The major fertilizer manufacturing companies in Sri Lanka are currently facing an acute shortage of rock phosphate, a key ingredient used in the manufacturing of fertilizers for tea, rubber and coconut, the industry sources said.

Permeated by many turbulent events in May 2014, East Asia served as the milieu for events from the coup d’état in Thailand, to maritime cooperation for the Indonesia-Vietnam boundary between President Susilo and the Prime Minister of Vie

BBC: Ajith Nivard Cabraal, the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, has good reason to be pleased. The bank has achieved much in recent years. Inflation is coming down and is below 5 percent. Interest rates are lower too. Foreign exchange reser

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) in collaboration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is planning to hold Sri Lanka’s second international fund managers forum this October at the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel.

Leading dairy products manufacturer Lucky Lanka Milk Processing Company Limited, based in Southern Sri Lanka, is planning to raise approximately Rs.300 million via an initial public offering (IPO) shortly, Mirror Business

The Sri Lankan economy remains on target for 7 percent growth in the short to medium term; however low tax revenue, high public debt and potential climate and external shocks continue to generate down-side risks, according to International Monetary F

When someone thanks you, the courteous and polite reply is, ‘you’re welcome’. If you hold the door open for someone and they say ‘thank you’, respond ‘you’re welcome’. It feels great to hear it and grea

Recently, Bill and Melinda Gates were highlighted in the media for the normal childhood they were said to be keen to give their children. When you are the richest man in the world, it would be prudent to assume that you would indeed want your childre

In a bid to strengthen the balance sheets of the main three state banks—Bank of Ceylon, National Savings Bank and People’s Bank, the government has decided to buy back the investments these banks have made in the ailing national career, S

The total government debt increased to Rs.6793 billion in 2013 from Rs.6000 billion in 2012, according to the 2013 annual report of the Finance and Planning Ministry released yesterday.

There is no doubt that tourism in Sri Lanka is currently growing in leaps and bounds, with the cumulative arrivals up to April 2014 amounting to 534,132, which is an overall growth of 27 percent year-on-year (YoY). Hence, it is quite possible that th

Many factors have been influencing the natural rubber (NR) industry in the past quarter of a century. Growth in population and the development of world economy have enhanced the demand for goods and services, including rubber products.

Narendra Modi’s dramatic victory has given him a resounding mandate to pursue his pro-growth/pro-business agenda. He campaigned unreservedly on a strongly developmental platform. The results indicate that the majority of Indians want higher gro

Month to date, May 2014 has been rather encouraging for the Colombo bourse with the All Share Price Index (ASPI) gaining 57 points (or 0.9 percent) while recording a healthy average daily turnover of Rs.1.4 billion.

The net profit of the premier blue chip John Keells Holdings PLC (JKH) for the year ended March 13, 2014 (FY13/14) fell 3 percent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs.11.7 billion. Last year’s profits were boosted by Rs.2 billion fair value gain, which had

Effective leaders in organisations bring together both individuals and organisations to solve customer and organisational problems. But, there is a difference between leaders and leadership. Leaders refer to individuals who have unique capabilities t

Sri Lanka’s March trade deficit contracted 15.5 percent year-on-year (YoY) to US $ 602.2 million amid higher export earnings and moderate import expenditure, the latest data released by the Central Bank showed.

February 2014 marked five consecutive years of single-digit rates of inflation in Sri Lanka – supposedly the longest spell in the country’s post-independence history. Quite rightly, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) can take its share

Now that a solid project plan is done, the team can begin executing the project against their assigned tasks. This is the stage where everyone actually starts doing the work.

When it comes to personal finance and the accumulation of wealth, a few subjects are more talked about than stocks. It’s easy to understand why: playing the stock market is thrilling. But on this financial roller-coaster ride, we all want to ex

Since the mid-60s, the public service has been subject to a high degree of politicization under successive regimes. During the 70s and 80s, the public service cadre and recruitment procedures went through many changes primarily to serve the partisan

Moody’s Investor Services said the credit guarantee scheme on pawning loans proposed by the Central Bank (CB) would have a positive impact on banks’ credit ratings.

Natural rubber today accounts for something like a third of the world’s production of all rubbers and nearly 85 percent of the output comes from Southeast Asia. Technical and economic problems that have manifested themselves in the past in rela

Presently there is a substantial discourse on whether the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is waning in its commitment to the institutions of democracy. This insight explores a different question, is it waning its commitments to social inst

In any organisation, only two aspects of work exist—on-going operations and projects. The on-going operations constitute an organisation’s repetitive activities, such as accounting, marketing, HR, production, etc. The projects are the uni

There were a number of mistakes made by the previous governments  during the 30- year old civil war fought in the North of Sri Lanka form 1978 that  ended in  2009.This war was  aggravated after the July 1983 riots where a  l

As a student of hospitality, I was constantly reminded that in a well-run hotel, the ‘manager must be present’, available and in evidence. He or she should be out on the floor greeting guests and putting a face on hotel operatio

It is unlikely that the rubber plantations, currently going through difficult times with profitability per hectare markedly eroded due to rapidly declining selling price of rubber and spiralling costs of production due to rising wages of tappers, wil

Are you an enthusiastic investor? Are you looking for a winning investment strategy? If yes, you will find today’s article useful. Today, we will be sharing with our readers some financial advice picked from the most successful investors and fu

The key to the success of the behavioural interview is in the preparation. Prior to conducting the interview, the recruiter will need to do some homework. Having a thorough understanding of the company culture and organisational environment is.....