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Sunshine acquires Daintee, diversifying its business beyond Watawala tea

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Consumer sector of the Sri Lankan conglomerate Sunshine Holdings has completed its acquisition of a leading Sri Lankan confectionery company Daintee Limited, adding several leading brands to its portfolio, including Daintee, Milady and Bensons. The transaction was valued at Rs. 1.7 billion.

This move comes at a time where Sunshine as a Group looks to strategically expand its presence in Sri Lanka’s fast-growing FMCG segment by extending its portfolio beyond tea, where they hold the No. 1 position. Daintee joins Sunshine Consumer’s growing portfolio of businesses that markets and distributes some of the country’s most-loved tea brands—Watawala, Zesta and Ran Kahata. The acquisition is in line with the Group’s strategy to nurture and build local brands.

Daintee Limited, founded in 1984 in collaboration with Barker and Dobson, a prestigious U.K. confectionery company, is a market leader in the sweets and toffee category in Sri Lanka. At present, the company boasts of an extensive product range consisting of toffees, sweets, jellies, chocolates and cocoa-based confectionery, bubblegum, desserts, biscuits and snacks where Daintee maintains a 40% market share in toffees and sweets. The products are marketed under the brand names such as Daintee, Milady, Bensons, Chito, Chix, X-tra, Mr. Bitz, Excella and Longlive.

“We are pleased to welcome Daintee Limited’s confectionery brands and its talented employees to the Sunshine Group,” said Sunshine Group Managing Director Vish Govindasamy.

“Daintee’s portfolio of brands are household names which have gained popularity and loyalty across generations. The addition of the Daintee portfolio of brands is a significant step towards Sunshine Consumer’s aim of being a strong player in the FMCG sector. With our marketing prowess that has enabled us to be the No.1 branded tea company in Sri Lanka, we hope to achieve the vision we have for every one of our brands to be the No. 1 in their sector of influence.”

The company has two primary manufacturing sites and four other locations for warehousing and packaging in the Ratmalana industrial zone. Furthermore, Daintee Limited is certified with ISO 9001:2015 and is the only confectioner in the country with an advanced microbiology testing centre.

 



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President outlines a bold vision for Sri Lanka tourism at THASL’s 58th AGM

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Addressing the 58th Annual General Meeting of The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) held on Monday (27) at Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo, President Ranil Wickremesinghe outlined a comprehensive strategy to propel the country’s tourism sector to new heights. Focused on surpassing the target of 5 million tourists and redefining traditional approaches, the President’s vision extends to achieving 7.5 million visitors in the coming years. The President emphasized the need for innovative thinking and collaboration within the industry to ensure sustainable growth.

“When I took over the government, I realized that sustainability alone is not sufficient. How are we going to earn foreign exchange? How are we going to have a positive balance of trade? In that, there were many suggestions. But what is the low-hanging fruit? And one of the low-hanging fruits was tourism. Let’s promote tourism fully,” President Wickremesinghe declared.

The President acknowledged the need to move beyond the existing framework and embrace competition to elevate Sri Lanka’s standing in the global tourism market. Drawing parallels with countries like Vietnam, he questioned why they had more tourists despite being in the industry for a shorter period. President Wickremesinghe stressed the importance of increasing the number of tourists to 2.5 million in the upcoming year and subsequently expanding on this figure.

(PMD)

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Free visas for nationals of China, India, Indonesia, Russsia, Thailand, Malaysia and Japan from Monday (27)

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The Controller General of Immigration and Emigration has stated that nationals of China, India, Indonesia, Russsia, Thailand, Malaysia and Japan will be granted free visas from Monday 27-11-2023 to 31-03-2024 as a pilot program to rebuild the tourism industry.

Nationals of the above nominated countries possessing, Diplomatic, Official, Public Affairs, Services and Ordinary Passports are eligible to enjoy a visa free regime under this scheme.

The above mentioned nationals should apply for Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) before arriving in Sri Lanka subject to granting / issuing free of charge up to 31-03-2024.

Under this scheme tourists can enjoy a 30 days free visa period and a double entry facility is permitted within 30 days from the date of first arrival in Sri Lanka.

Free ETA under this scheme can be applied up to 31-03-2024.

The free ETA cannot be extended further and is limited only to thirty (30) days. In case the free ETA period of 30 days expires after 31-03-2024, an extension of visa could be applied subject to paying the appropriate fee.

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Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia prioritize economic ties in apparel and tourism sectors

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The Minister of Economy and Planning for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Faisal F. Alibrahim, met with President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday (27) at the Presidential Secretariat.

During the discussions, Minister Faisal F. Alibrahim emphasized Saudi Arabia’s keen interest in strengthening economic ties with Sri Lanka across various sectors, including apparels and tourism. He elucidated that his government was focused on expanding economic relations within the region and regarded Sri Lanka with significant importance.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe welcomed the Minister’s comments, asserting that Sri Lanka is actively promoting enhanced cooperation in Asia, including West Asia. He further highlighted that the tourism and agriculture sectors were areas open to greater investment, as the country is committed to modernizing these domains.

(PMD)

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