By Cassandra Mascarenhas The role and responsibilities of a director on the board of a company is a topic that has risen to the forefront of the business community, both in Sri Lanka and globally, in recent times and tackling the billion rupee question of ‘Sweat or Blood,’ a CEO Breakfast Debate on accountability and ...

Goldman Sachs fund buys Rs. 1 b worth of COMBank shares Year to date net foreign inflow healthy at Rs. 1.76 b As Daily FT has been emphasising the redeeming feature of Colombo Bourse is the continued foreign investor interest. On Friday net foreign buying topped Rs. 600 million bringing

Contrary to exaggerated claims the EPF investments in to the stock market last week had amounted to only less than 10% of market activity and unlike some past contentious buys, this time around it had focused on blue chips. The total turnover of the Colombo bourse last week was Rs. 8.6 billion and local purchases ...

ASI gains by 5% as Bourse’s value swells by Rs. 96 b Brokers positive after fresh meeting with SEC EPF, private institutional and high networth investors active on attractive valuations The Colombo stock market yesterday produced a major rebound gaining by 5% thanks what some described as “spirited support” whilst others emphasised it was largely due ...

By Chamitha Kuruppu The Government has decided to grant a fuel subsidy to private bus owners, school vans and three wheeler operators. A kerosene coupon will be issued to the low income families. Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera told the Daily FT that cost of the relief scheme estimated

Fuel hike fires up fresh crisis Unprecedented rise to rocket cost of living; Opposition says hike anti-poor; subsidy scheme impractical Import bill in 2011 first 11 months at $ 4.1 b far above 2010 full year figure of $ 3 b Experts urge country to go back to automatic monthly price revision Hike likely to ...

UNP MP and its chief spokesman on the economy Dr. Harsha de Silva is expected to ask in Parliament today the Government stand on the remaining tranche worth US$ 800 million of the IMF assistance via its Stand-By-Arrangement (SBA). There hasn’t been a clear stand on the part of the Government during and following the ...

Private equity and investment banking boutique, Mercantile Merchant Bank Ltd., (MMBL) and family-owned leisure giant Jetwing Group are together taking the road less travelled to create new opportunities in the former war torn North by commissioning the biggest ever private sector investment in the region. The two firms, via an equally-owned joint venture will be ...

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa is charging that UNP MP and its Chief Economic Spokesman Dr. Harsha de Silva’s outburst and criticism over growing economic cooperation between Sri Lanka and China was in bad taste and made with dangerous political twist. “He (de Silva) is trying to pit China against Sri Lanka’s friendly nations such ...

Hon. D.E.W. Gunasekera Chairman, Committee on Public          Enterprises (COPE) Parliament of Sri Lanka Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. Dear Chairman, Action on COPE and other reports? Reference the aforementioned, I attach the following: 1.Daily Mirror front page News Report of Saturday, 21.1.2012 headlined ‘Bribery, CID Officers to be summoned by COPE. D...

After statements to the contrary by Governor over applicable interest rate and on which loan amount, monetary authority issues clarification For few days, the not so ‘whole truth’ was out in the market, but perhaps due to the Opposition’s fire and realising the blunder and implications, a better-late-than-never conspicuous correction termed “clarification” has finally...

Country records second successive year of over 20% growth in exports; 2011 full year value tops $ 10 b; when ICT exports included total figure to rise to $ 11 bConfirming resilience and an   improved competitive mindset amidst global and local difficulties, Sri Lanka’s exports sector has concluded its second year of over 20% growth. ...

Thanks to interest in premier blue chip John Keells Holdings (JKH), the Colombo stock market for the first time since end 2009 achieved a year-to-date (YTD) net foreign inflow. Though 2012 is only 26 days old and the value is only Rs. 908 million, the net inflow on a ‘YTD basis’ is significant as it ...

Ariyaseela Wickramanayake renews call for greater import substitution on food items Warns country is sinking owing to rising import bill of products which can be locally sourced Business leader Ariyaseela Wickramanayake is renewing his call for greater import substitution of food items by slapping higher levies on foreign products, thereby boosting local supplies. He said ...

Part 4 – ‘Entertainment of a doubt’ deemed the Bill to be inconsistent with the Constitution – Petitioner’s stake in HDL greater than the Government’s   In the public interest to create awareness of the issues involved, the FT will continue to publish extracts adapted from the Petition filed by public interest activist Nihal Sri ...

Renowned expert Dr. Howard Nicholas will share some key insights to the current status of global economy at a seminar on 20 January organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and supported by the Daily FT as print media sponsor. Dr. Howard Nicholas is known for his early warnings on the Asian

Perhaps exposing brokers and investors who campaigned heavily for relaxed credit rules for their lack of judgment, the Colombo stock market yesterday failed to close on the up, despite enjoying a big burst in early morning trading. Opening with boosted confidence following the SEC’s relaxed credit rule announcement, the bourse gained sharply by 1.8% or ...

Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal has been increasingly under attack by UNP MP Dr. Harsha de Silva over some of the policies, actions and comments of the professional-turned-politician-turned-Chief of the monetary regulatory authority. Cabraal’s ambitious and robust Roadmap for 2012 and beyond too had come under critique as being overconfident. However, this is unlikely to ...

If time already taken wasn’t long enough then the Securities and Exchange Commission don’t agree, and hence opted to meet again on Monday to take a final decision on relaxation of rules on broker credit. Issuing a one paragraph statement the SEC said “At the 294th Commission Meeting of the Securities and Exchange Com-mission of ...

UNP MP and Consultant Economist Dr. Harsha de Silva yesterday opined that the Daily FT reported pullout of Aitken Spence Plc from the Colombo port’s new terminal project as a direct fallout of the contentious Expropriation Act. He alleged that the move was a “retaliatory act”

The Daily FT’s exclusive expose of Aitken Spence Plc’s pullout from Sri Lanka’s biggest ever FDI project – the upcoming US$ 500 million Colombo South Container Terminal sent shock waves in corporate, shipping, political and diplomatic circles yesterday whilst investors found

Respected blue chip Aitken Spence pulls out of biggest FDI project – the $ 500 m Colombo South Container Terminal due to issues with funding and cost escalations Construction cost up 30% to $ 350 m; overall project cost now estimated at $ 595 m up from $ 475 m at bid proposal stage Lender ...

Asha Phillip Securities will open its 17th branch in Ambalanthota on 9 January. The branch will be located at No. 153, Tissa Road, Ambalanthota and add to the company’s branch strength in the south in Matara, Galle and Ambilipitiya. “We will be conducting awareness and education programmes in the area and the branch will cater ...

The Colombo stock market showed signs of struggle on the New Year’s first day of trading, managing to close up on a razor-thin margin with a turnover of just Rs. 419 million. In an apparent reflection of continuity of past year’s woes, the ASI gained by 0.01% or 0.4 points whilst MPI improved by over ...

As exclusively reported by the Daily FT yesterday, top professional and senior Board member Dinesh Weerakkody was appointed as the new Chairman of Commercial Bank. At 47 years old, he is also the youngest to be appointed as Chairman of Commercial Bank, the largest private sector bank

Dinesh tipped to be appointed Chairman; Dheerasinghe as Deputy; business leader Preethi new face on the Board Commercial Bank is slated to have a special Board meeting today, the second in three days, to elect a new Chairman. The move follows the resignation of longstanding Chairman and Board member Mahendra Amarasuriya, as exclusively reported by ...

Unhappy after questionable downgrade Hayleys fires letter; legal action next?   Rating agency Fitch is under fire for some  of its judgments and the latest to join the chorus is Hayleys Plc. Seemingly disturbed by the downgrade from AA- to A+ with a negative outlook by Fitch, Hayleys has fired a letter expressing its reservations, ...

the Daily FT yesterday that guests in member hotels were continuing to enjoy their holiday ...

The Pathfinder Foundation issued the following response to the IFC opinion piece on its Economic Alert No. 20 titled ‘Improving Sri Lanka’s Business Climate,’ published in the Daily FT: The Pathfinder Foun-dation (PF) is grateful to the International Finance Corporation (IFC

to the article above in yesterday’s Daily FT by the Pathfinder Foundation – in which there a...