Mr. Thilak Karunarathne Chairman, Securities Exchange Commission,Colombo. Dear Sir, Re: SEC inquiry connected with the stock exchange transaction where the National Savings Bank acquired shares of The Finance Company I wish to hail your expressed commitments to initiate with urgency a comprehensive inquiry connected with the stock exchange transaction where the National Savings Bank acquired ...

By Cheranka Mendis Even if the status of the world economy seems to have found a rather fragile equilibrium with Europe over the past six weeks, the world is no closer to being immune from the risks that have cropped up as a result of the European and USA led recession and changes in world ...

Capital Alliance, a full-service investment bank will be hosting one of Asia’s foremost Investor Relations experts, Jonathan Zax, in Colombo this week. Zax’s investor relations efforts have been frequently recognised by the international financial community through top rankings in polls by Asiamoney, Finance Asia, Lafferty Group and Investor Relations Magazine. Last year, he received a...

is going through troubled times, exacerbated by rising government spending and a global financial crisis...

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 ...

A Sri Lankan Central Banker has authored a book under the title of “Analysis of Basic Economic Principles”. Written by P. Samarasiri, who works as an assistant Governor of the Central Bank, the book which is written in Sinhala helps the reader to understand and analyze the workings of an economy. It covers topics such as operational ...

Following is the address delivered by Senior Minister for International Monetary Cooperation Dr. Sarath Amunugama at the fourth South Asia Economic Summit (SAES IV) Plenary Session: In the aftermath of the global economic crisis, there has been a noticeable shift in economic clout, moving from the USA and the debt-plagued countries of the Eurozone, to ...

PUCSL to propose remedies to CEB losses By Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) says that a slight increase in electricity tariffs was likely in order to address the losses incurred by the country’s power sector due to the increase in thermal power generation. However, the increase is expected to ...

In the midst of the turmoil in international financial markets and national economies, Sovereign Wealth Funds are coming into closer focus. For the first time since the breakout of the financial crisis, the financial mandarins of China intervened to shore up confidence in the country’

Professionals are shy to raise critical issues in public!It is believed that the single focus advocacy proposal of the Joint Chambers of Commerce and Industry for the Budget 2012 to address is the continuing high priority of enhancing the ‘ease of doing business in Sri Lanka’. A president of a chamber holds a publicly articulated ...

Hatton National Bank plc (HNB), the only local bank to be a member of the Asian Bankers’ Association (ABA), reaped the dividends of this relationship at the height of the Great Recession which hit the world four years ago. Rajendra Theagarajah, HNB’s Managing Director/CEO and the incumbent ABA Chairman told reporters on Wednesday that his ...

The Greeks, they say won a gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics for overspending. Indians, it is said, won many gold medals at the New Delhi Commonwealth Games for fraud and corruption. Sri Lanka it appears is doing its damnedest to win a gold medal for bankruptcy at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, if it ...

By Dr. O.G Dayaratna-Banda Department of Economics and Statistics University of Peradeniya Adoring the discarded neo-liberalism The Secretary to the Treasury of Sri Lanka has seemingly informed the Vice Chancellors of the Universities at a meeting held at the UGC that the “increase of the salaries of university academics or any other public sector workers ...

By Abdul H. Azeez Hedging deals are double edged, and even though they reduce risk, they do not completely eliminate it. If hedging deals are entered into without proper foresight, they can cut down and amputate like a sweeping butcher’s knife. Sri Lanka, in its rush to rid itself of the burden of high fuel ...

World Bank Managing Director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has said that the Mahinda Chinthana is behind the success story of Sri Lanka’s economy. It was the World Bank Managing Director who delivered the commemorative lecture today to mark the Diamond Jubilee of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. The flexibility of the Monetary Sector and the Mahinda ...

A Budget analysis by Eran Wickramaratne The 2010 Budget is a departure from the Budgets that have been presented by the Mahinda Rajapakse regime in the past. Its neither Keynesian or Marxian, but explicitly committed to limiting itself to fiscal...

By Dr.Laksiri Fernando (Text of DA Rajapaksa Memorial Address) National development is not merely about the economy but the economy is central. It entails economic, social, political, cultural and even moral aspects. The contribution of the North and the East during the last three decades or so was hampered in all these spheres by the separatist and the terrorist war. It is nece...

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has considered the combined second, third and fourth periodic report of Sri Lanka on how that country is implementing the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights....

The World Bank announced that it has approved a 57.4 million US dollar credit to strengthen access to finance for the Small and Medium Enterprises in Sri Lanka. The Small and Medium Enterprise Development Facility Project supports the government’s efforts to improve access to finance for Small and Medium Enterprises affected by the Global Financial ...

By Srilal Miththapala Just over a year ago, I penned an article entitled “Sri Lanka Tourism — Quo Vadis” where I raised the issues and challenges Sri Lanka was facing in developing its tourism industry. Of course, that was during the latter stages of the war, and now after the ending of the war, there ...

As the Sri Lankan stock market dipped dramatically, the government has begun regulating the market more restrictively while making a public show of tightening its own belt. The government is trying to improve its financial management, but the question is whether it can adapt in time to stabilize an already shaky economy. The Colombo Stock ...

A Malaysian based private equity fund has a remaining capital of U.S.$ 80 million for investment in the region, including that of Sri Lanka. Lew Oon Yew, Executive Director, Head, Private Equity, KFH Asset Management Sdn Bhd who made a whistle stop visit to the island to participate in a CIMA organized seminar on Tuesday ...

‘Young and developing economies like Sri Lanka should seriously explore private equity in order to fast track growth’ said Lee Oon Yew from investment bank Kuwait Finance House at the CIMA/ RAM Ratings CEO Forum held recently. The forum which was held at the Cinnamon Lakeside on Tuesday the 22nd of June featured many industry ...

By Paneetha Ameresekere – Business Editor Prostituting a country’s sovereignty need not necessarily be in the form of political servility, it may even take the form of economic servility. While the Government of Sri Lanka (G.o.S.L.) has resisted moves made by certain powerful and influential sections of the international community  who have called for a war crimes [...]

The World Bank says Sri Lanka’s economy expanded by 3.3% in the second half of 2009.The Bank said it is the fastest rate recorded since 2002 showing stability despite a weak global economy. The World Bank report released yesterday said that despite entering the Global Financial Crisis