Rotating Savings and Credit Associations and the Finance Business Act No. 42 of 2011Cheetu or Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (RoSCAs) are the world over a well-recognised method of savings and capital accumulation for the poor and marginalised. Advocate E.B. Wikramanayake B.A., in his Legal Dictionary for Ceylon (1948 Edition) describes a cheetu club as ...

Sampath Bank with effect from 1 January has got a new Chairman and several new youthful additions to its Board of Directors. The Bank announced on Friday that at a Board of Directors meeting held on 29 December Chairman I.W. Senanayake decided to step down with effect from 31 December. Whilst accepting this decision the ...

IRIN: Sri Lanka is making progress in the battle against mosquito-borne dengue fever, say health officials.  “Over the last two years we have gone all out to stop the spread of dengue,” Pabha Palihawadana, head of the Health Ministry’s Epidemiology Unit, told IRIN. “Now we are seeing some of the results.” In 2011, 26,722 cases ...

Wide ranging and strong participation at ‘Sri Lanka Expo 2012’ by Indian industries and businesses have now been confirmed. Meanwhile, leading Indian investors are planning to pioneer rural BPO in Sri Lanka and are also eyeing Sri Lanka’s mini hydro power, pharmaceutical manufacturing and infrastructure sectors, including Colombo’s upcoming MRTS (Mass Rapid Transit System),...

A delegation led by S. Gopalakrishnan, Vice President, Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) met Export Development Board (EDB) Chairman and CEO Janaka Ratnayake yesterday. The delegation comprised 13 members of CII and among them there were high powered person of renowned brands in Sri Lanka, ICICI Bank, TVS and Sons Ltd., etc. The main business ...

Seylan Bank recently re-defined the concept of savings, in an initiative hitherto not seen in Sri Lanka’s banking and financial services industry, by literally ‘dropping’ Rs. 1 million from the skies and parallely supported by a door-to-door campaign. On Saturday 22 October helicopters hovered over different parts of Sri Lanka and dropped thousands of coupons ...

In 2011, leading Sri Lankan conglomerate CIC Holdings found itself at a crossroads: although the company had become synonymous with chemicals and paints, its dynamic growth was increasingly driven by its agricultural businesses, creating a disconnect in the minds of consumers. The brand was in urgent need of more than just a fresh coat of ...

By Devin Jayasundera National Savings Bank (NSB) last week re-launched several of its flagship products, including Hapan, Ithuru Mithuru, Sthree, Prarthana, NSB Housing Loans, Pension Plus, Ran Sahana and Auto Loan to ensure an aggressive market presence in the Sri Lankan retail banking sector. NSB, the third largest in the country, holds accounts for seven ...

After seven successive and successful forums, the Accounting Forum 2011, organised by the Accountancy Students’ Association University of Kelaniya (ASAK), is to be held for the eighth consecutive time on 8 December at Ceylon Intercontinental Hotel Colombo from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Accounting Forum 2011 is an annual event organised at a grand level, ...

By Ian The President in his speech at the opening of the Southern Expressway said that this could be the beginning of building a modern society. He also mentioned that had there been such an expressway linking the north with the south the extremists would not have succeeded in capitalising on the mistrust among communities. ...

Merchants who are facing challenges in improving sales and enhancing brand visibility have been offered a zero-risk, cost-effective solution with the launch of www.mydeal.lk, one of Sri Lanka’s latest and fastest growing ‘daily deals’ websites. Within two weeks of its launch, the website of MyDeal.lk (Pvt) Ltd. had attracted approximately 12,000 fans on Facebook – ...

Having launched Sri Lanka’s first-ever equity investments and financial information portal, Sri Lanka Equity Analytics (www.srilankaequity.com) recently celebrated its successive second year of operations by reaching the milestone of 5,000 registered online memberships and over five million hits. Sri Lanka Equity Analytics is a financial portal designed to address varying needs of the invest...

Arrenga Capital Research takes a deeper look at Budget 2012 and impact on select listed companies 1. A challenging deficit target – 6.2% of GDP in 2012 I. Government revenue targeted to grow by 20.2% YoY to Rs. 1,126.1 b (14.7% of GDP) II. Total Government expenditure to rise 14.1% YoY to Rs. 1,594.9 b ...

By Chamitha Kuruppu The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna claims spending Rs. 265 billion on an 11-day extravaganza is intolerable for an economically ailing country like Sri Lanka. Addressing a media briefing the JVP warned that the aftermath of hosting the 2018 Commonwealth Games would not be rosy as the Rajapaksa administration predicts According to JVP Propaganda ...

Seylan Bank has further expanded its rewards portfolio for its thousands of Seylan SURE customers all over Sri Lanka with Thagi Pita Thagi. Seylan SURE is a specially crafted scheme which brings gifts and cash rewards to all current and normal savings (both individual and joint) account holders customers who maintain a minimum balance of ...

Reuters: Residents fled Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, on Thursday after authorities warned the city would soon be flooded and called a special five-day holiday to let people escape. Traffic in central Bangkok was light as the holiday began but a main road out of the city to the flood-free south was jammed. Many people were heading ...

The courage the Government has demonstrated in cancelling the CATIC deal and yet feeling secure, rather than embarrassed by it, must be recognised. It is a responsible step, a prudent decision, which will have enduring benefit both in terms of national policy and FDI strategy. This step will also earn the respect of the indigenous ...

Re-invigourates total concept of banking rewards schemes in Sri Lanka with a truly unique proposition Seylan Bank on Monday re-invigourated the concept of banking rewards schemes in Sri Lanka with the launch of its mega Seylan Thagi Pita Thagi rewards scheme, a one-of-a-kind rewards scheme that offers dual benefits and reward structures. Acclaimed as the ...

Deutsche Bank yesterday announced that it has successfully implemented a new integration solution for Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka’s largest mobile network provider, which enables seamless, secure and direct connectivity between the client and the Bank via the SAP NetWeaver Process Integration (“SAP NetWeaver PI”) technology. In addition to a flexible user interface, the BankR...

Bullish on post-war revival in tourism and to cater to growing demand for its hospitality Renuka City Hotels Plc, is investing Rs. 200 million to add 20 more rooms, bringing the total to 100 inclusive of the adjoining Hotel Renuka. Chairman Ravi Thambiayah told the Daily FT that the company was waiting for approvals to ...

Power Scan (Pvt) Ltd started its operations in 2003. Throughout the years the company’s product offering and related services has expanded to Data Center Design Building and Total IT infrastructure solutions creating a name for itself in the IT industry in Sri Lanka. The company has tied up with world reputed brands like Emerson/Liebert for ...

As the nation’s premier lifestyle store, Singer Mega is committed to giving its customers the very best in quality and convenience. To this end, the company recently refurbished and re-opened its Wattala Singer Mega showroom, raising the bar once again for the Sri Lankan retail sector. Noting the excitement surrounding the re-opening, Singer (Sri Lanka) ...

Reuters: England piled more misery on India with a thrilling six-wicket victory in a one-off Twenty20 match at Old Trafford on Wednesday. After losing the test series 4-0, India started brightly in the shortest version of the game and racked up 165 all out, only to see England reach their target with three balls to ...

A proud Sri Lankan at heart and a humble and dedicated marketer Nandana A. Wickramage Group Director/Head of Marketing and Sales, Ceylon Biscuits Limited (CBL) was awarded the ‘Marketing Professional of the Year’ at the recently-concluded second CMO Asia Awards 2011 in Singapore. This was the second international award he has received in his illustrious ...