We are still stuck in the winter of our discontent! By Jude Fernando Groundviews.org: “Nearly all children nowadays were horrible. What was worst of all was that by means of such organisations as the Spies they were systematically turned into ungovernable little savages, and yet this produced in them no tendency whatever to rebel against ...

India’s Oil and Natural Gas Company (ONGC) has expressed interest in exploring for oil in the Mannar Basin off the Sri Lanka’s northwest coast. Petroleum Minister Susil Premajayantha has said ONGC officials are expected to visit the country shortly for discussions and assess the already available data. The Minister told ColomboPage the Indian officials were ...

Sri Lanka Minister of Petroleum Industries Susil Premajayantha says the Government is yet unaware of the extent and volume of the natural gas deposit found in the Mannar Basin. The Government announced a few months back that India’s Cairn Company had found two natural gas deposits in the Mannar Basin while exploring for oil. Minister ...

Fitch Ratings says in a newly published special report that credit growth in emerging markets (EMs) is likely to slow in 2012 due to the weaker global economic outlook, policy moves by EM authorities to prevent overheating and base effects. Banking systems in most EMs which experienced rapid credit growth in 2010-H111 remain sound. However, ...

UNP MP and party’s chief spokesman for the economy Dr. Harsha de Silva this week reminded the Government of the fall of Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s regime after her unprecedented nationalisation failed to achieve desired benefits. “The original nationalisation effected in the early 1970s by the then Premier Sirimavo Bandaranaike didn’t bring about the expected economic benefits...

The Group of 20 heads of state met in France in early November launching an annual group meeting of the heads of State. The G20 is made up of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the EU, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea

The World Travel Market 2011 Industry Report released on Monday has included Sri Lanka among a group of countries which are second best for tourism in terms of attraction and growth whilst BRICs have been rated the best. The grouping carries the acronym SLIMMA with WTM experts choosing SL of Sri Lanka for it. Others ...

SUN FM presents Arash live in concert at the Excel World Open Air Arena on 9 December, keeping its promise of uplifting the quality of entertainment in Sri Lanka, and once again proving its prowess, by bringing down not just yet another star, but his entire seven-man band and his stunning female vocalist, Rebecca – ...

PCL Solutions won the Dealer of the Year 2010 award for its outstanding sales of medical waste incinerator, Mediburn, produced by Elastec American Marine. The international award was presented to PCL Solutions Health Care Sales Manager Sampath Kularatne, at an event in Illinois, USA. Being the sole agent in Sri Lanka, PCL Solutions secured the ...

Four demining machines worth around Rs. 302 million were handed by the Russia Federation to Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa this morning at the Ministry of Defence. Russian Ambassador in Sri Lanka Vladimir P. Mikhaylov and Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya

One of the world’s leading oil companies, Russia’s oil giant Gazprom will send a a group of technical specialists to Sri Lanka to explore gas drilling in the off the northwest coast of the country, government media reported. Gazprom has expressed its intention to join the gas drilling

Reuters: The indifference shown by the majority of India’s deep-pocketed corporates towards Formula One has baffled team bosses who expect them to warm to the sport following the success of last weekend’s inaugural Indian Grand Prix. Ferrari Formula One driver Felipe Massa of Brazil (C) poses with models during the after-party of India’s first F1 ...

We have to ensure that we develop sufficient spaces within our own economies so as to be able to comfortably face the inevitable complexities in the face of global challenges, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said. “In our view, individual policy interventions or ad-hoc measures which target just one or two outcomes are often flawed and almost ...

Amidst trying times for the tea industry, exports had crossed the US$ 1 billion mark faster this year than 2010 as overall performance remains mixed. Asiya Siyaka Research quoting Customs data said that Sri Lanka has earned approximately US$ 1.088 billion from exports during the first nine months of the year. This is said to ...

Reuters: New investors who have shown interest in Sri Lankan oil and gas exploration await the results of Cairn India’s drilling of a second well in the Mannar Basin before committing to anything, Sri Lanka’s Oil Minister said on Tuesday. Petroleum Industries Minister Susil Premajayantha confirmed that Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom, Malaysian State oil ...

Following is the speech delivered by Deputy Minister of Technology and Research Faizer Mustapha at the SLIM Brand Excellence awards held early this week What better time than this to discuss your theme, ‘Impossible is Nothing’? We’ve done it! You may ask what I mean by this statement. We fought the ruthless LTTE and defeated ...

Despite being a regional leader in enforcing standards, Sri Lanka still has a long way to go before reaping the full benefits of having its exports globally accepted. Studies have shown that a country can add as much as 1% to its GDP by proscribing to international standards. Daily FT met up with International Standards ...

Lankan participation at biggest food fair draws $ 2 m initials, suppliers already looking at 2013 showSri Lanka’s participation at the recently-concluded international ‘Anuga Trade Fair’ was a clear success, with most orders for Sri Lanka seen from European and Eastern European countries and European supermarket chains making direct inquiries on local products. Many Sri ...

The National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) will hold a seminar on ‘Bilateral Trade between Russia and Sri Lanka’ on Wednesday 19 October 2011 from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Chamber Auditorium, No. 450 D.R. Wijewardene Mw, and Colombo-10. Ambassador of Russia Vladimir

By Cheranka Mendis Sri Lanka’s tea industry has been battered and beaten by the weather gods this year and is now looking at lower production volumes and low auction prices despite early expectations of the year continuing the trend of 2010, which ended off as a record year for the industry. Colombo Tea Brokers’ Association ...

In business the most difficult part is finding, servicing and retaining markets and market share. In exports, this is even more challenging. The ultimate in value addition is brand marketing. The optimum return in global business is achieved by the growth and development of brands. The national economy where the brand is owned has a ...

“Russia and Sri Lanka enjoy gradual growth of bilateral trade. Tea Exports to Russia have always been robust and exciting; the time has come for us to seek more comprehensive efforts to widen our economic co-operation, beyond conventional economic means, in order to create

At this week’s Tea Auction conducted on 4 and 5 October, several All Time Colombo Tea Auction Record Prices were established for the Low Grown OP and OPA grades. All three record prices were established through the catalogue of Lanka Commodity Brokers Ltd., whilst the respective buyers for the OP and OPA grades were Inter ...

By Uditha Jayasinghe Brewed by external demand reductions and local policies, Sri Lanka’s value-added tea exports are declining while bulk shipments are increasing, resulting in a possible drop in earnings, industry experts warned yesterday.  Terming the reduction in value-added tea as a “disturbing trend,” Asia Siyaka Commodities said in a review report that Sri Lanka’...

In the latest figures available, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) last week reported that the preliminary figures for international visitor arrivals into Asia/Pacific destinations1 for July 2011 show a year-on-year increase of 7%. Director of the PATA Strategic Intelligence Centre John Koldowski PATA’s Strategic Intelligence Centre notes that the growth rate has become more ...

In the previous two ‘My Views,’ the following five popular fallacies of appreciating the exchange rate were discussed: Fallacy One: A Government can fix the exchange rate at any level it wishes. Fallacy Two: An appreciated exchange rate is a symbol of a country’s strength and prestige. Fallacy Three: The appreciation of the exchange rate ...

By Uditha Jayasinghe High on its recent UN success, Sri Lanka is already preparing for fresh contentions on human rights and political reconciliation issues at the next UN Human Rights Council General Meeting scheduled for March 2012, a top Government Minister said yesterday. Plantations Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, who headed the special team to the UNHRC ...

WHEN one hurdle is cleared, another appears on the horizon. Sri Lanka’s recent success at the United Nations General Assembly and UNHRC sessions does not mean that its vulnerability for international intervention is over. This much was acknowledged by Plantations Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe who headed the Government team at the UNHRC. In fact the Sri ...

Darshi Keertisena of Buddhi Batiks will showcase at the prestigious Russia Fashion Week, which is the largest fashion week of East Europe. This opportunity was part of the HSBC Colombo Fashion Week initiative. Moscow is one the biggest luxury markets in the world and it has a special

Justice and fair-play is paramount Justice and fair-play are of paramount importance to all members of the world family consisting of 193 nations expecting justice and fair-play equally. It is the principle on which the United Nations was established in place of the less-effective League of Nations, in order to settle differences among nations based ...