The 35 years since liberalization of the economy has seen repeated cycles of the economy overheating once growth exceeds 6 percent. Growth of 8 percent or more is necessary over a sustained period to achieve economic transformation similar to that ac

The European Union’s (EU) Generalised System of Tariff Preferences (GSP) is a scheme where the EU grants developing countries such as Sri Lanka duty free or preferential duty access to the EU market for a selected number of products. What is G

In the Best Interest of my Country is the fourth Volume of Dinesh Weerakkody based on his regular columns in the print media.   Starting in 1990 with the first volume, he proceeded to bring out the second volume in 1993 and the third in 1996.

As a former Director of the Geological Survey Department (Present GSMB) I have critically analyzed the Minerals Yearbook 2012 released by the Director General GSMB in August 2012.

Climate change has invariably taken its toll on the country’s coconut cultivation considerably and thus, the growers are calling for drought and temperature resistant coconut plants as an urgent need.

By Udaya P Gammanpila Shiv Shankar Menon is Indian Prime Minister’s all-powerful National Security Advisor.  He has served as Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka.  In fact, in certain cases, he has acted as a de facto Ambassador fo

With half of the world’s population being female, gender equality in political representation has...

In Sri Lanka, there is evidence of a growing middle class. The incidence of poverty in the country has sharply come down over the past decade. There are indications of growing demand for advanced services and luxury products.

A capital market is a significant aspect of every financial market. It is a market in which institutions and individuals trade financial securities. It comprises of the equity, bond, debt and derivative markets. A capital market comprises of both pri

Business is a cricket game and only the team with the best players will win. To beat the competition will require everyone’s collective effort. It’s not just a task for the marketing department or top management; it’s everyone&rsquo

That’s the question most ask – ever since the Facebook founder gave the world its most popular...

Have you purchased anything that did not correspond to what had been advertised or promised? Many of us, at some time or another have been persuaded to purchase something, only to discover that we were misled by false or deceptive statements.

Since it was released on June 8, China’s first ever “blue book” on the Indian Ocean has generated a lot of interest in strategy circles. Unveiled with some fanfare in the Chinese city of....

Over the last 20 years, the World Bank Group has helped countries lift 663 million people out of poverty. In the next 20, we believe it is possible to end extreme poverty. This goal is within our grasp.

Sub-Saharan Africa has become one of the fastest growing regions in the world. The 1990’s was seen as the “lost decade” for the continent and Africa was written off as a basket case.

The Sri Lankan economy is reported to have grown by 6.4 percent in 2012. This was less than what was hoped, but still a robust level of growth. In 2010 and 2011 growth was an extremely healthy 8 percent and 8.2 percent.

A ‘global’ debate is in full swing over what should replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) once they expire in 2015. For Asia, this discussion could not have come too soon, as all evidence suggests that it will take a significant

REUTERS: Like many visitors to the Casino Royale Goa on a rainy Saturday night, Salim Budhwani said he does not gamble but also had no objection to the betting at the busy tables downstairs.

Sri Lanka is not often considered a viable option by investors. However, with previous geopolitical tensions settled, things are changing to the upside. Due to a peace dividend from ending 30 years of civil war, Sri Lanka’s emergence as a.....

The global scenario for natural rubber appears to be increasing demand till the year 2020 and possibly beyond. There are indications that the natural rubber (NR) share of the total elastomers consumed globally will increase from its present level of

You see the world of advertising and marketing communications lay the world at her feet. The promises...

The bulldozers are working and a construction crane is being erected on that vacant lot you pass each day going to and from home. The sign on the fence states that a new 150 room 3-star hotel is being built with a planned opening date of mid -2014.

A previous Verité Insight found that bi-lateral and regional trade agreements were proliferating, especially in Asia, but Sri Lanka was missing out. Despite once being a regional pioneer in trade agreements, Sri Lanka has not signed a major ag

A rapid development in information technology (IT) has enabled firms in manufacturing, agro-based and food-based industries improve their knowledge management systems (KMS) initiatives to produce more value-added products.

In my previous article in Mirror Business on June 11, 2013, the activities of the Indian Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) were summarized and also highlighted the lack of coordination within ministries and related government institutions in Sri Lank

During the past few weeks our readers were educated on the performance of the Colombo stock market by emphasizing on the untapped opportunities it offers to investors. Further on, we have disseminated guidelines on the requirements in entering the ma

Leadership doesn’t just happen. Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is a set of skills and abilities that anyone can learn.  Those skills can be strengthened, honed and enhanced.

Globally, in the last two years, women have made great strides in closing the gap for C-suite jobs. In fact, women now are better educated than ever, are stepping into high profile roles and are also outnumbering men as the primary breadwinners in th

We all know what a little girl’s world consists of – Barbies, Angelina Ballerinas, soft pink dresses and dainty little...

At the 66th CFA Institute Annual Conference held in Singapore in May, I had the honour and pleasure of interviewing Nalaka Godahewa, the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Sri Lanka, on the development of the c