Financial reporting and impact on capital market development

The origination of financial reporting can be closely connected to the requirement to collect and record data which evolved into a stage where the capacity of the human brain was not sufficient to accommodate and memorize the evolving volume of data and transactions. 

NDB poised for exceptional growth: Group CEO

NDB’s Group Chief Executive Officer Dimantha Seneviratne, speaks to media in the backdrop of recent success recorded by National Development  Bank PLC.

Is country’s oil palm development programme a threat to natural rubber industry, environment?

Oil palm is being played out as a big issue on the sustainability agenda in our country now. Despite repeated best efforts by responsible stakeholders including growers, agri experts, academia etc, in refuting irrelevant allegations, the topic keeps arising – the latest of which is the media pick up alleging that oil palm cultivation is to replace rubber, arguing that oil palm development programme is a threat to the rubber industry and e

Sri Lankan farmers’ traditional knowledge and climate change predictions

“If eagles and grey hornbills are flying above their normal height in the sky, it signals that rain is expected soon; if seagulls are flying close to the ground, it suggests that there will be heavy rainfall. However, these patterns have now changed because of the development activities in the Lunugamwehera Tank, Bundala Salt Corporation, etc.,” said Bandara, a 60-year-old paddy farmer from Bundala, in the Hambantota District. 

Giving leadership to a digital economy

The new economy has greatly changed our economic environment in relation to how the government and businesses operate and provide goods and services. 

As ‘foreign’ economic advisers leave, a protectionist India returns

NEW DELHI: When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took power in 2014, he leaned on three Indian academics who had predominantly worked in the United States to drive a liberal, globalized economic policy.

Sri Lanka would need to sign a suite of FTAs for different purposes: Malik

Following is the speech delivered by Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama at the Singapore-Sri Lanka FTA Outreach Seminar on July 10, 2018.

Fixing Sri Lanka’s labour market: Comparative lessons

The recently published ‘Sri Lanka Development Update 2018’ by the World Bank focuses on creating more and better jobs for an upper-middle-income Sri Lanka. It usefully analyses the state of Sri Lanka’s labour market and identifies the challenges to attaining this development goal. 

Asia after liberal international order

With the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, the West suddenly woke up with an acute anxiety about the fate of the US-led liberal international order. Until then, the liberal establishment in the United States had assumed that Hillary Clinton would succeed Barack Obama as president and ensure continuity in the liberal order. They ignored or dismissed warnings about the order’s crisis and decline. The belief in the re

Colombo needs better managed parking

Colombo is in need of better managed parking as the city continues to grapple with congestion on the streets.

Parliamentarians Act: Step it up for gender equality, deliver on 2030 Agenda

‘Step it up for gender equality’ was one among the many commitments renewed at the third South Asian Speakers Summit on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) implementation, convened by the International Parliamentary Union and Sri Lanka’s Parliament in Colombo, July 11-12, 2018.  

Are Asian currencies at risk from currency turmoil in Argentina, Turkey?

Two major emerging markets—Argentina and Turkey—are currently experiencing a bout of financial instability against a backdrop of rising US interest rates. The instability is evident in the sharp depreciation of the Argentine peso and Turkish lira si

Mangala delivers some home truths to SOE heads

Following is the full speech made by Finance and Mass Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera at the conference for the heads of state-owned enterprises, at Hilton Colombo, yesterday.

Foreign DIrect investments – Global tendencies and issues

In the year 2017, the global flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) dropped by 23 percent, in spite of the growth recorded on the macroeconomic aspects and trade. On an overall basis, there is a substantial drop in the return on FDIs, over the last five years. There is a decrease in mergers and acquisitions and the said downturn was more experienced by the developed and transition economies. 

China in our hand

There seems to be a big hoo-ha and a ding-dong going on in the media in the last few days, about Chinese investments in Sri Lanka. The primary cause for this appears to be the recent New York Times article, which pointed towards the Rajapaksas getting election campaign money via project funding. The story has taken sensational proportions probably due to its timing, as once again the country is on the verge of going into election season.

Will Asia grow old before it becomes rich?

Asian countries have traditionally enjoyed large demographic dividends—i.e. increases in labour supply and savings—that have boosted economic growth. But this decade, the share of working-age population, most notably in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Republic of Korea, has started to shrink, following in Japan’s demographic footsteps.

Estimating cyber risk for financial sector

Cyber risk has emerged as a significant threat to the financial system. An International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff modelling exercise estimates that the average annual losses to financial institutions from cyberattacks could reach a few hundred billion dollars a year, eroding bank profits and potentially threatening financial stability.

What kind of ‘liberals’ are these?

On June 19, Advocata Institute and Echelon Magazine’s Think series hosted Singaporean economist Razeen Sally at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute to speak on ‘Capitalism in Asia and what it means for Sri Lanka’. 

Sri Lanka running out of input-led ‘perspiration’ growth in a changing Asia: Razeen Sally

Shortages of labour, land and an ageing population mean that Sri Lanka’s opportunities for rapid catch-up growth are diminishing and institutional transformation is needed for innovation and output-led growth, a top economist has said.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative paved with risk and red herrings

There is no shortage of sceptics of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Indeed, stories about the BRI often include the evocation of debt ‘traps’ and ‘vassal states’. While some concerns merit consideration, popular criticisms of the BRI tend to be built upon incomplete and distorted stereotypes, which only draw attention away from the actual shortcomings of the BRI that need to be addressed. Common criticisms of

Everything about Trump’s diplomacy is commercial

US President Donald Trump is repeatedly boasting about his success in negotiating with North Korea. For decades and through many administrations, every leader said that peace and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula were not even small possibilities. 

It’s time to end malnutrition in South Asia

In Sri Lanka, as in the rest of South Asia, improving agricultural production has long been a priority to achieve food security. 

Oil palm to replace rubber?

During the past few weeks, there were reports in the local press that some of the rubber estates under the management of plantation companies are being converted to oil palm plantations. 

Transforming your one-time buyers into lifetime customers Safeguard sensitive CRM data against insid

The frontline employees are a key connection for managing customer information because they frequently collect it. Whether they’re retail sales clerks or highly trained technical salespe

Balancing Chinese presence in Sri Lanka: India and Japan’s game of stag hunt

The rivalry existing between China and India is based on a long historical trajectory dating back to the epoch of the Silk Route. More recent conflict emerged at a time when both states strived to emerge as nation states after facing colonial encounters for centuries. 

Challenges in making Sri Lanka self-sufficient in milk

Before the adoption of an open economy in 1977, Sri Lanka was 80 percent self-sufficient in fulfilling the milk requirements. However, at present, Sri Lanka is around 40 percent self-sufficient. This has resulted in importing nearly 100,000 metric tons of powdered milk to the island, spending more than US $ 400 million per year, while our neighbour India remains the world’s largest milk producer. 

When people get spun by Internet rumours

Many stories doing the rounds on the Internet a few weeks ago speculated about the future of the government and about a list of people who benefited from the bond scam. Both these issues however have been disputed by the government. 

Do we need gender quotas? Problem or solution?

In Sri Lanka we take pride in our women. Girls are educated on par with boys. Women are welcome in most careers and the pathway up in terms of promotions and achievements is open. 

Sri Lanka–Singapore FTA: An agreement between a giant and a child

A giant entered into an agreement with a child! It happened on January 23, 2018, in Sri Lanka. The true parties were Singapore (giant) and Sri Lanka (child). Why? Both are not of ‘equal status’ to create economic relations. The difference is not pertaining to their respective economic powers but their legal and regulatory frameworks. 

Productivity in public sector: Will it ever improve?

Governments grapple with the issue of having in place appropriate sets of human resource practices to push public servants to perform and for an emerging island nation such as Sri Lanka, the battle remains a hard one, where victory seems to be farfetched.