Government’s five hubs and public service

The ‘Mahinda Chinthana Vision for the Future’ policy statement envisages making Sri Lanka a regional hub in five sectors. To ensure Sri Lanka is well poised to be the centre in the region, the government is looking to transform Sri Lanka into a strategically important economic centre by developing five strategic hubs

Lankan exporters invited to utilize Pakistan’s GSP Plus with EU

Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Major General Qasim Qureshi made an open invitation to Sri Lankan exporters to utilize the current Generalized System of Preferences Plus (GSP) scheme Pakistan enjoys with the European Union (EU) and expand trade between the two countries through the existing free......

SLIA Architect 2014 inaugurated

The inauguration ceremony of Architect 2014, the 32nd Annual Session of the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects (SLIA) took place on February 19, 2014 at the Main Assembly Hall of the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH).

Nawaloka Construction purchases 20 TATA tippers

Nawaloka Construction Company Private Limited is an organisation that has been offering multidisciplinary services to suit customer requirements for over 60 years. It has the Category C1 for building work and P1 for piling work in the ICTAD grading and is a member of the NCCASL.

Greater profitability via CEO - employee communication - Obama points the way

An engaged workforce has a major bottom line impact, according to Gallup’s 2013 ‘State of the American Workplace’ survey, businesses with an engaged workforce made 150 percent higher earnings per share (EPS) than their competition in 2011/12.

Do you see career failures as learning opportunities?

Too many of us look at career failures for the face value –as failures. Yet, life’s lessons are anything to go by; failures are not setbacks but foot-steps towards greater success and bigger achievement.

Pathfinder Economic Flash How easy money can destroy communities and economy: Wigneswaran’s exposure

Northern Province Chief Minister Justice Wigneswaran has elaborated upon how diaspora remittances have deleterious effects. He has said that these remittances were having a very adverse impact on the lifestyles of the Tamils in the North.

The fallacy of island mentality in stock market

The Colombo bourse’s upward trajectory which was evident in January 2014 got slightly held back in the 12 trading days, leading up to mid-February with the All Share Price Index (ASPI) losing 2.2 percent or 135 points to be precise.

How we could contribute to Knowledge Hub

Sri Lanka in order to become a knowledge hub would require to invest big, to strengthen the existing skills base, that would however require the sort of great national leap forward we saw in 2009 to ensure we have the kind of skilled workforce needed to compete in a new, high tech industrial era.

Busting capital expenditure myth

Consider this simple question: “Does the present government have a strong commitment to high levels of capital expenditure?” Today in Sri Lanka most analysts tend to answer this question with a confident “yes”.

Is it time to go back to where we came from?

Achieving food security continues to be a challenge for Sri Lanka. Increasing population, changes in lifestyles, changes in food preferences and emerging middle income class demand more production. Therefore, governments need to make sure they are self-sufficient in their staple food, in our case, it is rice.

Quirky IPOs make a splash in Hong Kong

AFP- Nightclubs with diamante toilets, luxury cemeteries and local restaurants have made a splash during their debuts on Hong Kong’s stock exchange, proving particularly popular among “mom and pop” investors squeezed out of more mainstream openings.

Process Mapping: Tool for improving standards compliance

Process Mapping is at the heart of many continuous improvement techniques, ranging from the very simple, (e.g. Standard Operating Procedure) to the very complex, (e.g. Six Sigma) Process Mapping is founded on the premise that if you create a picture or a map of a process, it will be much easier to understand it.

What should investors know about IPOs?

The year 2014 is expected to be a promising year for the Sri Lankan equity market. The All Share Price Index has witnessed a growth of nearly 5 percent within one month. Further on, analysts predict an increase in market activities especially in the primary market as a result of the expected increase in Initial Public Offerings (IPOs).

We can become a breakout nation: CA Sri Lanka chief

Following is the inaugural speech by Arjuna Herath as President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, delivered at the 22nd President’s Induction ceremony of the Institute held at Cinnamon Grand Colombo.

Making use of technology for entrepreneurship

They are young women of a generation that grew up with the Internet, software and lap tops. They seek solutions in technology and believe in the power of technology that can be harnessed to produce great many things. They belong to a new generation of entrepreneurs whose very existence is dependent on technology.

Pathfinder Economic Alert SL’s development prospects: How to overcome emerging HR bottleneck

Sri Lanka has potentially extremely favourable medium-term prospects. In addition, macroeconomic conditions are likely to be more benign in the short term with 2014 being better than last year, provided the US Federal Reserve’s tapering programme does not cause severe turbulence in emerging and frontier markets.

Fertilizer shortage crippling plantation industry: PA

The Planter’s Association of Ceylon (PA) has warned of an acute shortage of fertilizer which will have a detrimental effect on the plantation industry. The PA whose mandate is to promote, foster and protect the plantation industry of Sri Lanka has sounded the alarm and appealed to all stakeholders to......

Forest attraction: Can Sri Lanka use ecotourism for sustainable forest management?

Tucked away amidst a tea plantation and bordering the Deniyaya side of the Sinharaja rainforest is a unique ecotourism venture that could hold valuable lessons on the future of forest-based ecotourism in Sri Lanka.

Placing guests at the heart of safety

When one purchases a high-priced item, it is natural and reasonable to expect a high-quality of performance. For most people, cars and holidays count as the two highest priced items of regular expenditure. People save money to take their annual holiday and also put aside money to be able to purchase a newer car.

GDP growth and income disparities

There is a controversy with regard to the alleged upward revision of the growth rate of quarterly GDP by 0.5 per cent from 5.5 per cent to 6.0 per cent. This has created some doubt in the public mind as to the accuracy and reliability of estimates of National Accounts.

Forecast for country's energy future- no common solutions

A recent article by Gail Tvreberg from a think tank on “Our Future World”, reproduced in “Oil Voice” Magazine of 4 February 2014 highlights that solutions to our energy dilemma will not work if we do not understand that the problem is quite different from what it really is and developing into a long term problem which in.........

Service quality: Balancing customer perceptions and expectations

Providing satisfaction to customers is an intuitively sensible route to running a profitable business. But we have not been very good at measuring whether or not businesses are doing a right job in delivering satisfaction to their customers. Part of the problem is a lack of clarity about the meaning of some of the concepts involved.

Tips on building your portfolio when investing

Because you plan to spend the money you set aside for short-term goals relatively quickly, you’ll want to focus on safety and liquidity rather than growth in your short-term portfolio. Treasury bills (T-bill) backed by the government’s promise to repay are generally considered safe investments.

Fourth Assembly of International Renewable Energy Agency and way forward

The Fourth Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) took place from January 18-19, 2014 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), attended by more than 1200 participants including heads of state and ministers from over 150 countries, as well as representatives from 120 international organisations. 

How volunteering can help your career

Volunteering is in – whether in reaching out to communities, helping street children or simply doing something for someone who cannot afford you or pay you back, it is not only fashionable but also extremely relevant in the world we live in today.

Some problems faced by condo owners These matters should be addressed in the new Condo Act

There are many problems have arisen with regard to condominium corporations and the management. As a result there are many unhappy buyers and they do not know where to go to get these problems satisfactorily resolved.  Therefore it is necessary all condo buyers should know the role of

Placing guests at the heart of safety

When I book a hotel I look for one that provides comfort and a secure environment. In a hotel environment, safety and security are two sides of the same coin. Let’s examine this on an imaginary – but not totally unreal series of incidents that all occur to the Nemo (‘Nobody’ in Latin) family, when they are picked up from......

Emerging markets need to do more to remain engines of global growth

We had a big debate on emerging markets’ growth prospects at our Annual Meetings in October 2013. We lowered our 2013 growth forecast for emerging markets and developing economies by a whopping 0.5 percentage points compared to our earlier forecast. Some argued that we were too pessimistic.

Post-war winners: Urban rich or rural poor?

For some time now it has been quite clear to economists that assessments of economic performance cannot be solely focused on overall income growth, but must also take into account income distribution. This is because a growing body of research has established that where the income inequalities are...........