Stakeholder commitment sought to meet national climate change obligations

The European Union delegation to Sri Lanka and the Maldives along with the United National Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) recently held a workshop as project consultation and validation for new initiative to support to the implementation of Sri Lanka’s National Determined Contributions (NDC) in the industrial sector.

New impetus to revive economy: An expressway covering entire country

Sri Lanka is a country in the shape of an ellipse. While the central part is mountainous, the rest of the island is a flat plain. The distance from the North to South is about 420 km and from East to West, it is about 220 km at the maximum point.

ME Colombo at forefront among design concept hotels

ME Colombo, standing as the only design concept hotel in Colombo, with a mesmerising view of Colombo’s skyline, boasts high-end atmospheric offerings along with understated elegance and refined luxury,

A weakening global economy calls for a consensus on Sri Lanka’s priorities

Global stock markets seem jittery once again. After substantial rallies during the first half of 2019, stock markets have given back much of their gains over the last two months. Against fears over a global recession, an intensifying trade war between the US and China and an increased likelihood of a disorderly Brexit, stock markets plummeted in the US, Asia and Europe in August. Asian equities dropped by 4 percent during the month, whilst Europe

Airtel says geared for opportunities Sri Lanka has to offer

Sri Lanka’s telecommunication industry is now at an interesting juncture. With two existing players merging their operations and the regulator removing the floor price on voice calls, the industry appears to be heading for exciting times. In this backdrop, Mirror Business spoke to Jinesh Hegde, CEO of Airtel Lanka, a unit of India’s Bharti Airtel, which entered the Sri Lankan market a decade ago, to find out Airtel Lanka’s future plans and his ta

Why aren’t there more universities like SLIIT?

The education sector or more specifically the higher education sector is big business in Sri Lanka. One need not go far to understand its potential from an entrepreneurial point of view, as the Sunday papers are heavy with the number of special supplements on higher education with an information overload on the spread of choices available to students seeking degrees outside of state universities.

Winning over millennials for life insurance in Sri Lanka

Marketers have been trying to crack the code of how millennials purchase products. They’re perceived to be a baffling group of individuals whose purchasing decisions are uncanny and random.

No good reason to back out of US $ 480mn MCC grant

Sri Lanka is at risk of losing a US $ 480 million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant due to a campaign of misinformation and political differences among the ruling ‘coalition’. The MCC grant represents the largest grant from a single source Sri Lanka has ever received and presents a valuable opportunity to fix some of the country’s constraints to economic growth.

Lifting Sri Lanka’s ‘state of emergency’

Four months on from the brutal Easter Sunday terror attacks, Sri Lanka finally lifted its national state of emergency on August 22, 2019. While there has been much hype about what this means for economic productivity and tourism gains, the move has also sent a strong message about the state of peace and security within the nation.

Will next president fulfil the aspirations of the nation?

The common belief among the public is that there has to be a radical change in the current economic policies and work programmes undertaken during the last four and half years, as the overall economic growth has drastically reduced. Consequently, the living conditions of the people have badly affected.

Tea industry overview: January to June 2019

The second quarter of the Sri Lanka’s tea industry in 2019 saw a sharp decline in elevation averages in comparison to the first quarter.

Spice sector’s current crisis and the way forward

Director General of Department of Export Agriculture, Dr. A.P. Heenkende delivered the keynote speech at 35th Annual General Meeting of the Spice and Allied Products Producers and Trades Association held in Colombo recently.

Trade war fractures Asian global value chains

On August 24, US President Donald Trump announced an increase from 25 to 30 percent for the existing tariffs on US $ 250 billion of Chinese imports from October 1 and new 15 percent tariffs on US $ 300 billion of Chinese imports from September 1. In doing so, Trump has reneged on his August 13 decision to delay until mid-December the imposition of new tariffs, then set at 10 percent, given the admission for the first time that they may ‘have an i

Strengthening farmers’ resilience in Sri Lanka’s dry zone

They call it the dry zone. A huge area of Sri Lanka that lies towards the North of the island, where there is a real shortage of water for agriculture and drinking.

Govt. action imperative to tackle growing beedi incidence

Over the years Sri Lankan lawmakers have taken progressive steps towards tobacco control and Sri Lanka has been recognised and lauded as a world leader in the global campaign to combat smoking. However, over engineering of regulations to combat smoking is also giving rise to problems that ironically are once again related to smoking and these unexpected outcomes

Hatch launches F’Up Fridays

The start-up ecosystem in the island has certainly come a long way and needs to talk more now about the failures than clichéd success stories and embrace them just as part of their journey ahead. In view of this, Hatch, a revolutionised workspace that advocates free-thinking and networking for all things start-up and budding entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka, unleashed its initial meetup called F’Up Friday, last month.

Competition, capital needs and higher taxes challenges for banking sector: NDB CEO

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) in partnership with Daily Mirror is featuring a column on Mirror Business as an Investor Relations initiative. The column, which will be featured in a Q&A format, encourages S&P SL20 companies to bring attention to the developments in the industry, the company and discuss growth prospects. Following are the excerpts from the interview conducted with National Development Bank PLC Director and Group Chief Executive

Gender-responsive budgeting

Inclusiveness is one of the salient features of the contemporary international development agenda, which means that nobody will be left behind in the development process. Gender is an important dimension of inclusive development.

Are Sri Lanka’s economic policies targeted at addressing root cause of all problems?

One of the most common complaints of businesses/entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka is policy inconsistency and ad hoc policy changes. From the changes in taxes to changes in interest rates, Sri Lankan businesses are often faced with challenging conditions.

A Fed interest rate cut is in the bag. What then?

(San Francisco) REUTERS: U.S. central bankers are expected to lower borrowing costs this week for the first time since the depths of the financial crisis more than a decade ago. That’s the easy part.

Can Sri Lanka stay ahead of the game?

We live in an era marked by unprecedented technological change and innovations, which are transforming economic activities, including trade. While developments such as advanced robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and three-dimensional (3D) printing could open up many opportunities for both developed and developing countries alike, these gains are not guaranteed.

Presidential Election 2020: Who will craft our own digital future?

From counter-terrorism to recovery: Lessons from international experience

Man-made terror attacks – like natural disasters – are extreme events and their frequency appears to be rising globally.

Replaced by a robot? Labour migration from Sri Lanka in the Age of Intelligence

Labour migration from Sri Lanka has experienced many changes in recent years. Often, these are due to traditional reasons, such as oil price fluctuations and the slowing down of growth in destination economies.

The HR mantra that guide great workplaces

Great Place To Work Institute held its award programme for the sixth time last week. Great Place to Work Institute Sri Lanka has been conducting studies to understand and recognise the best workplaces in Sri Lanka since 2013.

Are hotel schools staying relevant to industry needs?

An often-asked question in the hospitality industry is whether graduates of hospitality education programmes possess the competencies that the hospitality industry believes students should possess. In an industry as dynamic and diverse as hospitality, where new trends and changes are driving the sector, educators must tailor their programmes to ensure they are designed to equip graduates with the relevant knowledge that will help them advance the

how to arrest economic downturn: Hold national-level elections before end-2019

The very first article of the 1978 constitution says Sri Lanka shall be known as the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. One can argue that Sri Lanka at present is neither democratic nor socialist. As for the ‘democratic’ part in the constitution, what exactly is a democratic form of governance? This is a way of making collective decisions in society, which requires free and fair elections to be held at the right time and respect for the

Current economic woes to weigh on leasing, finance industry in 2019: PLC CEO

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) in partnership with Daily Mirror is featuring a column on Mirror Business as an Investor Relations initiative. The column, which will be featured in a Q&A format, encourages S&P SL20 companies to bring attention to developments in the industry, the company and discuss growth prospects. Following are the excerpts from the interview conducted with People’s Leasing and Finance PLC (PLC) CEO/General Manager Sabry Ibra

Tides post-terror: Towards stability following Easter Sunday Attacks

Life is nasty, brutish and short. The horror of the Easter Sunday attack in Sri Lanka will prove Thomas Hobbes was correct. The child that lost her parents or the parent that lost their child unaware why this disgraceful act of brutality came to their lives.

South African businesses and their role in creating sustainable peace and stable economy

Following is the full address delivered by South African High Commissioner in Colombo R.P. Marks at the 180th Annual General Meeting of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce on June 28th on the topic ‘South African Business and their Role in Creating sustainable peace and a stable economy.’