business environment.

Considering the inclining trend towards digitalization of industries, it is necessary to produce talent that are equipped to support the digital agenda of organizations. Today we are witnessing organizations placing ICT professionals to drive the overall finance role.

Hence, collaboration and understanding business impact during this transformative era is paramount. FITIS, as the apex body of the ICT sector in the country who addresses all major segments within the ICT industry thus recognize the contribution CIMA would bring in with its Digital focus.

Fashion for Good, a global platform for innovation, commenced their South Asia Innovation Programme with the selection of 9 new innovators.

With innovations in raw materials, wastewater management, dyeing solutions, textile waste solutions, blockchain, AI and machine learning innovations, the first batch of regional start-ups join a global selection of start-ups at the cutting-edge who are driving the industry’s transformation towards a circular system.

The selected innovators in the first ever South Asia Innovation Programme batch are: AltMat, Block Texx, Descatuk, Indra, Infinichains, JSP Enviro, PurFi, Sasmira and Textile Genesis. Sixteen innovators from across the region attended the launch of the Fashion for Good South Asia Innovation Programme to pitch their innovations for the opportunity to join the Programme.

Over the next four months, the 9 innovators, will receive mentoring, bespoke coaching and support from Fashion for Good and its Corporate Partners, as well as access to a global network of partners and like-minded organisations, providing these innovators with the tools they need to grow. With the addition of the new innovators to its Programme, Fashion for Good is seeking to scale these promising innovations from and for this region with a particular focus in raw materials, wastewater management, dyeing solutions, textile waste solutions, blockchain, AI and machine learning innovations. Launch Partners Arvind and Welspun will provide support for these innovators in the form of local and manufacturing expertise and the possibility to partner on pilot projects to test the viability of their innovations in real-world, manufacturing processes.

“We are staunch ambassadors of industry-wide collaboration. With the launch of our regional Programme in South Asia we strengthen our network and position us to better serve local manufacturers, key supply chain actors, brands and innovators. By connecting them to our global network and leading players in the fashion ecosystem, we help the innovators’ solutions and technologies reach scale.” Katrin Ley, Managing Director – Fashion for Good

In June 2019, the Ministry of Health published the Food (Registration of Premises) Regulations 2019 which will come into effect in June 2020. This regulation set out the process of registering premises which manufacture, prepare, preserve, package, and store or offer for sale any food as specifically set out in the registration. Any establishment that holds a food safety management system equivalent to ISO 22000 or above is exempt from the regulations.

In preparation of this, Fonterra, the company behind the Anchor brand,has been conducting a series of advisory workshops over the past six months, in collaboration with the Public Health Inspectors’ Union, for its business partners. The company engaged over 170 owners and chefs of F&B establishments to help ensure compliance and prepare them for the change and have now conducted anotherseries of advisory workshops for over sixty consignment agents across the country.

Fonterra Brands Sri Lanka’s Roshan De Silva, General Manager Consumer, Food Services, Sales & Emerging Markets said,“Fonterra’s collaborative relationship with our consignment agents helps us ensure that the quality and integrity of our products are maintained throughout the supply chain. Through these advisory workshops, we look to furthersupport our partners across the industry in proactively establishing and maintaining uncompromising standards of food safety and quality, thus fulfilling our promise to our consumers.

“2019 was a big year for Fonterra’s global food safety and quality journey.One of our world-class innovations, the electronic traceability ‘Trace’ system is now in place globally after three and a half years of innovation, design and business transformation. Today, we’re able to efficiently trace the origin of each product batch within minutes.”

Speaking at the workshop, Noel Jayasuriya, a consignment agent based in the North Western Province, said,

“We appreciate Fonterra’s efforts to build awareness of the upcoming Premises Registration Regulation; consignment agents now have a better understanding of their responsibilities and can, thus, prepare in advance for this process change.”

Commenting on the initiative, Ilham Ali, representing a consignment agent in Badulla, said, “I was able to implement some of the things we learnt at the workshop and train our staff, which in turn helped us in our overall business operations.”

A. Ilongokoven, representing a consignment agent based in Negombo hailed Fonterra’s efforts and said, “Having worked with Fonterra Brands Sri Lanka for 35 years, I’m impressed by the dairy cooperative’s consistent efforts to continuously improve their partners’ food safety and quality systems; their recent workshop on the Premises Registration Regulation was one such helpful programme. The PHI explained the newly amended law for food safety and quality (FSQ).”

The ‘Technical Assistance to the Modernisation of Agriculture Programme in Sri Lanka’ (TAMAP) funded by the European Union and implemented by the consulting company, Ecorys Nederland B.V, is driven by its purpose in assisting the Government of Sri Lanka to move towards sustainable and productive agriculture.

TAMAP has supported the development of an electronic market place in agriculture in line with the Government’s e-agriculture strategy. As a result of this work “Govipola”, an agricultural trading platform and improved market information system has been launched on 28 January 2020 at the “Improved Market Information System for Agriculture in Sri Lanka” workshop held at the Mövenpick Hotel.

Developed by Croptronix, a Sri Lankan company, “Govipola” began as an online wantboard, which is a place where people post their text-based buy and sell offers in a way similar to the way newspaper ads work. Today the app, with over 15,000 generic downloads across the country, helps farmers in marketing their goods on a digital platform with easy access to real time market data. The app also offers convenience to buyers by providing options such as search filtering and notifications, and thereby shortening the otherwise lengthy process of finding goods.

As part of its continuous development process, the app is now ready to offer a match making engine allowing suppliers to easily connect with interested buyers. The interaction with a potential trading partner may happen via the app or a direct call using the call-to-action button embedded in the system. With this simple approach the app links the farmer directly to an exporter, trader or a consumer.

The app’s user-friendly interface, three-language support and dynamic alert system also proves to be of immense value to users. The order-matching feature allows the user to get his or her listing directly matched with a corresponding order without the need to perform a lengthy search and read through all the posts placed on the marketplace. Every matched order allows opening of a direct confirmation channel for trade in line with conditions agreed upon by the parties.

Commenting on the project, Frank Hess, Head of Cooperation of the EU Delegation to Sri Lanka said, “Worldwide there is interest in developing agricultural marketplaces online with the aim of helping farmers to connect more directly to markets in real time and help them make better deals.” The Govipola app helps farmers to market their goods to potential buyers while providing market information. This in turn helps to strengthen our goal of developing a vibrant agricultural sector in Sri Lanka.”

The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka decided to reduce the Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and the Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) of the Central Bank by 50 basis points to 6.50 per cent and 7.50 per cent, respectively, on Wednesday.

The Board arrived at this decision, following a careful analysis of current and expected developments in the domestic economy and the financial market as well as the global economy, stated in the CBSL press release.

The CBSL stated that,  “This decision supports a continued reduction in market lending rates, thereby facilitating the envisaged recovery in economic activity given the favourable medium term outlook for inflation, which is well anchored within the 4-6 per cent range”

A scheme for Sri Lankan banks to provide special credit support to SMEs this year should not have a material effect on banks’ credit profiles, Fitch Ratings says.

We believe that the scheme will prolong the resolution of non-performing loans only

until end-2020, and delay capital repayments this year, but banks’ improved liquidity due to a

slowdown in loan growth in 2019 should mitigate the effects.

The implications of the scheme for banks’ stocks of restructured loans are likely to be limited, given the amount of loan restructuring that has already taken place. Restructured loans increased to 3.6% of gross loans across Fitch-rated Sri Lankan banks at end-September 2019 from 1.8% at end-2018. Borrowers may still face difficulties repaying their obligations to banks unless Sri Lanka’s macro-economic environment improves by end-2020, when the scheme is set to end. However, Fitch expects GDP growth to pick up to 3.5% in 2020 from 2.8% in 2019, which should ease pressure on borrowers.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka launched the SME credit support scheme in January 2020, following several other measures from the authorities to stimulate economic growth through the banking sector, including a lending rate cap and an instruction to banks to cease recoveries on SME loans.

The scheme applies to SMEs in manufacturing, services, agriculture (including processing) or

construction, with annual turnover of Rs16 million-750 million in 2019 and total outstanding

loans of up to Rs 300 million at end-2019. It also covers loans to the tourism sector with a capital and interest moratorium until end-March 2020.

Banks must apply the scheme by 31 March. Borrowers covered by the scheme will still have to service loan interest while the scheme is in force, but banks must offer them a moratorium on capital repayments due in 2020 on all eligible Sri Lankan rupee loans. To the extent that banks have exposure to SMEs that take up this offer, their liquidity will be affected by the delay in capital repayments, but we do not expect liquidity shortfalls, particularly as liquidity is likely to have improved as a result of depressed loan growth in 2019. The scheme also helps eligible borrowers with non-performing loans by requiring banks to defer until end-2020 any new resolutions to recover loans and advances under the Recovery of Loans by Banks (Special Provisions) Act, No. 4 of 1990. This law normally allows banks to pass a board resolution to take possession of mortgaged properties and sell them. In cases where such

resolutions have already been passed, the SME credit support scheme requires banks to defer the auctioning of assets until end-2020.

This will prolong the unwinding of non-performing loans through the recovery of collateral, but only until end-2020. We expect banks’ asset quality to remain weak in 2020, with the resolution of non-performing loans likely to extend beyond 2020.

Sri Lankan mobile data charges are the seventh lowest in the world Group Chief Operating Officer of Dialog Axiata PLC, Dr. Rainer Deutschmann said in Colombo on Wednesday.

He said that due to the new tax initiatives that were offered to the Telco sector, Sri Lanka will be placed even lower : at the fifth position. He also said that this has also led to thin volumes of profit for them but they were content with the market space they were competing. Dialog Enterprise, the business solutions arm of Dialog Axiata PLC, also showcased its readiness to digitalize the financial sector of the country with cutting-edge solutions, further enhancing service offering to take its clientele on a steady growth trajectory.

The company announced this preparedness to the finance industry at the annual fellowship organized for the Banking, Finance & Insurance sector under the theme ‘Bridging the Digital Divide’. The event was held with the participation of CIOs, CTOs and IT Leads representing country’s financial sector.

The event featured the keynote delivered by Sachin Seth, Partner Digital, Fintech, Cloud & Tech. Transformation Leader, EY Advisory (Africa, India & the Middle East).

Highlighting the salient role telcos play in the digitalization drive of the financial sector, Sachin stated, ‘‘embracing a strategic, forward-looking business model is critical to survival and growth. Considering the maturity of mobile telecom companies in Sri Lanka, and their wider reach and penetration in comparison to the banking industry, there remains potential for Last Mile payment services gaining even greater traction in the country”.

In addition, he also discussed how telecos actively engage in serving financial service companies by bringing together services and providing innovative customer experiences.’’

A panel discussion with Group Chief Operating Officer of Dialog Axiata PLC, Dr. Rainer Deutschmann, The Chief Information Officer of Hatton National Bank PLC Ruwan Bakmeedeniya, General Manager of LFSBL Mihindu Rajaratne and The Chief Information Officer of Seylan Bank Harsha Wanigatunga was also held. (SS)

John Keells Holdings PLC reported a 2 percent growth in Group revenue during the third quarter of the year of Rs.37.46 billion compared to the Rs.36.55 billion recorded in the previous financial year.

Transportation, Consumer Foods, Retail and Financial Services industry groups recorded a growth in profits although overall Group performance was impacted by the Sri Lankan Leisure business and exchange losses at the Holding Company, the company said in a release.

The Group’s year-on-year performance for the quarter was impacted by the downturn in the Group’s Sri Lankan leisure business which continued to be impacted post the Easter Sunday terror attacks, exchange losses recorded at the Holding Company on its foreign currency denominated cash holdings compared to the significant exchange gains recorded in the previous year and lower finance income as a result of the deployment of cash in new investments.

“The Presidential Election was concluded in November 2019 and several policy and fiscal stimulus measures have been announced by the new Government which is expected to improve consumer sentiment and economic activity.

“We are encouraged that occupancy at our hotels has recovered faster than expected with forward bookings continuing to maintain an upward trend. As indicated in my Message in the previous quarter, occupancy in the peak season is in line with the previous year, albeit at a moderately lower room rate.

“Consumer Foods witnessed growth on account of an improved performance in the Beverages and Frozen Confectionery businesses driven by growth in volumes and a better sales mix.

“Retail performance was driven by robust revenue growth in the Supermarkets business, which was supported by a notable contribution from new outlets and strong growth in customer footfall.

“The installation of external facades, mechanical and electrical services and interior works are nearing completion for the Cinnamon Life Residential and Office Towers, as planned. The handover will commence with the Office tower from April 2020 onwards. The full completion of the project is on track for first half 2021.

“The foundation work of the “Tri-Zen” residential development project has now been completed with the super structure work in progress.

“Your Board declared a second interim dividend of Rs. 1.50 per share, to be paid on February 19, 2020 which is an increase from the previous two dividend payments of Rs.1 each per share, reflecting the positive momentum and outlook for the performance of our businesses,” the statement said.

Sri Lanka is bound to lose its big dream of becoming the maritime hub of the region if the country doesn’t wish to be a part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). BRI is seen as an opportunity in Sri Lanka and not seen as a major threat, said Professor Jayanath Colombage, Additional Secretary to the President (Foreign Relations).

Indian Ocean has become the focus of attention in 21st century.Everyone; major powers, aspiring major powers, residential, outside powers are interested in the Indian Ocean.

“There are a large number of strategic initiatives focusing on Indian Ocean and there are now connectivity initiatives focusing on Indian Ocean. Moreover, there are other parallel connectivity initiatives which are focusing on enhancing connectivity across the Indian Ocean.

BRI and all other Chinese projects in Sri Lanka attracted a lot of attention, both positively and negatively. Many countries have been focusing their attention on Sri Lanka and it has even led to a government change in Sri Lanka in 2015. China and Chinese projects were a major campaign factor in 2015 election,” Colombage told at a seminar held under the theme, ‘Belt and Road Initiative, Challenges and Way forward,’ at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Auditorium this week.

He said further the President has emphasised that Sri Lanka wishes to be a complete neutral country and maintain friendly relations with all sovereign countries in the world. Moreover, Sri Lanka don’t wish to be engaged in the major power game taking place in the India ocean.

“Also, Sri Lankan foreign policy dictates that we wish to uphold Sri Lanka’s ownership on all our national strategic assets as the result of the evolving functional geography and other commitments in Sri Lanka. We need the support of all connectivity initiatives to achieve Sri Lanka’s dream of becoming a maritime hub status,” Prof. Colombage said.

He added that unfortunately, Sri Lanka was engaged in branding its own assets in a negative manner.

“Now we need to benefit from what is available and we’ve to make it happen for the betterment of the country. In that sense BRI is seen as an opportunity and not as a threat .Also, we feel that many BRI related projects are beneficial, at the same time we feel that giving Hambantota Port to China Merchants Port Holdings is wrong .That’s why the president was compelled to say in future, no national strategic assets will be given to the total control of another country.

In economic terms, we need foreign Direct Investments, build –operate- transfer models, but the control of national assets can’t be given as long as this government will be in power.” Prof. Colombage emphasised.

The government would not change the current tax structure for the next five years Commissioner General Inland Revenue, Nadun Guruge said.

He said that the Secretary to the President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Dr. P. B. Jayasundara met him on Tuesday and instructed that the current tax concessions that were offered should not be changed. “This is first done to install investor confidence in the country and Sri Lanka was famous for adopting ad hoc tax changes. “Due to these regular changes both foreign and local investors have second thoughts in investing in Sri Lanka and It even had a negative impact on exports.”

Several openings were expresses that the current tax concessions that were offered would be reversed after the forthcoming elections and now I can say that these tax concessions are there to stay for the next five years. He said that for an example tax on cars were changed several times and now the government assures that there would not be such adhoc changes in the next five years.” By maintaining a clear and long term tax structure we expect more investments in the future.”

Asked to comment on the reduction of PAYE tax for employees he said that the revenue generated from it in 2019 was around Rs. 48 billion with over 85% of them from the private sector.”I will meet the government banking sector and request them to explore the possibility of requesting the employees who benefit from this scheme to reinvent their saving in banks rather than using them for consumption and other leisure actives.

He also said that there still gray areas in widening the tax net where some professionals like doctors lawyers, teachers and whole sellers in Pettah do not pay taxes. “This is because they do not provide a bill for their service and we have no way of tracing them. We are still looking at proving a solution to net them in and will talk with government in this regard.”

He also said that Sri Lanka tax structure is still one of the most economical in the world. “We are not taxing the people as many other countries do.”

Commenting on the double taxations he said Sri Lanka has this facility with 46 nations and soon they will increase this to 8 other countries.

These include United Kingdom, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Maldives, Austria and Cyprus.

“This too would help the country to woo more business opportunities.” He said that they successfully negotiated with Turkey to implements the double tax agreements.

During the talks we also observed the wide potential which Sri Lanka has to export tea to Turkey as their citizens consume around 20 cups per day. “However there is a 145% duty on tea imports to Turkey and this is a major issue for local tea exports to Turkey.”

vivo Mobile Lanka hosted the Regional Distributors Meeting for the 3rd Quarter of 2019, recently at the Union Ballroom of the Hilton Colombo Residencies, Colombo.

The event commemorated the outstanding service of the vivo’s Regional Distributors all across Sri Lanka.

Hosted under the theme, “Together for Excellence” the meeting addressed the importance of togetherness to achieve excellence and how it impacts the sales achievements. The top performing regional distributors and were recognized during the meeting and rewarded for the work of excellence, determination and sacrifice. Regional distributors are generally responsible for managing the distribution operations and functions within an organization.

“Distributors are an important asset for the vivo brand being recognized amongst the potential local mobile users. Abans PLC being the national distributor has increased the availability of vivo mobile devices all across Sri Lanka. Therefore, we were thrilled to use the Q3 meeting as an avenue to commend their service,” stated Kevin Jiang, CEO, vivo Mobile Lanka.

The event also featured the brand’s vision and objectives for the year 2020 in Sri Lankan context. “vivo is positive on elevating the company higher than the previous decade and becoming a house-hold brand name amongst the Sri Lankan smart device users,” added Jiang. The meeting was followed by an evening of cocktails and discussions involving participants from vivo-Abans Management, regional distributors along with vivo and Abans staff.

vivo thrives on their brand mission and is consistently seeking to make the consumers’ lives extraordinary and transcendent through introducing innovative and creative technology and being a trendsetter in the new decade. The technology is developed with great innovative thinking to solve user pain points and distinguish themselves from other brands.

Emirates has announced its plan to launch a new daily service from Dubai (DXB) to Penang International Airport (PEN), via Singapore (SIN), from 9 April 2020.

Emirates’ flight to Penang will be a linked service with Singapore, allowing passengers to travel easily between the two cities while enjoying the airline’s award-winning service.

Penang will become Emirates’ second destination in Malaysia after its capital, Kuala Lumpur, which the airline currently serves with three flights a day and is a route that has been operating since 1996. The flight will be operated by an Emirates Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a three-class configuration, offering eight private suites in First Class, 42 lie flat seats in Business Class and 304 spacious seats in Economy Class.

The new route enables travellers from the Northern cities of Malaysia to enjoy convenient onward connections from Dubai to destinations in Europe, North America and the Middle East.

Located on the North-western coast of Malaysia, the state comprises a mainland portion as well as an island, connected by Malaysia’s two longest roadbridges. Penang is the country’s second largest populated city and is known for its rich heritage and architecture, vibrant multicultural society, modern entertainment and retail options, cuisine as well as the natural beauty of its beaches and hills. The city is home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a variety of tourist attractions. Besides its appeal to tourists, Penang is also considered to be an economic powerhouse in Malaysia, being an important trade and industrial city and attracting business travellers from around the globe.

“Penang is a major centre for tourism, business travel, as well as medical tourism and the increased levels of inbound travel is consistent with the growth in numbers of visitors to the country. We have been serving Malaysia through our flights to Kuala Lumpur for more than 20 years, with three-times daily service, and the introduction of flights to Penang will help us meet growing demand from leisure and business travellers, both to and from Malaysia. We are also pleased that the fifth freedom flights between Penang and Singapore will connect two sister cities and increase connectivity for passengers in South East Asia,” said Adnan Kazim, Chief Commercial Officer at Emirates.

Customers across all cabin classes can look forward to industry-leading features and levels of comfort when travelling with Emirates, from its multinational cabin crew, including Malaysian nationals, to enjoying over 4,500 channels of on demand audio and visual entertainment from the latest movies, music and games on its ice system, as well as regionally-inspired meals and complimentary beverages. Families are also well catered for with dedicated products and services to enable hassle-free travel with children.

Frequently imported commodities to Malaysia include pharmaceuticals, fashion goods, perishable goods including food items and fresh flowers. The route will also support import and export opportunities for Singapore, connecting the world through Dubai and between Singapore and Penang.

Abans Auto, a leading player in the automobile business in Sri Lanka and a member of the Abans Group of companies, recently announced their partnership with Hyundai Motor Company of Korea as an Authorized Distributor of Hyundai vehicles in Sri Lanka.

Abans Auto is currently offering two compact Hyundai SUV’s the “Venue” and the “Tucson” and to represent the electric segment vehicles, Hyundai offers the “Kona” (a mid-sized E-SUV)and “Ioniq” (E-Sedan car).

Abans Auto was incorporated in 2011 with the vision of fulfilling the dreams of Sri Lankans with affordable vehicles from reputed vehicle manufacturers. To facilitate the dreams coming true, Abans Auto tied up with Abans Finance to provide easy leasing facilities to those who desire to purchase a new Hyundai vehicle from Abans Auto.

Abans Finance PLC was established in 2006 with their principal lines of financing being Leasing, Hire Purchase, Mortgage Loans, Personal Loans, Real Estate Development and acceptance of Time and Savings Deposits.

The company operates nine branches, nine customer centres and four kiosks and also reaches out to customers through Abans’ strong island-wide network of showrooms. Recently the company announced the fully paper-less PO which is an industry first that offers customers the convenience of faster service without the hassle of heavy documentation.

Abans Auto is a leading automotive retailer in Sri Lanka with over 200 touch points island-wide. The company also specializes in the assembly, marketing and distribution of two and three-wheelers and is the exclusive distributor for Hero MotoCorp, TVS three wheelers, Vespa and Aprilia.

Abans Hyundai Collision Repair Center located at Nuge Road, Peliyagoda is installed with the latest hi-tech equipment to handle any type of accident, painting and refinishing work on cars and SUVs, and repair your vehicle to its original state. Their services include Insurance Repairs approved through reputed Insurance Companies, repairing scratched and dented areas and repainting to its original state, Body Polishing and Waxing and Body Styling. Abans Auto also has workshops in Panadura and Kurunegala to cater to customers’ service needs.

During the past decade the automobile landscape of the country witnessed a strong growth in small vehicles. Now ten years on, many people are looking to upgrade their small vehicles to bigger and faster ones such as compact SUVs like the Hyundai Venue which is high value for money.

Abans Group was established 50 years ago for the retailing of electrical home appliances and today has diversified into 30 independent companies in different lines of business and services. The simple business approach of the group is to ‘keep enhancing the tomorrow of every Sri Lankan’, an ideology which they have continued to maintain through the diversified facets of their businesses.

AIA Sri Lanka recently wrapped up the AIA Healthy Cook-Off for employees, a first of its kind at AIA Sri Lanka.

This was a ‘healthy cooking competition’ that was part of the larger ‘Little Changes Challenge’ (LCC) launched by AIA to encourage people to make little changes that can make a big difference.

The Healthy Cook-Off, which was organized specially for AIA’s employees, saw 12 teams comprising 5 chefs each, competing for the winning spot. Teams whipped up colourful, fresh healthy salads and delicious mains, which were judged by renowned and respected local Chef Chathurika Anuradha. Congratulations to team BanCooks, from the Bancassurance team for serving the best dishe(s) and winning a mountain bike each!

The heathy cook-off was organized as part of AIA Sri Lanka’s second phase of the LCC launch and was intended at engaging employees with LCC and strengthening employee belief and commitment to AIA’s promise of healthier, longer, better lives.

The initiative further aimed at inculcating AIA’s brand promise as top-of-mind for employees, so they can be ambassadors that take forth the message of healthy living.

AIA’s objective was to create excitement and engagement amongst employees with the promise of a healthier, longer, better life while showing how easy it can be to make little changes towards a healthier life. Yes, the competition was a cook-off which encouraged healthy recipes, which you can take home and make for the family. But it was much more than that. It was a testimony to AIA’s commitment to help employees innovate, collaborate and create as emissaries that help others and themselves lead healthier, longer, better lives.

Displaying goodwill and appreciation to NSBM Green University and its many efforts to Drive the nation towards a knowledge-based economy, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, paid a courtesy visit to the university premises in Homagama ast week.

The Prime Minister was welcomed by Prof. E.A. Weerasinghe Vice-Chancellor, NSBM and The Management. The Minister of Higher Education, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Bandula Gunawardane also participated.

This visit is significant as it’s the first visit to NSBM, a project which commenced under his Presidency in 2011.

The Prime Minister appreciated the efforts of NSBM Green University in continuously elevating the standards of higher education in order to align with The country’s need of the hour – intellectual empowerment, whilst being a self-financed Government-owned institute.

The Vice-Chancellor also briefed the Prime Minister on the University’s future plans and expansions, as it begins constructions in another 16 acres of Land, adjoining the current premises, which shall encompass a School of Nursing, in addition To Faculties of Law and Humanities.

Highlights from the PM visit to NSBM

Domestic airline operator FitsAir would be launching schedule flights to the Jaffna International Airport from Ratmalana on February 1.

The frequency would be three flights a week operating on Monday Wednesday and Saturday. The airline would use a modern 72- seater ATR 72 aircraft for this operation. T. Z. Mohamed Ishan from FitsAir Passenger Aircraft Marketing said that they will also look at a daily operation soon.

“The airline set up in 1997 has been providing a service of the highest quality whilst adhering to the most stringent safety standards and we plan to add Batticaloa to our radar soon.” (SS)

Sri Lanka can be the live lab of future mobility technology in the region, said Sheran Fernando-Chairman, the Ceylon Motor Traders Association.

Speaking on Current Developments in Sustainable Mobility and Business Opportunities in Sri Lanka, at the First German-Sri Lankan Conference on Sustainable Mobility held in Colombo yesterday, Fernando stressed the need to find innovative ways to give a further flip to local transport industry and added that key issues such as congestion, pollution, high cost in fuel, that grapple the growth of the industry to a great extent should be addressed and solved in a cost effective manner to achieve set industry targets.

Moreover, he said his association will give inputs to the government as to how both countries, Sri Lanka and Germany could work together to make a significant improvement on local transport sector.

Also he stressed the need to explore how German manufacturing capabilities and Sri Lanka’s geographical positioning could help both economies go forward.

“We just need to find possible ways of establishing that,” Fernando said.

Fernando also described mobility as an intermodal transport platform that will get people from anywhere using multiplicity of service.

“Going forward, we could link India with this platform. So we could travel regionally on this platform. This technology will bring us into a platform, where we can then go towards autonomous, connected, electric and shared mobility. That’s where the world of transportation is going,”Fernando noted.

Presenting a model that comprises three components which include policy, platform and product, he said these three components should work simultaneously in a planned manner to solve problems of congestion, pollution and high cost in fuel in Sri Lanka .

“The best partner for us to deal with these issues is Germany. However, their solutions won’t be the cheapest but they’re robust, and are of high quality. So ultimately their technological capabilities will bring value to the Sri Lankan economy in a big way. Furthermore he added the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) project will bring in necessary hardware and platform for shared mobility in Sri Lanka.

“Personally, I’m supportive of it. It will help modenising Sri Lankan transport sector in a big way.” He also pointed out the necessity to encourage the transport of goods via rail, water in Sri Lanka.

“And we should be again leaning on countries like Germany to develop the policy for autonomous vehicles when the technology is ready. In terms of policy collaborations; I see a lot of opportunities for Germany and Sri Lanka to work together. The issue of pollution and congestion needs today’s solution.” he said.

As the official representative of German business in Sri Lanka, the delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Sri Lanka (AHK Sri Lanka) had organized this event on the occasion of a German high-ranking business delegation, which was attended by about 100 decision makers from politics and business.

Chief Delegate of German Industry and Commerce in Sri Lanka, Andreas Hergenroether who is currently on a fact finding mission in Sri Lanka speaking at the event stated: ”We are very delighted that we have today world market leaders such as business giants Siemens, MAN and MTU together with worldwide recognized German SMEs such as HPC, Pfeiffer Drako, WPS and Hartmann and Koenig presenting state of the art solutions focused on the saving of energy saving and the reduction of polluting emissions. German companies could be strategic partners of Sri Lanka in the different fields of mobility such as ports, airports, E-mobility and public transports”.

AHK Sri Lanka is part of the German Chamber network, 142 offices worldwide representing about 3, 6 million German member companies. AHK Sri Lanka supports German and Sri Lankan companies in the same way with its strong commitment to fair business, a level playing field, transparency and free trade.

The Standard Chartered SDG Investment Map reveals an almost USD10 trillion (USD9.668 trillion) opportunity for private-sector investors across all emerging markets, with Sri Lanka representing USD16.2 billion of that total.

The study identifies opportunities for the private sector to contribute to three infrastructure-focused goals between now and 2030: SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy and SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure across emerging markets.

The greatest opportunity in Sri Lanka is found in achieving and maintaining universal access to electricity (a key SDG 7 indicator), representing a USD7.3 billion private-sector investment opportunity. This takes into account the proportion of the Sri Lankan population currently without access to electricity (2 per cent), projected population growth, and the growing demand for power as the economy develops.

For SDG 9, which encourages improvement in industry, innovation and infrastructure, Opportunity2030 highlights private sector investment opportunities in transport and improving digital access. Securing full digital adoption in Sri Lanka – a combination of mobile phone subscription rates and internet connectivity would require private sector investment of around USD4.1 billion. To significantly improve Sri Lanka’s transport infrastructure by 2030 provides a USD4.6 billion investment opportunity for the private sector. Bingumal Thewarathanthri, Chief Executive Officer at Standard Chartered Sri Lanka said,

“Sri Lanka’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) make it an attractive prospect for the private sector to invest with impact. The government is looking to increase public-private collaboration and its Vision 2025 programme aligns with the SDGs, demonstrating the commitment to the goals.

“Opportunity2030 reveals the opportunities private sector investors have to make a difference in achieving the SDGs. These findings show that in Sri Lanka there is a chance to have a real impact on millions of people’s lives over the next decade.”

Chinese outbound investment in Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries will reach up to $ 500 billion and Chinese tourists going abroad is expected to reach 700 million in coming five years.

China has invested more than $ 70 billion in countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road initiative since its inception in 2013, with commodity trade exceeding $ 5 trillion.

“China has set up 75 overseas economic and trade cooperation zones with an investment exceeding $ 27 billion and created jobs for more than 200,000 local people,” Prof. Yiwei Wang School of International Studies, Director of the Institute of International Affairs, Director of the Center for European Studies and Senior Fellow at Yang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China told at a seminar held under theme, ‘Belt and Road Initiative, Challenges and Way forward,’

The event was held at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka.

Prof. Wang said further that BRI will reduce shipping times for both BRI and for non BRI economies.

The largest estimated gains are for the trade routes connecting East and South Asia along the corridors that are part of the BRI. Shipping times among countries in the China -Central Asia -West Asia economic corridor will also decline by 12 percent due to the improved transport.

“It features the 21st century version of cinematography and also it links projects into lines, and lines will grow into belts, zones and economies of prosperity. A good road can begin good things,” he said.

BRI is a transportation network in the Eurasian area and beyond. In addition, digital Silk Road has been initiated to help partner countries to bridge the digital gap and inject new impetus into the digital transformation of countries along the route.

China’s Silk Road fund inked 19 projects with committed investment of $7 billion.

According to the World Bank’s Report on Belt and Road Economics: Opportunities and Risks of Transport Corridor, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) could help lift 7.6 million people from extreme poverty and 32 million people from moderate poverty.

Sri Lanka tourism which is recovering from the Easter Sunday blasts is poised for a major setback with over 20,000 cancelations expected from China due to the Coronavirus.

Already one Chinese national who was touring Sri Lanka from January 19 to 24 with a Chinese Travel group of 24 was tested positive for the virus and was hospitalized at IDH.

Acting Managing Director Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau and Director PR, Madhubani Perera said that this was the peak season for tourist arrivals from China due to their new year and due to lockdowns on several Chinese cities Sri Lanka would see a dip of around 20,000 arrivals this year.”

In addition the immediate removal of ‘free visa on arrival’ facility to Chinese tourists would also be a negative factor for Chinese arrivals. She also disclosed that Sri Lanka would stop the free visa on arrival facility from January 31 for 44 countries. “We had made a proposal to the Cabinet requesting to extend this facility until April 31 but no approval were received and hence the facility would be automatically terminated from 31.”

The Immigration Department said that they lost several billions of rupees due to the free visa facility which was USD 35 per person.

Meanwhile President of Tourist Hotels Association (THASL) Sanath Ukwatte said that the country should not panic as most of the countries have found Coronavirus infected patients including 5 patients in Singapore. “The Social media and several parties with vested interests are trying to plant stories and create panic via social media.” Sri Lanka was following World Health Organization guide lines and the industry was happy about it. He however said that there would be a negative impact from the Corona virus but added that it would not be long term.

Currently there are around 800 Chinese tourists in Sri Lanka.

“The Chinese group where the victim was detected was on a round trip and they stayed in four star class hotels,” an official from Sri Lanka Inbound Tour Operators (SLITO) said. He said that due to privacy issues the IDH hospital was not releasing the name of the guest and due to this the hotels whose names are mentioned in on social media find it difficult to check in which room, the victim stayed.

“However most of the hotels where the group had stayed (as mentioned in social media) have contacted the Medical Officer of Health (MOH) and taken counter measures to curb the virus and to date no other guests or staff have been reported of having the virus.”

He said that the outbound market to China too would be affected as group travel is been restricted.

SriLankan Airlines said that they have no immediate plans to stop flights to China. However Chinese airlines flying to Colombo commented that they are studying the situation and would take a decision later. The Colombo airport has also tooken counter measures on the instructions of Health Minister Pavithra Vanniarachchi who visited the airport last morning. No visitors other than the passenger would be allowed to come to the airport. In addition a special area has been designated for Chinese tourists.

A special medical team has been deployed at the Bandaranaike International Airport in order to conduct tests on passengers who arrive from China.

However scanner machines have not been installed at the Jaffna International Airport, a hotelier from Jaffna said.

Tokyo (CNN) — The phone lines at Kamome, a Tokyo-based travel agency that specializes in tours for Chinese travelers, haven’t stopped buzzing for the last three days.

On Sunday, China announced a ban on outbound group travel as part of its battle to stop the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus, which has killed 82 people and infected 2,700 in the country.

That has caused cancellation mayhem for Kamome’s staff as more than 20,000 of the company’s Chinese package tour customers pulled the plug on all trips to Japan up to February 10.

With Japan receiving approximately 9.6 million visitors from China in 2019, accounting for a third of foreign tourist expenditure in the country, speculation is growing around the ramifications the travel ban will have on Japan’s tourism industry and economy.

“We are concerned about the decrease in Chinese tourists, but we cannot foresee the outcome as it depends on how long the (Chinese) policy lasts,” Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO) spokeswoman, Shiho Himuro, told CNN.

This isn’t the first time staff at Kamome have dealt with cancellation mayhem. Back in 2003, the fatal severe respiratory syndrome (SARS) -- which first appeared in southern China -- also prompted a slate of cancellations that staff said they eventually overcame.

In another area of Tokyo, there are concerns for those in Wuhan who have been directly affected by the coronavirus.

“We just hope that this situation gets resolved quickly,” says a spokesperson from Hankyo Travel International, a major Tokyo travel agency.

While it’s often news of diplomatic spats between China and Japan that make headlines, in recent years the growing number of Chinese visiting Japan for holidays has shifted attitudes, tastes and foreign policy.

Susantha Ratnayake, Chairman of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka held discussions with a delegation of senior diplomats from Slovenia visiting Sri Lanka.

The delegation was led by Marjan Cencen Ambassador of Slovenia to Sri Lanka based in New Delhi and Mateja Vodeb Ghosh, Minister Plenipotentiary. The ambassador had visited Sri Lanka to present his credentials to the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and also to explore greater opportunity for economic co-operation. The delegation also had several meetings organized by Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ambassador Cencen expressed willingness to build up economic relations between Slovenia and Sri Lanka adding that Slovenia was interested in a two way co-operation where both countries would mutually benefit.

Slovenia was interested in developing investment in specific projects. Though a small country Slovenia is a member of the European Union, the World’s largest trading block and also part of the Euro currency Zone. In addition as a member of the Schengen Zone, Slovenia offers travel advantages.

The BOI Chairman was assisted by Nilupul De Silva (Director – Promotion) and Dilip S Samarasinghe (Director – Media & Publicity). The visit to the BOI was co-ordinated by Hasanthi Dissanayake, Director (Travel Ocean Affairs, Environment and Climate Change) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Currently there is about $ 8 million worth of bilateral trade between Sri Lanka and Slovenia, but many more advantages can be accrued since Slovenia is a gateway to Germany and enjoys strong relations with certain key Asian countries such as Korea. The Ambassador stated that Korean Hyundai Cars are infact assembled in Slovenia and exported to European Union countries.

The BOI Chairman Susantha Ratnayake expressed some of the ideas and goals of the Government of Sri Lanka. He briefed the Slovenian delegation of the President’sstrategic goal to develop the assimilation of smart technology in Sri Lanka which would lead to an increase in the country’s level of digitalization.

He also spoke of the Government’s plans to develop sources of renewable energy and make it the Country’s leading energy source by 2030. Sri Lanka also stood to gain from growing Chinese investments, in the light of recent global tensions in the area of trade. Sri Lanka’s advantage as stated by the Chairman was that the country enjoyed friendly relations with all countries and also enjoyed market access through Free Trade Agreements with India, Pakistan and Singapore.

In the course of the discussion a number of key sectors were identified and discussed as areas of possible co-operation in the future. These included pharmaceutical, where Slovenia does have a strong industry and which Sri Lanka is eager to develop as part of an import substitution policy. Slovenia is also strong in the area of renewable energy and could share some of its experience with Sri Lanka.

Furthermore, the European country has set up a center for artificial intelligence at its capital, Ljubljana. Other areas of co-operation discussed include the manufacture of car parts and co-operation in the field of tourism. Both sides agreed to promote greater economic ties in the future.

 MillionSpaces, an online marketplace was the first Runner-Up for the highly-coveted ‘Best Disruptor Award’ at the annual ‘Innovation Awards and Gala 2019’, hosted by SLASSCOM at the Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo recently.

The awards recognize and celebrate innovators across a range of award categories in the knowledge solutions industry. MillionSpaces was selected out of 100 submissions for the awards, which were distributed in seven categories of which, the ‘Best Disruptor Award’ was one of the most keenly contested. Having disrupted the events booking industry in Sri Lanka, MillionSpaces is currently poised to live in Singapore, successfully, onboarding hundreds of venues in preparation for its launch to Singapore’s citizens in March 2020.

Prasath Nanayakkara, Chairman and CEO of MillionSpaces says, “The SLASCOM awards are the premier Tech Innovation Awards for the Sri Lankan IT and BPM Industry and we are proud to be selected as one of the winners. Technology should empower and simplify people’s lives which is exactly what MillionSpaces does by transforming the traditional event space bookings. Every space is curated by the MillionSpaces team with an eye for tasteful design, negating the multitude of phone calls otherwise necessary to find the perfect space that fits both budget and location.”

Ganatharan Jeyakumar, Co-Founder, MillionSpaces, says, “To win this accolade from amongst some notable competition has boosted our confidence, ahead of the launch of MillionSpaces in Singapore.”

Colombo School of Business & Management CSBM has organized a seminar on “Keeping up with the future of work – are we ready?” which is conducted by Dilani Alagaratnam who is the former president Group HR Legal Sustainability and ERM for John Keells Holdings. It will be held on January 30 from 9 am to 11.30 am at CSBM.

This is an important area of discussion and knowledge sharing tailored to meet the growing demands made on an institution to re-invent themselves to stay ahead and have work forces ready to meet challenges and overcome them.

Alagaratnam was a long standing member of the Group Executive Committee of John Keells Holdings PLC until her retirement in December 2019. In this role she was responsible for the Human Resources, Legal and Secretarial, Corporate Communications, Sustainability and Enterprise Risk Management, Group Initiatives, CSR functions of the Group and also its Social Responsibility Project. She also overlooked the business of John Keells Office Automation. At the time of her retirement she was a Director of Union Assurance PLC and several unlisted companies within the John Keells Group.A lawyer by profession, she has been with John Keells Holdings PLC since 1992 and is a law graduate and a holder of a Masters Degree in Law. Currently, she is also the Chairperson of the Legislation Sub Committee of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, and a director of Ceylon Chamber of Commerce -ICLP Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre and Womens’ Fund Asia.She has also been the Chairperson of the HR & Education sub Committee of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, a Council member of the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors and a director of ICTA. She has received many accolades in her career including being chosen 10th and 15th most influential women leaders by in 2 issues of the Echelon Magazine and Career Woman Role Model of the Year 2014/15 by Women in Management.

CSBM is a certificate awarding institution registered under the Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission of Sri Lanka (TVE) (Amendment) Act No 50 of 1999. All our educational programmes are in compliance with the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) approved Sri Lanka Qualification Framework (SLQF). CSBM was established with the patronage of prominent corporate leaders and institutions in Sri Lanka intending to promote a novelty in higher education, professional, executive training, career development, research, business support and consultancy. CSBM has successfully built international partnerships with AIT Extension in Bangkok, University of Lincoln UK and INSEAD Singapore, an European commission registered research and innovation centre.

The main objective of CSBM is to create a varied and inspiring learning environment in order to enhance the learners usual ways of doing business, thereby influencing them to explore new ways of thinking to face today’s global business challenges.

Commercial Development Company PLC, a subsidiary of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon was awarded the title of ‘Asia’s Most Trusted Company’ in the Real Estate category in Sri Lanka for 2019 by International Brand Consulting Corporation (IBCC) of USA, a multinational business consulting and market research firm.

Commercial Development Company PLC was among about 50 selected companies adjudged Asia’s Most Trusted Companies from more than 1000 companies all over Asia in different industries.

Asia’s Most Trusted Companies Awards distinguish leaders in different industry categories based on current year marketing standing. The awards recognise the achievements of organisations that have demonstrated exceptional business performance without undermining their integrity and helped in shaping society at large. The titles are won by organisations from diversified business segments that have played a significant role in the growth and success of the Asian economy.

Organisations that won these premier corporate awards underwent an evaluation process based on overall market share, quality of products or services, innovation, workplace culture, leadership, business ethics, governance, corporate social responsibility, reputation and other such factors. Hard work, success, creativity and responsibility are some of the areas celebrated by the accolades.

Headquartered in USA, International Brand Consulting Corporation provides consulting to companies interested in increasing profits, sales, and revenue, or aiming to start new ventures. It is the trusted advisor to many of the world’s leading businesses and institutions. The insights and quality services it provides help build trust and assurance in the capital markets and in economies across the globe.

Incorporated in 1980, Commercial Development Company PLC based in Colombo engages in property development business, offers premises for rent, vehicle hiring and outsourcing of utility services to the Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC.

Sri Lanka’s premier Construction Expo bringing together both local and international suppliers and service organizations in the Building, Construction, Engineering and Architecture industry will be held from March 20 t0 22 at BMICH from 10 am to 8 pm each day.

Organized and managed by Lanka Exhibition and Conference Services (Pvt) Ltd, in collaboration with the Ceylon Institute of Builders (CIOB), for the 8th consecutive year, the organizers hope it would be the platform in which the future development of the industry would take place.

Our ancient forefathers were expert builders. Centuries later we still witness the formidable structures they built, motivated by an indomitable will to succeed as a nation. We have been dazzled by their colossal reservoirs, majestic citadels, magnificent temples and villages that resonate with the original blueprints of eco friendly systems. These monumental buildings also had incorporated security systems and an atmosphere conducive for a healthy lifestyle. Many of these historic sites are venerated for their holistic aura and engineering excellence within Asia.

Construction Expo 2020 is the perfect platform where builders, architects, suppliers and customers can meet in an environment where everyone is guaranteed success. It is more than a conventional business exhibition: it is a venue where aspirations become a tangible reality. It is the venue where construction design and customers desire meet in a blissful symphony that will produce positive results.

In addition there will be service providers of the following roofing systems. Floor tiles, wall tiles, lights & fittings, sanitary ware, air conditioning, IT systems, safety & security systems, doors & windows, paints, solar & thermal products, heavy machinery and transportation. These suppliers will be augmented with the presence of finance & banking professionals. There will be foreign suppliers joining the exhibition and enriching the event.

Gold Sponsors of the event are Sirocco Air Technologies (Pvt) Ltd and KDI International (INGCO). JLanka Technologies (Pvt) Ltd is the Silver Sponsor for the event while the Tool Partner is Outside Edge Solutions (Pvt) Ltd (MODECO) Construction Partner is Lex Duco (Pvt) Ltd. The Print Media Partner is Associated Newspapers of Ceylin Limited. The Digital Media Partner is Multi Creative Solutions while Logistic Partner is Famous Pacific Shipping Lanka (Pvt) Ltd.