Lankan homes open out to tourists

Sri Lanka is encouraging more and more local families to open their homes to tourists and earn money in the process while increasing the room stock from this category to 10,000 by 2016.

The country is targetting 2.5 million visitors by 2016 and currently has 23,000 rooms compared to the 45,000 rooms needed to meet the five-fold increase from less than 500,000 in 2009. Currently there are about 300 homes of below five rooms each listed in the Sri Lanka Tourism website as ‘homestays’ providing a total of less than 1,000 rooms.

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(Source: Sunday Times)

Re-construction of partly built Celestial Towers expedited to accommodate CHOGM delegates

In a desperate effort to provide accommodation for foreign delegates of the November Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo, re-construction of the state-acquired Celestial Residencies, better known as Celestial Towers at Kollupitiya has been expedited on a Government directive, officials said.

The building at the former Ceylinco Group-owned property is being fast-tracked to be completed by October 2013 against the earlier schedule completion date of July 2014

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(Source: Sunday Times)

Small hotels for sale

Many small hotels in the southern coastal belt are approaching their bigger counterparts for management buyouts or part stake sales, as they struggle to fight escalating costs, overpricing and competition, industry analysts say.

“Most hotels are based on future earnings and valuations. Right now they are overpriced. Small hotel operators are finding it increasingly hard to operate with the high costs, and expensive rates. Most are for sale and some have approached larger hotel groups to either sell or part-sell their properties,” an industry analyst said.

He said that this includes boutique hotels and 3-to-4 four star properties in Wadduwa, Hikkaduwa, Galle, Thalpe, Ranna among other towns. According to industry sources, boutique hotels are being offered at as much as US$ 3 million for a 70 per cent stake. “Both locals and foreigners are seeing these properties and some sales are nearing completion,” an industry source said.

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(Source: Sunday Times)

11,000 room nights wanted for Indian film crew

A 250-strong Indian film crew led by talented actor Ranbir Kapoor will spend millions of rupees and use some 11,000 room nights between July-September to shoot an ambitious movie in Sri Lanka.

Indian film director Anurag Kashyap is using Sri Lanka as a location for the movie “Bombay Velvet” to be shot at Serendib Studio at the Ranminithenna Tele Village in Hambantota.

The selected organization should arrange 11,000 room nights in Colombo, Galle and Tissamaharama for the visiting crew negotiating charges with local hotels and provide 230 economy class and 30 business class air tickets.

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(Source: Sunday Times)

SL allows foreigners to take out capital

Sri Lanka on Wednesday announced the easing of foreign exchange controls to allow foreigners to repatriate capital as well as profits from real estate transactions, AFP reported.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka said it was making it easier for both foreigners and locals to take money in and out of the country as part of measures to spur greater economic activity. - See more at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/30828-sl-allows-foreigners-to-take-out-capital.html#sthash.s8aMi5JS.dpuf

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(Source: Daily Mirror)

Sri Lanka allows foreigners to buy land

The government is bringing in sweeping changes to recent restrictions imposed on foreign ownership of businesses and property to promote foreign investments, government officials said.

The Finance Ministry will issue a circular indicating these changes following the Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera’s endorsement of these decisions, reversing a budget decision.

In a 180-degree turn from the recent decision and subsequent action to prohibit foreign ownership of business and property in Sri Lanka under the 2013 budget proposal, the government will revert to the earlier practice of allowing foreigners to take up full ownership of businesses and property, if their investments in the project is over US $10 million, they revealed.

Earlier – before the budget proposal – a foreigner or a foreign company was entitled to buy land without paying 100 per cent land tax if their investment for the whole project was over US$10 million

Sri Lanka’s new regulation on foreign ownership of property is similar to the previous practice which was in existence before the year 2004.

However it will have additional, new provisions where foreigners can lease land but would be subject to a land tax of 5 to 10 per cent, Minister for Investment Promotion Lakshman Yapa Abeywardana told the Business TimesThis is a new provision since there was no tax on lands leased by foreigners, earlier.

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(Source: Sunday Times)

Sri Lanka to set tax of around 10-pct for foreigners leasing land

 Sri Lanka's new restrictions on foreign ownership of property will have provisions that will allow non-nationals investing in the country to lease land with a tax of 5 to 15 percent, senior government officials said.

Investment promotion minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said it was the policy of the administration to stop the sale of land outright to foreigners but foreign investors will be allowed to lease land for up to 99 years, after paying a tax.

"We will allow foreigners to lease land and we have requested that the tax be kept below 10 percent," minister Abeywardena said.

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(Source: LBO)

CID exposes huge land rackets

Racketeers including notaries public and land sale dealers have been taken into custory for large-scale illegal land grabbing in Colombo and the suburbs, Criminal Investigations Department (CID) detectives said. At least 30 such groups have been arrested so far after the CID probed some 4,300 complaints made following a Defence Ministry announcements calling on victims to inform the CID, the detectives said.

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(Source: Sunday Times)