State Minister Eran Wickremeratne speaking on several allegations against the grant of USD 480 mn from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) of the US Government, pointed out that more than half of the loan amount will be used to develop a high-tech, comfortable Public Transportation system in the country.

“I don’t know why some people speak against this loan. Most probably, because of ignorance. Or else, why would someone want to stop our people from getting a good transportation system? Of the USD 480 million we receive from MCC, USD 380 will be allocated for this transportation system. Private and CTB buses won’t be in competition anymore. Passengers will get electronic payment cards. It will have an electronic security surveillance system. Recent research reveals that 8 out of 10 women under go some sort of harassment when using public transportation. We would be able to minimize this issue with this system as well.” Wickremeratne pointed out.

“USD 67 million of this MCC grant will be allocated to establish a digital land registry. Some people allege that it is a plan to sell lands to foreigners. With an electronic system or not, people sell lands to foreigners. But with this, land ownership will be properly digitized and we will be able to find out the exact extent of state owned land in the county. USD 63 million will be allocated to provide designing, technical and other facilitation needed for these two projects, ” Wickremeratne pointed out.

State Minister of Finance Eran Wickremeratne yesterday informed Parliament that all necessary interpretations and instructions have been directed to banks and financial institutes on the relief package provided by the government to strengthen tourism sector which was severely affected by the Easter Sunday terror attack.

The moratorium period, which is a part of the relief package, will be until March 31, 2020 for both capital and interest payments granted to the tourism sector as of April 18, 2019.

Capital and interest falling due during the moratorium period will be converted into a term loan which will be recovered from July 2020 and charged a concessionary rate.

Wickremeratne pointed out the moratorium provided for those who have obtained loans for tourism industry is also applicable to loans taken by the permanent employees in tourism based establishments.

“As we all know, employees in hotels and other tourism based industries receive a substantial amount of service charge as a part of their salary. If an employee has a basic salary of Rs. 30,000, that person will get a similar amount as the service charges. As tourism was affected, services charges won’t be paid. But they have loans taken for their needs. These permanent employees too can apply for the moratorium,” Wickremeratne explained.

Wickremeratne pointed out that tourism based establishments need to be registered under recognized institutions such as the Tourism Development Board, Hotel Association or at Pradeshiya Sabhas, Town Councils or similar institutes to receive the said relief package.

Wickremeratne further pointed out that the moratorium is not limited to loans obtained by banks, but also from any finance or specialized leasing companies, as declared by the Central Bank on May 21, 2019. Wickremeratne also said that an interpretation of Circulation No 07 of 2019 on Concessionaries granted to tourism industry was forwarded to all banks on May 16, 2019, which gives an extensive explanation on the granted concessionaries.

“Many of you were skeptical about the concessionaries we gave. You said that it won’t really materialize into a practical stage. But I tell you, our Finance Ministry does what is says it will do. We will rejuvenate tourism industry in this country earliest as possible,” Wickremeratne said.

State Minister Wickremeratne made these observations in reply to concerns raised by UPFA MP Bandula Gunawardena on the said concessionary package.

MP Gunawardena requested Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera to pay attention to the concerns he was raising. At this juncture, Minister Mangala Samaraweera informed MP Gunawardena that he was to leave the House for a special meeting and State Minister Wickremeratne shall reply Gunawardena on Finance Minister’s behalf, joining the debate on Foreign Exchange Act.

The country does not perform as well as expected on digital indicators. Awareness of the internet and related services do not result in usage within the country. The majority of social media users in Sri Lanka think that blocking social media during times of national unrest “is the right thing to do”, according to a survey conducted by Colombo-based digital policy think tank, LIRNEasia.

Sixty-three percent of the population had never used the internet. Internet adoption was highest among the young, educated and affluent. Awareness not resulting in adoption was also seen in e-commerce services. Seventy percent of internet users said they had heard about platforms for buying or selling goods and services online. 43 percent of that group said they ever used such a service to make a purchase, the study revealed.

Seventy-eight percent of the population owned a mobile phone beating India, Pakistan and other countries in the region. The figure is the lowest from among its economic peers such as Argentina (91 percent), Ecuador (84 percent) and Guatemala (88 percent).

The research was conducted with methodology comparable across 23 countries. The surveys were conducted by DIRSI, LIRNEasia and Research ICT Africa in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. The project received international funding.

“The current education system does not value independent research and only requires memorization. The internet is thus made irrelevant,” said Founding Chair of LIRNEasia and Chairman, Prof. Rohan Samarajiva.

“Sri Lanka has a culture of not valuing time, and since convenience is a key benefit of e-commerce and other internet-related services, Sri Lankan’s don’t buy online much,” added CEO of Takas.LK, Lahiru Pathmalal.

Fifty eight percent of social media users in Sri Lanka thought that government blocking social media during times of national unrest was the right thing to do. 26 percent of social media users disagreed, while 16 percent did not express an opinion. 90 percent of social media users remember the social media block of March 2018. 64 percent said it had no impact on their social media use.

The Government should request international donors to defer Sri Lankan foreign debt repayments for six months and offer this benefit to Sri Lankan banks. As a result local banks could then be in a better position to defer payments due to them from local business community. These views were expressed by Secretary of the Colombo Business Association, Chaminda Vidanagamage.

“Due to Easter Sunday blasts and downturn in tourism there is a negative economic climate which is reflecting badly on the SME sector.”

Sales in shops have dropped and owners were forced to retrench staff while some shops were closed down in Galle Road and Duplication road as owners could not pay high rentals due to low income. Imports too have declined.

 “Though we are facing financial issues, we still have to service out debts to banks and pay various taxes and this is not possible due to low sales,” said President Colombo Business Association, Dr. D. Venkateshwaran.

Colombo Business Association members met Governor Central Bank, Indrajit Coomaraswamy yesterday and brought up this issue. “The Governor promised to take up this issue with relevant officials. What we want is a similar concession offered to the tourism sector for at least six month. If this grace period is not offered to the SME business sector we will be forced to retrench staff and close our businesses. In addition it will also lead to huge bank withdrawals and default of payments to the leasing sector,” he added.

There will also be lot of borrowing from the informal sector to settle loans at high interest rates. He said that the government while looking after the interest of business sector should also comes up with a similar concession package to the banking sector for their survival.

Artistes, musicians and several other sectors to are facing similar issues and their association is now in the process of roping them to make a bigger representation to the government.

Shipping agency representatives, whose businesses are badly affected after the Easter Sunday attacks, urged the government to take immediate measures to get the travel advisories on Sri Lanka lifted to smoothly operate their business activities.

Ralph Anandappa, a representative from the Ceylon Association of Shipping Agents (CASA) made a request to State Finance Minister Eran Wickramaratne who was present at an event, organized by the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) on Wednesday to discuss issues facing the industries under the prevailing security situation in the country, to take immediate steps to help revive their business activities. Furthermore, he stressed the need to communicate or share information about security measures taken by the government to protect Sri Lankan ports, cargo vessels, and passenger vessels with the shipping agency officials as soon as possible.

He said, CASA had a discussion with the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and the Secretary to the Ministry of Ports in this regard. “I believe they’re working on something, but still we haven’t got any feedback from them,” he said.

“At least If we get such a document, containing information about the measures taken by the relevant authorities to secure Sri Lankan ports and other industry related activities; we can communicate it to our stakeholders overseas, which would give them confidence on measures that we have adopted to consolidate our position in this area.

“Also due to these travel advisories, we’re unable to sign on or sign off certain ships that call Colombo for crew operations because crew members cannot fly in or fly out due to such advisories in their countries,” he said.

He noted that passenger ship operations have also been affected due to travel advisories issued by several countries on Sri Lanka. Speaking further on issues affecting the shipping agencies, he said, “Our taxation is based on income received from foreign remittances, which is currently at 80%. Under the present circumstances, it is very difficult to achieve 80% because our income, volumes of ships, passengers and scale of operations have dropped significantly. He urged the government to review this figure or maybe bring it down to 60% or below as an interim measure to help sustain the business activities of shipping agencies in the country.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said Sri Lanka’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken measures to improve investigation and enforcement capabilities following a reforms program and recommended SEC to streamline the current enforcement program.

Releasing the technical assistance report for enhancing the effectiveness of the Sri Lankan securities market enforcement program, the IMF said it is imperative that the SEC bring enforcement actions for there to be credible deterrence in the securities market.

The mission recommended that the SEC continues to pursue measures to improve efficiency, effectiveness and accountability. These include: streamlining enforcement related processes to facilitate timely and efficient investigations and prosecutions; adopting criteria for prioritizing investigations and cases and publishing such criteria, where appropriate, to instill public confidence in fair and orderly markets; adopting an accountability mapping system (i.e., program management tools) to track investigation plans and human and financial resource allocation; establishing expert units and/or identifying individual experts to handle specific types of complex investigations and cases (e.g., insider dealing and manipulation); developing staff training modules on these complex matters; and enhancing the enforcement policies and procedures manual to create a detailed, organic and electronic roadmap readily accessible by enforcement staff to guide the conduct of investigations and prosecutions.

To augment the impact of the enforcement program, the SEC is encouraged to foster public transparency to the extent possible without compromising confidential enforcement processes and activities. The SEC could usefully inform the industry of its enforcement policies and processes and publicize the results of its enforcement actions.

The SEC is also encouraged to evaluate the credible deterrence of its enforcement program on an ongoing basis.

Key to credible deterrence is ensuring that the enforcement program is sufficiently robust and flexible to address evolving market misconduct in a timely and dissuasive manner. The SEC should routinely assess its program against emerging market trends and make adjustments as circumstances warrant.

While the recommendations in this report will improve the effectiveness of the SEC’s enforcement program, credible deterrence cannot be achieved without the new civil and administrative enforcement authority in the draft Securities Exchange Act (SEA). The current law effectively limits the SEC to make criminal referrals to the Attorney General to prosecute market misconduct. The criminal standard of proof and reliance on the limited resources of the Attorney General have severely limited the SEC’s flexibility to take timely and dissuasive enforcement action and contributed to undermining the public’s confidence in the regulator and the market. Enhanced enforcement powers alone will not suffice to achieve credible deterrence unless the SEC is able to build capacity to administer the new authority.

This will require a multipronged approach, including, at a minimum, adopting criteria for applying the new enforcement tools, recruiting an experienced director to oversee a robust, independent and fair enforcement program, and hiring and training capable, professional staff to investigate and prosecute administrative and civil cases.

The Employees’ Trust Fund (ETF) which accounts for 11.1 per cent of the asset base of the superannuation sector reported a healthy growth in 2018 in terms of assets.

The ETF has around 14.6 million accounts, of which only 2.6 million were active, at end 2018. The number of employers contributing to the fund increased to 82,416, at end 2018 compared to 81,515 recorded at end 2017.

The total outstanding member balances in the ETF rose by 2.5 per cent and stood at Rs. 281.1 billion at end 2018. Meanwhile, total contributions decreased by 2.2 per cent to Rs. 22.3 billion, while total benefits paid out increased by 8.9 per cent to Rs. 18.8 billion, resulting in a significant decrease of 36.9 per cent in the net inflow of funds during the year, according to the Central Bank Annual Report -2018.

However, total assets of the fund amounted to Rs. 312.1 billion, recording a growth of 11.9 per cent at end 2018 compared to the growth of 12.1 per cent at end 2017. The total investments of the ETF rose by 11.1 per cent to Rs. 291.7 billion at end 2018. The share of investments in government securities reduced to 75.1 per cent at end 2018 from the 78.2 per cent recorded at end 2017.

The ETF has made arrangements to reinvest inflows from divested government securities in term deposits. Investments in equity and corporate fixed income securities accounted for 4 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively, of total investments during the year, and the fund managed to secure a rate of return of 8.4 per cent on its investments.

The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) has extended its support to Sri Lanka’s MICE tourism sector.

President of the International Congress and Convention Association-ICCA, James Rees extended his support to Chairman Sri Lanka Convention Bureau Kumar De Silva when they met at IMEX Travel Fair in Frankfurt, Germany earlier this week. Chief Executive Officer of ICCA, Senthil Gopinath also participated at the meeting. The trio discussed the current situation in Sri Lanka and the impact of the recent incidents on the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions & Events market.

De Silva said both ICCA President and CEO extended their fullest support to assist Sri Lanka to manage the negative impact caused by the unfortunate incidents and pledged to support the industry through expertise and training programs during 2019.

Considering the prevailing situation in the hospitality sector, it is highly recommended, that the industry retain their employees and survive the coming months, managing the situation effectively.

This was said by Chairman Institute of Hospitality Sri Lanka International Branch (IHSLIB) Thusith Samaraweera who was appointed for the third consecutive year at their 27th AGM at Ramada Colombo.

“We must use this slack period as the perfect opportunity to provide further training to the staff in order to improve their skills, knowledge and confidence. The importance of having committed and well trained staff can never be over emphasized.”

The Institute of Hospitality has decided to conduct several employee training programs mainly on topics such as staff motivation, leadership, crisis management, maintenance, innovation and creativity. “We hope this initiative would help the industry to retain the most valuable asset of our industry our employees”. He said that Sri Lanka boosted by the global travel guide book, “The Lonely Planet” naming Sri Lanka as the top tourist destination in the world for 2018, 2019 was heading for a record 4 million plus arrival target by end of 2019.”

“It was sad to note that these plans were bombed away during the Easter Sunday Blasts which was totally beyond our control. Following the very sad and unexpected incidents that took place on Easter Sunday, the arrival of tourists to Sri Lanka is at its lowest and the hotel sector is currently facing a serious crisis. As a result, the projection made by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority to except 4 million plus tourists this year will be only a vision”.

“The outcome appears to be rather mixed. The hotel industry reported that bookings were down for January-February 2019 compared to the same period last year”.

It was also estimated that the hotel rates have come down by over 40%.

“Sri Lanka has gone through similar situations, in the past and we hope visitors will regain confidence in the coming months and visit Sri Lanka as planned, where a warm welcome awaits them”. (SS)

King’s Pavilion, in a commemorative act to pay respect to the victims of the recent Easter Sunday bomb attacks, held a ceremony with the lighting of oil lamps to remember and invoke blessings on our citizens as well as tourists killed, those injured and the loved ones left behind.

It was held at Hotel King’s Pavilion, Kandy on May 21, to mark the one month anniversary of the tragedy.

Mayor of Kandy Kesara Senanayake and former Mayor of Kandy, Mahendra Ratwatte, Managing Director of King’s Pavilion Dinesh Fernando, the staff and invitees were present at the event.

Religious Dignitaries representing the Buddhist clergy, Hindu, Roman Catholic, Christian and Muslim religions took part in the proceedings in a unified expression of love and compassion towards our fellow citizens and tourists affected. Prayers were offered by all the religious representatives and were followed by an alms giving for lunch.

A ‘Bodi Pooja Pinkama’ was also held at the sacred Sri Dalada Maligawa, a historic place of worship befitting the remembrance of the Easter Sunday tragedy.

Marking one month since the Easter Terror Attacks, a group of 80 Thai tourists on pilgrimage led by the Maheyong Monastery Chief Prelate Ven. Phra Bhawana khemakum arrived in the Island on May 21, to embark on a spiritual and cultural tour were warmly welcomed by officials of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau at the Bandaranaike International Airport.

With the dance troupe

The arrival of the delegation, is the first of its kind since the deadly attacks on Easter on April 21 in Colombo and suburbs. The delegation which pursued their travel to Sri Lanka with much enthusiasm even after it was cancelled, wished to convey a sense of hope that the country and its tourism industry is returning to normalcy.

The Buddhist delegation is led by Most. Rev. Phara Bhawana –Khemakum maha thero, the chief prelate of the Maheyong Monestery in the Kingdom of Thailand. He is accompanied by five other disciples and 70-members of the dayake group who will also be travelling with him. The group will be in the country for six days until May 26.

Kishu Gomes, Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, expressed his thoughts on the visit as thus:

‘’Being a Buddhist country with Buddhism embedded into predominant culture, a large delegation of Thai devotees led by chief prelate Ven. Phra Bhawana khemakum maha thero , led by several other Buddhist monks in the delegation, the visit is very timely, to send positive messages to the rest of the world , with regards to the prevailing security situation in the country.

Thai delegation at the temple

Buddhist Tourism, for us, is a new segment that has grown over the past few years. Not just within the region, but across the entire world with a significant number of tourists from the western world visiting the country, to study Buddhist Philosophy and Meditation etc’’.

The group took part in an auspicious ceremony to donate a Buddhist statue to the Thai Viharaya in Mabima in Kelaniya. Senior officials of the SLTPB also participated along with the chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Kishu Gomes, accompanied by representatives of Bernard Tours Pvt) Ltd.

The group is scheduled to undertake a visit to Hambantota, Kataragama, Kandy and will also tour the cultural triangle before departing.

The Colombo Port container volumes indicates an increase in the month of April 2019 by 9.1% compared to the same period last year.

Together with the Jaya Container Terminal (JCT), South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT) and the Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT), the Port of Colombo’s cumulative Volume has increased by 5.9%.

In April 2018 the Colombo Port had handled a total of Transshipments volume of 441,437 TEUs that has increased up to 482,910 for the same period this year. Accordingly, with the increase marked at SLPA and other terminals compared from January to April 2018, the Port of Colombo Transshipment Volumes have marked an increase of 8.6 %. The container throughput at the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) controlled terminals has also been increased significantly by 10.5% .

The Port of Colombo is ranked the world’s No.01 container growth port among the top 30 container ports for the year of 2018 in container handling. It has also recorded a 13.5% growth for the year 2018 over the same period of the previous year reaching to 22nd from the position of 23rd amongst global container ports, according to Alphaliner Monthly. It is also a significant achievement as it is the first time in history the Port of Colombo has topped a global maritime ranking. With this growth, Port of Colombo has leapt ahead many other Asian;Middle Eastern and European Ports.

The latest release of Drewry Port Connectivity Index also ranked the Port of Colombo as the 11th best Connectivity Port in the world for 2018.

While commending the consistent growth in numbers, Minister of Ports and Shipping Sagala Ratnayaka said the SLPA has also focused on fast-tracking strategic decisions pertaining to the expansion of the Colombo Port’s capacity. “Only such decisions,” the Minister said, “would ensure that our growth is sustainable. The key focus of the SLPA at this point in time is to expedite processes relating to the expansion of the Colombo Port.”

Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) won the Ports Authority of the Year 2019 Award by the Global Ports Forum (GPF) for the second consecutive year at the GPF awards ceremony 2019.

The relationship between the Management and representative bodies of workers, collaborative support by all parties and the wide engagement of all stakeholders have effectively contributed to the SLPA’s success.

The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) after observing recent reports in the press about the envisaged Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between the three governments of Sri Lanka, Japan and India on the East Container Terminal of the Port of Colombo issued the following release yesterday to both clarify and inform interested stakeholders.

Excerpts of the release. Firstly, the Authority believes that the envisaged MoC demonstrates Sri Lanka’s ability to maintain and further its’ national interests while cooperating with International Partners. Currently, Colombo Port is ranked 11th in connectivity (Drewery, 2018) and 22nd among global ports (Alphaliner, 2018).

These ranks were reached by SLPA owned Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) working in partnership with South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT) and Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT). SLPA’s ownership stake in SAGT and CICT terminal operators is 15%. Both of these partners have contributed extremely positively to Colombo Port achieving its’ current status. SLPA believes the envisaged new partnership will help the Colombo Port to continue growth and further improve its position. Within the next three decades, over 45% of global GDP and trade is predicted to originate or be located within the Asian region. In this ultra-connected world, deep relationships with multiple trading partners are not only prudent business, it is critical to ensuing Colombo Port remains relevant to global trade.

Secondly, the envisaged Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) codifies the following: SLPA retains 100% ownership of East Container Terminal (ECT). The Terminal Operations Company (TOC) conducting all East Container Terminal operations is jointly owned; Sri Lanka retains a 51% stake, and the joint venture partners purchase a 49% stake.

The envisaged Japanese loan carries one of the best loan terms Sri Lanka has obtained. However, given that the loan terms are awaiting formalization, it would be premature for SLPA to comment. The 51% stake is also one of the best in SLPA joint ownership endeavors. SLPA’s majority ownership in the new TOC represents a significant step in prioritizing National Interests. These elements combined allow Colombo Port to develop at a faster pace than would otherwise be feasible using SLPA’s own funds.

Thirdly, the global cargo trade is an extremely competitive, fast paced, rapidly evolving industry, that requires Ports be timely in their capacity expansion, execution, and service levels.

The envisaged MoC is a significant step in ensuring Colombo Port delivers on these goals in an agile manner.

HNB Assurance PLC (HNBA) and its fully owned subsidiary HNB General Insurance Limited (HNBGI) delivered a strong start for 2019, posting a Profit After Tax (PAT) of RS 119 million being in line with the business and profit forecast.

In reviewing its performance, the Group recorded a Gross Written Premium (GWP) of Rs 2.5 billion against a GWP of Rs 2.2 billion recorded in 2018, depicting a growth of 14%.

Sharing her views on the financial performance, Chairperson of HNBA and HNBGI Rose Cooray stated “HNBA showcased a promising start for 2019 in top-line growth and, despite the challenging external environment, steady improvement in the profitability of the group. Profits of Life Insurance segments grew by 10% excluding one-off items recorded the previous year, while the profitability of General Insurance segment grew by 11% compared to the same period of 2018. ”

Managing Director/CEO of HNBA and HNBGI Deepthi Lokuarachchi stated, “we got off to a positive start in 2019 and our teams have delivered affirmative results during the first quarter despite many challenging conditions. Collective efforts were made to deliver on our long term goals as well as to create value for all stakeholders”. Sharing his views on the financial performance, Lokuarachchi added, “the Life Insurance business showcased a steady and stable growth momentum, well over the consolidated growth achieved by the Life Insurance sector. Segments such as Motor and Fire of the General Insurance business depicted notable results amidst a challenging environment”. He further stated, “total assets of the Group surpassed Rs 23 billion and the investments in financial instruments reached a value of Rs 18.6 billion. The Life and General Insurance Funds reached values of Rs 12.8 billion and Rs 2.7 billion respectively. The Group is well positioned in its differentiated portfolios and the Management remains confident of the Group’s future outlook in seizing new opportunities and expanding its footprint”.

Aitken Spence PLC came up with yet another sustained financial performance for the twelve months ending March 31, 2019 with a 13.8% year-on-year growth in profit-before-tax from Rs. 6.4 billion to Rs. 7.3 billion, its highest ever.

The leading conglomerate recorded a steady growth in several key sectors. The conglomerate capitalised on its broad-based business portfolio spread across several countries and sectors by recording an increase in its annual revenue by 5.6% from Rs. 52.7 billion to Rs. 55.7 billion whilst recording the highest ever profit-after-tax of Rs. 5.8 billion. This was an increase of 12.1% from the previous year.

The resilience of the Group is demonstrated by the continuous growth in EPS which reflects the strength of the Group to face turbulence in the domestic market and yet achieving sustained economic growth during this period, due to its overseas investments.

Currently, Aitken Spence being an exceptionally diversified Group has generated 44% of its profits from businesses overseas; thus, spreading its wings across countries specially in the tourism, maritime and logistics sectors. As a result, the total assets of the Group comprise of 33% accounted by assets overseas. This is an indication of the valuable relationships that have been built with global industry players in these key sectors.

The company also witnessed a growth in revenue from the overseas operations by 9.9% to Rs.17.6 billion supported by good performances from the tourism, and maritime & logistics operations, surpassing revenue growth in the domestic market. The revenue increase in the Maldives is noteworthy as growth in room supply exceeded increase in tourist arrivals, leading to stiff competition in this attractive market. Further higher domestic volumes in the cargo business resulted in increased growth in overseas maritime and logistics operations.

Total revenue of the Sri Lankan operations also grew by 3.7% to Rs.38.1 billion. This was created by significant improvement in tourism, maritime & logistics and services sectors despite a contraction in the strategic investments sector. As a result of the outstanding growth in the key sectors, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased by 20% to Rs.6.2 billion during the year.

The Sri Lankan hotels performed extremely well recording a profit before tax of 40.3% over the previous year, although there was an increase in room inventory in the country which created intensive competition. Moreover, the destination management business underlined their leadership position in the country by exceeding all expectations resulting in a profit before tax of over Rs. 1 billion. They also brought in over 200,000 tourists into Sri Lanka which is an exceptional achievement.

The maritime and logistics sector recorded a growth in profit of 20.9% to reach Rs. 2.1 billion. The performance of these two sectors improved due to an increase in imports, exports and transhipment volumes. In addition, the hub concept which is gaining greater appreciation and attention in Sri Lanka also contributed to improved performances in freight forwarding, courier and GSA.

Vehicle registrations has come down in almost every category in April due to the new year, Easter holidays and subsequent turmoil in the country post Easter Sunday bombings.

The total motor cars registered recorded 2,120 units in April down from 2,961 units in March and significantly down from 6,160 units 12 months ago.

Brand new motor car registrations recorded 309 units in April down from 422 units in March and significantly down from 866 units 12 months ago. Small cars accounted for 87.4% of total registrations. Suzuki/Maruti accounted for 106 units, Celerio 36 units, Wagon R 69 units followed by Perudua recording 58 units. Financing share was 53.1% in line with the normal monthly average.

Pre-owned cars recorded 1,811 units in April down from 2,539 units in March and significantly down from 5,294 units 12 months ago. Small cars accounted for 94.1% of total registrations in this segment. Toyota is the segment leader accounting for 1,099 units – Vitz 986 units followed by Suzuki recording 515 units – Wagon R 336 units. Financing share was 54.5% in line with the normal monthly average.

Premium cars recorded 69 units in April significantly down from 160 units in March and 189 units 12 months ago. The brand-new segment accounted for 29 units of which Mercedes Benz accounted for 25 units – C class 20 units (many of them may have been imported on permits). The preowned segment recorded 40 units of which Mercedes Benz accounted for 12 units - C class 8 units and Audi recorded 20 units – A1 11 and A3 7 units.

Electric cars recorded a mere 2 units in April similar to the 2 units recorded in March but down from 9 units recorded 12 months ago.

SUVs recorded 432 units in April down from 488 units in March but up from 408 units 12 months ago. Brand new recorded 264 units and pre-owned the balance 168 units. MG was the category leader accounting for 96 units followed by Honda with 82 units, CR-V 65 units, Toyota with 72 units, C-HR 58 units and Mitsubishi with 46 units, Expander 34 units. In the premium SUV segment Range Rover recorded 24 units of which Sports accounted for 17 units. Financing share was 46.3% which was in line with the normal monthly average.

Sri Lanka Tea exports for the month of April 2019 totalled 20.7 M/kgs, showing a marginal decrease of 0.1 M/kgs vis-à-vis 20.8 M/kgs of April 2018. Bulk tea shows a growth YoY, whilst packeted tea has shown a decrease.

Meanwhile, Tea bags have remained static when compared to the corresponding month of 2018. The total revenue for April 2019 of Rs. 17.3 billion, has shown a marginal gain of Rs. 0.2 billion vis-à-vis Rs. 17.1 billion of April 2018. This has also resulted in the FOB value for April 2019 realizing Rs. 823.01, thus showing a gain of Rs.12.19 vis-à-vis Rs. 819.82 of April 2018, according to Forbes and Walkers weekly tea market report.

Sri Lanka Tea production for the month of April 2019, totalled 23.6 M/kgs vis-à-vis 28.0 M/kgs of April 2018, showing a decrease of 4.4 M/kgs. High Growns show the highest decrease followed by Medium Growns and Low Growns respectively.

Cumulative production for the period January - April 2019 of 97.0 M/kgs too shows a decrease of 5.3 M/kgs vis-à-vis 102.3 M/kgs of January - April 2018. On a cumulative basis too, High Growns show the largest decrease followed by Low Growns, whilst, Medium Growns remain static.

 The Ceylon - German Technical Training Institute (CGTTI), Moratuwa and the German Training Institute (SLGTI), Kilinochchi, received modern industrial training equipment worth Rs. 350 million through a grant.

This is through a partnership agreement between the Stassen Group and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and illustrates the close social partnership between the industry and TVET institutions.

German Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives Jörn Rohde said, “the equipment would effectively elevate Sri Lanka’s vocational training systems towards Industry 4.0. This donation comes at a crucial time since modern industry with its automated systems and assembly lines require highly skilled workers and a competitive workforce.

“I am especially grateful to Stassen Group Chairman Harry Jayawardena for donating state-of-the-art equipment, which would provide students and faculty with the necessary tools to receive the right skills for the demands of the industry in our knowledge base societies. I also commend Jayawardena’s gesture as an exemplary contribution of a leading Sri Lankan business representative, helping to upskill the country’s labour force.

German Ambassador Jörn Rohde, Stassen Group Chairman Harry Jayawardena, Deputy Minister of Skills Development & Vocational Training at the event held on May 22

“I am happy to announce that Germany would cooperate with Sri Lanka in funding another Vocational Training Centre in Matara. Currently, respective agreements are being prepared.” Harry Jayawardena stated that for him, “CGTTI in his view, was the biggest gift Germany ever made to Sri Lanka. Even 50 years after its inception, it is still the backbone of Sri Lanka’s vocational training Institutes.”

“The donated equipment would greatly enhance training capacities for students in our key departments, such as mechatronics, automobile and innovation lab,” said CGTTI (GermanTec) Director - Principal S.P.K. Amarasinghe.

Industry 4.0, commonly referred to as the fourth industrial revolution, is the current trend of using automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies. The donated equipment provides modern media and new technology with original industry components to prepare trainees and students for the control system and automation technology tasks they may have to carry out during their future professional work.