Business

The likely loosening of the monetary policy will increase the savings - investment gap, which narrowed to 6.6 percent of GDP or Rs.503 billion in 2012, increasing the dependency on foreign financing to feed the investment hungry nation, a global bank alerted.

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) is currently in the process of amending regulations pertaining to the listing of debt securities, according to CSE’s Assistant General Manager of Regulatory Affairs, Renuke Wijayawardhane.

The  recently-launched  2013  Economic  and  Social  Survey of Asia and the Pacific of ESCAP is forecasting subdued growth of 6 per cent for the region in  2013  - up from 5.6 per cent in 2012.

Rubber industry analysts have said some time ago that, natural rubber (NR) prices are likely to take a dip after 2012 due to the acceleration in normal production on account of massive new planting undertaken across the major natural producing countries of the world during 2005-08.

Turbulent times have hit both Europe and emerging country economies. The competition for a share of the consumer’s wallet is becoming more severe. In Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne’s parlance, the Red Ocean is becoming more and bloodier.

We often boast of our ‘Sri Lankan smile’ and the friendliness of the Sri Lankans, but all is not well with the Sri Lankan service quality. According to many foreign business visitors, Sri Lanka’s hotels are the worst offenders.

A lot has been said about the current state of our external relations with the West. While the fallout of all this is often exaggerated, many of us know that diplomacy plays a direct role in addressing the root cause of insecurity and improving relations between countries. 

The recent wage increase granted to plantation sector workers has pushed the cost of production of Sri Lankan teas to the highest in the world, the Planters’ Association of Ceylon claimed.

Takehiko Nakao assumed office as the ninth President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) yesterday.

John Keells Holdings (JKH) became one of the top three largest holdings in the CF Ruffer Pacific Fund during the month of March.

The largest commercial bank in the country, state-run Bank of Ceylon (BOC) has recently come under scrutiny by multiple international rating agencies and the Central Bank over its faltering capital adequacy, Mirror Business learns.

Revenue of Lighthouse Hotel PLC (LHL) fell 5 percent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs. 203.1 million during the quarter ended March 31, 2013 resulting in a 57.1 million net profit as against Rs. 80.3 million during the corresponding period of the previous year, interim financials released to the stock exchange showed.

MPLN Peiris, Project Director of Sri Lanka Railway M P De Silva, Team Leader of CECB and S L Gupta, General Manager of Ircon International Limited, undertook the trial run on April 23. Other officers from Sri Lanka Railway, CECB and Ircon also participated in the trial run.

On a recent visit to the Galle Fort, supposedly one of the most ‘IT’ places around, I was struck by...

The government is to be commended for its highly courageous decision to adjust electricity prices towards cost-reflectivity.

Cairn India Limited said it is currently evaluating the options of converting gas into commercial use, one and a half years after identifying natural gas in the Sri Lanka’s Mannar Basin.

Sri Lanka’s Chevron Unit said profits for the March quarter (1Q13) rose to Rs.769.8 million against Rs.661.1 million in the same quarter of the previous year, despite a drop in revenue.

Bangladesh is tipped to sign a Free Trade Agreement with Sri Lanka to strengthen bilateral trade between the two nations, according to visiting Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Ambassador, Mohammed Shahidul Haque.