Business and Economics
With the reawakening of the leisure sector in Sri Lanka, Tisara Hotels, a leading hotel company in Sri Lanka, managing properties in Koggala has invested Rs. 700 million to open The Coastal Village Cabanas in Koggala.
The Coastal Village Cabanas is offering a totally new concept in the local leisure sector by offering hotel rooms on a long term basis to foreigners and also locals.
“Tisara Hotels which also own and operate Koggala Beach Hotel, Long Beach Hotels, Beach Cabana and Club Koggala Village saw the vacuum to offer high-quality accommodations at very competitive rates for long stay clients and launched The Coastal Village Cabanas with 30 rooms with mini garden areas ,” said Resident Manager, The Coastal Village Cabanas Lakmal Abeykoon . The management acquired a Colonial bungalow and converted it to a luxury property to launch this operation. “The management will further invest to add 30 more rooms by the end of the year.” In addition a 150 guest capacity banquet hall too would be introduced towards August this year.
There is a strong come back from Sri Lanka as well as the world for the World’s Largest Travel Trade Show, ITB Berlin 2023 which will be held from March 7 to 9 where around 90% of the available stand area is occupied.
Record 80 companies are participating from Sri Lankan while many more are still awaiting Visa appointments from IFS Visa centre which virtually do not offer any appointments depriving more participation from Sri Lanka.
In Halls 5.2a and 5.2b the focus is on India, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Nepal, New Zealand, Australia and Haiti. Bhutan is among those back at the largest marketplace for the international travel industry.
Hatton National Bank PLC (HNB) demonstrated resilience and a staunch focus on sustainable business performance as it posted Rs 15.7 Bn in Group Profit After Tax during 2022, a year marked by extraordinary circumstances and challenges.
Chairperson of HNB PLC, Aruni Goonetilleke commented that, “The year under review was challenging with many issues. Consequently, HNB remained vigilant, carefully recalibrating its priorities to maintain stability whilst supporting customers and keeping stakeholders closely engaged as the crisis unfolded. This focus is clearly affirmed by our performance”.
“Every crisis is an opportunity for positive change and Sri Lanka’s economic crisis is no different. Banks play a critical role in the country’s efforts to move beyond the current crisis mode to a growth mode and HNB is leading the way in unleashing potential with appropriate checks and balances.”
The Bank’s interest income increased by 110.0% YoY to Rs 207.0 Bn, primarily due to the increase in average AWPLR during the year by over 14 percentage points, consequent to the Central Bank’s restrictive monetary policy to arrest the inflationary pressure in the economy. Interest expense also grew at a similar rate as the high interest rates resulted in an industry wide shift from CASA to term deposits. The resultant net interest income expanded by 107.6% YoY to Rs 102.9 Bn.
The Bank’s net fee and commission income grew by 57.7% YoY to Rs 15.2 Bn driven by higher credit card volumes and trade income. Exchange income also improved significantly as the rupee depreciated by nearly 80% during the year. Factoring in the economic stress the Bank proactively increased its credit related impairments by 168% to Rs 31.2Bn for the year compared to Rs 11.7 Bn in 2021.
