Suren Rajanathan is Vice President of 3M Sri Lanka, an innovation-based company which boasts a catalog of over 1,000 products sold in Sri Lanka that span 25 different business categories. 3M has an income internationally of $30 billion in sales, employs about 84,000 people worldwide, and has operations in more than 65 countries with products ...

By Joshua Nicholas Prestige Automobile (Pvt) Ltd. (PA) yesterday announced the arrival of the all new BMW 3 series. The sixth generation of the world’s best-selling premium car will be available in two variants; BMW 320i and BMW 328i. Since its launch in 1975, every third car sold by BMW has been a 3 series. ...

By Cheranka Mendis Dubai’s low cost airline, flydubai yesterday announced the increase of frequencies to Sri Lanka, going from five to seven weekly flights since 11 March following a surge in passenger numbers. flydubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith noted that with the changes in flight timing by moving on from four flights a week during ...

Mackwoods Energy said yesterday it was presently in the process of finalising a feasibility for establishment of a 1 MW grid connected solar power plant located on an existing property of the company. The move is part of Mackwoods Energy’s diversification plans to provide solar and wind  power  solutions to  customers  for  both  grid  and  ...

REUTERS: In the face of aggression from the United States or Israel, Iran will attack to defend itself, Iran’s most powerful figure, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday.  “We do not have nuclear weapons and we will not build them but in the face of aggression from the enemies, whether from America or the Zionist ...

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) spokesman and parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayaka in an interview with the Daily FT critiques the on-going sessions of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the state of bad governance, deteriorating law and order and the economic crisis in the country.  Following are excerpts from the interview.   Q;  What are your ...

The STING Corporate Accountability Index is an independently researched analysis of the standing of corporate Sri Lanka against a model of responsible business practices. It is published in order to encourage more companies to adopt a holistic system of corporate responsibility. The adoption of such a system and making this the usual way of operating, ...

The country’s forex market encompassing highly dependent importers and key source exporters was yesterday rocked by what analysts described as the sharpest day gain in the US dollar exchange rate. Before mid-day the Rupee touched a new low of Rs. 127 and then on to Rs. 128 prompting many to assume the rate had bottomed ...

Parent Company – The Mackwoods Group (ML) Possessing a history of over 170 years, Mackwoods Group the parent company of Mackwoods Energy Limited has a diverse portfolio of businesses consisting power and energy, healthcare, agri business and plantations, industry, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), hotels and leisure, infrastructure development, real estate and financial service...

Citizens should make a noise The Central Bank’s former Assistant Governor and its long-time Director of Statistics, Dr. Anila Dias Bandaranaike, at a recently held exporters’ forum, expressed the view that the business community should make it their business to discuss, debate and deliver their views on economic policies being formulated by the country’s policy ...

NOL Group last week reported a US$ 478 million net loss in 2011 following net earnings of US$ 461 million in 2010. The container shipping and logistics company said unsettled economic conditions, high fuel costs and lower freight rates impacted results.   “The performance of container shipping is disappointing,” said Group CEO Ng Yat Chung. ...

Loss-making State-owned enterprises are nothing new in Sri Lanka. One of the better known ones is SriLankan Airlines, which was given to Emirates due to its inability to breakeven but was retaken by the present Government. Pros and cons of this move is history but cash-strapped and a midst losses, it appears that the Government ...

High fuel prices and an oversupply of ships will dampen earnings and profitability for global shipping operators over the coming 12 months, says Standard & Poor's Ratings Services in a new report "Top 10 Investor Questions: Oversupply And High Fuel Prices Sink Prospects For Global Shipping." Bunker fuel, which constitutes the bulk of voyage expenses ...

OSLO (Reuters): The global shipping downturn may already have hit bottom but bankruptcies will accelerate because of the slow pace of recovery, DNB Bank, the world’s top arranger of shipping loans, said on Thursday. Around 10 per cent of DNB’s shipping customers have already breached their loan covenants and shipping lending losses are set to ...

The National Trade Union Centre (NTUC) affiliated to Sri Lanka’s Marxist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has in writing requested the Public Administration Minister John Seneviratne to make necessary provisions to increase the festival allowance paid to the public sector employees. NTUC Head K.D. Lalkantha has asked Minister Seneviratne to increase the current festival advance ...

Industry calls for higher productivity, new market development to ride out uncertainties Tea industry stakeholders say the industry needs to urgently improve productivity and generate new markets, as volatility in major Middle Eastern markets continue to dampen tea export earnings.   While there is strong demand for tea in global markets, price increases for Ceylon ...

High cost of living and festive seasons go hand in hand and the upcoming New Year looks set to becoming a particularly difficult one. With the Central Bank downgrading the economic forecast from eight per cent to 7.2 per cent and a rapidly depreciating rupee adding to increasing imports, the month of April, when consumerism ...

Says that economic growth still among the highest in the world, insists that external events will not affect trade By Uditha Jayasinghe As the rupee hit an all-time low, Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa yesterday strived to bolster confidence in the economy terming the trade deficit the country’s “only problem”. With the rupee at an ...

NEW DELHI (Reuters): India’s businesses, already facing high interest rates and a global economic slowdown, worry that the finance ministry will ask them to shoulder a bigger tax burden in the budget set for release on Friday to trim the fiscal deficit. After a drubbing in recent state elections, the government has little room to ...

By Cheranka Mendis Despite the Central Bank’s forecast reading 7.2% growth for 2012, RAM Ratings Lanka CEO Adrian Perera is confident that the country can touch the 7.5%-7.6% mark by the end of the year. Perera told the Daily FT that the new projection is a realistic number from the 8% noted at the beginning ...

TOKYO (Reuters): Asian shares rose on Wednesday as upbeat U.S. economic data plus signs of improving capital positions at big American banks stoked appetites for risk, while reduced expectations for more  monetary easing by the Federal Reserve underpinned the dollar.  The dollar eased from a seven-week high against a basket of major currencies of 80.320 ...

BANGALORE (Reuters): India’s headline inflation likely picked up slightly in February from January’s 26-month low as higher global oil prices fed into the country’s import costs, a Reuters poll showed.  Economists expect headline inflation of 6.79 percent in February from a year earlier, faster than January’s 6.55 percent.  “There is a likelihood of a higher...

Change is becoming a management mantra these days. Sadly, to the point that it has become rather overrated and therefore its importance is being underplayed. Change management theories abound, thousands of articles are written on the subject and change management consultants are everywhere. What I would like to address here is something much more fundamental, ...

CONCERN over the controversial Channel 4 documentary has reached a fever pitch. In fact it is so high that it is causing some politicians to talk deliriously and call for local consumers to boycott US products such as Pepsi and Coca Cola or return to the days of snail mail by forgoing Gmail. Even though ...

The Consumer Day Forum is organised by the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL) and the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS) as a part of the Public Private Awareness effort on issues pertaining to business, economy and the society. In 1962, John F. Kennedy, Former President of ...

Preamble State ownership of public utilities dates back to the colonial period. The early post-independent years saw the State establish public enterprises that were involved in the production and distribution of key goods and services. The share of State ownership in the economy expanded steadily and gathered momentum in the 1970s when Government policy, in ...

HANOI (Reuters): Vietnam’s central bank cut key rates on dong loans and deposits for the first time in nearly three years, helping ease the burden of high operating costs faced by businesses after inflation eased last month. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) as expected cut the refinance rate, or the rate at which it ...

Broking firm DNH Financial Ltd. is stressing that with interest rates on the rise, stock selectivity becomes even more vital for investors. It said Treasuries yields have risen across maturities with the three month, six month and 12 month yields rising by 31 bps, 24 bps and 15 bps respectively to 10.11%, 10.18% and 10.45% ...

SRI LANKA’S fabled post-war window of opportunity seems to be closing, with the Central Bank following the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in reducing growth rates for 2012. But does that mean only gloom awaits Sri Lanka or can we ride out the tide and reach the golden shores? The Central Bank had originally forecast this ...

TNT Express’ airline subsidiary, TNT Airways, and Emirates SkyCargo expanded their cooperation by signing a code-share and blocked-space agreement. Under the agreement, Emirates SkyCargo will place its airline code and use space on TNT Airways’ B777 freighter flights on the New York JFK to Liege and Hong Kong-Dubai-Liege routes. The agreement enables each airline to ...