Features

In April the World Bank governors endorsed two historic goals: to end extreme poverty by 2030 and to ensure that prosperity is shared. It will take a lot to end poverty: strong growth, more infrastructure investments, increased agricultural productivity, better business environments, jobs, good education, and quality health care.

Some time back I attended a London Business School (LBS) Management Lab session, where the topic for discussion was, why some countries manage to achieve economic prosperity that helps them to escape the perils of poverty, while many other countries fail in this respect and continue to be trapped in poverty.

TIMWOOD is an acronym for the famous Seven Wastes identified by Toyota, presented in a user-friendly manner by Taiichi Ohno, the then Chief Engineer at Toyota. They are the basics of what we learned in.....

The last time Sri Lanka built a breakwater to protect its fleet of ships, the teardrop-shaped island off the coast of India, was called Ceylon and was still under colonial rule.

A Chinese proverb tells us that it is wise to learn from y our own mistakes but wiser to learn from the mistakes of others. Asian leaders should take this advice to heart as they juggle between policies for social welfare and economic dynamism.

A significant contraction in finance costs enabled Hayleys Group subsidiary, Dipped Products...

This article draws from a new Research Working Paper by the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS) titled ‘Incentivizing Foreign Investment in Sri Lanka and the Role of Tax Incentives’ by Anushka Wijesinha, Raveen Ekanayake and Gajen Mahendra. The publication is now available at IPS and leading bookstores.

It has been claimed that 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 wage increase,

From today onwards for seven weeks, we will be talking about leadership. For all who lead others or aspire to lead others, this short course could be a good guide. We have taken the concept from the best seller ‘The Leadership Challenge’ by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner.

A growing and well performing market is vital for both investors and borrowers to maximize their returns. This growth can help improve investor confidence as well as uplift the economy as a whole by mobilizing savings to the most important investments in the country.

Whether in Sri Lanka, Vietnam or Bangladesh, where a deadly factory collapse has killed over 500 people, the garment factory...

 “Why does the Shinkansen (Japan’s bullet train) travel much faster than an ordinary train?” was a question posed to us during a training programme in Japan.
None of our answers ranging from technology to the tracks were correct.

Asia’s rise is increasingly considered a foregone conclusion, yet the extent to which the region will prosper hinges on its ability to feed its voracious, ever-increasing appetite for energy.

 While the opportunities are being created to optimize the utilization of the new airport through Free Trade Zone, Industrial Park, Convention Centre etc. it is also necessary to look at what could be done from the existing opportunities both to the west and east of Sri Lanka in the immediate term.

Today, we recap what we have studied during the past few weeks. 
If you ever hear your executives whine about the competition, you will want to read this book.

Being a successful investor requires skills similar to those of a successful chef. Every cookbook stresses the need to read the recipe before beginning, make sure you have all the ingredients and do not deviate from the recipe until you have practiced it several times. 

Europe has always been a centre of celebration for human rights, whether for minorities, lesbian, gay, bisexual...

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.