New CEO Kapila Chandrasena upbeat on prospects for national carrier and Sri Lanka as a tourist destination post-warWhen the news of the impending change at the top in the national carrier broke, the Daily FT headlined the lead story on 6 May 2011 as ‘Turb-UL-ence,’ with a pun

Plastic crates: Universally used in agri markets In 2002, the writer had a chance of visiting a few farms in Czech Republic, some 200 kilometres away from its capital, Prague. They were all medium sized farms owned by private individuals producing such products as vegetables, fruits and honey. At the time of the writer’s visit, ...

The right to privacy is our right to keep a domain around us, which includes all those things that are part of us, such as our body, home, thoughts, feelings, secrets and identity. The right to privacy gives us the ability to choose which parts in this domain can be accessed by others, and to ...

The Sri Lanka Army has developed a citizen information collection scheme known as the ‘Geo-Citizen Information System Project’ at a cost of Rs. 2.5 million. The project that is under the purview of the Defence Ministry and created by the Centre for Research and Development and Sri Lanka Army is the first such project to be introduced in South East Asia. The project is aimed at ...

Mere news of Presidential meeting with brokers boosts stock market Benchmark index ASI up near 4%, highest daily gain in 15 months Market’s value swellsby Rs. 79 b Second tier and speculative stocks first to rebound with retail play; blue chips gain moderately The mere news of President Mahinda Rajapaksa meeting brokers, as exclusively reported ...

No unanimity on exchange rate movement A front page headline news item in this paper on last Saturday had reported on an apparent division of opinion between the two top policy makers of the country, namely the Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera and the Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, on the depreciation of the ...

By Cheranka Mendis The tourism industry yesterday welcomed the reduction in the online visa processing fee from the initial US$ 50 flat rate for every country, giving into the concerns and objections of industry stakeholders. The scheme, scheduled to be in effect from January 2012, will now charge US$ 10 from travellers from South Asian ...

All of the Commonwealth will today focus on the crucial vote for the host of 2018 Commonwealth Games with Sri Lankan contingent publicly and personally upbeat about candidate city Hambantota’s chances. Sri Lanka’s spirited southern port city Hambantota and Australia’s Gold Coast need minimum 36 votes out of 71 Commonwealth Games Associations at the CGF ...

This is the seventh article in the Daily FT’s fortnightly series titled ‘Business of Sports,’ focusing on the back office of the various sports administered and played in this country. Readers are invited to share their views and express their opinion via email to editor@ft.lk

I still remember the thoughts that crossed my mind on the day that Harvard University announced the top 50 candidates for the 2011 Global Leaders in Development forum. The excitement was high, but then again the commitment to me personally in Sri Lanka made it a catch 22 decision. The decision was tougher, given that ...

Daily FT, Sri Lanka’s first and only dedicated business newspaper, has just completed a major strategy review and strategic directional planning with MTI Consulting. “Within just two years, the Daily FT has proved to be the main source of business news for Sri Lanka’s corporate

Industry expects modest growth but no boom expectationsby Cheranka Mendis The tourism industry is looking at a 10-15% increase during the coming winter season although there will be no sell-out as earlier expected, according to industry experts. The season, which usually amounts to the highest number of arrivals each year, was initially expected to bring ...

The Sri Lanka Private Sector Assessment of the Report to the United Nations Secretary General by the Panel of Experts on accountability in Sri Lanka was released on Thursday. The private sector critique is a compilation of views raised by a private sector group in Sri Lanka who are concerned about the content of the ...

THE Daily FT yesterday reported that the Northern Province is recording a bumper paddy harvest. Estimates are that Yala harvest is above 15% over that of last year. Not only from North but from several other paddy cultivating areas a welcome increased crop is due. The Hector Kobbekaduwa Agriculture

OF the myriad news in the mainstream press on Friday, there was a report about Buddhists building two kovils in the Wanni. As per the article, Buddhists in Kandy and other philanthropists had contributed funds to build two Muththumari Amman Kovils for Hindu devotees in two villages of Madukulam and Sinnathampane in Vavuniya. Quoting security ...

The Colombo stock market erupted yesterday before and after the SEC lifted the ban on broker credit to clients establishing one of the biggest day gains with value of Bourse rising by Rs. 77 billion. The benchmark All Share Index (ASI) shot up by 3.13% or 214 points and Milanka Price Index rose sharply by ...

Investors toast SEC move as pent up buying bolsters CSE to record one of the biggest day gains Market’s value jump by Rs. 77 b; ASI up 3.13% or 214 points; MPI by 3.67%; Turnover tops Rs. 3.76 b; Welcome net foreign inflow completes resurgent day SEC move will encourage greater recapitalisation at broking firms; ...

By Uditha Jayasinghe Hobbled by the loss of GSP+ and rising costs, top garment manufacturers are moving north to gain an edge with lower labour costs and fast tracking development in the process. Brandix Limited, Hidramani Limited, Timex Garments Limited,...