This year, yet again, flooding caused by heavy monsoon rains came and receded. Meanwhile, this year alone, more than one million people have been hard hit by the worst drought in 40 years. The media, with few exceptions, have moved on to other topics

How did some nations, like Japan, China and United Stated become wealthy and powerful, while others remain stuck in poverty? And why do some of those powers, from ancient Rome to the modern Soviet Union, prosper for periods and then collapse?

This month marks 10 years since the biggest meltdown in financial markets the world has seen – the global finance crisis (GFC). A decade on since then, developed and developing countries are just about getting back to normal, albeit a ‘ne

The annual budget is one of the bedrocks of successful government. Budget statements are not simply accounting statements; they are statements of planning and governance, where the government announces its intentions and sets expectations on outcomes

Almost 900,000 people in the North Central and Eastern parts of Sri Lanka faced serious food insecurity issues in 2016 due to the country’s worst drought in 40 years. This situation was further exacerbated by severe floods in May 2017 in the so

With the increasing choice for shipping companies to locate their businesses, the race to attract and retain them is getting tougher. The strategic location, favourable political framework, access to a large pool of talent and overall conducive envir

When developing a country, political matters have to be clearly differentiated from economic matters, because politics leads to elections, conquering the power, establishing groups to influence public opinions and so forth, while economic matters lea

Everybody, from US President Donald Trump to the Global Infrastructure Forum, is trying to think of innovative ways to attract long-term private and institutional investors to pay for the huge and largely unmet demand for new highways, railways and d

Thomson Reuters Foundation:  Scorched by a 10-month drought that has killed crops and reduced residents to buying trucked-in water, Adigama’s young people are voting with  their feet.

In response to the news articles circulating on Total Pay and ICTA, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) wishes to clarify matters to the public and provide an accurate account of events which transpired regarding the National Payment Platform (NPP),

In response to the news articles circulating on Total Pay and ICTA, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) wishes to clarify matters to the public and provide an accurate account of events which transpired regarding the National Payment Platform (NPP),

This is the 12th of the Mirror Business-Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) interview series, featuring the top executives of the S&P SL20 companies. Here, Teejay Lanka PLC CEO/ Managing Director Sriyan De Silva Wijeyeratne talks about Teejay’s pe

It is needless to note here that the Sri Lankan economy is at a crucial juncture, mainly due to heavy public debt to be settled in the near future. 

NCE, in a press release expressed concern over the proposal to withdraw the current ‘Cess’ applicable to certain imported products, without proper consultation with the private sector.   

Ten years ago, the then Chinese President Hu Jintao announced that China needed to develop its soft power. Progress is not good. The percentage of people around the world who hold a favourable perception of China declined from 48 per cent in 2007 whe

?Rising urban population growth and private vehicle ownership are making Asian cities unlivable. City dwellers lose precious time in traffic jams, where they also suffer the negative health impact of deadly air pollution.

To understand secular stagnation, with its low inflation and low growth, look first at the growth of the information economy and the expansion of intangible assets.

The conduct of US international relations has thus far been strangely insulated from the psycho-drama that has engulfed the White House since President Trump took up residence there. Perhaps that’s because of the adult supervision of Trump&rsqu

We need to move beyond policy dialogue and economic summits, towards time-bound action plans and implementation. There clearly is a mutually respectful dialogue between the public and private sector today. The debates, arguments, criticisms, bouquets

This month marks 20 years since the Asian financial crisis. It’s appropriate to consider at this juncture why the crisis happened and what we have learned about how countries can safeguard their economies from future shocks and deliver sustaina

On Saturday, Sri Lanka finally signed a US $ 1.1 billion deal selling China a 70 percent stake in its strategic Hambantota port. The fact that the Chinese signatory, the state-run China Merchant Port Holdings, is a Hong Kong-based firm reminds not ju

Never before have there been so many well-educated, highly motivated, professional managers. We tap business intelligence, competitive intelligence and market intelligence. We mine data unprecedented in breadth, timeliness, quality and quantity. We u

Year after year, Sri Lanka continues to rely heavily on foreign trade taxes as a key source of government revenue and the latest fiscal numbers for 2016 show that this trend has not abated. Taxes on foreign trade accounted for 50.5 percent of the tot

What looms over businesses as far flung as car repair, lab equipment and swimming pool gear? In a word, Amazon.

A recurring theme among some market observers is how complacent the equity investors are today. A statistic often used as evidence is the US S&P 500 market-implied volatility or VIX, index. When this is low,

Following is the annual review of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Thilak Karunaratne in the SEC’s latest annual report.

Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakse very boldly stated at the Sri Lanka Economic Summit on Wednesday that the Board of Investment (BOI) should be shut down. The BOI is Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s brainchild and an offshoot of th

A recent discussion on combating substance abuse and its prevalence raised several interesting issues – matters that must require public interest, discussion and debate to generate sensible action. 

The Sri Lankan public has become the unfortunate victim of the nation’s health and sanitation crisis. The policymakers are questioned by both the public and media of their inability to manage the ongoing situation. 

Economic growth prospects in developing Asia for 2017 have improved on the back of stronger-than-expected export demand in the first quarter of this year, according to a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report.