By Neville Ladduwahetty During his address to the “Economic Dialogue – IMF and Beyond”, the President “declared that Sri Lanka is at a crossroad and it was the nation’s last chance to forge ahead or fail (Daily FT, 31, 2023). Now that Sri Lanka has committed itself to the terms

Following is the response from Dlimah Tea Director Malik J. Fernando to Willie Weerasekera’s article ‘Pure Ceylon Tea’ or ‘tea hub’? The billion dollar question published last Friday in Daily FT.The writer speaks sense when he says “the million-dollar question is therefore much more than ‘Ceylon Tea’ or ‘tea hub’ – It is: How do ...

By Cheranka Mendis Asia Leisure, a fully-owned subsidiary of Asia Capital Group, has formed a strategic tie-up with Teoria Investments Japan, through which Teoria has made an initial investment of US$ 2 million into Asia Leisure’s property Taprobana in Balapitiya. Anticipated to be launched in April 2013, Taprobana is the start of a major expansion ...

Although relatively unknown in Sri Lanka, the world’s third largest advertising holding company, the Publicis Groupe, has a formidable presence worldwide and is represented in Sri Lanka by one of its main global subsidiaries, Leo Burnett. With Sri Lanka showing potential for high growth in the years to come, the second-in-command of the French multinational ...

By Uditha Jayasinghe Showcasing the need for vigilance, over 1,500 foreigners who remained illegally in the country after their visas expired were detected within the first two months of 2012, a top immigration official said yesterday. Controller General of Immigration and Emigration Commissioner for Registration of Persons of Indian Origin W. Perera told the Daily ...

With just 12 days to go, Sri Lanka’s largest mega trade, investment and tourism promotion initiative ‘Expo 2012’ has attracted close to 1,200 people, exceeding the expected 1,000 mark, EDB Chairman Janaka Ratnayake said yesterday. Speaking to the Daily FT, he asserted

Thousands of women in the apparel industry deserve respect for being partners in Sri Lanka’s highest foreign exchange earning sector By Uditha Jayasinghe Sri Lanka’s apparel industry clothes the world and earns the largest amount of foreign exchange but is struggling to retain its workforce as an estimated 30,000 vacancies remain open in hundreds of ...

Benito Mussolini, the fascist ruler of Italy, during World War II, said that his brand of fascism ‘should be more appropriately called Corporatism, because it is a merger of state and corporate power’. Compare this with the dictionary definition of capitalism: ‘A system in which a country’s business and industry are controlled and run for ...

The Daily FT spoke to the Immediate Past President of Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) and Chairman and Managing Director of Conniassance de Ceylan Ltd., on the state of post-war Sri Lanka tourism industry, the progress and key challenges as well as future prospects

How the key industry progressed last yearBy Cheranka Mendis Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, which saw a 30.8% growth over the previous year in 2011, has been driven by key markets India, UK and Germany and is likely to be the foremost contributor in 2012 as well. Named as ‘Visit Sri Lanka year,’ 2011 saw the ...

Ends 2011 with record 855,975 arrivalsBy Cheranka Mendis The high-flying tourism industry closed the year with a record 855,975 arrivals, marking a rise of 100,000 from the original target for the year. Statistics revealed by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) yesterday noted that the figure reflects a 30.8% increase from the previous year. ...

Citrus Hikkaduwa, the maiden venture of the Dilith Jayaweera, Varuni Amunugama Fernando and Sarwa Ameresekere trio, opened for guests last week, heralding a new experience in the popular southern coast. Originally the 50-room Amaya Reef, following the takeover and rebranding Citrus Hikkaduwa is now a 97-room modern and up-market resort. The first guests were a ...

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 ...

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 ...

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

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 ...

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’...

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 ...

Exports volume to Middle East up but industry fears danger of price fluctuations towards year endBy Uditha Jayasinghe Brewing with mixed fortunes, tea exports have faced the Middle East unrest well, but future price fluctuations may pose challenges in the short term, say industry experts. Despite the challenges of the ongoing turmoil in the Middle ...