US President Donald Trump is repeatedly boasting about his success in negotiating with North Korea. For decades and through many administrations, every leader said that peace and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula were not even small possibilit

In Sri Lanka, as in the rest of South Asia, improving agricultural production has long been a priority to achieve food security. 

During the past few weeks, there were reports in the local press that some of the rubber estates under the management of plantation companies are being converted to oil palm plantations. 

The frontline employees are a key connection for managing customer information because they frequently collect it. Whether they’re retail sales clerks or highly trained technical salespe

The rivalry existing between China and India is based on a long historical trajectory dating back to the epoch of the Silk Route. More recent conflict emerged at a time when both states strived to emerge as nation states after facing colonial encount

Before the adoption of an open economy in 1977, Sri Lanka was 80 percent self-sufficient in fulfilling the milk requirements. However, at present, Sri Lanka is around 40 percent self-sufficient. This has resulted in importing nearly 100,000 metric to

Many stories doing the rounds on the Internet a few weeks ago speculated about the future of the government and about a list of people who benefited from the bond scam. Both these issues however have been disputed by the government. 

In Sri Lanka we take pride in our women. Girls are educated on par with boys. Women are welcome in most careers and the pathway up in terms of promotions and achievements is open. 

A giant entered into an agreement with a child! It happened on January 23, 2018, in Sri Lanka. The true parties were Singapore (giant) and Sri Lanka (child). Why? Both are not of ‘equal status’ to create economic relations. The difference

Governments grapple with the issue of having in place appropriate sets of human resource practices to push public servants to perform and for an emerging island nation such as Sri Lanka, the battle remains a hard one, where victory seems to be farfet

Oceans cover two thirds of world’s surface, and over 7.6 billion people directly or indirectly benefit from oceans around the world. Global fishery production is ever expanding, and according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), fish

Simplification of trade procedures and documentation, harmonization of the trade practices and rules, transparent information and procedures of international flows, recourse to new technologies to promote international trade and more secured means of

Two weeks ago, we spoke about creating a visual image of your customer service profile by giving a percentage to each of the three levels: Level 1 – initial transactions, Level 2 – repeat customers and Level 3 – customer advocates.&

As more women enter the workforce the pressures and challenges they face only begin to increase each year. Despite these growing obstacles many women persev

Today, despite immense progress made by enterprising, socially conscious and highly successful female leaders like social entrepreneur and philanthropist Otara Gunawardene, Ceylon Biscuits Group Manag

The stock exchange in any country is comprised of leading companies which play a pivotal role in the respective economy. 

Research shows that many of the microplastics in our bodies come from the air we breathe – not just from drinking bottled water or eating fish from polluted oceans. Due to their small size, microplastics can be inhaled and may induce a wide ran

The US 10-year treasury yield recently hit 3 percent, the so-called “psychological ceiling,” for the first time in five years. It remains to be seen whether the long-term rate will settle there, but capital markets in advanced and emergin

There is piercing hopelessness for the future when listening to certain political rhetoric in Sri Lanka. 

In the context of strained public finances and limited borrowing capacity for developing countries, there is growing debate on the roles of public and private actors to deliver the trillions of dollars of infrastructure necessary to achieve the Susta

To facilitate Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Sri Lanka is launching this week an innovative online one-stop shop to help investors obtain all official approvals. To mark the occasion, this blog series explores different aspects of FDI in Sri Lanka.

About two decades ago, prior to the Asian financial crisis, investor overconfidence triggered a mispricing of risk on Asia’s economic prospects. The region’s policymakers and financial markets became complacent and risk aversion dropped,

Today the rise of emerging markets, the accelerating impact of technology, new talent demands, an aging population, and the easy flow of capital and knowledge are having a transformative impact on business, leaders and economies. By 2025, a single re

The tourism industry has been referred to as a ‘Thrust industry ‘and ‘Engine of growth’ by the state ad nauseam, while in reality the industry is paid only lip service. The immense benefits both direct and indirect often go un

Sri Lanka ratified the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in November 2003. The FCTC is a global treaty developed in response to the health consequences of tobacco consumption and the formidable pow

It was August 26, 2000. The Central Bank’s new state-of-the-art building was to be declared open by Finance Deputy Minister Prof. G.L. Pieris. Governor A.S. Jayawardena, Deputy Governor Manik Nagahawatte and I were standing under the foyer of t

Sri Lanka is being slapped with a number of significant challenges in its growth agenda and in that list, what it didn’t expect is to receive a blow from the impacts from climate change.

China’s South Asian ambitions for its Maritime Silk Road (MSR) have hit foul waters. On the one hand, the MSR must navigate the strategic competition between India and China and on the other, it needs to satisfy the divergent interests of Bangl

Industries worldwide unlike ever before are experiencing systemic failure as a result of the digital disruption, coupled with an economy stuck in reverse. Therefore, when we look at successful CEOs and what distinguishes them from the rest, it is goo

The saying ‘there is strength in diversity’ often comes up when people talk about ASEAN’s cultural differences but it is also true that economic diversity is one of the bloc’s great strengths.