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Free Flow
The upcoming Exchange Management Act adds muscle to the Finance Minister, and puts stiff financial penalties on wilful defaulters.Currently in gazette form pending parliamentary approval, the law allows locals to take out up to Rs.10,000 when leaving the country.rn rnSri Lankans are now legally allowed to hold foreign exchange in overseas bank accounts, without disclosing […]
Long Haul
Sri Lanka is in the top three alongside Thailand and the Maldives as a tourist hotspot for long-haul travel, but still needs a vital mix of peace, competitive rates and new infrastructure to give it that edge. Right up until last year, an average 300,000 tourists visited the island.This year numbers were expected to reach […]
Dizzy Heights
Sri Lankas largest family owned private hospital partially opens its doors for private investors next month. What started off as a remedy for family and friends 18 years ago, Nawaloka Hospitals has since cured thousands of patients. But the hospital could been have been still born if the head of the Dharmadasa family was not […]
Second Rendezvous
The President has asked Premier Ranil to come alone to her chambers for a Tuesday morning rendezvous.The Premier was due to meet the President with other party leaders to find recourse for the current power struggle.rn rnHowever, the President has said she is prepared to meet the PM at 10.30 am on Tuesday on condition […]
Choksys Sweeteners
The UNF government, which has been progressively clubbing the opposite camp with the peace process, is getting ready to open a second front with the budget.This time the targets include farmers and public servants; and high on the mind of Finance Minister K N Choksy, are the armed forces.rn rnldblquote Public officers and those who […]
French Toast
The government on Monday put forward alternative suggestions to solve the lquote Southern political impasse, but declined President Chandrika Kumaratungas offer to form a national government.A French system of power sharing has been mooted to bring about a lquote Southern consensus, which will set the parameters for future peace talks.rn rnKumaratunga has been proposing a […]
Big Bite
Commercial Bank of Ceylon Ltd., has recorded a pre-tax profit (before the special Value Added Tax on Profit) of Rs 1.6 billion for the nine months ended September 30, a growth of Rs. 276.5 million or 20.9 per cent over the corresponding period last year.The special Value Added Tax calculated on the basis of 10 […]
Coming Back
A cultural similarity in the insurance market was a big draw when Life Insurance Corporation of India re-entered the local market.The companys earlier operations were taken over by the government with nationalization of the industry in the sixties.rn rnThe company also had a lot of money left locally to service its existing customers after nationalization, […]
Donor Threat
The countrys top multilateral donors warned that economic and political stability are key to get aid following.Sri Lankas top multilateral and bilateral donors have warned that promised record aid flows could fall sharply unless the government stuck to the peace process and carried out key economic reforms.rn rnLenders to the country pledged a mammoth US$ […]
Clean Seam
The apparel industry is pushing to establish a local certificate that will guarantee buyers of compliance and cutting the cost for small timers. While big apparel exporters have a steady source of orders the small and medium scale factories are struggling to get noticed by the big buyers.rn rnThe industry umbrella organization JAAF is pushing […]