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The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private lending arm of the World Bank Group, is considering a senior loan investment of up to $15 million to Senkadagala Finance PLC (SFCL), a licensed finance company in Sri Lanka and IFC client since 2014.

In a disclosure, IFC said the five-year $15-million senior loan will support SFCL’s lending to women micro, small, and medium-sized (MSME) entrepreneurs and the expansion of the financing firm’s branch network in tier II cities in Sri Lanka.

SFCL, listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange, is headquartered in Colombo with 90 branches and service centers spread across Sri Lanka.

The new branches will be established mainly in rural regions, where access to finance for MSMEs are a challenge.

“The project will create better access to finance for around 20,000 women MSME customers at an affordable rate,” the IFC said, adding that the loan will be secured by future receivables and would be funded in Sri Lankan Rupees.

The credit gap for women entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka is estimated at $350 million. This project is likely to incentivize banks and other non-banking financial institutions to launch funding programs targeted at women, the IFC added.

“The availability of credit would enable women MSMEs to compete and be a part of local/global value chains and grow their businesses by accessing domestic and foreign markets, which are not currently accessible,” it added.

As a result of the loan project, the combined economic activity would result in an increase in tax revenue to the state at a time where the fiscal position is under stress due to high debt servicing cost.

The Attorney General’s Department is in the process of studying the possibility of instituting legal action against former Ministers Basil Rajapaksa, Wimal Weerawansa, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, former Chief Minister S.M. Ranjith and several other persons.

They are alleged to have been involved in misappropriation of public funds and serious acts of fraud.

The study is conducted under the directive of Attorney General Jayantha Jayasooriya. AG Jayasooriya said President’s Secretary Austin Fernando, under the instruction of President Maithripala Sirisena, has submitted eight Presidential Commission reports to the AG’s Department seeking further legal action.

Jayasooriya also said that the above mentioned names and several other names of former chairman and directors appear in the said eight reports.The AG’s Department is studying the avenues of possible legal action against them as well.

The report includes investigations on the Economic Development Authority, National Housing Development Authority, the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian and Training Research Institute, the Kandy MOH Office, National Transport Commission, the Rupavahini Corporation and the National Youth Services Council.

Legal action is also sought on former Rupavahini Corporation Chairman Wimal Rubasinghe, Director General Chandrapala Liyanage, National Transport Commission Chairman Renuka Dushmantha Perera and former National Youth Services Council Chairman Lalith Piyum Perera as well.

Ceylon tea exports to China surged 30 percent to 9.9 million kilograms in 2017 from the year before, making China the eighth biggest market for Ceylon tea, local media quoting the Sri Lanka Tea Board said on Thursday.

Minister of Plantation Industries Naveen Dissanayake said the fast growth of the Chinese market showed it had a lot of potential.
"I visited China twice to promote Ceylon tea. We can export more to China," the minister said.

Statistics from the Sri Lanka Tea Board showed Ceylon tea exports to China have been rising strongly since 2012.

Tea exports to China have risen 230 percent in the past five years, with the growth in 2016 being the fourth highest among the island's major markets.

The livelihood of more than 350,000 smallholders in Sri Lanka depend entirely on tea cultivation.

The Emir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamin bin Hamad Al Thani and his family will be on a private visit in Sri Lanka from 25-28 January, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement.

Last year in October, at the invitation of the Emir Sheikh Tamin bin Hamad Al Thani, President Maithripala Sirisena undertook a State Visit to Qatar which was the first by a Head of State of Sri Lanka.

The close relations between Qatar and Sri Lanka were further strengthened during the State Visit by President Sirisena with both countries committing to work towards greater cooperation for mutual benefit.

Eight Tamil Nadu fishermen were arrested on Thursday by the Sri Lankan Navy while they were allegedly fishing near Neduntheevu.

Assistant Director of Fisheries, Pudukottai, Kumaresan said the fishers belonging to Jagadapattinam in Pududottai district were arrested while fishing off Neduntheevu by the Lankan naval men and taken to Kangesanthurai port there. Two boats were also seized, Kumaresan added.

The arrest of Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy has become a flash point in India-Sri Lanka relations.

(PTI)

Minister of Finance and Media Mangala Samaraweera had a successful meeting with a high-level delegation of investors from Japan, the Finance Ministry said today.

The Japanese investors are here on an invitation by the Japan – Sri Lanka Joint Comprehensive Partnership Secretariat of the Prime Minister’s Office in the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Tokyo.

A gym in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo caused outrage after it put up a billboard featuring a picture of a barrel with the text "this is no shape for a woman". The BBC's Ayeshea Perera reports on the fight to get it taken down.

The hoarding for Osmo gym went up in a Colombo suburb last week and the row almost instantly made it on to social media.

Both men and women shared pictures of the billboard along with expressions of outrage and disgust at the "blatant sexism" and "body shaming" depicted.

Some began a hashtag campaign entitled #BoycottOsmo, while others tagged the organisation on Facebook asking them to take down the hoardings and apologise. However the gym did not respond, and a post featuring the images used in the billboard stayed pinned to the top of their Facebook page.

"The ad was nothing very different from the typical objectification and sexist usage of women by the ad industry, which has been selling anything from cars to perfume by sexualising women and their bodies," Marisa de Silva, an activist, told the BBC.

"But this ad also attempted to body shame by dictating to women the ideal shape they should resemble, almost as though it is the sole basis of their worth."

So, along with a group of women who had been discussing the billboard on social media, she decided to do something about it.

The gym said it was inspired by a World Health Organization report on obesity in Sri Lanka (Getty).

One of them, who did not want to be identified, tried calling Osmo's marketing manager to complain, and was told that the hoarding had used an image that had not been "approved" by the company. He did not offer to take it down.

A few others decided to approach Harsha de Silva, the minister in charge of the Kotte constituency where the billboard was put up.

He responded with the tweet: "I asked the Colombo MC Commissioner to remove this unapproved offensive hoarding. I would not tolerate this in Kotte."

So the billboard was covered up on the basis that it did not have the necessary permissions, and the Colombo Municipal Council allowed the women to use the space to display a message against sexism for two days.

Ms. de Silva, who was one of the women who spoke to the minister, canvassed opinion on social media for the text of the new banner, before settling on "no more space for sexism" in Sri Lanka's three major languages - Sinhala, Tamil and English.

A local graphics company stepped in with an offer of sponsorship and the banner went up a day later.

But while many cheered the initiative to take down the billboard and replace it with a banner against sexism, a few men on social media warned that such a move set a "dangerous precedent" against free speech.

 The banner did not last long either. It was taken down after a day, and its whereabouts are currently unknown.

Meanwhile Osmo also responded with an official statement on the campaign, saying that it had "withdrawn" the advertisement, which was not intended to "degrade, offend, insult or undermine any one person or women in general".

It further explained that the ad had been inspired by a "disturbing" WHO report that said there were higher rates of diabetes, being overweight, obesity and physical inactivity among Sri Lankan women than men.

However Ms de Silva says she hopes that some lessons have been learned from the incident.

"This set off a chain reaction which I hope might make the ad industry at least think twice before subscribing to sexist advertising in the future," she said.

(BBC)

At the invitation of President Maithripala Sirisena, the Indonesian President Joko Widodo, conducted a State Visit to Sri Lanka from 24 – 25 January 2018.

During the visit, President Widodo met with President Sirisena and had bilateral discussions. Recalling the establishment of formal diplomatic relations over 65 years ago, the two Leaders expressed satisfaction on the vibrant, strong bonds of friendship that exist between the two countries, and agreed to further consolidate and expand the relations.

The two Presidents also witnessed the signing of three MoUs in the fields of Search and Rescue (SAR); Higher Education, Research and Technology; and, Cooperation against Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and their Chemical Precursors.

Recognising the vibrant maritime connectivity between Sri Lanka and Indonesia, the two Leaders discussed a wide range of issues of mutual interest pertaining to trade and investment, and reaffirmed their commitment to deepen and broaden economic collaboration. They acknowledged the need to harness the untapped potential, which exists in the bilateral economic sphere and emphasised the need for the early establishment of the Joint Working Group on Trade and Investment.

The two Leaders agreed that a joint feasibility study be undertaken for a possible comprehensive bilateral free trade agreement.

President Joko Widodo also met with Prime Minister Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe and had extensive discussions on a range of issues including investment, trade, economic cooperation and science and technology.

The two leaders acknowledged the positive outcomes of the Business Forum co-organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN), which was well attended by leading investors and businesspersons from both countries and welcomed the signing of the MoU between the two Chambers.

The Indonesian business delegation comprising members of KADIN which accompanied President Widodo called on Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and discussed enhancing bilateral trade and investment.

The Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court has fixed February 2 to deliver its order on preliminary objections raised today by former Minister Keheliya Rambukwella and the former State Printing Corporation (SPC) Chairman.

The duo is alleged to have caused an unlawful loss of Rs.230, 984 to the government after paying the former Minister’s mobile phone bill using SPC funds, during his tenure as the Mass Media Minister in the year 2012.

The defence had raised preliminary objections regarding the maintainability of the charge sheet.

The Bribery Commission alleged that the former Minister Keheliya Rambukwella had induced the CPC chairman to pay his mobile phone bill from March 15, 2012 to April 14, 2012 thereby causing an unlawful loss to the government, while serving as the Minister of Mass Media.

The PET Scanner to be installed at the Maharagama Apeksha Hospital has arrived in Sri Lanka.

The Pet Scanner has been purchased from Siemens Germany at a cost of Rs. 202 million, a Health Ministry spokesman said.

The PET Scanner will be installed in the Cancer Hospital and will begin services before April this year.

The public donated Rs. 200 million to the Government to buy the PET Scanner for the National Institute of Cancer in Maharagama.

The fundraising campaign was implemented by the Kadijah Foundation, TV Derana and several other organisations. The fundraising campaign was completed in June 2016. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a nuclear medicine functional imaging technique that is used to observe metabolic processes in the body. Three-dimensional images of tracer concentration within the body are then constructed by computer analysis. PET scans assist oncologists to determine the latest status of cancers in patient’s bodies.

In a statement released today, Minister of Finance and Media Mangala Samaraweera said that the upcoming local elections will determine if Sri Lankans will live free or under the yoke of fear, impunity and grotesque abuse of power by a single family and its henchmen.

The full statement;

 March to freedom or return to fear?

"The National Unity Government ushered in through a historic and revolutionary election in January 2015 has recently marked three years in office. As the Government attains this milestone, our achievements are many, but the road ahead of us remains as long and challenging as ever, and Sri Lanka stands again at the cusp of a crucial election in three weeks time that will determine the course of our nation in the years ahead.

Once again, it is an election that will decide if democratic institutions and traditions, painstakingly rebuilt since January 2015 will be torn down and laid to waste again. It is an election that will determine if Sri Lankans will live free or under the yoke of fear, impunity and grotesque abuse of power by a single family and its henchmen.

 For this local government election on February 10th is much more than a regional contest to capture political power in urban and municipal precincts. It is an old regime’s first real attempt to recapture power and restore an old, corrupt and dictatorial order.

 Incumbency fatigue and the monumental challenges ahead of Sri Lanka as the country strives to march towards sustainable peace and prosperity, weighs heavily on the January 8th constituency and the representatives elected to serve them. Disillusioned by the road ahead, which seems fraught with difficulty and the potential for lost opportunity, this constituency may waver. But I believe it is important to try and build on what has already been achieved and keep the window open for peace and change. I believe it is important to have a long memory. I believe it is important to be long-sighted and clear-headed about the monumental choice facing all Sri Lankans in this crucial election.

As memory fades and we are embroiled in the politics of the present, it is easy to forget that once, not so many years ago, a Government shot and killed its citizens for the crime of demanding clean water.

 We need to ask ourselves, where all the white vans have gone. Where have the grease yakas gone?

 We must question why the Government’s political critics and dissidents are not being thrown in jail. Why media organizations are not attacked and burned any longer. Why journalists are not being abducted or killed.

Remember the night races – the gift of an indulgent father who wielded all the power of his presidential office to ensure his sons could have a good time?

Remember the time when young men paid with their lives for the crime of being a rugby rival?

Remember when an incompetent brother in law to the President ran the national airline to the ground?

Remember how it was impossible to speak openly about the excesses of the ruling family except in hushed whispers not so long ago?

Of course, these are basic freedoms that citizens in any functioning democracy should take for granted. But it must never be forgotten that there is a profound co-relation between the end of this tyranny imposed upon the citizenry and the fall of the Rajapaksa regime in 2015. And it is this culture of extravagance, abuse of state property and state terror that is trying to make a comeback in the February 10th local government election.

Electoral inroads made in this poll could be used to attempt to recapture national control in future elections. So while the forthcoming election may be a ‘little one’ it has national consequences that could reverberate for years to come, casting long shadows over the lives of Sri Lankans who have begun to live unfettered and free again today. Yes, perhaps we are not where we hoped to be by this time. But we will get there. Change is incremental, political systems are entrenched and sometimes immovable; but the will to change remains as strong as ever.

With the Rajapaksa regime and its fellow barbarians at the gates once more, Sri Lanka is at another crossroads at this election. In a way, this makes the choice clearer for all those citizens who want liberty, democracy and peace. On February 10th the people will have to choose once more – will we continue the march to freedom or herald a return to fear?".

Shortly after the government signed a new Free Trade Agreement with Singapore, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said Sri Lanka must make even more deals to its economy to grow.

“For every foreign investment, there are Sri Lankan rupees earned,” he said. “There is a lot of hope in this agreement,” the Prime Minister said

The Prime Minister was speaking at the 59th Annual General Meeting of the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka at the Kingsbury Hotel last evening.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said that the government was already negotiating a new Free Trade Agreement with India.

“The main point is the removal of non-tariff barriers,” he said.

“Another trade deal with China is in the works,” the Prime Minister added.

“(There) is a market of over 3.5 billion people at our doorstep,” he said.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said that in order for businesses to succeed there must be a paradigm shift “to make our economy more outward-looking.” He added that politics should not get in the way of development.

“This government finally wants Sri Lanka to be successful,” he said.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said that the Anti-Dumping Bill, which would ensure that best practices are implemented in following free trade agreements, would appear in Parliament this week, and that he expected it to pass.

“The government had originally wanted the bill passed before signing the deal with Singapore,” the Premier said.

Speaking of last year’s deal to lease part of the Hambantota port to China, the Prime Minister said the Port had been a “white elephant.”

“Now we’ve come to a joint venture agreement,the Hambantota harbour will be taken over,” he said. “Of the $1.3 billion repaid, we have already been paid $200 million … and additional $600 million has been requested.”

“If the deal sparks new developments like an oil refinery, in the end, “you yourself will be compensated,” he said.

Source : Daily News