There is no doubt that tourism in Sri Lanka is currently growing in leaps and bounds, with the cumulative arrivals up to April 2014 amounting to 534,132, which is an overall growth of 27 percent year-on-year (YoY). Hence, it is quite possible that th

Many factors have been influencing the natural rubber (NR) industry in the past quarter of a century. Growth in population and the development of world economy have enhanced the demand for goods and services, including rubber products.

Narendra Modi’s dramatic victory has given him a resounding mandate to pursue his pro-growth/pro-business agenda. He campaigned unreservedly on a strongly developmental platform. The results indicate that the majority of Indians want higher gro

Month to date, May 2014 has been rather encouraging for the Colombo bourse with the All Share Price Index (ASPI) gaining 57 points (or 0.9 percent) while recording a healthy average daily turnover of Rs.1.4 billion.

The net profit of the premier blue chip John Keells Holdings PLC (JKH) for the year ended March 13, 2014 (FY13/14) fell 3 percent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs.11.7 billion. Last year’s profits were boosted by Rs.2 billion fair value gain, which had

Effective leaders in organisations bring together both individuals and organisations to solve customer and organisational problems. But, there is a difference between leaders and leadership. Leaders refer to individuals who have unique capabilities t

Sri Lanka’s March trade deficit contracted 15.5 percent year-on-year (YoY) to US $ 602.2 million amid higher export earnings and moderate import expenditure, the latest data released by the Central Bank showed.

February 2014 marked five consecutive years of single-digit rates of inflation in Sri Lanka – supposedly the longest spell in the country’s post-independence history. Quite rightly, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) can take its share

Now that a solid project plan is done, the team can begin executing the project against their assigned tasks. This is the stage where everyone actually starts doing the work.

When it comes to personal finance and the accumulation of wealth, a few subjects are more talked about than stocks. It’s easy to understand why: playing the stock market is thrilling. But on this financial roller-coaster ride, we all want to ex

Since the mid-60s, the public service has been subject to a high degree of politicization under successive regimes. During the 70s and 80s, the public service cadre and recruitment procedures went through many changes primarily to serve the partisan

Moody’s Investor Services said the credit guarantee scheme on pawning loans proposed by the Central Bank (CB) would have a positive impact on banks’ credit ratings.

Natural rubber today accounts for something like a third of the world’s production of all rubbers and nearly 85 percent of the output comes from Southeast Asia. Technical and economic problems that have manifested themselves in the past in rela

Presently there is a substantial discourse on whether the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is waning in its commitment to the institutions of democracy. This insight explores a different question, is it waning its commitments to social inst

In any organisation, only two aspects of work exist—on-going operations and projects. The on-going operations constitute an organisation’s repetitive activities, such as accounting, marketing, HR, production, etc. The projects are the uni

There were a number of mistakes made by the previous governments  during the 30- year old civil war fought in the North of Sri Lanka form 1978 that  ended in  2009.This war was  aggravated after the July 1983 riots where a  l

As a student of hospitality, I was constantly reminded that in a well-run hotel, the ‘manager must be present’, available and in evidence. He or she should be out on the floor greeting guests and putting a face on hotel operatio

It is unlikely that the rubber plantations, currently going through difficult times with profitability per hectare markedly eroded due to rapidly declining selling price of rubber and spiralling costs of production due to rising wages of tappers, wil

Are you an enthusiastic investor? Are you looking for a winning investment strategy? If yes, you will find today’s article useful. Today, we will be sharing with our readers some financial advice picked from the most successful investors and fu

The key to the success of the behavioural interview is in the preparation. Prior to conducting the interview, the recruiter will need to do some homework. Having a thorough understanding of the company culture and organisational environment is.....

All governments have attached high priority to foreign direct investment (FDI) since the 1970s. It is important to understand why this has been the case and pose the question whether the Strategic Development Act (SDA) contributes to creating an inve

Need-based entrepreneurship has always been around – for those who are savvy enough to understand the need and do something about it. There have been successful female entrepreneurs who have built and continue to build businesses on needs they

The US-based Heritage Foundation (HF) has constructed a global index of economic freedom. Sri Lanka’s score has improved significantly post-war and declined a bit in 2014. The importance of the index has less to do with overall measures and sco

It is easy to take a running tap for granted, but water scarcity is a serious problem in many parts of the world. It is believed that over one billion people worldwide do not have access to clean and safe drinking water, according to.....

People are the lifeblood of all organisations. Adding new people to an organisation is not unlike having a blood transfusion. If the new blood is not good match, the body will suffer and ultimately reject the transfusion. That is the risk of all orga

Positive sentiments during the post-war era attracted a large number of new investors to the capital market. Many investors were able to reach their financial goals while a few others did not earn profits as expected. Several factors would have attri

We live in an incredibly connected world that is wired 24/7. Information flows at a rate faster than the average individual can decipher fast enough. It helps to spread the word, such a connected world, when we are doing well or our businesses need a

John R. Hendrie wrote in 2005, and, I quote, “It used to be so easy being a hotelier. Your guest wanted a good mattress, a clean bathroom, and perhaps easy access to a pool. And, room amenities were not a loss leader, for your prices reflected

The occurrence of mineral sands was discovered mainly in the northeast coast of Sri Lanka in 1904 during the period of the Principal Mineral Surveyor Dr. Ananda Coomaraswamy from the Colonial Office.

Financial reporting is a language that companies (public or private, non profit organizations, state or local governments) use to communicate to users of financial statements about their financial position.