Reuters: Chinese university teacher Zhu Haibin wept softly as she and other Communist Party cadres stood in rows before a mass grave of Communist fighters in southern China. Ignoring light drizzle, the group listened to a party instructor tell the story of Zhang Longxiu, a “hero mother” from the early days of China’s Communist revolution ...

A number of articles which appeared in print media in the recent past signify the volatility in the economy. High volatility leads to vulnerability. Volatility and vulnerability are reflections of the haphazard nature of the economic policies and poor economic governance in a country

Around 1,000 delegates in town for Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference and connected activities this week The entire Common-wealth is literally here as Sri Lanka plays host to the grouping’s annual gathering of Parliamentarians – this week, giving the country an excellent opportunity to be assessed firsthand as well as lift its profile globally. The 58th Annual ...

NAIROBI (Reuters): Kenya’s horticulture export earnings are expected to grow by 10%this year thanks to above-normal rainfall, but the eurozone’s financial woes were expected to dampen demand for flowers, a senior industry official said on Monday. Horticulture is one of the east African country’s leading sources of foreign exchange alongside tea exports and tourism. The ...

Human rights Human rights are on the top of agenda today. Nations accuse each other of violations of human rights of themselves and others. Rights are generally violated during conflicts and wars as the strength of the weapon supersedes peace over and stability and rule of law. There is no shortage of conflicts in most ...

Given first half performance, believes several 2012 Roadmap targets will be missed UNP MP and its chief spokesman on the economy Dr. Harsha de Silva yesterday claimed that most of the Central Bank’s 2012 Roadmap targets were likely to be missed, based on below par performance on the external

By Shanuka Tissera Leading bankers were given the opportunity to discuss the method of approvals of OPIC funding and political risk insurance, facilitated by the International Executive Service Corps (IESC) and the American Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka (AMCHAM) for US equity sponsored projects. The keynote address was delivered by the Governor of the Central ...

Brand Finance’s Annual Global Nation Brand Analysis Prologue Over the past three years, nation branding has received an enormous amount of coverage in Sri Lankan newspapers. Whilst some of these are based on the need to provide a marketing approach to building a nation, and its brand; many of the articles focus on developing a ...

Playing off India against China and vice versa‘The Great Game’ was the name given to a diplomatic and military tussle between the British and Russian empires during the time of the British Raj in India for influence over what constitutes today’s central Asian states. Commonly known as the ‘Stan states,’ they were located along the ...

Following is the part one of the Daily FT article featuring the Acuity Stockbrokers Research on Economy and Strategy titled “Lion Leads Frontier” launched last week. Better than the rest General frontier market risks remain pertinent to Sri Lanka Investors in frontier markets

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

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 ...

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 ...

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, ...

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

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 ...

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 ...