Why are reserve fund, status certificates important for condo owners?

A reserve fund can only be used for replacement and non-routine repairs of common elements and assets of the condo: for instance, replacement of roof, windows, boiler, carpets and security system. Other examples are non-routine repairs to the chiller, swimming pool and parking areas.

Future prospects for CTC, local tobacco industry positive: CEO

Following is an interview of Ceylon Tobacco Company PLC (CTC) Chief Executive Felicio Ferraz appeared in the FY13 annual report of the company that was released to the Colombo Stock Exchange yesterday.

Management of tree crop nutrition

Unlike annual crops such as vegetables or field crops, the perennial nature of tree crops requires that their nutrient needs be maintained in a holistic and long-term manner.  Practices such as fertilizer application, water management and pruning can affect tree nutrition status for successive years.

Future of HR, leadership and business

Professor Dave Ulrich, the most influential international thinker in HR and author of over 25 books, talks about his proposed visit to Colombo on April 30 and the key topics he plans to address in Colombo.

Hennayake elected APB President

The Association of Professional Bankers (APB) has elected Piyal D Hennayake as its President at the AGM held recently. He succeeded Sampath Bank CEO/MD Aravinda Perera.

Lee Hedges to build Rs.1.2bn office complex

Lee Hedges Investment Ltd, a fully owned subsidiary of Lee Hedges PLC has signed an agreement with Board of Investment (BoI) for a 15-story office complex in Colombo 03 at an estimated cost of Rs.1.2 billion.

Need for national policy on minerals value addition

There is presently a great interest on value addition to mineral resources that could be commercially exploited in Sri Lanka. However this interest was vigorously promoted by the Geological Survey Department (present GSMB) from the early 1960s and what is new is that three minerals namely graphite and.....

Margin trading: A doubled-edged sword

In the previous section, we discussed the two restrictions imposed on the amount you can borrow. First, the initial margin, which is the initial amount you can borrow.

Process of goal setting: A fresh perspective

We saw last week that goal setting is an opportunity to focus the efforts of employees on the things that matter. A goal provides them with a direction and also allows them to prioritise their work. 

Today is International Women’s Day What women do and can do: Entrepreneurship, gender equality in SL

The United Nations celebrates the 2014 International Women’s Day under the theme of ‘Equality for women is progress for all’. Ensuring gender equality matters in many ways to the development process of a country. Gender equality matters in its own right and has been recognized as.....

As we celebrate yet another International Women’s Day: Can Sri Lanka’s corporates be more gender eq

The other day, my mobile phone rang – it was a wrong number. But as I and thousands of other Sri Lankan women discover to their dismay every day, the caller rang back – many times in fact, whispering what no woman wants to hear.

Commercial Bank Rewards Winners of the Special SMS Promotion on International Women’s Day

The exclusive women’s savings account, Anagi from Commercial Bank, conducted a special SMS promotion based on the theme ‘The woman who inspired me the most’ in collaboration with Wijeya Newspapers Ltd to commemorate International Women’s Day on the 8th of March 2014.

Can Sri Lanka learn from Korean SME promotion strategy?

Korea is no stranger to economic hardship, recovery and progress. The Korean War during 1950-53 took 1.5 million lives and destroyed close to 40 percent of the country’s industrial facilities. Yet, it overcame this turbulent history to become a developed country in less than a generation – an achievement fondly referred to...

Sri Lanka to witness first pre-owned Porsche car fair

Eurocars (Private) Limited, the official Porsche importer in Sri Lanka, is organizing for the first time a Porsche approved preowned car fair from March 8 to 9, at Arpico car park at Union Place.

Singer Sri Lanka posts marginal growth in challenging 2013

Consumer durables retailer Singer Sri Lanka said it recorded ‘marginal growth’ for the year ended December 31, 2013 (FY13) amid challenging business environment aggravated by low customer demand.

Who bleeds for the budget?

Previous Verité Insights have documented the “long-procrastination” in the achievements of targets set out in the budget. The mismatch between expectation and reality has been particularly a problem in the area of government revenue. This Insight locates the sectors that have suffered with budget cuts to compensate for......

How to review Sri Lanka Condominium Act Public engagement absolutely necessary

Our Condominium Act was based on the condo operations of Singapore. Singapore obtained more information with regard to setting up condominiums from Australia. Since the introduction of condominiums in Singapore, they also have various problems that have to be attended to.

Tapper and production-related issues in rubber: Malaysian experience

Several approaches, techniques and systems were developed in the 80s and 90s to tackle the problem of tapper shortage and rising costs of production, which were not adopted on a large scale due to low productivity of prevailing clones in the 80s/90s, very low selling prices of rubber, low wages paid to tappers....

Management compass: Setting performance goals

“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” This line from Alice in Wonderland has been true in many organisations and companies. They often don’t have or maybe don’t articulate very well real business goals other than ‘staying in business’.

Margin trading: A double-edged sword

Imagine you’re sitting at the black jack table and the dealer throws you an ace. You’d love to increase your bet but you’re a little short on cash. Luckily, your friend offers to spot you Rs.50 and says you can pay him back later. Tempting, isn’t it?

SLT raises US $ 100mn to upgrade infrastructure

Sri Lanka Telecom PLC, the leader in fixed telephone services in the country has raised US $ 100 million five- year term loan facility with the support of HSBC and Sampath Bank.

Harsha demands for EPF’s audited accounts again

United National Party Parliamentarian and economist, Dr.Harsha de Silva yesterday once again raised the issue of non-submission of audited accounts of Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) —the largest superannuation fund controlled by the Central Bank—to the Parliament for the year 2011.

What advice would you have given your younger self?

Would a look back at what decisions we made be relevant to the decisions we make in the future? In retrospect is a term used wisely. Most of us feel wiser and mature, when we look back at the past. The decisions we have made, the people we have chosen to be with, the career moves we have made....

Buffett's annual letter What we can learn from his real estate investments

“Investment is most intelligent when it is most business like.” -Benjamin Graham, The Intelligent Investor. It is fitting to have a Ben Graham quote open this essay because I owe so much of what I know about investing to him. I will talk more about Ben a bit later and I will even sooner talk about common stocks.

JKH, DIMO bag ACCA Sustainability Reporting Awards 2013

John Keells Holdings (JKH) was adjudged the country’s most transparent and accountable business entity when it bagged the Overall Winning Award at the annual ACCA Sri Lanka Sustainability Reporting Awards, with Diesel & Motor Engineering PLC (DIMO) coming in as the overall runner-up.

SL-Iraq trade talks begin in Baghdad

The latest Sri Lanka-Iraq Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation (JEC) Commenced February 25 in Baghdad, a statement from the Industry and Commerce Ministry said. “Iraq is certainly an important market for us not only for tea but even for other prospective products.

Friendship bridge across Asian waters Sino-Sri Lankan relations grow apace with trade gains made ove

In December 1952, during a historic visit to China to conclude the rubber-rice barter trade agreement, Sri Lanka’s then commerce minister Richard Gotabhaya Senanayake was presented with a gift by Zhou Enlai, then premier of the People’s Republic of China.

Avirate expansion plan & launch of Spring/Summer 2014

Avirate, the leading women’s clothing retailer in Sri Lanka held a press conference on Friday 21st Feb 2014 to announce the launch of their new Spring/Summer 2014 collection, combining casual, sassy street wear, festival trends and elegant evening wear & also to talk about their expansions globally this 2014.

MasterCard upbeat about Sri Lankan prospects

Sri Lanka could benefit and seek higher growth from global electronic payment trends, falling in line more with the current cashless spending patterns, a top official from the US financial services multinational, MasterCard said.

Impressive to excessive to over-the-top

Oxfam states that the accumulated wealth of the top 85 of the richest in the world equals the total worth of $ 3.5 billion of the poorest! It goes beyond 4 billion of the poorest, when one adds the total wealth of the next 250 richest in the world to the top 85.