By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): The stage is set for a long-drawn India-China fuel duel in Sri Lanka as Chinese major Sinopec begins retailing automotive fuels in the island nation from next month, challenging the position of Lanka IOC — the wholly-owned arm of Indian state-run giant Indian Oil Corporation.

Lanka IOC has responded by mobilising expansion of its retail network and has floated expressions of interests for adding 30 new petrol pumps to its existing network of 250 outlets over the coming months.

Significantly, Sri Lanka IOC is operated through the Indian company India Oil. Significantly, Sri Lanka IOC has invited bids for 30 new petrol pumps to expand its retail network.

At present there are 250 petrol pumps in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka IOC arrived in Lanka in 2003. The company deals in 16% petrol and about 35% diesel in Sri Lanka alone.

Lanka IOC entered Sri Lanka in 2003 and cornered 16% of petrol and diesel sales as well as 35% of lubricants, bitumen and bunkering (marine fuel) last year in a duopoly with CYPETCO. Sinopec is the first of the three companies, chosen by Colombo.

Lanka IOC PLC, the smaller and private sector player in Sri Lanka’s fuel supply duopoly, said it has received the approval from the Sri Lankan government to open 50 new fuel stations in the country.

Lanka IOC Managing Director Manoj Gupta had said the company would invest about Rs.2 billion to expand its fuel station network, which already has 216 fuel stations, by 50 new stations.

“State-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) operates about 1,190 fuel stations throughout the country.

The Cabinet of Ministers in June approved a proposal to allow more companies from oil-producing nations to import oil and start retail operations in Sri Lanka.

At present, 90 percent of Sri Lanka’s fuel supply is through CPC and the remaining 10 percent is by Lanka IOC.

Troubled by India’s strictness on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), China is now trying to create a new mess in Sri Lanka.

Actually, fuel is sold in Sri Lanka through a subsidiary of the Indian oil company Indian Oil. But now China is also trying to sell oil in Sri Lanka.

China’s Sinopec Company is one of the three companies that Sri Lanka has selected to set up petrol pumps. Australia’s United Petroleum and US’s RM Parks are two other companies.

Under Sri Lanka’s liberalization policy, Sinopec will get the right to operate 150 of the 1,200 retail outlets operated by the National Oil Company of Sri Lanka for 20 years.

RM Parks will get 150 more retail outlets. It will take 3-4 months for all these companies to start their operations in Sri Lanka. However, information about the plan of United Petroleum is not yet available.

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): The Government has decided to draw up legislation to prevent the unilateral revocation of bilateral or multilateral agreements made for national development.

The proposal to this effect submitted by President Ranil Wickremesinghe for the legal draftsman to prepare a comprehensive Bill aimed at bolstering the enforcement of these agreements was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on Monday.

“Sri Lanka’s credibility and international repute are tarnished after cancelling agreements instantly without consulting the other parties involved.

By enacting laws that reinforce these commitments, the Government aims to foster an environment of trust and reliability on the global stage once again,” Cabinet Co-Spokesman and Minister Bandula Gunawardena said at the post-Cabinet meeting media briefing yesterday.

The proposal underscores the need for a robust legal framework to instil a sense of accountability and responsibility among all stakeholders involved in bilateral and multilateral agreements.

On 22 May 2023, the Cabinet approved that laws should be enacted to prevent deviation from bilateral and multilateral agreements that are determined to be essential for national development without the consent of the relevant parties.

In May this year, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to enact laws to prevent deviations from bilateral and multilateral agreements without the consent of relevant parties as the country faced a diplomatic backlash following the cancellation of several international agreements including East Container Terminal (ECT) and Light Railway Transit (LRT) projects.

Back tracking on Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement by the previous government led by former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is also a case in point.

Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Bandula Gunawardena emphasised that such arbitrary decisions without consulting other parties had damaged the country’s credibility in the global stage.

At present, Sri Lanka is in the process of entering into a number of new bilateral trade agreements along with plans to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

In addition, the government has also requested the Japanese government to revive the canceled Light Railway Transit (LRT) project.The proposed legislation is expected to restrict future governments from arbitrarily canceling or deviating from bilateral and multilateral agreements without obtaining the consent of the other party and thereby restoring Sri Lanka’s credibility globally.

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): A Safe Migration Promotion Unit (SMU) to prevent illegal emigration on forged visas through the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) has been established at the departure terminal of the airport by Labour and Foreign Employment Minister Manush Nanayakkara.

The minister said several individuals had left for Oman, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates on forged visas and it has created serious issues.

He said the Safe Migration Unit was established on the recommendations of the Ministry of Defense and the National Task Force to Prevent Human Smuggling to prevent the movement of passengers on illegal travel documents.

The SMU comprises officers of the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau, the CID, the Department of Immigration and Emigration and the State Intelligence Service.

Minister Nanayakkara said it would function as a pilot project for three months and will be further improved thereafter.

Human trafficking and smuggling of migrants are global and widespread crimes that use men, women and children for profit. Criminal networks involved in these activities operate across different jurisdictions, taking advantage of gaps and differences in legal frameworks.

International cooperation is therefore an imperative to strengthen law enforcement responses. By joining forces, countries can pool resources, share vital intelligence, and coordinate their efforts more effectively.

As the Chair of the National Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force (NAHTTF) of Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Defence announced  that Sri Lanka remains in Tier 2 of the Annual Ratings of the recently released Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report by the United States Department of State.

Known as the world’s most comprehensive resource of governmental anti-trafficking efforts, the US TIP Report also reflects the U.S. Government’s commitment to global leadership on this key human rights and law enforcement issue.

As per the 2023 US TIP Report, GoSL does not fully meet the minimum standard for the elimination of trafficking but is making a significant effort to do so; and demonstrates overall increasing efforts in comparison with 2022.

While highlighting that the Sri Lankan Government increased prosecutions and convictions of traffickers, cooperated with foreign officials, reformed some restrictive migration policies, blacklisted more agencies, expanded the regulation of sub-agents and supported the repatriation of Sri Lankans after identifying more victims; the 2023 US TIP Report makes 12 prioritized recommendations for stronger counter-trafficking efforts in the country.

Among the said recommendations are ensuring that victims are not inappropriately penalized solely for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked, increasing efforts to address child sex tourism, including proactive identification of victims and investigation of complicit establishments, formalizing the domestic work sector

Ministry of Defence, will be putting in place several strategies to implement these recommendations. 

Sri Lanka remaining in Tier 2 is a testament to the strong perseverance of all the members of the NAHTTF in following a holistic and collaborative approach to curb human trafficking, recognized currently as one of the fastest growing criminal industries in the world.

01. President Ranil Wickremesinghe during his official visit to Singapore meets with Singapore’s President Halimah Yacob, Defence Minister Dr. Ng Eng Hen and Sustainability and Environment Minister Grace FU Hai Yien: holds bilateral talks with the Singaporean authorities involving food security, renewable energy, regional economic cooperation, and security and defence collaboration between the two nations.

02. The Disaster Management Centre says it has taken proactive measures to intensify the distribution of water amidst the growing water scarcity triggered by the ongoing arid weather conditions: Director Maj. Gen. Sudantha Ranasinghe says the Centre has deployed nearly 100 bowsers to distribute water across the country, with a primary focus on hospitals and social service institutions in need: asserts around 202,500 people across 15 districts affected by dry weather have already benefited from this initiative so far.

03. Sri Lanka settles the first tranche of $50 million of a $200 million debt obtained from Bangladesh in September, 2021: Executive Director and Spokesperson for the Bangladesh Bank Md Mezbaul Haque says the first instalment from Sri Lanka was received on August 17: adds Sri Lanka is expected to settle another instalment by August 30 and the BB foresees the repayment of the entire $200 million loan by September, 2023.

04. The overall inflation rate measured by the NCPI drops to 4.6% in July, 2023: The figure appears to have declined in comparison to the 10.8% recorded in June, 2023: Food inflation decreases to (-2.5)% from the 2.5% recorded in the month before: Non-food inflation drops to 10.9% from the 18.3% recorded in the month before.  

05. The Sri Lankan Rupee further depreciates against the US Dollar as of Monday in comparison to last week: The buying price increases to Rs. 316.72 from last week’s Friday’s Rs. 316.28, and the selling price to Rs. 329.59 from Rs. 329.49.

06. The PSC appointed to look into and identify the mechanisms to be implemented to control and eradicate the drug menace chaired by Public Security Minister Tiran Alles discusses measures taken to control the crisis: The Sri Lanka Police, National Dangerous Drugs Control Board and the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol summoned: Alles notes a special committee has been appointed headed by SDIG Deshbandu Tennakoon, to control the drug menace in this country.

07. Two inmates of the Galle Prison have reportedly died with five others being hospitalised due to what it was described as an ‘unidentified illness’: The Prison Spokesperson says investigations are currently underway to identify the nature of the infection, and as a safety precaution, face masks are being worn by all individuals inside the premises.

08. Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara instructs the CEB regarding the obtaining of the Ministry’s approval for the promotions of senior management at the Board, following reports that the CEB had promoted a woman official at the Board one day prior to her retirement: adds the reform process of the CEB, power generation plans, assets management, reducing administrative and operating costs and related issues were also discussed.

09. Estate Infrastructure Development Minister Jeevan Thondaman responds to a video footage circulating on social media of him using abusive language and threatening an official at an estate in Matale, saying that he as the Minister responsible demanded swift action against the mistreatment of a poor plantation worker family who together with its two-months old infant was violently and illegally evicted by an assistant estate manager.

10. Mumbai Indians announces the signing of eight cricket players, including two Sri Lankan players, taking their squad size up to 20, ahead of the second edition of ILT20, that is set to begin on 13th January 2024: Kusal Perera and Vijayakanth Viyaskanth join the squad ‘OneFamily.’

Colombo (LNW): Two inmates of the Galle Prison have reportedly died with five others being hospitalised due to what it was described as an ‘unidentified illness’ at the Prison, according to the Prison Spokesperson.

Investigations are currently underway to identify the nature of the infection, and as a safety precaution, face masks are being worn by all individuals inside the prison premises, he added.

By: Isuru Parakrama

Colombo (LNW): Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara has instructed the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) regarding the obtaining of the Ministry’s approval for the promotions of senior management at the Board.

The above instruction comes in following reports that the CEB had promoted a woman official at the Board one day prior to her retirement.

“A meeting was held with the Chairman, General Manager and Directors of CEB this morning. Instructions were given regarding promotions for senior management at CEB to obtain the Ministry approval and to implement immediately the board decision taken in 2020 that was to be implemented from 2025 regarding the minimum service period remaining required for the promotions to the positions of DGMs (3 years) & AGMs (2 years),” Wijesekara wrote on X (previously known as Twitter).

He added: “Since the current GM is retiring next month, instructions were also given to nominate persons & get the approval of the Ministry for the post of GM for individuals that has prior administrative experience and a minimum of 3 year service period remaining for retirement. Reform process of CEB, power generation plans, assets management, reducing administrative and operating costs & related issues to CEB was also discussed.”

Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka has recently settled the first instalment of US $50 million of a US $200 million debt obtained from Bangladesh two years ago, a report by Bangladeshi website New Age disclosed.

The financial assistance was extended by the Bangladesh Bank (BB) to Sri Lanka to address a pressing foreign exchange reserve crisis experienced by the South Asian country then.

The first payment from Sri Lanka was received on August 17, according to Md Mezbaul Haque, executive director and spokesperson of the BB.

He also said that Sri Lanka was expected to pay back another instalment by August 30.

The BB foresees the repayment of the entire US $200 million loan by September, he added.

Under the terms of a currency swap agreement, Bangladesh provided this monetary support to Sri Lanka in three distinct tranches.

The first tranche of US $50 million was sent on August 19, the second instalment of US $100 million on August 30 and the rest $50 million in September of 2021.

On August 19 in 2021, the BB released US $50 million as the first tranche and another US $100 million as the second instalment on August 30 in 2021 and the third tranche worth US $50 million on September 21 in the same year.

The initial tenure of the currency swap agreement was set at three months while the agreement contained a rollover condition, allowing Sri Lanka to extend the period of repayment of the financing facility.