India regained status as highest monthly tourist source for Sri Lanka in April after Russia held the top slot for six months.

To date, India has contributed over 80,000 tourists to the country and this figure is expected to double by 2023, according to the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority. 

Sri Lanka saw 19,915 Indian tourists (19% of total) in April as against 14,656 (14%) from Russia. India last held the top slot in October last year with 8,862 tourists whilst Russia was number two at 6,189 visitors. 

Minister of Tourism Harin Fernando, , said, “Sri Lanka is experiencing a significant rise in tourist arrivals, particularly from India, which has now secured the top spot. 

He added, “Sri Lanka values the Indian outbound market since it has been instrumental in driving tourism to the  country. 

The country features a varied range of attractions and offerings, including wellness and yoga, beaches, shopping, cuisine, adventure, and wildlife, in addition to its extensive legacy dating back 2500 years. 

Furthermore, the Ramayana circuit, a religious travel initiative, is a strong draw for the Indian market. As a result, this is an excellent time to experience the wonderful hospitality of the Sri Lankan people, he said.”

However Russia remained the biggest source market on a cumulative basis in the first four months.Industry analysts said arrivals from Russia in April decelerated from 25,553 in March as the winter season came to an end. 

Sri Lanka, which is emerging from an economic crisis, is expecting to attract 2million visitors from India this year, Sri Lanka Tourism Minister said on Friday.Sri Lanka is experiencing a significant rise in tourist arrivals, particularly from India, which has now secured the top spo

On the other hand the gain in arrivals from India from 18,959 in March was largely influenced by the successful series of roadshows Sri Lanka Tourism conducted in multi cities of Southern India last week of April.

Last year India was Sri Lanka’s biggest source market with 123,000 arrivals accounting for 17% of total. Russia came second with 91,272 visitors of 12.7% and UK third with 85,187 tourists or 11.8%.

In April, Sri Lanka enjoyed its fourth consecutive month of over 100,000 tourist arrivals, an achievement for the first time since 2019.

There were 105,498 tourist arrivals in April up by 67.5% from a year ago but lower than 125,495 in March.

 In April other arrivals included 8,743 from the UK, 7,404 from Germany and 5,535 from France. In addition, tourists were also received from China, Australia, the US, Maldives, Canada, and Japan, the data released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) showed. 

Arrivals in the first four months amounted to 441,177 (as against 348,314 in crisis-hit 2022) – a welcome development for the triple-hit tourism industry, but performance is still down by 50% compared to the same period in the benchmark year 2018. Russia remains strong as the top tourist source market for Sri Lanka YTD with 94,542, followed by India, UK, Germany and France

The International Monetary Fund sponsored economic reform program instrumental in the unlocking of US$3 billion for Sri Lanka has compelled the island nation to undergo a deep diagnostic on the issue of governance and corruption as the first country in Asia to do so.         

This was emphasized by IMF Asia and Pacific Department Director Krishna Srinivasan when he addressed at an event on Wednesday on May 03 adding that the Sri Lankan government is working on resolving some of these socio economic issues and will “flesh out a strategy.”

The outcome of this diagnosis on governance and corruption issues will feed into the program going forward. 

It’s also a program where we have a floor on how the country should support the poor and the vulnerable, he pointed out. 

And to make sure that the fiscal support they provide is temporary and targeted to the people who need it most. So it’s a very comprehensive program and the fiscal consolidation by itself will not be enough, he claimed. 

The next step for Sri Lanka is to make good faith efforts to reach a debt agreement with their creditors — private creditors, official creditors and so on. 

In terms of growth outlook itself, we had a contraction of 8.7 percent 2022. We have growth contracting at 3 percent in 2023 and then making a mild recovery. 

But the issue will be for Sri Lanka to implement the program well so that debt can be made sustainable, which is a big difference from previous programs, and the country can be put on the path to prosperity, he disclosed. 

Sri Lanka is a country with a quintessential problem where it had a twin deficit, a large increase in the fiscal deficits, putting pressure on the external accounts, reserves falling, and exchange rate falling.

And so the government has approached the IMF for an Extended Fund Facility supported program, which was approved by the Board not too long ago, he revealed.  

And that places the emphasis on one macroeconomic stabilization, bringing inflation down. Again, the fiscal consolidation is based on revenue-based consolidation. 

That’s partly because Sri Lanka has among the lowest in terms of revenue mobilization, tax collection, and that goes back to the policy mistake they made pre-pandemic, wherein they cut taxes across the board, whether it’s VAT, corporate tax, and personal income tax. 

So the Fund supported program is a revenue-based consolidation which provides stability to the economy.

It also wants to rein in inflation, which went through the roof. It addresses governance and corruption issues in Sri Lanka.

 Sri Lanka’s inflation has come down, albeit from high levels. So this is again work in progress. Inflation has to come down durably because, inflation is the worst kind of tax on the poor, and the poor and the vulnerable are hurting the most.

In order to bring inflation under control in terms of monetary policy with support of fiscal policy,  the Central Bank has to bring inflation down to levels which are reasonable.

In terms of debt restructuring, it has to restructure debt of all creditors — private creditors, official creditors, and to some extent, domestic debt, for the simple reason that debt sustainability is quite a big challenge in Sri Lanka. 

James Finlay Limited a leading global supplier of tea, coffee and botanical ingredients and solutions, has reached an agreement to sell its James Finlay Kenya tea estates business to Browns Investments PLC.

.James Finlays has stepped out of the Kenyan market in a deal that will see a Sri Lankan Company carry on its operations.

Browns Investments PLC, a tea-producing company in Sri Lanka has entered into an agreement to purchase James Finlay Limited, making this the company’s first investment in Kenya.

Browns Investments, in a press release, said the company will continue to operate James Finlay Kenya as a leading global supplier of Kenyan tea.

The purchase will be completed in the next few months and will include all parts of James Finlay Kenya Ltd except the Saosa tea extraction facility, which will remain under Finlays’ ownership and will continue to source leaf tea, timber, and other services directly from James Finlay Kenya.

“We’re proud to be moving a business with such a proud heritage into a new phase of sustainable growth,” said Kamantha Amarasekera, Director of Browns Investments PLC.

Browns Investments PLC was selected as the approved buyer because of its strong legacy of guiding its tea estates to continued growth, but also its focus on doing so sustainably while supporting its workforce and local communities.

Browns is a highly successful diversified conglomerate and part of the LOLC Holdings PLC group companies which is one of the largest and most profitable listed corporation in Sri Lanka. Headquartered in Colombo, the company has a proud heritage in operating plantation businesses, owning Maturata Plantations, Hapugastenne Plantations PLC, and Udapussellawa Plantations PLC. 

It is one of the largest tea producing companies in Sri Lanka consisting of 49 individual estates that stretch across an area of over 30,000 hectares and employs over 10,000 individuals.

James Finlay Kenya is Brown’s first investment in the Kenyan tea industry which it sees as an exciting opportunity for growth. 

In December 2021, Browns acquired Finlays’ Sri Lankan tea estates business, which has gone from strength to strength, demonstrating Browns’ successful commitment to sustainable growth.

Throughout the sale process Finlays has at all times prioritised the interests of James Finlay Kenya as a business and its workers. 

As part of the sale agreement, Browns and Finlays have mutually agreed to acknowledge the long-standing support of the local community by selling 15% of shares in James Finlay Kenya to a locally-owned co-operative. Finlays has identified a preferred third party which it is currently in discussions with.

While the sale process is concluded, operations for James Finlay Kenya will be business as usual, and a full plan is under development to ensure a smooth transition with no customer disruption. 

On completion of the sale, Browns intends to continue to run the business as it has been operated until now, as a leading global supplier of Kenyan tea, under a new name. There will be no change in the employment arrangements for current employees of James Finlay Kenya.

Finlays has a long heritage in owning tea estates, however after a strategic review in 2022, it decided that a new strategic investor in James Finlay Kenya would continue to guide this unique business towards long-term sustainable growth for the benefit of the whole community and the Kenyan economy at large.

Leaf tea will continue to be a critical part of Finlays’ portfolio, in which it  has a strong global presence across the UK, Sri Lanka, Dubai, Kenya, Argentina, the US and China. 

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) of China’s, Eurasian political, economic, international security and defence Association has agreed to open Trade and Economic Multifunctional Platform in Sri Lanka.

This was announced by the head of a senior delegation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s Trade and Economic Multifunctional Platform when they called on Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at the Temple Trees on Wednesday (3) to discuss ways and means of establishing cooperation.

The Prime Minister urged the delegation to support Sri Lanka to upgrade suburban transport services in the country using modern technical know how.

He also requested to facilitate e-commerce modules for Sri Lanka to enter into online trade with the member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

He also asked to establish cooperation between Shanghai City and Colombo City under the MoU signed in 2002.

Think Tank of the Trade and Economic Multi-Functional Platform for SCO Member Countries Executive Director Chen Tao said Sri Lanka would immensely benefit from this SCO window.

“The SOC-TEM Platform has the potential to help third world countries by providing access to trade and economic opportunities within the SCO member countries,” he said.

“They include increased market access for which the platform’s trade information module can help businesses in Sri Lanka to identify new export markets and make informed decisions about their trade activities. This can lead to increased market access and greater economic opportunities.”

He added that the logistics module can help businesses in Sri Lanka to streamline its supply chain management, reducing costs and improving delivery times. This can help these businesses to compete more effectively in international markets.

The financial module can provide access to financing options such as loans and credit facilities, which can help businesses in Sri Lanka to grow and expand. This can lead to increased investment and job creation in these countries, Chen Tao said.

He added that another opportunity is to get E-commerce opportunities. “The e-commerce module can provide a platform for businesses in third world countries to sell their products online, either within the SCO countries or internationally.

This can help these businesses to reach new customers and expand their markets, even if they have limited resources for marketing and distribution.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a Eurasian political, economic, international security and defence organization.

It is the world’s largest regional organization in terms of geographic scope and population, covering approximately 60% of the area of Eurasia, 40% of the world population. Its combined GDP is around 20% of global GDP.

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): The International Monetary Fund sponsored economic reform program instrumental in the unlocking of US$3 billion for Sri Lanka has compelled the island nation to undergo a deep diagnostic on the issue of governance and corruption as the first country in Asia to do so.

This was emphasized by IMF Asia and Pacific Department Director Krishna Srinivasan when he addressed at an event on Wednesday on May 03 adding that the Sri Lankan government is working on resolving some of these socio economic issues and will “flesh out a strategy.”

The outcome of this diagnosis on governance and corruption issues will feed into the program going forward.

It’s also a program where we have a floor on how the country should support the poor and the vulnerable, he pointed out.

And to make sure that the fiscal support they provide is temporary and targeted to the people who need it most. So it’s a very comprehensive program and the fiscal consolidation by itself will not be enough, he claimed.

The next step for Sri Lanka is to make good faith efforts to reach a debt agreement with their creditors — private creditors, official creditors and so on.

In terms of growth outlook itself, we had a contraction of 8.7 percent 2022. We have growth contracting at 3 percent in 2023 and then making a mild recovery.

But the issue will be for Sri Lanka to implement the program well so that debt can be made sustainable, which is a big difference from previous programs, and the country can be put on the path to prosperity, he disclosed.

Sri Lanka is a country with a quintessential problem where it had a twin deficit, a large increase in the fiscal deficits, putting pressure on the external accounts, reserves falling, and exchange rate falling.

And so the government has approached the IMF for an Extended Fund Facility supported program, which was approved by the Board not too long ago, he revealed.

And that places the emphasis on one macroeconomic stabilization, bringing inflation down. Again, the fiscal consolidation is based on revenue-based consolidation.

That’s partly because Sri Lanka has among the lowest in terms of revenue mobilization, tax collection, and that goes back to the policy mistake they made pre-pandemic, wherein they cut taxes across the board, whether it’s VAT, corporate tax, and personal income tax.

So the Fund supported program is a revenue-based consolidation which provides stability to the economy.

It also wants to rein in inflation, which went through the roof. It addresses governance and corruption issues in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka’s inflation has come down, albeit from high levels. So this is again work in progress. Inflation has to come down durably because, inflation is the worst kind of tax on the poor, and the poor and the vulnerable are hurting the most.

In order to bring inflation under control in terms of monetary policy with support of fiscal policy, the Central Bank has to bring inflation down to levels which are reasonable.

In terms of debt restructuring, it has to restructure debt of all creditors — private creditors, official creditors, and to some extent, domestic debt, for the simple reason that debt sustainability is quite a big challenge in Sri Lanka.