Channel FIVE5: 2020-11-15

Inter-Provincial Buses for staff transport due to COVID-19 risk; NTC

Colombo (News 1st); The National Transport Commission is exploring the possibility of deploying Inter-Provincial buses for staff transport services for Government, Semi-Government, and Private Institutions. The NTC said institutions that require this service can download the respective application form by logging on to www.ntc.gov.lk or send an email to staffservice@ntc.gov.lk .

Founder of Microsoft Ventures Rahul Sood joins Jaffna Stallions as co-owner.

Rahul Sood, a highly successful Seattle based tech entrepreneur and founder of Microsoft Ventures, has joined the ownership group of Jaffna Stallions franchise cricket team in the Lanka Premier League (LPL). Mr. Sood will play a key role to support Jaffna Stallions’ brand development and growth worldwide, Jaffna Stallions said in a statement. “We are delighted to welcome Rahul Sood, creator of Microsoft Ventures as a co-owner. He brings a wealth of experience and international business acumen with his trailblazing entrepreneurship at VoodooPC and Unikrn. He will further sharpen our branding and enhance our international presence,” said Mr. Anandan Arnold, Chief Strategy Officer of Jaffna Stallions. Mr. Sood is the co-founder of Unikrn, the global esports entertainment platform. “The popularity of cricket is huge, and everyone knows the IPL has a massive global fanbase, so I was super excited to see Sri Lanka launch the Lanka Premier League. Cricket is far and away the most popular sport in Sri Lanka, so this will be one of the biggest moves in sports in decades,” said Rahul Sood, co-Founder of Unikrn and creator of Microsoft Ventures. “I’m looking forward to becoming a co-owner in the Jaffna Stallions and help establish its place in the world of cricket.” Prior to starting his latest endeavor, Mr. Sood created the first incubation fund for startups at Microsoft, and eventually he consolidated their global startup activities and launched Microsoft Ventures. A serial entrepreneur, Mr. Sood spent 18 years in multiple startups prior to joining Microsoft. He founded luxury and gaming computer manufacturer VoodooPC, which was acquired by Hewlett-Packard (HP). He went on to serve as the CTO of HP Gaming. Sood is an early shareholder and advisor to Maingear, Razer, ZED, and Vrvana which was recently acquired by Apple. Unikrn’s mission as a global esports entertainment platform is to heighten the experience of watching and participating in esports. Unikrn is a venture backed with investment from billionaire Mark Cuban and Hollywood actor Ashton Kutcher among others. Mr. Sood, a Canadian, is active in the startup community, helping and mentoring a variety of startups. In his spare time, Mr. Sood enjoys wake surfing and wake boarding, stand-up paddle boarding, cycling, racing cars and spending time with his family.

SEC and CSE commend market-friendly budget.

SEC and CSE commend market-friendly budget. The Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) and its licensee, the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), commended the budget proposals presented to Parliament on 17 November 2020 by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity as the Minister of Finance. The number of companies listed on the CSE has not increased during the last several years and that was seen as a reason for the lack of liquidity and relatively small size of the market, the SEC said, adding that the new proposals will be an impetus for new listings, SEC Chairman Viraj Dayaratne PC said in media statement. The SEC thanked the President, the Prime Minister, the State Minister of Money, Capital Market and State Enterprise Reforms, the Secretary to the President, and the Secretary to the Treasury for having taken into consideration the representations made by the SEC and for taking these initiatives which will help to develop and build a strong capital market which could benefit both users and providers of capital. These efforts will undoubtedly help deepen market activity and increase access to capital for Sri Lankan corporates, it said. Meanwhile, the CSE said that long-term sustainable measures have been proposed by the Sri Lankan Government to encourage companies to list on the CSE, encourage savings and investments among Sri Lankan citizens, and improve the attractiveness of real estate investment trust (REITs) through tax concessions. CSE Chairman Dumith Fernando, commenting on the proposals, stated: “The CSE is pleased to learn of these progressive proposals and we applaud the commitment of the Sri Lankan Government to promote capital market development in the country. The tax concessions proposed to draw in stock market investments and encourage companies to explore a public listing will most certainly complement our efforts to develop a larger listed company base.” Commenting on the proposal to encourage new listings at CSE, its CEO Rajeeva Bandaranaike stated: “The tax concession offered to companies listing on CSE by 2021 will offer financial benefits to companies and extra impetus to pursue a listing. This proposal offers vital policy support to expedite new listings in the market and greatly complements measures taken by CSE to expand listing rules to attract more companies and streamline the listing process. We believe CSE, as a result, is well placed to attract new listings in 2021.”