Thursday, February 12

Tag: south asian

Sri Lanka stops import of Iranian oil ahead of sanctions
Business

Sri Lanka stops import of Iranian oil ahead of sanctions

Sri Lanka has stopped crude imports from Iran and is actively switching to other crude grades, as South Asian importers, including India, significantly restrict supply in anticipation of US sanctions against Tehran. “We stopped as soon as the sanctions were announced. We didn’t buy [directly] from Iran. We buy from Singapore, Dubai, Fujairah,” Sri Lankan petroleum resources development minister Arjuna Ranatunga told reporters in Fujairah. “We’re looking at signing government-to-government agreements over the next couple of months. We’re looking at long term agreements,” he added. Sri Lanka, one of the smaller South Asian consumers of oil, was importing nearly all of its 50,000 barrels per day from Iran, which was then refined at the country’s sole refinery built to run on light cr...
Google launches a new search experience for job seekers in Sri Lanka
LOCAL

Google launches a new search experience for job seekers in Sri Lanka

Tech giant, Google has introduced a new search experience that makes it easier for jobseekers in three South Asian countries including Sri Lanka to find employment opportunities on popular job listing websites, online classifieds and companies. The new feature is directly integrated into Google Search to provide a complete list of jobs on the web. At the launch, the job search will have hundreds of thousands of job listings from thousands of sites. Job Search provides a comprehensive listing of jobs across the web benefiting job seekers in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Job seekers can now search for "part-time jobs," "software developer jobs," or similar unique queries to find employment, to extract a special module that can be expanded to a more immersive experience. Clicki...
CICT, National Chamber of Exporters establish strategic partnership
Business

CICT, National Chamber of Exporters establish strategic partnership

Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT) the only South Asian terminal that provides a state of the art facility, equipped to handle the largest vessels afloat, has joined hands with the NCE, as the strategic partner of the Chamber. The agreement was signed for a period of 3 years from June 2018. NCE will engage in activities to create awareness about CICT and its services to Member Exporters of NCE. Also CICT will be sponsoring the 26th NCE Export Awards 2018, the flagship event of the Chamber. The NCE is the only private sector Chamber which exclusively serves Sri Lankan exporters and offers a range of services particularly to Member Exporters of export oriented enterprises, as well as the exporter community in general. The membership of the Chamber comprises export-orie...
Sri Lanka worker remittances up 3.2-pct in Jan 2018
Business

Sri Lanka worker remittances up 3.2-pct in Jan 2018

Sri Lanka’s worker remittances rose 3.2 percent to 579.5 million US dollars in January 2018 from a year earlier, after climbing 8.8 percent in January, official data shows. Remittances for the first two months were up 3.09 percent to 1,308.9 million US dollars from 1,268.4 million US dollar a year earlier. In 2017, Sri Lanka ended the year with total remittances down 1.1 percent to 7,164 million US dollars. South Asian nations including Pakistan experienced sharper downturns with lower oil prices reducing construction and other economic activities in the Middle East. Sri Lanka’s rupee collapsed in 2015 and 2016 due to excessive money printing by the central bank and has continued to fall in 2017 and 2019 under a real effective exchange rate targeting policy, encouraging people ...
Thailand to seek cabinet approval to sign FTA with Sri Lanka
Business

Thailand to seek cabinet approval to sign FTA with Sri Lanka

Thailand is keen to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Sri Lanka and the Commerce Ministry will seek cabinet approval for the negotiations, a top Thai government official says. Auramon Supthaweethum, Director-General of the Trade Negotiations Department in Thailand told the Bangkok Post that Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak plans to sign an FTA with Sri Lanka, as he expects the South Asian country will become a key trading partner. Sri Lanka is seen as an interesting market in South Asia, given its healthy economic growth average of 6.5% over the last five years, its strategic connectivity to China's One Belt One Road and FTAs signed with several South Asian nations such as India and Pakistan, the official said. Supthaweethum said the negotiators have already complete...
Sri Lanka’s National Neonatal Transport Service is the best in South Asia
LOCAL

Sri Lanka’s National Neonatal Transport Service is the best in South Asia

Sri Lanka's national neonatal transport service has been adjudged as the best such service among eight South Asian countries at the BMJ Awards South Asia 2017. At a glitzy award ceremony held in New Delhi last month the innovative work by Dr. Ramya de Silva of the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children in Colombo to develop a special neonatal transport unit was honored by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) as the winner of the Healthcare Innovation of the Year. The award was presented to the Minister of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine, Dr. Rajitha Senaratne at a ceremony held at the Ministry of Health recently. It has been recorded that one-third of premature and underweight babies die within the first month of birth and the Ministry of Health has taken steps to establish a ...