Lankan labour force and employment plunge in 2012

The economically-active population aged 10 years and above- popularly known as a country’s labour force - declined in Sri Lanka by 1.1 percent to 8.465 million due to migration of economically active persons during 2012, the Central Bank annual report showed.

Palm oil prices volatile despite high output

The price of the world’s most-used cooking oil, palm oil, is expected to remain volatile, given the high stock levels in Malaysia and Indonesia, a top official of a leading Malaysian oil palm cultivating company stated.

Feeding Asia’s energy appetite

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.

Capacity building at Mattala International Airport

 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.

Colombo Port gears for mega vessels from July

With the construction of the first phase of the South container terminal project nearing completion, the first berth will open up for ship traffic starting July, enabling the Colombo port to accommodate mega vessels that was not possible before, a top Sri Lanka Ports Authority official said.

India's Dabur opens US $16mn Sri Lankan factory

Dabur Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, a whollyowned subsidiary of India's leading consumer goods maker Dabur India Ltd, recently inaugurated its packaged fruit-based beverage manufacturing facility in Mirigama, Sri Lanka.

From crisis to sustenance : Blue Ocean Strategy – Where rules of game are waiting to be set

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.

Essentials for successful investors

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. 

March tea output up 11% YOY

Sri Lanka’s March tea production rose 11.3 percent from a year earlier due to favourable weather, pushing up output of the island nation’s top agricultural export by 8.1 percent in the first quarter of 2013, data from the state-run Tea Board showed on Thursday.

Export earnings, import expenditure, trade gap down in February

Sri Lanka’s export income fell 2.9 percent Year-on-Year (YoY) to US $ 797.5 million in February with both agricultural and industrial exports slowing down, the data released by the Central Bank showed.

Seylan 1Q net up 26% to Rs.510mn

Seylan Bank PLC has posted a net profit of Rs.509.5 million, up by 26 percent Year-on-Year, for the first quarter of the financial year 2013, the interim financial accounts released to the Colombo Stock Exchange showed.

Stocks close at 16-month high

Sri Lankan shares hit a 16-month high yesterday on expectations of a rate cut at a central bank policy meeting later this month, traders said.

Austerity in Europe hurting women the most

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

Export earnings down in February

Sri Lanka's export income fell 2.9 percent Year-on-Year (YoY) to US $ 797.5 million in February with both agricultural and industrial exports slowing down, the data released by the Central Bank showed

Dialog to boost SL’s bandwidth with new submarine cable

Dialog Axiata PLC (Dialog), Sri Lanka’s largest mobile services operator has entered into an agreement with the Bay of Bengal Gateway (BBG) consortium to land a high capacity submarine cable at a Cable Landing Station (CLS) to be located in Colombo, a statement by the company said.

PLC secures 17th slot among “Top 20 Most Valuable Brands”

People’s Leasing & Finance PLC (PLC) has scaled up from 21st to 17th among the “Top 20 Most Valuable Brands”.

Sri Lanka to host first carbon neutral economic summit

The Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) has obtained global Carbon Neutral certification for the hosting of the 6th South Asia Economic Summit in Colombo.

Fitch affirms Sri Lanka at 'BB-' with stable outlook

Issuing the sovereign credit rating and the country outlook for 2013, Fitch Ratings yesterday affirmed Sri Lanka's long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at 'BB-'

February tourist arrivals up 11.6% YOY

Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka in the month of February rose 11.6 percent year-on-year (YoY) to 93,232, helped by increased arrivals from East Asian and Western and Eastern European blocks, the official data provided by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority showed.

Loose monetary policy to widen savings-investment gap

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.

CSE to revise debt market rules

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.

Futuristic macroeconomic policies for Asia and the Pacific

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.

NR will be volatile in 2013 and after

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.

Marketing’s next frontier: Blue Ocean Strategy

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.

Improving Sri Lanka’s service quality: Where the smile alone is not good enough

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.

Benefits of sound economic diplomacy

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. 

Wage hike to make Lankan teas most expensive

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.

New ADB President Nakao assumes office

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

JKH among top 3 holdings of Ruffer Fund in March

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

BOC under scrutiny over capital adequacy

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.