Business
‘Miracle on the Kelani River happening very soon’
Congratulatory Message by ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Sri Lanka
I am the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Sri Lanka, Santhush Woonjin JEONG.
Congratulations on Sri Lanka’s Independence Day! As ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Sri Lanka, I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations on the 73 years of independence and to convey the best wishes for the welfare and everlasting prosperity to the people of Sri Lanka. I hope that the relations of friendship and cooperation between our two countries, which have strengthened year after year, continue to be strengthened to provide greater happiness to the people of both nations. The Republic of Korea celebrates together with you!
Sri Lanka commemorates the country’s peaceful path to independence 73 years ago. While Korea and Sri Lanka had to overcome many hardships in the past, both countries have bounced back with vigour. Our two nations and people are examples of the resilience, steadfastness and hope even in the most difficult circumstances. Since the establishment of the diplomatic relations in 1977, Korea and Sri Lanka have come a long way together to form a cordial bilateral partnership. Korea and Sri Lanka have been truly good friends to each other on a whole range of issues, sharing common goals. It is my firm belief the common historical experiences shared by the Republic of Korea and Sri Lanka have further brought our nations together. Korea-Sri Lanka relations have made great strides in recent years and have become multidimensional, spurred by a significant convergence of interests, mutual goodwill and high level exchanges.
Today, Sri Lanka has the potential to become the next economic powerhouse in Asia. The strategic location, rich natural and human resources of Sri Lanka are complementary with the state of the art technology and capital available in Korea. This combination creates the perfect synergies for our two countries to further the potential for businesses. Korea’s economic miracle, so called ‘The Miracle on Han River’ is a story of overcoming many hardships by the Korean people that led to the national development from poverty to prosperity. I believe that Sri Lanka will also be developed to “the Miracle on Kelani River” in the near future. Korea is the very country that can help Sri Lanka achieve its goal. Our relations have widened on multiple spheres in which development cooperation is of utmost importance. Sri Lanka is one of Korea’s principle ODA cooperation partners. The Sri Lanka office of KOICA has continued to assist and fund commercial and infrastructure projects of Sri Lanka, thus augmenting the development of Sri Lanka. Korea has been promoting projects in the various fields such as education, transportation, water resources, sanitation and regional development in Sri Lanka. As a reliable friend, Korea is a trustworthy partner of Sri Lanka to meet the current needs of national development. With these as a momentum, the bilateral ties are expected to widen and deepen further in coming years.
The engagement in labour cooperation has also been commendable in recent years. 23,000 Sri Lankan employees are presently in Korea. Around 520 million US dollars were transmitted by them from Korea to Sri Lanka in 2019. They greatly contribute to the economic advancement of both countries. Since COVID-19, the process of departure to Korea for employment has been suspended. However, last September I invited the first batch of Sri Lankan migrant workers who were going to the Republic of Korea post COVID-19 to express my appreciation for their contribution to uplift the economies of both countries.
Furthermore the cultural ties between Korea and Sri Lanka have also deepened in the recent years. The Korea Week 2020 organized by the Embassy on virtual platforms provided various cultural events including a Korean language speech competition which was held in December last year, discussions on K-wave, a Taekwondo competition etc. Riding this momentum, the embassy has organized various cultural events in the recent past and I must say that we are truly gratified and heartened to witness the enthusiastic response of the Sri Lankans, especially the youth, to these events.
Now the world struggles to confront the challenges presented by COVID-19, and I would like to commend our continuing close collaboration to protect our people and defeat this pandemic together. Also we have strengthened the public health cooperation between our countries amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the “stay strong” campaign, on December 8, 2020, the government of the Republic of Korea donated COVID-19 diagnostic kits amounting to the sum of USD 300,000 to contain and control COVID-19. The Korean embassy donated re-usable fabric masks to Sri Lanka Army, Police who have dedicated themselves to protecting people in Sri Lanka including Korean residents amid, COVID-19. These re-usable masks were manufactured by a Sri Lankan social enterprise which empowers women. The Republic of Korea will stand in solidarity with Sri Lanka to successfully combat the battle against COVID-19.
Korea will continue to be with Sri Lanka as friend. While our level of cooperation today is unprecedented, there is always more progress to be made. As the ambassador of the Republic of Korea like the meaning of my Sri Lankan name “Santhush”, I would really like to carry happiness to Sri Lanka. I love Sri Lanka. I love Sri Lankan people. I will closely work with all of you to achieve our common goals. I wish all our Sri Lankan friends a very happy and memorable Independence Day.!
Let’s stay strong together!
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SLT-Mobitel, the nation’s ICT and Telecommunications Service Provider recently partnered with Spotify, to mark their launch in Sri Lanka. Spotify is a paid premium music streaming app which allows subscribers to listen to music to their hearts content. Both, SLT-Mobitel Post-Paid and Pre-Paid customers will now be able to enjoy Spotify by activating a monthly recurring subscription or one-time subscription plan and access unlimited music streaming and downloading facilities.
The subscription charges will get added to the user’s customary billing, where payment will be deducted in real time. Starting from the payment date, the user will be able to access Spotify and download their favourite songs, for the next 30 days. Users who sign up for their first monthly subscription will receive an additional one month, courtesy of Spotify. The one-month subscription plan is not applicable with one-time subscription plans. SLT-Mobitel data rates, depending on the user’s respective broadband charges, will apply.
Spotify also has some exciting features that will provide SLT-Mobitel customers with the opportunity to listen to ad-free music, access millions of uninterrupted music under one platform, play any song they like, anywhere they go, and also be able to enjoy their music offline.
SLT-Mobitel customers can select their preferred premium package under four categories; Individual, Duo, Family, Student. Each category has recurring and non-recurring plans. After one month of free streaming, the package will activate once the offer period terminates. While both, the Individual and Student premiums are limited to one account user, the Duo package offers two accounts and the Family premium is accessible through six accounts. To view Spotify plans, users can log on to https://spoti.fi/3aLWvce
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by Sanath Nanayakkare
Anyone conversant with the elements of a political economy would know that Sri Lanka is using its ‘sovereign power’ to manage the different dynamics of the economy in a sustainable manner, Professor W. D Lakshman Governor of the Central Bank said on Wednesday.
“Some critics are saying that we adopt a so-called modern monetary theory. That’s not the case. In fact, Sri Lanka is using its sovereign power in a number of economic aspects to honour its external debt repayment commitments as well as to reduce its debt burden in the medium term as well as achieve resilient growth in the medium to long term, he said.
“We make policy decisions to boost our gross foreign reserves, meet our external debt servicing, to facilitate monetary expansion, to boost our GDP growth, to strengthen our current account balance and manage our domestic and external economic variables in a sustainable manner. This is not a modern monetary theory. This is an age-old tool used by central banks around the world when the circumstances demand it, he said.
“Certain trade-offs will be necessary when dealing with an economy which has a big fiscal gap to bridge. There are efforts to push Sri Lanka towards the IMF again which would in turn have influence on our policymaking. We have taken policy measures to stabilize the economy and we have adequate reserve levels to meet our debt repayments. Meanwhile, we are in negotiations with overseas central banks and multilateral agencies to further boost our reserve level and it would materialise within a matter of weeks,” he noted.
“One of the tools the Central Bank has introduced is in respect of repatriation of export proceeds into Sri Lanka and conversion of such proceeds into Sri Lankan rupees in order to strengthen the foreign exchange situation of the country,” he said.
The Governor made these remarks while delivering the keynote speech at a webinar organised by the Veemansa Initiative led by its Managing Director Luxman Siriwardene – the former Executive Director of Pathfinder Foundation.
The webinar revolved round the topic ‘External debt situation in Sri Lanka: Are we heading for a resolution or crisis?’
Professor Sirimal Abeyratne, Prof. Sumanasiri Liyanage, Dr. Nishan de Mel and Dr. Ravi Liyanage were the other speakers on the panel.
Author
By Hiran H.Senewiratne
CSE produced signs of a rebound yesterday with both indices closing positive, though turnover remained low. Central Bank Governor W.D Lakshman’s recent statement on managing foreign reserves gave some boost to the market yesterday, stock market analysts said.
The index experienced a zigzag movement within the early hours of trading; thereafter, it recorded a slight up-trend as it reached its intraday high of 7,439. Later, the market witnessed a down-trend at mid-day, followed by a sideways movement and closed at 7,372, gaining 43 points during the month of February, market sources said.
It is said the banking sector dominated turnover with a contribution of considerable parcel trades in Sampath Bank, Commercial Bank and HNB.
Further, the Commercial Bank’s impressive quarterly results during the recent turbulent period also built investor confidence. Commercial Bank was able to register a18 percent net interest income when other banks were reporting a decline. Its share price increased by Rs. 3 or 3.5 percent. On the previous day, its shares started trading at Rs. 85 and at the end of the day they moved up to Rs. 88. Due to the positive growth results, the bank announced a Rs. 4.40 dividend per share, plus a Rs. 2 script divergent for every share.
Further, Sampath Bank shares also appreciated in both crossing and retail. In crossings its shares appreciated by Rs. 1.At the end of the day they moved up to Rs. 154.50. In the retail market, its shares moved up by Rs. 2 or 1.3 percent. Previously, its shares fetched Rs. 154 and at the end of yesterday they moved up to Rs. 156.
Amid those developments, both indices moved upwards. The All Share Price Index went up by 104.48 points and S and P SL20 rose by 67.78 points. Turnover stood at Rs. 3 billion with four crossings. Those crossings were reported in Sampath Bank, where 3.9 million shares crossed for Rs. 602.2 million, its share price being Rs. 154.50, HNB 375,000 shares crossed for Rs. 39.4 million, its shares traded at Rs. 105, Pan Asia Power 9.5 million shares crossed for Rs. 33.2 million, its shares traded at Rs. 3.50 and Access Engineering 1.2 million shares crossed for Rs. 28.2 million; its shares traded at Rs. 24.
In the retail market top five companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were, Expolanka Rs. 450 million (10 million shares traded), JKH Rs. 205 million (1.3 million shares traded), Browns Investments Rs. 199 million (34.9 million shares traded), Sampath Bank Rs. 191 million (1.2 million shares traded) and Dipped Products Rs. 137.7 million (2.8 million shares traded). During the day 101 million share volumes changed hands in 18046 transactions.
During the day, Expolanka, the biggest contributor to the turnover, saw its share price appreciating by Rs. 6.20 or 15 percent. Its share price quoted on the previous day was Rs. 41 and at the end of trading yesterday it moved up to Rs. 47.
Sri Lanka’s rupee quoted wider at 193.50/195.50 levels to the US dollar in the spot next market on Thursday while bond yields remained unchanged, dealers said. The rupee last closed in the spot market at 194.50/195.00 to the dollar on Wednesday.
