By Cheranka Mendis  The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Sri Lanka yesterday signed an agreement with International Executive Service Corp (IESL) to promote investment in the country by offering fixed rate low cost financing for businesses. IESL acting as a loan originator for Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) have picked Sri Lanka as the ...

We often hear the word ‘crisis’ mentioned in discussion, speeches, orations, in poetry, fiction, articles, cartoons, within corporate board rooms, on strategic plan presentations, broadcasts, narrowcasts, etc. The word assumes even greater weight depending on what adjective is placed before it, such as global crisis, European debt crisis, financial crisis, real estate crisis or a ...

The High Commission of India and the Indian expatriate community in Sri Lanka yesterday celebrated the 63rd Republic Day of India at India House in Colombo. The High Commissioner Ashok K. Kantha unfurled the National Flag and inspected a Guard of Honour presented by the BSF contingent. He read out significant excerpts from the Address ...

Following is the address delivered by The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) President Anura Lokuhetty at the National Conference on ‘The Role of the Business Community in Reconciliation’ organised by Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKIIRSS):   Ladies and gentlemen, throughout the history of mankind, humankind has searched for ...

Sri Lanka businesses and their leaders are optimistic of prospects for 2012 whilst they are also confident the country will progress in the New Year according to key findings of a CEOs survey done by MTI Market Research. “Despite concerns about the global economic outlook, Sri Lankan businesses seem confident that the local economy and ...

The ability of travel to boost economic activity and create employment has in the past week been recognised by political leaders on both sides of the Pacific. On Thursday January 19 in Washington, USA, President Obama announced a national strategy to boost travel in the United States, an industry that currently supports 14 million jobs ...

Facing the short-term economic challengesThe macroeconomic imbalances Sri Lanka has achieved a growth rate of 8.3% last year and inflation fell to 4.9% year-on-year in December 2011. These are noteworthy achievements at a time when the global economic landscape has been hostile with a slowdown in the US and a crisis in Europe; key markets ...

Developing countries should prepare for further downside risks, as Euro Area debt problems and weakening growth in several big emerging economies are dimming global growth prospects, the World Bank said yesterday in the newly-released Global Economic Prospects (GEP) 2012. The bank has lowered its growth forecast for 2012 to 5.4 per cent for developing countries ...

International tourist arrivals grew by 4.4% in 2011 to a total 980 million, up from 939 million in 2010, in a year characterised by a stalled global economic recovery, major political changes in the Middle East and North Africa and natural disasters in Japan. By region, Europe (+6%) was the best performer, while by sub ...

Benefits of the present tourism boom are spreading to all the other sectors of the country, including heritage, arts and cultural sectors. During the period of terrorism many institutions in the cultural, arts and archeological sectors were severely affected. One of these institutions was the Cultural Triangle Project. As a result of reduced income from ...

Sri Lanka readying for dedicated trade talks in MarchBeing the first FTA for India and Sri Lanka, the 1998 Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement carries substantial sentimental value for Sri Lanka. Together, both countries can play a major role in elevating Indo-Sri Lanka economic relations from the current level to a much higher plane. The ...

“Our sense is that if we do not act boldly and if we do not act together, the economy around the world runs the risk of a downward spiral of uncertainty, financial instability and potential collapse of global demand… we could run the risk of what some commentators are already calling the lost decade” – ...

The Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) has opined the Central Bank’s forecast of $ 25 billion foreign inflow as “optimistic” given external headwinds whilst cautioning that pressure was mounting on the rupee given the rising import demand. This view along with weaker GDP forecast is contained in SCB's latest country update titled 'A challenging year ahead' ...

The latest data coming out predicts Sri Lanka’s economy to be 59 billion dollars with overall external trade recording a strong 51.6% of GDP as against the 44.4% the year before, which indicates the expansion of the economy. This data is reflective of Sri Lanka’s jump of 17 places to number 52 in the Global ...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the two leaders of the Eurozone’s most powerful economies, met on 9 January to discuss further steps to resolve the debt crisis. Their first meeting of 2012 comes after all EU countries except the UK agreed to work together on a new treaty to stabilise the ...

The year 2011 commenced in the backdrop of many milestones that were achieved in 2010. If we are to analyse the events that unfolded during the first quarter of 2011 in retrospect and review the performance of the tea industry, it would give a great deal of relief and satisfaction. The Colombo auction in January ...

British investors are keen on investing in Sri Lanka’s new phase and are specifically eyeing Sri Lanka’s tourism sector. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka has invited strong business and industry delegations from UK to Sri Lanka’s Expo 2012 show. “Sri Lanka’s tourism sector is very promising with good potential,” said James Wharton, the visiting British MP. Wharton ...

UNP MP Harsha de Silva yesterday alleged Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal’s 2012 and beyond road map was “nauseatingly one-sided propaganda” whilst it failed to address the balance of payments issue. Here is the full statement of Dr. de Silva. Without taking away from the hard work of the private sector for having driven this ...

The Top 100 Nation Brands have been ranked by Brand Finance plc with the USA, Germany and China topping the report Eurozone crisis affects the Nation Brand vales of Greece, Ireland and Japan who are ranked as the Top 3 biggest Losers  Further chaos in Europe has seen the brand values of Spain, Austria, Italy ...

AS expected, Sri Lanka’s tourism industry made a booming start to the New Year with the news that South Africa’s Sun City is planning to invest a hefty US$ 800 million in a massive project in Katana. This brings the total investment from large-scale foreign hotel projects to nearly US$ 2 billion, with Sheraton, Shangri-la, ...

A survey conducted last week on the health of the Sri Lankan economy revealed that almost 64% said that the Government had done its task but only 43% had said that there had been growth in the economy. Whilst some can say that this data is strange, a similar set of information was shared at ...

BBC: Hoteliers in a popular tourist destination in Sri Lanka have accused a local politician of blackmailing them and demanding ransom from hotels at the peak of a tourism season. The Hikkaduwa Hoteliers Association (HHA) told BBC Sandeshaya that the town’s Mayor, Winnie Kariyawasam, discontinued collecting garbage from Coral Sands hotel for weeks after they ...

Post-war rebounding Sri Lanka has entered for the first time the Most Valuable Nation Brands ranking compiled by UK-based Brand Finance debuting at number 76 with a value of $ 23 billion. A world renowned specialist in the subject Brand Finance’s 2011 ranking reveals brand ‘Sri Lanka’ is worth $ 23 billion (Rs. 2.6 trillion) ...

CAIRO (Reuters): Egypt expects tourism revenues to rebound by more than a third next year if the country’s security situation improves in the wake of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak in February and the subsequent political turmoil that sent tourists packing. Tourism used to account for more than a tenth of Egypt’s gross domestic ...

World’s leading and the most discerning and trusted monthly travel magazine in Britain Condé Nast Traveller has nominated Sri Lanka as one of the top five destinations to watch in 2012. The travel experts of the magazine have predicted that Sri Lanka will be among the hottest new holiday destination for travellers in the coming ...

Jakarta (IANS): Indonesia’s tourism sector will focus on emerging markets in 2012 as they are relatively resistant to global financial crisis, a minister said here Thursday. “In 2012, we target markets that are not (relatively) affected by crisis,” Minister for Tourism and Creative Economy Mari Elka Pangestu told a press conference. However, she said, even ...

THE results of repeatedly ignoring law and order by allowing politicians to commit wrongful acts in an environment of impunity has finally come home to roost. Unfortunately, it is the tourism industry that will suffer the most from this. After surviving three decades of conflict, where the industry was all but wiped out, it deservedly ...

Xinhua: Sri Lankan Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella Tuesday met with Ju Mengjun, Director of the Xinhua News Agency Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau on Tuesday, both sides expressed the hope to further enhance bilateral cooperation in all areas. During the meeting, Ju said Xinhua is glad to seek closer relations with Sri Lankan media and relevant departments ...

By Manoj Ridimahaliyadda espncricinfo.com: Sidath Wettimuny, the former Sri Lanka batsman, has suggested a radical restructuring of the country’s domestic cricket structure, which involves promoting provinces over clubs. The financial uncertainty surrounding Sri Lankan cricket and the upcoming board elections could, however, overshadow Wettimuny’s proposal. As a member of Sri Lanka Cri...

Special communiqué listing actions taken issued to travel and hotel trade as a confidence building measure Working closely with the defence authorities to ensure greater protection for tourists in possible vulnerable areas Both tourism and law enforcement authorities have thus far successfully handled the unfortunate gruesome attack on a tourist couple in Tangalle over the ...