Sri Lanka Tourism is expected its resurgence in the upcoming winter season following the vigorous promotion campaign in Europe especially in France along with the revenue recovery in the hospitality industry during the past ten months, SL Tourism Development Authority sources revealed.
SLTDA top official disclosed that the tourism promotion drive in France gained momentum with the resumption of Air France resumed flights to Sri Lanka on Friday and will operate thrice weekly flights to the country.
Air France operations on this route are seasonal and as per the winter schedule for 2022-23.“TheAirline is to resume services between Colombo – Paris with thrice weekly flights and gradually increasing to five weekly operations during the winter schedule.
This is following its ambition to expand the Air France – KLM footprint in the Indian Sub-Continent. It will operate the Boeing 787- 9 Dreamliner on this route and look forward to welcoming customers to experience a modern onboard product and high quality services,” Claude SARRE, General Manager, Air France-KLM Indian Sub-Continent said.
Meanwhile Sri Lanka’s earnings from tourism during the period from January 2022 to October 2022 surpassed US$ 1 billion mark, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) announced.
In October 2022, tourism earnings stood at $75.6 million in comparison to $ 54 million in September 2022.
In September 2022, Sri Lanka recorded a total of 29,802 tourist arrivals, with India, the United Kingdom, Australia and Germany remaining the main source countries for tourist arrivals.
The official reserve assets of Sri Lanka at the end of October 2022 were at $ 1,704million , the CBSL said further.
This is a decrease of 4.2% from the official reserve assets figure of $ 1,779 million in September 2022.
In accordance with the tourism promotion campaign, the Embassy of Sri Lanka in France successfully conducted a Sri Lanka tourism promotion awareness event on 04 October from 7.00 pm to 9.00pm in Paris organized by PONANT, a French cruise ship operating company and tour operator in France.
The company was founded in 1988 and operates tourism cruise ships under the French flag. The PONANT operates its tourism cruises to almost all regions in the World such as Africa, Middle East & Indian Ocean, Alaska, Antarctica, Asia, Atlantic Coast, Caribbean, Central America, North America, Northern Europe & Scandinavia, Ocean Voyages, Oceania & Pacific Islands, Red Sea, South America, The Arctic, the Mediterranean and Transatlantic.
The PONANT promotes Sri Lanka as a one of their destination in ASIA and this event was organized on the side lines of their proposed cruise journeys to Sri Lanka (Colombo, Galle and Trincomalee) in December 2022 and January 2023.
At the event, a detailed brief on Sri Lanka tourism was delivered in the French language. The presentation included Sri Lanka tourist attractions, bio diversity, wild, culture, authentic foods, festivals, tourism niche segments such as wedding tourism, international connectivity and domestic connectivity etc.
After the presentation, a cocktail event was organized where authentic Sri Lankan food such as Konda Kevum, Kokis, Paniwalalu, Mun Kevum and Sesame Rolls and Sri Lankan finger foods such as Patties, Rolls, Cutlets and Sandwiches were served to the invitees.
SL Tourism begin resurgence with promotions in Europe especially in France
Sri Lanka Original Narrative Summary: 06/11
- SLPP”s P. Wanniarachchi, C.B. Ratnayake and S.M. Chandrasena, together with J. Thondaman (CWC), D. Dissanayake (SLFP), and W. Abeywardene (UNP), tipped to be appointed soon as Cabinet Ministers: 2 or 3 from SJB also expected to join.
- State Minister Shehan Semasinghe says all main bilateral creditors including China participated in latest debt restructuring talks: also says process to obtain IMF loan is in final stage and IMF Board approval likely by year-end.
- Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith says there would be a negative impact when approaching the IMF: cautions against “bowing down” to IMF: asks people not to vote for politicians insensitive to their issues.
- Official Reserve Assets dip further by 4.2% to USD 1,704 mn in Oct 22 from USD 1,779 mn in Sept 22: Forex debts accumulated but unpaid for 2nd & 3rd quarters of 2022 estimated at USD 3.2 bn: earlier “expert economist” claims that Reserves will increase if debt is defaulted, debunked.
- Central Bank’s T-Bill holdings (“Money printing”) under Governor Weerasinghe’s first 210 days records a staggering Rs.713 bn: average of Rs.3.4 bn per day, even after interest rate has been nearly tripled: 54% higher than the “per day” average under Governors Cabraal and Lakshman.
- PM Dinesh Gunawardene appoints 5-member National Delimitation Committee to demarcate wards for local authorities: Chairman to be Mahinda Deshapriya.
- Tourist Hotels Assn President M Shanthikumar says tourist hotels are faring badly: notes tourist arrivals are far below expectations: hotel managers say there’s not much hope for the remaining 2 months in the year.
- State Minister of Foreign Affairs Tharaka Balasuriya says Sri Lanka is likely to receive USD 100 mn “infrastructure investment” by Canadian diaspora into Small and Medium Enterprises: no details given.
- San Diego Zoo announces that it has euthanized Sri Lanka born 45-year-old she-elephant “Devi” because of deteriorating health.
- England beat Sri Lanka in the last ICC T20 Cricket World Cup Group 1 match: SL 141/8 (20 overs): ENG 144/6 (19.4 overs): New Zealand and England qualify for the Semi-Finals from the Group.
High-level Business delegation of Sri Lankan heritage from Canada visits Sri Lanka
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Colombo
4November, 2022
Dollar debt restructuring is key to any recovery
As President Wickremesinghe pointed out recently, “with the bankruptcy that we have declared, our economy has virtually come to a halt. The inflation, the bankruptcy, and everything else that is happening have brought our economy to a grinding halt. How do we restart it? That is what we are engaged in,” the President said in his speech in which he detailed measures taken to restore stability and he also listed various challenges ahead and steps taken and planned to address those.
The rescheduling and restructuring of our debts are at the base of our recovery efforts. Over 60% of our debt is owed to financial markets or private creditors, amounting to around $ 35 billion, and about 8% was owed to the Exim Bank of China. All of which indicates the vital need to bring the private creditors to the negotiating table.
Four creditor groups will need to be approached. First, the bond holders. Then the traditional Government creditors, also known as the Paris Club which has been around for some decades where several governments put in their finances to assist with nations that are debt-ridden. The largest lender in the Paris Club to Sri Lanka, is Japan. On the bilateral creditors’ side, the largest lender is China. India too can be included in this group. Finally, we have the multilateral creditors e.g., IMF, World Bank, and ADB.
The first three mentioned groups are somewhat cautious about what is done by others in their category of creditors, which suggests that they are looking to ensure that any measure of debt relief offered by one group must be comparable to what is offered to the other groups. This requires skilled manoeuvring at the highest levels of Government. This cannot be left to bureaucrats only.
Restructuring options
Some creditors according to reliable sources want newly issued sovereign bonds that would be swapped with a significant haircut for old unsustainable privately held debt. Some want it in rupees for local investment. Some want a swap to rupee. Private creditors would benefit from a partial guarantee of the payment of the principal and a part of the interest payment analogous to the Brady Plan that was used effectively in the 1980s in Latin America (a Baker styled plan is not an option-WWW baker plan).
The Creditors want to be sure that they are not going to lose their capital if there is a laggardly approach to responding to the need for urgent reform due to incompetence of the debtor. They want to make sure the Debtor can pay interest, that is only possible if the Debtor earns sufficient dollars with which to pay their debt. Equally important, there must also be clear communication as to what can be done, and what cannot be done with regard to the measures proposed or undertaken.
Another option is debt moratoriums with negotiated interest rates. There is ample evidence to show that by suspending debt service, Latin America gained room to grow at much higher rates than the depression-stricken industrial countries. The trade surpluses were not enough to provide resources for both growth and interest payments. But once countries walked away from their debts, there was plenty left to support an impressive period of growth and industrialisation (Rudiger Dornbusch).
Conclusion
In the final analysis, majority now know clearly how public debt affects our lives, so debt relief should not only provide temporary breathing space, it should pave the way for the Government to lay the foundation for sustainable development with investments in health, education, digitisation, energy, but there has to be provisions in place to reduce the burden on the population who are already stressed, and this is one of the things that the IMF must assess before prescribing solutions.
We need a competent team of sharp, clever experienced people with good negotiation skills (hire them if required ) to decide on a package that can bring Sri Lanka back to a position where they will be able to access capital markets that are now virtually blocked due to a short-sighted debt default (Fidel Castro’s solution according to research was often to default, it created more problems than they solved) that has virtually dried up capital inflows.
Any debt restructuring in any country is and will always be painful, but those in power must all set an example to the public to get their support, by cutting Government cost to the bone, we must not get stuck in mismanagement by wishful thinking like what happened in Lebanon.
Case should be filed at International Arbitration Court to recover X-Press Pearl compensation: President
Accordingly, the President has instructed the Justice Minister to prepare a Cabinet paper regarding the filing of such a case before the International Arbitration Court, disclosing the amount of compensation demanded from the shipping company held accountable for the disaster.
The President made this remark during a discussion with the Justice Minister on November 01, 2022 on the event and advised Rajapaksa to expedite the recovery of compensation from the Singapore-based operators of the sunken cargo vessel.
The move comes in in the expectation of retrieving a compensation for the eco disaster caused by the ‘MV X-Press Pearl,’ a cargo vessel carrying hazardous chemicals that caught fire and sank in the Sri Lankan waters on May 20, 2021 near the Colombo Port. The blaze went on for nearly 13 days while at anchorage 9.5 nautical miles off the Colombo Port and caused a severe damage to the Sri Lankan eco systems.
Despite endless promises by the current regime and its predecessor the GR-regime, Sri Lanka is still at uncertainty on the possibility of retrieving a compensation for the eco damage the ship’s fire had caused. A fundamental rights (FR) petition filed by certain aggrieved parties demanding compensation for the damage is also being heard at the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, Sagala Ratnayake, Senior Advisor and Chief of Staff to the President, has informed that the Attorney General’s Office has also informed that a lawsuit may be filed against the relevant company before an international arbitration court.
MIAP
Plans to enact reforms ensuring speedy approval of foreign investments: PM
This was stated when a group of leading Canadian business community representatives headed by Member of Parliament Rachel Thomas called on the Prime Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office in Colombo on November 3.
The delegation, which included leading Tamil and Sinhala businessmen in Canada, assured support for the efforts to develop Sri Lanka’s economy to overcome the current crisis.
The Canadian business community said that they hope to increase the friendship with Sri Lanka and also expressed their desire to support the young entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka to build their enterprises. They urged the Government to remove unnecessary delays in approving foreign investment proposals and pointed out many Asian countries have speedy processes that have enhanced the investor confidence.
The Prime Minister briefed them on the steps taken to stabilise the economy and urged the expatriate business community to invest in Sri Lanka.
He said the support of Canada’s business leaders is also important for this purpose of rebuilding the economy. He listed out several fields with high potential for investment such as information technology, agriculture, fisheries and renewable energy.
The delegation included Han Dong MP, Rachel Thomas MP, Ganesan Sugumar, Arthur Kraus, Kula Sellathurai, Mohan Perera, Jude Francis, Siva Sivanathan, Elanko Ratnasabapathy, Prem Yachamanai, Riyaz Rauff, Mahesh Abeywardene, David Stao, Sutharsan Sriyoganathan and Arun Kiruba. Higher Education State Minister Suren Raghavan and Secretary to the Prime Minister, Anura Dissanayake also took part in the discussion.
There was no need for debt default – former CB Governor
- Says bridging finance was forthcoming from China and India
There was absolutely no necessity for the hurried, inexplicable and highly suspicious “debt default” of April 12, 2022 which was announced without any formal approval, former Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said in a statement. He said with the bridging finance that was forthcoming from China and India as well as the issue of “Green bonds” and expected inflows from other sources, Sri Lanka would have been able to tide over the challenging period until the existing sources of “non-debt” inflows could have been strengthened, and new “non-debt” inflows introduced.
“Many business chambers have been vociferously asking for higher Government revenue while some chamber leaders had even specifically called for Sri Lanka’s forex debt to be defaulted. Many also clamoured for an IMF programme which generally leads to a depreciated currency, higher interest rates, price increases in public utilities, sale of government assets, and the removal of subsidies. Almost the entirety of the above “wish-list” has now been fulfilled by the government, probably as “pre-conditions” for the impending IMF programme, and therefore, the business chamber leaders should be happy, although it is doubtful whether their member entrepreneurs are pleased with these measures. In any event, whatever may be their preferences, as a result of these recent measures, several outcomes have occurred. Personal and business incomes have reduced drastically. Interest rates have risen to over 36%. Inflation has surpassed 70%. To make matters worse, a recent news report stated that the IMF is pressing for a “more effective debt resolution mechanism & common framework, with equal treatment to all creditors”.
Daily Mirror
Janaki Siriwardena arrested over alleged ties to Thilini Priyamali remanded
Janaki Siriwardena, Executive Director of the KRISH Group, who was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department in connection with the probe into the grand financial scandal involving businesswoman Thilini Priyamali, has been remanded till November 16, 2022 as ordered by the No 03 Court of the Hulftsdorp (Aluthkade) Court complex today (05).
The request made by lawyers appearing for Mrs. Siriwardena for bail application was denied by the Acting Magistrate.
MIAP
Sri Lanka and Maldives to collaborate in the Construction Services sector
Sri Lanka and Maldives are set to establish links in construction services sector exploring possibilities, procedures and regulations applicable to foreign investments, including joint ventures in civil construction, “mechanical, electrical and plumbing.(MEP) and Engineering services.
The Sri Lanka High Commission in Maldives and the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) jointly organized a virtual meeting for Sri Lankan Construction Services Companies to interact with the SME & Entrepreneur Federation of Maldives (SEFM), Maldives Contractors’ Association to initiate action in this regard.
Mr. Abdul Latheef, President SME & Entrepreneur Federation of Maldives (SEFM) provided a comprehensive overview of the procedures in place, as well as the investment and sub contract prospects in civil construction industry in Maldives.
He highlighted that there are infrastructure projects which are underway under the Exim bank financing initiatives and activities provided by other countries (India/China) and sub contract opportunities that have been created which could be availed by Sri Lankan companies.
He underlined the criteria and experience that is required while providing a general outline of prospects in other areas such as MEP, architectural and engineering design, consultancy and building construction.
Mr. Abdul Latheef, further elaborated the criteria and opportunities available in physical infrastructure development and tourism industry in Maldives and highlighted the guidelines associated with doing business in Maldives with the current trade policy.
He emphasized the importance of having reciprocal benefit arrangements for the businesses to be healthier. The participants are looking forward for an opportunity to physically visit and meet face to face for better relationships.
Engineer Mr. Ranjith Gunatillake, Managing Director of Sanken Overseas said that Maldives is a reliable country for Sri Lankans to invest and get reciprocal benefits. However, Sri Lankan companies are facing difficulties in investing in Maldives due to the restrictions imposed by Sri Lankan government.
Maldivian Authorities have opened their hands for Sri Lankan companies to do business with them and Eng. Gunathillake paid his gratitude for the Maldivian Statutory Authorities for their extended assistance. He further suggested the Sri Lankan statutory authorities to consider taxes and royalties to be reciprocal within SAARC countries for Sri Lankan companies to be benefited. Further, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to encourage Sri Lankan companies to invest in Maldives and other key countries by removing restrictions imposed in terms of Bank Guarantees and performance Guarantees.
Mr. Priyantha Perera, Group CEO of Sierra Constructions stated that during the recent past large number of Sri Lankan contractors were involved in projects in Maldives i.e water supply, sewerage, communication and road development.
John Keells Chief urges the Govt. to ensure economic stability and growth
Premier diversified blue-chip John Keells Holdings PLC (JKH) urged the Government to ensure proper balance between economic stability and growth as it shores up efforts to boost tax revenue.
This clarion call has been made by the Head of JKH following its Group’ announcement of looking for gaming operators to operate at its flagship project ‘Cinnamon Life’ with the government formalizing the process of issuing licences and monitoring of casino operations in Sri Lanka.
“With the regularizing of gaming, the Group will proceed with finalizing arrangements with prospective gaming, operators to operate at ‘Cinnamon Life’,” JKH Chairman Krishan Balendra said.
The call for judicious balance is whilst recognizing positive progress made by the Government thus far in implementing the reforms and initiatives needed for fiscal consolidation to help overcome the financial crisis.
“We urge the authorities to give due consideration to ensuring tax measures are implemented with a view to striking a balance between economic stability and growth, which can, in turn, affect revenue targets if the base levels of activity are impacted significantly,” JKH Chairperson Krishan Balendra said in his review accompanying the company’s 2Q interim results released this week.
“While revenue enhancing measures are required, Government expenditure should also be optimised to drive economic recovery in a sustained manner,” he emphasized.
JKH Chief noted that the severe pressures on the domestic macro-economy as a result of external pressures have now eased somewhat and will be a positive heading into the ensuing quarter.
“While many fiscal tax consolidation measures have been announced and partly implemented, the impact of these measures on consumer disposable incomes and spending is yet to be fully seen,” he added.
Balendra said JKH is optimistic that Sri Lanka is on a path to recovery, and appreciated the authorities undertaking difficult, yet necessary, corrective measures to revive the economy to overcome the worst economic crisis faced by the country.
Group revenue rose 40% to Rs.69.06 billion in FY232Q whilst Earnings Before Interest Expense, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) improved by 45% to Rs. 9.29 billion during the quarter under review demonstrating the strong underlying cash operational performance of the Group.
Group profit before tax PBT declined by 10% to Rs. 2.56 billion mainly on account of the second quarter of the previous year including revenue and profit recognition from the handover of the residential apartment units at ‘Cinnamon Life’, and the higher finance expenses due to the significant increase in interest rates on working capital facilities, particularly in the Leisure and Retail industry groups.