Author: Ashanthi Ratnasingham
Sri Lanka Tourism attracts over USD950Mn in investment despite pandemic
Foreign investment is a key driver of economic growth, as is the revenue generated via tourism. As one of its primary exports, tourism remains Sri Lanka’s calling card to the world. Over the last fifteen months (March 2020-June 2021) the government has attracted over $950 million in investments, dedicated to revitalising the island’s burgeoning tourism […]
UK’s CDC Group commits USD50Mn to ComBank to bolster SME lending and climate projects
Facility to target funding directly at underserved SMEs, boost jobs and promote economic and social inclusion across Sri Lanka Supports development of clean energy efficiency initiatives, underpinning Sri Lanka’s commitment to the Paris Agreement Commitment marks CDC’s first climate investment in Sri Lanka and its first direct investments in the country since 2012 The Commercial […]
ICRA economic outlook for 2H 2021: Economy relapses amid the third wave
Key Takeaways Expedited vaccine rollouts in many major economies have enhanced global growth outlook for 2H 2021. Sri Lanka which was earlier expected to be a laggard, is now among the countries with the fastest vaccination rates in the world. First quarter recorded a modest economic growth (4.2%) but the rapid escalation of the third […]
Top real estate developers identified in new brand health survey 2021
This year’s Research Intelligence Unit (RIU) survey delved deeper than brand surveys of the past by looking into multifarious factors that included brand awareness, brand perception, brand visibility, brand attributes and top of the mind recall. Home Lands, Prime Lands, Kelsey Homes, JAT, Blue Ocean, Span and Fairway were found to be the top seven […]
Japan provides human resources development scholarships for SL public sector
The Japanese Grant Aid for Human Resources Development Scholarship (JDS) Programme was introduced to Sri Lanka in 2010 by the Government of Japan in order to provide opportunities to the executive level public sector officials to undergo Master Degree Programmes in prominent universities in Japan. Accordingly, the First Framework (2010-2013) and the Second Framework (2014-2017) […]
MAGA to design and construct two flyovers in Col 02 valued at Rs. 5.2Bn
Maga Engineering has begun construction of two new flyovers in Slave Island (Colombo 02), along Justice Akbar Mawatha and Uttarananda Mawatha. The proposed flyovers will overarch two central intersections in Slave Island and the Coastal Line – one of the busiest railway tracks leading into the city, thereby easing heavy traffic congestion leading to Colombo’s […]
Sandra De Zoysa appointed Chairperson of SLASSCOM for 2021/2022
The Sri Lanka Association of Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM) appointed Sandra De Zoysa as Chairperson for 2021/’22, at the 9th Annual General Meeting held recently. She succeeds PwC Sri Lanka CEO/Advisory Leader Channa Manoharan. Sandra is the Group Chief Customer Officer at Dialog Axiata PLC whose career in the ICT industry spans over […]
JAT Holdings IPO oversubscribed
The IPO of JAT Holdings was an oversubscription of 82,904,846 ordinary shares. Priced at a value of Rs. 27 per share, the IPO raised Rs.2.2 billion in funds for the company’s near term objectives of investment in enhancing the existing R&D facility to a fully-fledged, state-of-the-art facility for all coatings, setting up a manufacturing facility […]
Interview: CIAM; Challenges, opportunities and utilising it to meet evolving customer needs
Prabath Siriwardena, Vice President and Deputy CTO – Security Architecture at WSO2 discusses some of the challenges, opportunities and points to note surrounding the current environment of CIAM implementation. 1) What does Customer Identity and Access Management mean? Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) has become a bit of an overloaded term over time. There […]
Sri Lanka vehicle registration decline in Apr 2021
Total vehicle registrations for the month of April declined to 2,418 units from 3,556 units the previous month – the comparative month 12 months ago was zero due to the first lockdown, a new report shows. Data compiled by JB Securities equities research shows that April has many holidays and there was a semi lockdown in place […]
President instructs to tow ‘X-PRESS PEARL’ vessel into deep seas
Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has instructed officials a short while ago to tow the X-PRESS PEARL container ship into deep seas off the Colombo Harbour. The decision comes following a meeting with high level officials and the President. Minister of Ports and Shipping Rohitha Abeygunawardena Tuesday informed the President of all details surrounding the […]
Govt and ADB sign USD200Mn loan agreement for rural road development
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Sri Lanka recently signed a $200 million loan agreement for the Second Integrated Road Investment Program Tranche 3 to continue ADB’s assistance to upgrade Sri Lanka’s rural road network connecting vast rural populations to jobs and services. “Economic growth is hindered by poor transport infrastructure, particularly […]