Economists Highlight Data's Inconsistencies.....

The recently concluded Sri Lanka Economic Association (SLEA) annual sessions saw many users of the published national data highlighting inconsistencies and questioning the methodological soundness of the official data.“I see inconsistencies, a lot of inconsistencies, as a user of national income data. The growth rate is rising so fast, in fact, faster than the levels before. The per capita income has been rising.But, at the same time, I

Budget 2015 will usher new era of economic development: CB Governor

The 2015 budget is ushering a new era for the country’s development, according to Central Bank (CB) Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, who was speaking at the KPMG Budget Highlights event, recently.“Now you see a new beginning, where the focus is no longer what was there in the past, but a new focus has been created in our country,” he said.He said that plans for recent budgets were all followed and achieved systematically

zMessenger to host Sri Lanka’s first Mobile Marketing Roundtable

zMessenger, Sri Lanka’s largest mobile marketing solutions provider will bring together top brand leaders from FMCG, hospitality, banking and financial services to the Island’s first roundtable on mobile marketing scheduled for Thursday, 30th October, 2014

Renowned teacher Jayasundara Arachchige Gunasiri launches Maths website

Renowned mathematics teacher Jayasundara Arachchige Gunasiri today launched www.mathssir.lk, a mathematics website which supports the education of students across the country. This website is the first of its kind in Sri Lanka and provides free online videos in English, Sinhala and Tamil to help students who have missed lessons and are struggling to complete their syllabi. The website is designed to assist students from grade 9 to 11, especial

Hybrid Homes to construct multi –storey Hybrid building for SLAAS

Hybrid Homes, Sri Lanka’s pioneer and market leader in Hybrid Construction Technology (HCT) signed an agreement with Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science (SLAAS) recently to build a multi-storey building in Vidya Mawatha, Colombo 7.

JAT Holdings lays foundation for high-tech Training and Simulation Centre

In an attempt to further reduce maternal deaths in Sri Lanka, the foundation laying ceremony for the estimated Rs. 30 million state-of-theart JAT Training and Simulation Centre was held on October 27th.The JAT training and Simulation Centre will be set up under t he auspices of the Sri Lanka College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (SLCOG.) at Model Farm Rd, Colombo 8.

Panasonic CFL Bulbs receive SLS certification

Panasonic, a global leader and i nnovator i n consumer electronics along with Softlogic Retail (Pvt) Ltd the authorized distributor for Panasonic i n Sri Lanka, have added a new dimension in quality assurance by acquiring the coveted SLS certification for their Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb (CFL) making it the only international light bulb in the market to receive the prestigious certification.

Lanka Hospitals awarded JCI accreditation

Lanka Hospitals announced that it has received the highly prestigious JCI accreditation and its gold seal of approval after a rigorous onsite evaluation by an international surveyor team of most experienced and skilled healthcare experts, elevating the hospital to an exclusive group of healthcare organisations worldwide that has met every stringent clinical quality standard set by Joint Commission International (JCI), the recognized leader in

Emirates Wins In-flight Dining Award From Saveur Magazine

Emirates, a global connector of people, places and economies, announced that it has won Saveur Magazine’s Culinary Travel Award for Best In-Flight Dining: First Class & Business Class for the second consecutive year.

LankaClear marks ‘Intl Customer Service Week’

National payment infrastructure provider, LankaClear, celebrated International Customer Service Week from 4th to 11th October, appreciating its frontline staff for the service rendered.

Qatar Holdings plans Lankan entry

The second largest sovereign investment giant in the Gulf region has announced that it is scouting Sri Lanka for implementation-ready projects and more importantly, the world’s richest country is vying for Sri Lanka’s surging stock market. The second largest sovereign investment giant in the Gulf region has announced that it is scouting Sri Lanka for implementation-ready projects and more importantly, the world’s

Ceylon Chamber Proposes Stimulus To Prop Up Demand

While commending the government for presenting a budget focusing further fiscal consolidation—specially for proposing to cut the fiscal deficit to 4.6 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP)— Sri Lanka’s premier trade chamber, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) proposed a “degree of fiscal stimulus” to prop up slowing demand seen in the market recently.“Whilst there is a proposed 15 percent increase in

Three times weekly flights from Djibouti to offer Connections via Doha to the rest of the World Awar

DJIBOUTI – Qatar Airways has continued its expansion in Africa with the launch of services to its latest destination, Djibouti, which began this week. The five-star airline commenced the three-times-weekly flights from Doha’s Hamad International Airport to Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport, marking the airline’s 145th global destination.

Jaffna IT Week 2014

The ‘Jaffna IT Week’, scheduled to be held from 3 to 6 December 2014, is an industryinitiative for inclusive growth and reconciliation, driven by SLASSCOM, and supported by the Export Development Board (EDB), Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA), Ministry of Education (MOE), University of Jaffna and the Yarl IT Hub.

Overseas Realty Profits Rs 2.4 Billion, up 28% for 9 months 2014.

Overseas Realty (Ceylon) PLC Group profit after tax, including fair value gains, increased by 28% to Rs 2.4Bn over the previous period. The group maintained a worthy growth momentum to achieve a revenue of Rs 4.7Bn, increased by 41 % through Property Leasing, Trading and Service Segments.

What followers want from leaders: looking through other side of the telescope

In the past weeks, we have reviewed t he behavioural traits of leaders that would motivate followers. We spoke of four attributes - engage, enrol, energise and empower. But there is one more E! This E is empathy. In order to appreciate the role empathy plays in leadership, you first need to have a clear understanding of what empathy means. Empathy is the experience of understanding the other persons’ thinking from their perspectiv

Holcim (Lanka) excels at SLIM Brand Excellence 2014

Outperforming several high profile brands hailing from several different sectors and further cementing its place as one of the leading brands in Sri Lanka, Holcim (Lanka) secured the Silver Award as the Turnaround Brand of Year at the recently held SLIM Brand Excellence Awards 2014 at BMICH.The premier award program of marketing, SLIM Brand Excellence is the flagship event in the country’s corporate calendar, conducted by t he Sri

Huawei wins Bronze at SLIM Brand Excellence

Huawei won the bronze award in the International Brand of the Year category, at the recently concluded SLIM Brand Excellence gala awards ceremony held at BMICH Colombo. Themed “Contender or Champ?” the awards ceremony recognised best brands in Sri Lanka and rewarded brand custodians with distinct appreciation to those organisations which deploy their resources for these brands.

We are all jayasundariyans now!

“We are all Keynesians now,” Richard Nixon, then US President said, but the original phrase was from Milton Friedman. It expressed the reluctant embrace of Keynesian economics, in a time of financial crisis, by leaders such as Nixon, who had formerly favoured less interventionist policies. Friedman later clarified. According to him, the original statement has been “In one sense, we are all Keynesians now; in another, n

Pan Asia Bank’s Rs.3bn debenture issue snapped up on opening day

Pan Asia Banking Corporation PLC said its Rs.3 billion debenture issue opened on October 24, was oversubscribed on the same day.The Bank in a bid to fuel its strong growth momentum and capital requirements issued 20 million unsecured subordinated redeemable debentures at an issue price of Rs.100 each.

Top Economist Casts Doubts On Official Per Capita Income Figure

Highlighting a major inaccuracy i n t he national data compiled by the Census and Statistics Department (DCS), a leading economist in the country said Sri Lanka’s published per capita income (PCI) numbers are misleading and in fact the incomes have declined annually in ‘real terms’ since 2005.

DFCC Vardhana Bank PLC Breaks the Remittance Barrier

DFCC Vardhana Bank (DVB), Sri Lanka’s fastest growing commercial bank announces the introduction of the ground-breaking Lanka Money Transfer (LMT) service which will be available within the month of November 2014. This new offering is a remittance service which allows customers, both the sender and receiver to transfer money with ease, using the banks that they trust. 

Pim Signs Mou With Australia’s New South Wales University

The Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the New South Wales University (UNSW) of Canberra, Australia, opening many gateways for students of the institute.The MoU was signed between PIM Acting Director Dr. Ajantha Dharmasiri and UNSW Business School Head, Professor Michael O’Donnell.

SriLankan’s FlySmiLes partners with Cinnamon Air

FlySmiLes, the national carrier’s frequent flyer programme, and Sri Lanka’s acclaimed domestic air services provider, Cinnamon Air, entered into a partnership that allows the FlySmiLes members to earn and redeem miles when flying with CinnamonAir.Cinnamon Air Director Romesh David said, “A successful and thriving association with the national carrier, SriLankan Airlines will be a cornerstone of the success of the sched

Motha Investments sells 35% stake in TVSAP

Motha Investments Corporation (Pte.) Limited (MICL) exits from TVS Auto Parts (Pvt.) Limited selling its 35 percent stake in the company to Douglas & Sons Ltd.MICL is a group company of the diversified Queens Group of Companies, headed by the third generation Group Managing Director Dinesh Motha.The Queens group was founded in 1956 by the late C.B. Motha, who was awarded the title MBE, gazetted by the Order of her Majestic the Queen of Eng

Kanrich Finance Raises Rs.750mn From Capital Market To Expand Microfinance Operations

Kanrich Finance raised Rs.750 million to fund its microfinance operations through an issue of asset receivable backed trust certificates.Kanrich’s microfinance portfolio of over Rs.5 billion generates substantial amount of cash receivables on weekly basis enabling the company to issue asset receivable backed trust certificates.

Will womenomics work for Japan?

We like to think that Asian women have come far and long in ensuring fair career opportunities but that certainly doesn’t seem to be the case for everyone. Although Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has prided himself on his stance on womenomics, the average Japanese careerwomen, it seems, are trying their best to ‘lean-in”, to borrow Sandberg parlance. They are opting out of careers instead – when they realise that th

Shared Prosperity: A Goal To Reduce Inequality

We have made tremendous progress over the last quarter century in the fight against poverty. In 1990, 36 percent of the world’s population, or 1.9 billion people, earned less than US $ 1.25 a day. By next year, we estimate that that rate will have declined to 12 percent – a two-thirds reduction in 25 years. This means that, by next year, one billion fewer people will be living in extreme poverty than in 1990.

Central Bank to end foreign exchange controls

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) will be completely removing its capital account foreign exchange controls for locals within the next 2-3 years to realize the government’s goal for t he country as a global business hub.“Global business means there can be no foreign exchange controls. People will deal with any currency. Next 2-3 years our country will also be a global business centre. There will not be exchange controls a

President prepares budget with eye on election

Capital market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking public opinion and comments in order to set up an association to represent minority investors of Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) listed entities.To this effect, SEC has published a public consultation paper seeking direction to kick start such an initiative and also requested alternative approaches to do so.The objective in establishing a minority investors&r