The Tourism Authority of Thailand has unveiled a series of strategies designed to maintain, enhance and promote Thailand’s brand image, marketing profile and visitor arrivals. TAT has set a 2013 target of 22.22 million international visitor arrivals, generating estimated foreign exchange revenues of 966 billion Baht (US$ 30.62 billion, based on the exchange rate of ...

By B.A.B. Goonetilleke Sometime in 2009, in what was to become a defining moment in the new Digital Age, Bradley Manning, a 24-year-old Army private based at an outpost in Iraq, began to download a veritable trove of classified cables dispatched by US missions around the world on to a thumb drive. Whether Manning stepped ...

By Cassandra Mascarenhas The third and final day of the Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2012 organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce commenced with a plenary session titled ‘Skills and Productivity to Compete in the Global Market,’ which discussed the initiatives that are underway and aimed to identify additional steps required to improve the quality ...

By Cassandra Mascarenhas Setting its sights on placing Sri Lanka in the global economy and expanding its reach in overseas markets, the Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2012, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce’s annual flagship event, aptly themed ‘Positioning Sri Lanka in the Global Economy,’ commenced last evening at the Cinnamon Grand. In the context of ...

There were some interesting bits of news in the papers about a week back, with some stories having a certain thread running through them.  The US Ambassador Patricia Butenis visited the Coca Cola plant in Biyagama. The British High Commissioner John Rankin visited Unilever Sri Lanka’s newly built factory in Horana and the new Chinese ...

Case study Middle East   Sri Lanka is one of the most sought-after tourist destinations in the world. It is surrounded by the Indian Ocean strategically located between West Asia and South East Asia and has been an important stop on the silk route or the Silk Road. It has all requirements to be one ...

By Shelton Dharmaratne Changing global trends will continually pose challenges to economic theory and policy and the ways in which we analyse tourism activity. Sri Lanka Tourism’s public policies are trapped in a dynamic, ongoing process and it has become increasingly evident that the Government is struggling to comprehend the tourism industry, its impact and ...

Around two weeks back when I was invited to address the business chambers of Pakistan in Karachi, I realised that the bond between the people of Pakistan and Sri Lanka was not due to business or commerce but the game of cricket. Whenever I mentioned cricket in my addresses, there was a round of applause ...

The Oxford Dictionary definition of ‘inept’ is ‘acting or done with no skill’. An ineptitude results is such behaviour being manifested An ‘Inept’ocracy’ has been defined in the Urban Dictionary as ‘a system of government, where the least capable to lead are elected, by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society ...

All newspapers carried headlines a few days ago stating that May 2012 tourist arrivals have increased by 17.5% from last year. It is reported that the May arrivals of 57,506, was higher than even that of April, which showed only a 9% increase YOY. So far, total arrivals for 2012 up to end May is ...

Peter Kropotkin is a Russian revolutionist who has commented in his book ‘The Conquest of Bread’ what he considers to be the weaknesses of the economic systems of capitalism and how poverty and scarcity thrives on. However, Kropotkin did not believe in the theory of state and is known as an anarchist. The issue of ...

With highest-ever top and bottom line performance premier blue chip JKH says knowing exactly who were are, what we stand for and where we are headed makes all the differenceI am pleased to present the Integrated Annual Report, and the Statement of Accounts, for the Financial Year ended 31 March 2012. The Report encapsulates the ...

With the end of the war, there was a desire throughout the country for a peace dividend. Over the 30 years of the conflict, pent-up demand had built up both for consumption and investment expenditure. The authorities were under intense political pressure to create an environment that was conducive to finance imports of consumption goods, ...

A document named ‘Growing Together’ prepared by UNESCAP for the sixty sixth session of ESCAP states that the realisation of what is termed as the ‘Asia Pacific century’ will depend on the region’s ability to harness the potential of regional economic integration. A shared history and culture, complementarities arising from their very different levels of ...

By Damien The Secretary to the treasury Dr. P.B Jayasundera recently made statement that the country is wasting the foreign currency on things that can be made in this country. I would like to add to this by stating that as a country we should have clear targets and policies that are aimed at both ...

Key insights to state of the economy and market and future prospects from NDB Stockbrokers’ latest Sri Lanka Equities report Uncertainty in the macro environment The robust economic growth and steep rise in global crude oil prices increased Sri Lanka’s import bill by 51% in 2011. As a result the trade deficit widened, putting the ...

International arrivals into Asia/Pacific1 destinations grew by a collective 7% year-on-year during the first two months of 2012, according to preliminary data released by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) last week. At this point Southeast Asia is the fastest growing destination, followed by South Asia, however, both sub-regions generated somewhat slower growth than last ...

Expolanka Holdings Plc said yesterday it has sustained its consolidated net profit after tax for the FY 2011/12 at Rs. 1.23 billion with a consolidated net profit before tax at Rs. 1.68 billion. The Q4 recorded a year on year growth of 21% in top line, 33% growth in gross profit and 22% growth in ...

After the LTTE was defeated, a campaign designed to promote Sri Lanka as a leisure and investment destination labelled ‘The Small Miracle’ was shot down, ostensibly on the ground that the miracle was in no way ‘small’. The marketing value in Sri Lanka’s compact size, our rich biodiversity, the diversity of leisure locations and physical ...

Achieves best-ever results in 134-year history Pre-tax profit at Rs. Rs 4.8 billion, post-tax figure Rs. 3.8 b Profit attributable to equity holders of the company up 269% to Rs. 2.5b Turnover up 15% to Rs 62.5 b A challenging operating environment notwithstanding, Hayleys Group has posted its best annual earnings in the history of ...

Thailand’s new Ambassador to Sri Lanka Poldej Worachat yesterday paid a courtesy call on Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa to discuss issues of bilateral interest. At the outset of the meeting Rajapaksa thanked the Thailand for the assistance given by its government recently at various international forums, specially at the recently concluded UNCHR meeting. Longstanding ...

Under Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Philippines Erlinda F. Basilio met Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa today at the Economic Development Ministry. At the outset Minister Rajapaksa said at the moment Sri Lanka will always remember the help extended by the Philippines in various international forums recently. Longstanding friendship between the ...

By Cassandra Mascarenhas The pace of activity in the construction industry has slowed down due to constraints caused by the high cost of finance fuelled by the rise in interest rates, the devaluation of the rupee that have resulted in imports being more expensive and the lack of FDIs coming into the industry, stated Chamber ...