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Jaffna International Trade Fair in January 2022

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Jaffna International Trade Fair in January 2022

The 12th Edition of this mega trade fair will be held in the heart of Jaffna this January 21st, 22nd and 23rd. The event is organized by Lanka Exhibition & Conference Services (Pvt) Ltd (LECS), in association with the Chamber of Commerce & Industries of Yarlpanam (CCIY) and endorsed by International Business Council, The Ministry of Industry & Commerce and the Consulate General of India in Jaffna.

The Jaffna International Trade Fair is the most anticipated platform for Small and Medium Entrepreneurs to introduce their products to the population of the North. The organizers of the event noted that traders have experienced first-hand the potential the North has to offer.

The event is known to be a multi trade affair featuring industries, products and services in the Agriculture, Hospitality, Education, Food industries, Machinery, Construction, Consumer, Electronics, and real estate sectors.

The Main Sponsor for this year’s event will be Insee Cement, a proud stall holder for over a decade. Ruhunu foods tied up to become the Official Food Partner for the event. Official Telecommunication Partner will be Mobitel (Pvt) Ltd. who have been part of the event for 12 consecutive years since 2010. Official Safety & Hygiene Partner is Sun Match Company (Pvt) Ltd.

JITF provides an annual platform to reach a large portion of the market in Jaffna, both consumers and businesses based in Jaffna and the in the North, visit the show over the three days, typically 40 – 50 thousand visitors from diverse demographics visit the Exhibition. The location of the event next to the Jaffna fort, makes for maximum visibility for those participating as stall holders.

JITF 2022 will see the launch of a programme targeted at the Youth and Young Adults in Jaffna, aimed at Empowering & Inspiring youth towards self-development and entrepreneurship. The programme will feature knowledge sharing, skill development, mentoring forums, job opportunities and networking opportunities for budding entrepreneurs.

The event’s long-standing education pavilion “Kalvi” will also feature many higher education institutions at the event in 2022.

Susil Premajayantha removed over disciplinary dispute: Namal (VIDEO)

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Susil Premajayantha removed over disciplinary dispute: Namal (VIDEO)

Susil Premajayantha was dismissed from his State Ministerial Portfolio over a disciplinary dispute, claimed Minister of Youth & Sports, Minister of Development Co-ordination and Monitoring and State Minister of Digital Technology and Enterprise Development Namal Rajapaksa, speaking to media in Colombo today (04).

Rajapaksa added that several issues had arisen regarding the criticism of the fellow Cabinet and State Ministers, Rajapaksa went on, adding that many had asked the President why no action had been taken in this regard. The President, accordingly, has taken an action, he added.

Responding to the query whether a similar action should have been taken on Ministers Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gammanpila and Vasudewa Nanayakkara, who challenged the Cabinet’s decision by consulting the Court, Minister Rajapaksa noted that the President has made a statement in this regard as well.

Nevertheless, all in the government should be working with a collective responsibility and any disagreement should be addressed in a Cabinet meeting or a group meeting, he added.

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Cabinet approves establishment of “Trinco Petroleum Terminal Pvt. Ltd.”

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Cabinet approves establishment of “Trinco Petroleum Terminal Pvt. Ltd.”

The Cabinet has approved the establishment of “Trinco Petroleum Terminal Pvt. Ltd.,” regarding the development of the oil tank reserve in Trincomalee.

The relevant agreement will be signed within an upcoming week, revealed Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila, speaking to the briefing held in announcing the Cabinet Decisions today (04).

Accordingly, 24 oil tanks will be entitled to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and 14 to the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) for businesses.

51 per cent of the remaining 61 oil tanks will be entitled to the CPC and 49 per cent to the IOC at a joint venture under a 50-year lease agreement, Gammanpila said.

The operational will be fully controlled by the CPC, he added.

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10 per cent relief provided to water consumers suspended

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10 per cent relief provided to water consumers suspended

The National Water Supply and Drainage Board has decided to suspend the 10 per cent relief provided so far for small-scale domestic water consumers.

The relief was entitled to those consuming less than 25 units of water per month, following a budget resolution tabled in 2014.

Explaining the move, the National Water Supply and Drainage Board stated that the said relief incurs a monthly loss of Rs. 90 million, further fueling the financial depression from which the Board currently suffers. The relief will be suspended in the event that more than 75 per cent of the water consumers in Sri Lanka accounts to those consuming less than 25 units, hence the unbearable loss,it added.

The 2014 Budget resolutions proposed a 10 per cent discount for small-scale water and electricity consumers, but the relief was suspended by the CEB in 2015.

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Government finally agrees with IMF approach

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Government finally agrees with IMF approach

The Cabinet has approved the holding of discussions with several foreign states as well as fiscal bodies to overcome the country’s economic crisis.

Accordingly, Sri Lanka will be ready to hold discussions with countries including India, China and the United States, and international fiscal bodies such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the European Union (EU), revealed Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa.

The holding of these discussions has been entrusted with several ministers of the Cabinet.

United National Party (UNP) Leader MP Ranil Wickremesinghe and a number of politicians and economic analysts were of the strong opinion that the IMF approach is better than to obtain debts at high interest rates. Wickremesinghe had repeatedly expressed his views on the importance of the IMF approach to solve the prevailing economic crisis in the country.

The government, on the other hand, continued to deny the IMF approach, in what they claimed as a risk of being entitled to strenuous conditions, such as the redundancies in the Public Sector.

Nevertheless, the government has finally agreed with the IMF approach, among others.

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CBSL issues new directive on mortgage-backed housing loans

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CBSL issues new directive on mortgage-backed housing loans

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has issued a new directive regarding the maximum interest rates that can be charge on mortgage-backed housing loans, effective from January 01, 2022.

The order has been issued by CBSL Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal on the directives of the Monetary Law Act.

The new directive stipulates that housing loans must have a fixed interest rate for the first five years and that the interest rate thereafter must be a floating rate that adds up to 200 basis points per month to the Average Weighted Prime Lending Rate (AWPR).

The figure should be reviewed every six months, the directive added.

It is clear in which direction the country’s economy and other activities would be conducted – Susil (VIDEO)

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It is clear in which direction the country’s economy and other activities would be conducted – Susil (VIDEO)

Susil Premajayantha, Minister of State for Educational Reforms, Open Universities and Distance Education Promotion has been removed from his post with immediate effect. Prior to leaving the Ministry, Premajayantha had expressed his views to the media.

Premajayantha said that there was no prior notice of the removal and that he too had come to know about it through the media there that was no need for such notification in the executive branch.

The peculiarity of this removal is that the removal of Minister of State Susil Premajayantha first, when there were even cabinet ministers who had been in the government before and criticized the government.

Premajayantha stated that those who do not have a job or qualifications in terms of educational qualifications do not understand the value of education in a context where responsibilities have been handed over to Parliament.

He said the incident was a blessing for his political future.

Asked if there was any confidence that the President would take such a decision, he said it would have been a problem if such a decision had not been taken.

He added that it was clear in which direction the country’s economy and other activities would be conducted.

SL shipping industry calls for urgent resolution of forex crisis

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SL shipping industry calls for urgent resolution of forex crisis

Sri Lanka shipping industry and exports have been severely impacted by the prolonged forex crisis , Ceylon Association of Shipping Agents (CASA) warned, urging the government to  resolve this issue immediately.  

“The shipping industry is a clear example of globalisation, where it is through the industry that goods produced in one corner of the world are able to be consumed in the other corner. 

It plays a pivotal role in any economy, as it is through the shipping industry that countries are able to export and import goods and in turn earn foreign exchange due to strategic location advantage. 

Sri Lanka aspires to be a maritime hub in the region and is currently positioned as an important transshipment hub in the global maritime industry,” CASA said in a statement.

CASA said being the global industry shipping is, many of the payments related to the industry are made in US$. Global shipping lines need the speed and flexibility of being able to collect freight and make other vessel related payments in US$.

The current US$ shortage in the banking system has made it difficult to convert any rupee collections of freight to US$ in order to make the remittances to principals. Hence shipping lines are forced to request exporters to pay freight in US$.

Furthermore, shipping agents operate US$ accounts on behalf of their principals to which Principals send inward remittances to meet vessel disbursement costs. 

These costs include Port and Terminal charges, payment for Bunkers, deployment of on-board security teams, feeder freight and other supplies some of which are paid in US$, however agents have been facing many difficulties in making US$ payments to vendors and also remitting these payments to principals in the last 2-3 months due to the non-availability of US$.

An adverse effect of the delay in paying the principal would be, shipping lines receiving limited allocation for Colombo exports and instead that allocation being provided to regions where collections could be repatriated easily and without delays,.

Under this set up exporters will be unable to ship out good to meet client deadlines and in the long run lead to losing the space allocations to other regions and Sri Lankan exports will be adversely affected. 

Shipping lines could also insist that payment terms be changed from prepaid to collect basis which would once again reduce the bargaining power of the exporter in Sri Lanka, and adversely affect the freight rate reducing the competitive advantage the local shipper has in global context. 

Furthermore, Duty free supplies such as ships stores, bunkers, bonded stores are mandatorily paid in US$ as well as Cash to Master is mandatorily paid to ships in ports of Sri Lanka in US$.

There is also a buildup of containers within the port of Colombo due to the delay in import clearance owing to restrictions on LC facilitations. 

CASA said the average value of export freight per month is $ 100 million and it is vital for shipping agents to retain foreign funds held in Principals’ accounts to meet ongoing disbursements as well as remit funds to Principals in accordance with the Agency Agreements between Principals and Shipping Agents. 

“Therefore, it is vital that Sri Lanka facilitates the repatriation of funds to shipping lines and enable US$ payments to vendors of shipping lines to avoid the cyclical effect of losing the export income to the country in order to maintain the competitive advantage which has been gained through the years,” CASA added. 

https://www.lnwbiz.org

US $ 5.5 million from Russia with love to boost Sri Lanka school nutrition

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US $ 5.5 million from Russia with love to boost Sri Lanka school nutrition

The Russian government continues its commitment to further enhance mutually beneficial cooperation in trade, economic, cultural, and humanitarian fields with Sri Lanka.

 Sri Lanka has been offered with US $ 5.5 m from Russia recently via WFP to boost sustainable school nutrition systems.

The Russian Federation is committed to further enhance mutually beneficial cooperation in trade, economic, cultural, and humanitarian fields with Sri Lanka, said President Vladimir Putin at a recent meeting with ambassadors.

Our countries interact constructively in the international arena, in particular, as part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, where Sri Lanka has the status of a dialogue partner.’ said Putin.

The President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin highlighted these comments in his address to the diplomats in the Kremlin.

The Russian government has transferred $ 5.5 million to the World Food Program (WFP) in order to provide financing of the projects related to the development of sustainable school nutrition systems in Sri Lanka.

Ambassador of Russia in Sri Lanka Yury B. Materiy said the support was in line with the policy of strengthening cooperation with Sri Lanka in the interest of sustainable development.

Sri Lanka and Russia in October last year successfully concluded the 10th Round of Bilateral Political Consultations in Moscow.

During the meeting, the two sides reviewed existing multifaceted relations between Sri Lanka and Russia encompassing political, economic and cultural spheres as well as people–to-people contacts.

In discussions, the two sides also referred to cooperation in defence, education, connectivity and tourism, and in combating COVID-19, among others.

Recalling the longstanding historic relations and strong partnership between the two countries, both sides reaffirmed cooperation on issues of mutual interest in multilateral fora.

The discussion also focused on regional and international issues of mutual interest. Both sides are looking forward to the celebration of the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and Russia this year (2022).

https://www.lnwbiz.org

Susil Premajayantha removed from his post with immediate effect

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Susil Premajayantha removed from his post with immediate effect

Susil Premajayantha has been removed from the post of Minister of State with immediate effect. The Minister has been removed from office in accordance with the powers vested in President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa by the Constitution.

Susil Premajayantha served as the State Minister of Education Reforms, Open Universities, and Distance Education Promotion.

Premajayantha had recently criticized the government through the media.

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