Grants wins ‘Roger Hatchuel’ for second time

Lakmini Wahalathanthri of Grants was adjudged the winner of the ‘Roger Hatchuel’ competition and has earned the enviable opportunity of attending the Roger Hatchuel Academy in France this June.

May tourist arrivals up

Total tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka reached 57,506 for the month of May, an increase of 17.5 percent year-on-year. The majority of visitors

Combank named ‘Best Sri Lankan Trade Bank’

The Commercial Bank’s status as a leading service provider to the business community has been reiterated by the United Kingdom’s authoritative ‘Trade Finance’ magazine, which has adjudged the Bank the ‘Best Sri Lankan Trade Bank’ for 2012.

TEA awaits govt. response to blending hub proposal

The Tea Exporters Association (TEA) is still awaiting a decision from the government with regards to its proposal on the importation of tea to Sri Lanka for the purposes of blending, according to TEA Chairman, Niraj De Mel.

Education can become top forex earner – SLIM Head

Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM), which is the national body for Marketing in the country, has taken educational products, training programs and consultancies options for the first time beyond the boundaries of Sri Lanka. In an interview with Mirror Business, SLIM President Tilan Wijeyasekera spoke about the historical initiative, social media marketing, marketing research, future plans and much more. Excerpts:

CSE to become attractive for foreigners

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) will be implementing several measures to attract more foreign investment into the market, hoping to increase foreign contributions to total turnover, according to Chairman, CSE, Krishan Balendra.

Intel pledges support to Moe’s IT literacy campaign

A new lab with 50 Intel classmate PCs for the Mahinda Rajapaksa Vidyalaya in Homagama was declared open by the Minister of Education Bandula Gunewardena recently.

‘When’ and ‘when not’ to invest in stock market

Is there a right time to invest in the stock market? That’s the magic question people have asked for as long as the stock market has been around. The simplest answer is that there is no right time to invest in the stock market. But, it may seem as if some people have figured it out,

Empowerment brings out the best in your workforce

Are you a manager, supervisor or any type of leader in a business organisation and your goal is to create a work environment in which your team members are productive, contributing and happy? This brief article will offer you a few simple guidelines.

Signal celebrates five-decade caring for oral hygiene

Signal, the oral care expert of Sri Lanka, who pioneered initiatives to inculcate hygienic oral care habits among Sri Lankans for five decades, has once again come forward to reiterate their commitment to protect the world famous Sri Lankan smile for the future.

World’s best known CEO celebrates 60 years on the job

She has withstood the test of time, has emerged dignified and composed in the face of tragedy and has been a symbol of strength and resilience for the entire world. She is Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s second longest reigning monarch after her great grandmother Queen Victoria. As she celebrated her diamond jubilee in her own, unsurpassed style, she reminds the world that only the good things last – be it in business, in life or in mon

Enhancing confidence in Sri Lankan economy

The government of Sri Lanka introduced a number of bold macroeconomic stabilization measures in February/March 2012. These were necessary as the country was on a trajectory to a very destructive balance of payments crisis. It is still too early to determine whether enough has been done to stabilize the balance of payments, particularly the trade deficit. As the Pathfinder Foundation has pointed out in several previous articles, the trade deficit

Shipping giants happy over MRMRP success

Inquiries are flowing into seeking increased and continued opportunities to carry out Ro-Ro operations at Magam Ruhunupura Mahinda Rajapaksa Port following the success of the first ever Ro-Ro consignments accomplished on June 6at the brand new port.

‘Poson Vandana’ Free Shuttle Train Takes Lifesavers to Anuradhapura

June 8, 2012 Colombo: For the third consecutive year, the free Poson Vandana shuttle train between Anuradhapura and Mihintale was available for the safety and convenience of Poson pilgrims

Bourse to get globally recognized index

Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) is currently in negotiation with Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC to come up with a globally accepted equity market index, top CSE officials said.

Market ends in green territory

Market ended in green territory today where positive returns were recorded in both benchmark indices. ASI gained 20.23 index points (0.43%) to close at 4,757.98 while sensitive MPI closed at 4,223.35, up 25.09 index points (0.60%). Market turnover was Rs.499.5mn

SEC to tighten screws further

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) is to further strengthen the regulatory and supervisory arrangements at the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), in keeping with modern trends, SEC Chairman Tilak Karunaratne said.

Bhashwara appointed SLTPB Chairman

Bhashwara Senanka Gunarathna assumed duties as the new Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) yesterday at a brief ceremony held in the premises of the SLTPB.

Greening your business

Introduced in 1992 in the book Changing Course: A Global Business Perspective on Development and the Environment, by industrialist Stephan Schmidheiny and the world Business Council for Sustainable Development, eco-efficiency was a natural extension of the concepts of cleaner and leaner production.

Suffering continues for Colombo stocks

The Colombo Stock exchange dipped further today extending persistent concerns over the overall market sentiments

Short-term T-bill yields fall

Sri Lanka's short term Treasury bill yields continued to drop at yesterday's T-bill auction for the re-issue of Rs.25 billion maturing bills

Hyundai Glovis to call at H'tota Port today

Hyundai Glovis Co. Ltd., the car carrier with a worldwide transport network, represented in Sri Lanka by Aitken Spence Shipping Ltd., a subsidiary of Aitken Spence PLC, was the first shipping line to explore the viability of transshipping automobiles via Magam Ruhunupura Mahinda Rajapaksa (MRMR) Port.

Insurance industry grows 18.5% in 2011

The Gross Written Premium (GWP) of Sri Lanka’s insurance sector rose 18.5 percent Year-onYear (YoY) to Rs.66.2 billion in 2011 with both General and Life Insurance segments recording substantial growths, country’s insurance regulator, the Insurance Board of Sri Lanka (IBSL) said.

Greening your business

Today, there is no doubt that we are facing an array of profound environmental problems impacting humans, which are already beginning to affect the very foundation of our lives on our planet negatively. Species are becoming extinct at an alarming rate, climate change is quite dramatically impacting us and the Earth’s natural resources are dwindling exponentially.

Bourse looses Rs.20bn market cap

Colombo Stock Market lost further LKR 20.0bn market cap today and ended in negatively territory where both benchmark indices recorded notable losses. ASI lost 136.58 index points (-2.80%) to end at 4,748.60 while liquid MPI lost 135.68 index points (3.12%) to end at 4,207.80

Vehicle carriers call at H’tota Port

Two vessels carrying over 1000 motor vehicles will call at Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port for transshipments today and tomorrow, Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) said.

Know-how of purposeful use of mobile trend vital : ICTA CEO

The need of the hour is the know-how of purposeful use of the mobile phone phenomenon, says ICT Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) CEO Reshan Dewapura.

Intel supports Education Ministry’s “1000 Schools Project”

Intel Sri Lanka signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Education recently in support of the government’s 1000 Schools Project.

Recruiting Gen-Y: Rewards outweigh the risks

With each fresh batch of graduates entering the workforce, there are now four distinct generations vying for vacancy spots. The young recruits are known as Generation Y. They were born between 1981 and 1999. The other three types are: Generation X (1965 to 1980), Baby Boomers (1946 – 1964) and Traditionalists (pre 1945).

Dos and don’ts in Secondary Market

The Secondary Market is a market in which an investor purchases a security from another investor rather than the issuer, subsequent to the original issuance in the Primary Market. In Sri Lanka, it is the function of the Colombo Stock Exchange.