Sri Lanka's Aitken Spence Acquires Another Indian Hotel

08th September 2010, www.dailynews.lk

Aitken Spence Hotels has added its fifth hotel to its portfolio in India. The company has taken over the management of the hill resort, Grand Palace Hotel and Spa in Yercaud, owned by MSV Hotels on October 1.

Aitken Spence Hotels is an emerging player in the Indian hospitality industry already managing four other resorts in India in Atithi - Puducherry, Poovar Island Resort - on the backwaters of Kerala, Barefoot at Havelock - Andaman Islands, Tamara - Coimbatore

“We are happy to expand our portfolio in India with the addition of Grand Palace Hotel and Spa, situated in one of the most scenic locations in Tamil Nadu. This partnership will enable us to further consolidate our presence in South India,” Aitken Spence Hotel Managements in India Chief Executive Officer Lakshman Ekanayake said.

Surrounded by misty mountains, Grand Palace Hotel is a hill resort offering an enchanting view of the Yercaud Lake on one side and the picturesque valley of Killiyur on the other.

The town has derived its name from the lake located at its center - “Yeri” meaning “lake” and “Kaadu” meaning “forest” in Tamil.

This enchanting township situated close to Salem, surrounded by coffee plantations and orange groves is a very popular holiday destination.

“The tourism industry in India has tremendous potential and we are glad to increase our Indian portfolio. It is evident that we were offered the management of Grand Palace and Spa as we have established our presence in India. Further we have been recognized for our ability to identify the potential in existing properties and transform them into star class, award winning hotels,” Aitken Spence Hotels Managing Director Malin Hapugoda said.

Sri Lanka's Forex Liberalization Package - A Glimpse

05th November 2010, www.news360.lk, By Prasanna C. Rodrigo

Central Bank of Sri Lanka is likely to allow local companies to invest in overseas firms and also allow foreigners to buy “debentures” issued by local companies under its latest foreign exchange liberalization program.

This is according to a senior Central Bank official who in an earlier occasion revealed to us some of the Foreign Exchange liberalization plans which is expected to be introduced very soon.

www.news360.lk carried the story on the 30th of April under the heading “CBSL Relaxing Rules”.

According to the official, listed firms will be allowed to take US $ 500,000 per annum while non listed / resident companies will be allowed a sum of US $ 150,000 to invest in overseas companies.

The Official said they will have to invest those dollars to buy “share capital”.

However he said the above amounts & conditions might be changed when the liberalization package comes into the market.

Debentures
Central Bank is also planning to allow foreigners to buy “debentures” issued by local firms running up to 50% of the total value of the issued amount.

This move the bank says will help increase private sector activities and also bring in more dollars to the country.

Currently such approval is given only on a case by case basis.

Foreign Companies Branch office
In another move, the monetary Authorities are planning to allow foreign companies to open “Branches” in Sri Lanka.

The official said this will be an “open permission”.

The foreign companies who set up branches in Sri Lanka will have to open a “special account for their transactions”.

The respective companies can take their dividends & profits emanating out of its branch activities and also the value of the asset liquidation.

Sri Lanka to Build Mini-Hydro and Wind Power Plants

07th November 2010, www.lankabusinessonline.com

Sri Lanka is building more mini-hydro and wind power plants but needs more technology transfer to ensure better use of renewable energy, officials said.

Harsha Wickremasinghe, deputy director general of the Sustainable Energy Authority, said the country was well in its way to achieve planned non-conventional renewable energy targets but more ambitious goals needed greater caution.

"Our target is to deliver 10 percent of energy from non-conventional sources by 2015," Wickremasinghe told a news conference to announce a forthcoming conference on use of renewable energy for sustainable living.

The conference is organised by the German Alumni Association of Sri Lanka with the German Cultural Institute, German Academic Exchange Service and the SEA.

"It's a target we're comfortable with as we have already reached six percent," Wickremasinghe said.

"But there is tremendous pressure for us to increase the target to 20 percent."

He said the SEA was "working cautiously" towards achieving the higher target keeping in mind the difficulties encountered in exploiting non-conventional renewable sources of energy such as their fluctuating nature.

Energy produced from wind and solar plants varies depending on the availability of wind and sunlight and hence cannot be used as base load power.

"There are now 200 megawatts of small hydro power running and another 200MW are under construction," Wickremasinghe said.

The country's first commercial wind power plant began generating energy this year, he said.

Three wind power plants with a capacity of 10MW have been built in north-western Puttalam, a site considered ideal for wind power, and there are plans to build a total of 30MW of wind power plants.

"The wind power plants operated satisfactorily during the last monsoon," Wickremasinghe said.

"We hope to have more wind power plants not only in coastal areas but in other areas as well. We hope to develop more wind energy in Balangoda, (southeast of Colombo) and other windy areas," Wickremasinghe said.

The international renewable energy conference planned for November 26-28 is expected to draw about 120 participants from Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and Germany, said Janaka Wijesundera, president of the German Alumni Association.

Wickremasinghe said Sri Lanka lacks knowledge in solar and wind power technologies and looked forward to technology transfer and sharing of knowledge through conferences like the one planned by the alumni association.

Germany has mature renewable energy technology and could help Sri Lanka to reduce harmful emissions from fossil fuel burning power plants, Wickremasinghe said "Partnerships like this and awareness raising during conferences like these are very valuable," he said.

"We're a growing economy. Our emissions will continue to rise and it is through partnerships like this that we can share knowledge."

Joint Tourism Promotion between Sri Lanka and Maldives Emphasised

08th November 2010, www.dailymirror.lk

The Third Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka - Maldives Bilateral Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce was held on 28 October, 2010 at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Colombo.

Addressing the gathering, Patron of the Council, Ali Hussain Didi, High Commissioner for the Republic of Maldives in Colombo emphasised the importance of streamlining the regulatory framework in Sri Lanka and joint tourism promotion between Sri Lanka and the Republic of Maldives. He further invited the business community in Sri Lanka to invest in Maldives in the health and education sector.

Jayantissa Kehelpannala, Immediate Past President of the Council during his speech urged the council to look beyond the horizon to make the Council a dynamic force that will be active in the frontline of the many business opportunities that are emerging in both our countries and in the SAARC region. He further stated that Trade between Sri Lanka and the Maldives has been bumpy but seen significant value over the last five years.

Throughout the period, exports from Sri Lanka to the Maldives have been higher than imports to Sri Lanka, resulting in positive balance of trade between Sri Lanka and Maldives. However, during 2009, exports have drastically decreased mainly due to the global financial crisis. However, imports from Maldives to Sri Lanka have shown a slight increase during the period under review. The tourism sector has shown a slight increase in 2009 amounting to 31,890 tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka from Maldives compared to 31,458 in 2008.

The newly appointed President of the Council, Hussain Hashim during his brief remarks stated that based on the performance indicators mentioned, there is a strong sense of responsibility that lies on the council to actively further develop trade performance for the betterment of these two "island nations" in the SAARC region.

Hashim thanked the outgoing office bearers for setting high standards for the council and requested the support of the newly appointed committee to implement the way forward strategy of the Sri Lanka - Maldives Bilateral Business Council with special emphasis on joint tourism promotion, Education and HR Development, lobby with the respective Govt. Institutions in Sri Lanka and the Republic of Maldives through the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce to reciprocate on harmonising tariff structures based on the findings of the study carried out by the council for export of fruits and vegetable from Sri Lanka to Maldives and import of value added Fisheries products to Sri Lanka from Maldives, venture into technology transfer from Sri Lanka to Maldives for Agri sector development in inhabited islands, using hydro phonics and other advanced agro development techniques. Output of this initiative will be marketed to resorts in the Maldives.

The following Committee was appointed for the period 2010 - 2011 at the Annual General Meeting -
Office Bearers - Hussain Hashim - President, Tikiri Ellepola - Vice President, Niral Kadawatharatchi - Vice President

Committee - Ceylon Biscuits Ltd., Chemical Industries (Colombo) Plc, Eastern & Allied Agencies, E.B. Creasy & Co. Ltd., John Keells Holdings Plc, HSBC, Nestle Lanka Ltd., Pyramid Wilmar Ltd. and Seylan Bank Plc

Domestic Air Terminal for Colombo BIA Airport, Sri Lanka

07th November 2010, www.sundayobserver.lk, By Shirajiv Sirimane

The Airport Aviation Service Services (AASL) is to build a domesticair terminal at the Bandaranaike International airport (BIA) inColombo.

Chairman, AASL, Prasanna Wickramasuriya said that the old SriLankanairline catering service would be used for this purpose.

“We are now drawing plans to get this project off the ground,” he said.

The main objective of this is to enable a passenger to take aconnecting flight to several domestic airports which are currentlybeing developed.

Mihin Lanka has already announced that they would be starting aColombo Jaffna domestic flights for BIA.

Sri Lanka in World’s Top 18 Biodiversity Hotspots

07th November 2010, www.sundayobserver.lk, By Daya Gamage

"Sri Lankan rainforests are home tonearly all of the country’s endemic plants and about 75 percent of theendemic animals. The rich array of fauna and flora places Sri Lankaamong the world’s top 18 biodiversity hotspots.

UNESCO has designated four natural forests in Sri Lanka as UNESCO World Heritage Sites; Sinharaja, Knuckles, the Peak Wildernes andHorton Plains. The Slender Loris, long thought to be extinct, was recently rediscovered after 60 years in the Central Highlands. We have set a target of increasing the country’s forest cover to 33% of the land area by year 2016.”

Dr. Palith Kohona, Sri Lanka ambassador to the United Nations made theabove remarks in the course of his presentation to the US General Assembly’s Sustainable Development Session at New York.

The Ambassador further stated: “We will support REDD-Plus activities, which are country driven and voluntary. These activities must receive adequate predictable and sustainable financing and technological support. Indigenous people and local communities are also involved in the implementation of REDD plus process.”

On the climate change agenda Dr. Kohona made the following presentation to the UN Second Committee of Sustainable Development that dealt with the climate change issue.

Sri Lanka Ranked 59 in World Prosperity Index. Highest Ranked Country in South Asia

02nd November 2010, www.dailynews.lk, By Rasika Somarathna

Sri Lanka has climbed nine positions from 2009 to be ranked 59 among 110 nations, in the World Prosperity Index - 2010, announced yesterday. Sri Lanka is also the highest ranked country among South Asian nations. In the overall rankings Sri Lanka is just behind China, ranked 58. Among other South Asian nations India has been ranked at 88, Nepal 91, Bangladesh 96 and Pakistan 109.

According to the 2010 report Sri Lanka which went nine places up is also the third highest gainer from 2009. Indonesia jumped 15 places to be ranked 70 and Algeria went up 12 places to be ranked at 79. The 'Legatum' prosperity index assesses 110 countries accounting for over 90 percent of the world's population and is based on 89 different variables, each of which has a demonstrated effect on economic growth or on personal well-being. The index consists of eight sub-indexes, each of which represents a fundamental aspect of prosperity.

It is done by taking into account both economic growth and citizens' quality of life, drawing on data from various sources, including the Gallup World Poll 2009 and UN development Report.

The Legatum Prosperity Index is the world’s only global assessment of wealth and well-being. This means it is the only global index that measures both the factors that produce economic growth and those that produce happy citizens.

The eight sub indexes which the report evaluates countries are economy, entrepreneurship and opportunity, governance, education, health, safety and security, personal freedom and social capital.

In the overall economic rating Sri Lanka is placed 84th. However Sri Lanka is placed 10th in the world for positive perceptions of the countries economic outlook. Also Sri Lanka enjoys the 24th highest level of foreign direct investment globally. Citing the 2009 survey the report says that 87 percent respondents expressed confidence in the countries financial system in 2009, which is the fourth highest proportion worldwide.

In the education category Sri Lanka’s overall ranking is 56th. However the report states that an enrollment rate of 99.7 percent of primary age children places Sri Lanka fourth highest in the index. Citing the 2009 survey it says that 84 percent has expressed satisfaction in the system.

In the governance category Sri Lanka is placed 43rd. The report states that 94 percent of the population reported confidence in the Government in 2009 survey. Further 65 percent were satisfied with the countries efforts to deal with poverty, 72 per cent with its efforts to preserve environment. Sri Lanka is placed in the top 15 in the two variables.

According to the report most people do not believe corruption to be widespread in government or business, a perception that places the country among the best 25 countries.

The report citing 2009 survey says that a very high 97 percent of citizens have placed their confidence in the Sri Lanka military while 87 percent have confidence in the judicial system. Sri Lanka is placed on the top 10 globally in both categories.

Related Info:
Sri Lanka Fact Sheet - Download PDF File