World oil and gas planning cycle (2014) and its fallout on Sri Lanka

International and national oil and gas companies always assess the macro business environment and make careful assumptions or assessments of their positions in such uncertainty.

‘The Elements’ - Fairway Holdings launches its 4th Luxury Apartment Project

Emerging from the fusion of the elements, life is born anew to fulfil the dreams of those who wish to embrace it. Pure in form and perfect in spirit, "The Elements by Fairway" is a celebration of eternal life...in perfect harmony.

Public and private cruises to be launched along country’s west coast

Sri Lanka’s first tourist yachting company, Sail Lanka Charter (Pvt) Ltd, recently announced the launch of public and private cruises along the country’s west coast on board the company’s 48 foot sailboat, Topaz which is moored at the Beruwala Harbour.

Why first impressions (still) count

Some people are able to make an entrance – whether socially or professionally, pleasant enough for others to notice them. First impressions count – even though some would like to believe otherwise. Making a sound first impression will always be important to whatever that we have chosen to do.

Environmental Management Systems should be strengthened in plantations

An Environmental Management System (EMS) is a set of processes and practices that enables an organisation to reduce its environmental impacts and increase its operating efficiency.

Value addition to graphite in Sri Lanka - Graphene and green technology

As a follow up to my article on value addition to minerals published in Mirror Business on March 11, 2014, I would like to highlight the attempts by the researchers in Sri Lanka and also various government entities in value addition to graphite in the light of ‘graphene’, the miracle substance produced with the.....

CCC hails finance sector consolidation

Sri Lanka’s premier business chamber, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC), yesterday endorsed the ongoing financial sector consolidation advocated by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

Etisalat comes on board with Dialog’s eZ Cash

Dialog Axiata PLC, a unit of Malaysia’s Axiata group, yesterday announced that Sri Lanka’s Central Bank had granted its approval to extend Dialog’s mobile money platform eZ Cash to the country’s third largest mobile operator Etisalat Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd as well.

Hydro power and Sri Lanka’s energy challenge

Water and energy are linked with an eternal bond. Many countries blessed with rivers and waterfalls have harnessed their inherent kinetic energy through hydro-electricity in fulfilling their energy needs. Sri Lanka is one such country.   But the rising demand for electricity and the limited generation potential of

If China sneezes, Africa can now catch a cold

Growing links with China have supported economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. But the burgeoning commercial and financial ties between the developing subcontinent and the world’s second-biggest economy carry risks as well. These links also expose sub-Saharan African countries to.....

Unilever’s Pureit : “Democratizing safe water”

Pureit is an international range of water purifiers made by Unilever currently sold in India, Mexico, Brazil, Nigeria, Indonesia and Bangladesh, consisting of eight models - Pureit Classic, Pureit Advanced, Pureit Compact, Pureit Classic Autofill, Pureit Intella, Pureit Marvella, Pureit Marvella UV and Pureit Marvella RO.Pureit was first launched in Chennai India in 2005 and was subsequently introduced in Sri Lanka 2 ½years ago. Following

Empowerment releases power within people for amazing results

Do you work for a company that has a traditional bureaucratic management style? If so, chances are quite high that your workplace is probably not as effectively run as one whose philosophy is ‘empowerment’.

Customer satisfaction or delight

How crucial it is to ‘delight a customer’. Raising customer satisfaction is such an obvious point. Management tends to forget the importance of delighting a customer. Customer satisfaction is talked about in creative copy writing. What is neglected is the need to

Is entrepreneurship the final goal of a career end?

Not everyone chooses a career – some, if they are honest enough, will confess that they got into a career by chance. And once the course of time runs and the biological clock runs, most would choose to stay within the comfort zones of known routines, predictable outcomes and familiar territory, instead of.....

Tea and rubber equally affected by global warming, climate change

Be it swapping coffee for cocoa in Central America or bracing for drought in Sri Lanka with a return to ancient water storage systems, scientists and growers should jointly chart a path to adapt to climate shifts despite uncertainties over future growing conditions.

Risks and rights for Sri Lankan consumers in the digital age

Every day we are moving closer to having almost as many mobile subscribers as there are people on earth. Close to 40 percent of the world’s population are now ‘online’ and some 750 million households globally are connected to the internet.

Evolution or Revolution? Managing brand transition

It’s not uncommon to find major homegrown brands in Sri Lanka either undernourished or underexploited but after a period of neglect, they need to be reexamined and refreshed from the ground up.

LB Finance named Sri Lanka’s best retail finance company

Global Banking & Finance Review, UK adjudged LB Finance PLC as “Best Retail Finance Company in Sri Lanka for 2013”, awarded on the back of the company’s outstanding efforts to support Sri Lanka’s small and medium entrepreneurs.

Solving dilemma of export diversification

Sri Lanka’s problem of flagging export growth has generated much discussion. The answer that many are converging on is a single word: DIVERSIFICATION. But ‘diversification’ is a double-edged concept in exports. You can either diversify in terms of products, or in terms of markets.

Forecast for our energy future - No common solutions

A recent article by Gail Tvreberg from a think tank on ‘Our Future World’ and reproduced in ‘Oil Voice’ magazine of February 4, 2014, highlights that solutions to our energy dilemma will not work if we do not understand that the problem is quite different from what it really is and......

Metrics of measuring a hotel’s performance relative to its peers

“Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation” is a humorous fumble rule used by English teachers and professors when lecturing about proper writing techniques. The press release by the MD of a hotel built during the colonial era informs of increased occupancy and revenues in the nine months ended 31 December 2013.

Former Air Force Commander assumes duties as BoC Chairman

Former Air Force Commander Air Chief Marshall Harsha Abeywickrema assumed duties as the new Bank of Ceylon (BoC) Chairman yesterday.

Lubricant player calls for an effective regulator

The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka, which operates as the shadow regulator in the absence of a proper regulator, has not been empowered to deal with the issues confronting the lubricant industry, a top official of Sri Lanka’s largest lubricant industry player stated.

Economy grows 7.3% in 2013

The Sri Lankan gross domestic product (GDP) grew at 7.3 percent in 2013 against a previous 6.3 percent in 2012, the data released by the Census and Statistics Departmentshowed.

Link between goal setting and workplace performance is inseparable

Last two weeks, we saw how goal setting is a powerful way of motivating people and of motivating managers. Today, the value of goal setting is so well recognized that entire management systems, like Management by Objectives (MBOs), have goal setting basics incorporated within them.

Introduction to real estate investment trusts

Investing in real estate has been the traditional method of securing future financial stability by increasing one’s net worth. With the advent of share trading, investments in property have been in direct competition to attract investment rupees.

Retrenchment unavoidable in consolidation

Job retrenchment and streamlining of cost structures are likely to be an inevitable by-product of consolidation in the banking and finance sector, according to Association of Professional Bankers of Sri Lanka President and Sampath Bank Managing Director, Aravinda Perera.

February tourist arrivals up 24.5%

Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals rose 24.5 percent Yearon-Year (YoY) to 141,878 in February 2014, with India, Russia and China leading the list, data released by the country’s tourism authority showed.

Public unrest against another Hayleys factory

Just under seven months to the incident which led to the closure of the Weliweriya glove manufacturing plant, another Hayleys group factory, Hanwella Rubber Products Ltd located in Hanwella has taken public to the streets, interestingly for the same contamination issue.

Can crowdsourcing and wonder of Internet help find the missing plane?

Almost everyone on the planet has been asking a question no one is yet able to answer – what happened to Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 that was on a routine flight from Kuala Lampur to Beijing.