Category: Industry
Drama Tax
Mar 23 (LBO) – Sri Lanka passed controversial laws on Tuesday to tax imported movies, dramas, sitcoms and commercials, though tax rates and conditions have not yet been decided.The law makes way for a Teledrama, Film and Commercials levy on imports of all television stations as well as commercials made out of the country and […]
Open Sesame
Mar 23 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will have to further relax import tariffs on goods like cement from April this year under its trade deal with India, with customs revenues taking a hit.Sri Lanka’s bilateral trade agreements with both India and Pakistan allow for a phasing out of tariffs over a eight year period, for […]
Joint Power
Mar. 23 (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s cabinet of ministers had approved a deal for the state-owned Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to team up with India’s National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) in a joint venture coal plant, Power Minister John Seneviratne said Wednesday.The cabinet has approved the provisions of a draft Memorandum of Understanding, which will […]
Re-Shuffle
Mar. 22 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has changed the license fee structure for lubricant operators giving players an option of paying a flat fee or a percentage on turnover, Petroleum Minister M H M Fowzie said. -Mel Gunasekera: mel@ Sri Lanka doubled license fees for lubricant operators in January, fixing it at Rs10 million (US$100,000) […]
Growing Money
Mar 22 (LBO) – Lanka Transformers were given a first subsidy payment on Wednesday for generating electricity from trees, under a new scheme to encourage investment in renewable power. Wood or dendro power producers are being given Rs2.50 a unit, to top up current rates of Rs6.00 that the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) pays independent […]
‘s leisure industry recovers in February
Mar. 22 (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s tsunami-hit tourism industry continued to recover this year, with arrivals for the two months to February rising 40.2 percent to 104,918 visitors, the Tourist Board said Wednesday.The tropical island famed for its golden beaches, lush, tea-growing mountains and historic sites dating back 2,500 years, greeted 52,687 (up 43.8 percent) […]
Sri Lanka’s leisure industry recovers in February
Mar. 22 (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s tsunami-hit tourism industry continued to recover this year, with arrivals for the two months to February rising 40.2 percent to 104,918 visitors, the Tourist Board said Wednesday.The tropical island famed for its golden beaches, lush, tea-growing mountains and historic sites dating back 2,500 years, greeted 52,687 (up 43.8 percent) […]
Flagged Off
Mar 21 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Caltex Lanka Lubricants will ship five million litres of lubricant oils into Bangladesh, its first foray into the country and a possible launch pad into other regional markets, top officials said Tuesday. The local arm of US based Chevron Texaco, Caltex dominates the local lube market with about 80 […]
On Hold
Mar. 21 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom, the island’s dominant fixed-line operator, Tuesday said it would stop connecting new subscribers through Code Division Multiplex Access or CDMA technology with immediate effect, following legal advice. The move follows SLT’s decision late Monday to take seek legal redress on a directive issued by the telecom watchdog with […]
Legal Muscle
Mar. 21 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Parliament Tuesday passed amendments to several financial bills, including a tax on foreign television programmes and compulsory lending to agriculture sector, that were proposed in the 2006 budget. Under changes to the Banking Act, licensed commercial banks or LCB’s are required to maintain a minimum Rs1 billion in capital. […]
Comfort Letter
Mar. 20 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s telecommunications regulator has upheld two private fixed operators’ claim to import handsets duty free, and blocked the country’s main investment body’s move to tax the instruments, a top official said. Last month, Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) slapped a 33 percent import duty on Code Division Multiple […]
Dollar Gush
Mar. 20 (LBO) – Non-governmental organisations operating in Sri Lanka’s tsunami-hit regions has received Rs40.1 billion (US$400 million) in aid for reconstruction work last year, the Central Bank said Monday. According to a bank survey, which tracked 256 non-governmental organisations or NGO’s, 79 percent of the funds received had already been withdrawn. Bulk of the […]