The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), in collaboration with the International Association of Young Lawyers (AIJA), will be holding an international conference on ‘Legal Process Outsourcing’ in partnership with the ICT Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA).   “The conference on the theme ‘Outsourcing versus Restructuring’ is scheduled to take place on Thursday 9 and ...

Regulatory pressure mounted further over the course of 2011 – bad news for financial services firms, but good news for the consultancies to which they turned for help. Ernst and Young topped the Operational Risk and Regulation consultancy rankings again in 2011 (http://www.risk.net/operational-risk-and-regulation/feature/2135016/orr-consultancy-rankings-2011), and the New York-based head of ...

ADELAIDE, (Reuters) :Australia have left paceman Mitchell Starc out of their team to face India in the fourth and final test and brought spinner Nathan Lyon back into the side, captain Michael Clarke said on Monday. Starc was one of a quartet of quicks selected for the third test in Perth, where the Australians won ...

NetIndian News Network : The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2012 was awarded to Singapore-based Sri Lankan writer Shehan Karunatilaka for his book Chinaman (Random House, India), a novel that explores cricket as a metaphor to uncover a lost life and a lost history. Chinaman skilfully uses sport and the notion of fair play ...

The Sri Lanka – Vietnam Business Council (SLVBC) of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce will organise a Trade and Investment promotion mission to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam from 4 to 8 March. At the networking session held recently at the Embassy of Vietnam in Colombo, Vietnam Ambassador in Sri Lanka Ton Sinh ...

THE proposed amendments to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) have created a much-needed discussion forum on pension funds and their benefits, while also bringing several crucial points into the limelight. Experts have pointed out that if the Government is genuinely keen on maximising returns of workers, then they need to exempt EPF earnings from tax ...

Enterprise, the newsletter of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) was re-launched from January this year in printed format. The newsletter will be published every month featuring news and events from the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, its associations and business councils, steering committees and projects. It will also comprise of features relevant to commerce, industry ...

Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Ministry yesterday shot down reports in the local media and insisted that there were no issues with India over the international maritime boundary line.   The statement noted that attention has been drawn to some news reports relating to the India-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group on Fisheries meeting held in Colombo ...

By Dr. Laksiri Fernando Asian Tribune: I was in Colombo for two weeks before Christmas for some personal matters and all appeared positive, more or less, except perhaps for the thorn of the ‘General’. When I was waiting for the connection in Singapore, two expatriates came across and talked to me about the situation in ...

Australia captain Michael Clarke has rocketed his way into the top 10 of the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen for the first time in 15 months after his career-best unbeaten triple century earned his side an innings and 68 runs victory in the second Test in Sydney on Friday. The win gave the ...

Respected blue chip Aitken Spence pulls out of biggest FDI project – the $ 500 m Colombo South Container Terminal due to issues with funding and cost escalations Construction cost up 30% to $ 350 m; overall project cost now estimated at $ 595 m up from $ 475 m at bid proposal stage Lender ...

Political corruption: The definition Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by private persons or corporations not directly involved with the ...

Sri Lanka’s pioneer Islamic bank, Amana Bank was voted the ‘Best Islamic Bank in Sri Lanka’ at the global Islamic Finance News poll for 2011 conducted by the Malaysia-based RedMoney Group. The results of this prestigious award poll held for the 7th consecutive year were officially released on 4 January 2012, which includes the results ...

The 10th edition of Dharman’s Media Guide of Sri Lanka was issued last week.  A publication of the Sri Lanka Environmental Journalists Forum it is one of the most popular and leading media guides in Sri Lanka edited by senior journalist Dharman Wickremaratne.  First published in 2000, it is the country’s only media guide updated ...

The Range Rover Evoque, Land Rover’s sensational new SUV – a car that won 34 international awards in the three months after its first production model came off the line in September 2011 – has arrived in Sri Lanka. The smallest, lightest, most fuel-efficient Range Rover ever produced, the Evoque has been described as ‘one ...

After successfully completing an event-filled 2011, Sri Lanka’s leading menswear specialist Hameedia has embarked on a journey to further strengthen its position as THE total fashion solutions provider for all Sri Lankan males and significantly expand its reach across the country and region with an unparalleled product offering. Led by the Deputy Managing Director Hussain ...

The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) has completed its Container Handling Equipment (CHE) Upgrade Project worth over $ 100 million by receiving the final consignment of 50 yard tractors yesterday. The previous consignments consisted of ship-to-shore cranes and Rubber-Tyred-Gantry (RTG) cranes used for transferring containers between stacks in the yard. The CHE upgrade project which ...

The promising Sri Lanka Peace Collection has successfully garnered the US Government’s nod. ‘Sri Lanka Peace Collection’ is the Government’s initiative to provide livelihood support for war widows through the country’s handloom sector. “The Sri Lanka Peace Collection has very high potential,” US Ambassador Patricia Butenis said after a special presentation...

KARACHI, Reuters: Mohsin Khan will continue as interim Pakistan coach for next month’s test and one-day series against England in the United Arab Emirates. “There will be no change in the team management or national selection committee for the England series,” Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Zaka Ashraf told a news conference in Lahore on Monday. ...

International Consultants Chairman Ranjiv Goonawardena had kindly invited the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau to participate by showcasing the great opportunity that Sri Lanka has to offer, at the Islamic Real Estate Finance (IREF) Summit and Gala Dinner Awards Ceremony of which it was a sponsor. International Consultants sponsored for the second year the ninth ...

Fortunaglobal (Pvt) Ltd. won this year’s e-Swabhimani award for the country’s best e-content applications in the m-Content category for its mobile application for the iPhone and Android. The prestigious e-Swabhimani awards presentation is organised annually by the apex Government body for ICT in Sri Lanka, the Information & Technology Agency (ICTA). Derana Macroentertainment Accoun...

Last week my phone beeped and the text message read ‘The Chairperson of the Security and Exchange Commission Indrani Sugathadasa had resigned citing reasons of values and principles for her resignation’. My mind went back to the time when this lady when she was the Board Director at EDB. Whenever tough decisions had be taken ...

Violence against women is taking its toll and finally women are speaking upBy Cheranka Mendis This is the 21st Century. This is the day and age of gender equality, or so they say. It is a topic that is brought up in conversation, at forums and conference and business seminars. Books are written on it, ...

By Ian The President in his speech at the opening of the Southern Expressway said that this could be the beginning of building a modern society. He also mentioned that had there been such an expressway linking the north with the south the extremists would not have succeeded in capitalising on the mistrust among communities. ...

The Pathfinder Foundation, true to its name is ready to continue its quest for innovative, homegrown solutions, while benefiting from relevant international and regional collaboration. By the first quarter of 2012, the Pathfinder Foundation is planning to launch a few new initiatives i.e. ‘Towards Reconciliation and Development,’ ‘Track Two Initiative for Closer Economic and Othe...

Having launched Sri Lanka’s first-ever equity investments and financial information portal, Sri Lanka Equity Analytics (www.srilankaequity.com) recently celebrated its successive second year of operations by reaching the milestone of 5,000 registered online memberships and over five million hits. Sri Lanka Equity Analytics is a financial portal designed to address varying needs of the invest...

After the recent Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India, critics found three new words for the acronym ‘CWG’ – Corruption, Waste and lack of Governance. The Chairman of the Indian National Olympic Committee, who was Chairman of the Organising Committee, is presently in Tihar Jail, in Delhi with many of his acolytes, on charges regarding ...

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 ...

Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) last week in a statement said it was deeply concerned over the recent attempts by State authorities to arbitrarily block identified websites and the proposed compulsory registration of websites that publish content on Sri Lanka. On 5 November 2011, the Director General of the Department of Information required all websites ...

Reserve Bank of India, State Bank of Pakistan and Maldives Monetary Authority to participateThe first ever Governor’s Challenge Trophy- global commerce quiz will be held on 13 December in Colombo. The quiz has taken an international dimension with three major regional central banks participating along with the Sri Lankan corporate, banking and other sectors for ...