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 ...

My column today is an attempt to focus our attention on a few less spoken or untold developments that may have a profound influence on how we carve our way through in creating a desirable social, economic and political future for mankind on this only planet of ours. While I will not specifically touch on ...

By: Surendra Ajit Rupasinghe In the mid nineteen eighties, the Philippines was rocked by a sustained people’s resistance movement that finally deposed of the hated and corrupt dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, who had to flee the country in a US Air Force helicopter. The Catholic Church, representing the majority of the people, played a critical role ...

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 ...

Rajapaksa Family already planning more land grabbing Kleptocrat: A ruler who uses power to steal the country’s resources. Oxford Dictionary By Tisaranee Gunasekara Mindless-extravagance; land-grabbing; media-muzzling: the three Rajapaksa preoccupations are intimately interconnected. The Ruling Siblings need money to strengthen their power and to sustain their voracious appetite for exhibitionism, ...

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 ...

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 ...

by Jayantha Dhanapala (Text of Keynote Address titled Cultural Diplomacy and Soft Power- Sustainable Smart Power at the Opening Plenary of the South and Central Asia Fulbright Regional Workshop, Hilton Hotel, Colombo, 26 January, 2011.) I think it is necessary...

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....

WARS can still be won, even against formidable terrorist organisations. And Sri Lanka shows how. That is the core message of the country's security supremo, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa in a rare interview with The Australian: by Rowan Callick His...

by Tisaranee Gunasekara “If people are frightened that their security is threatened, they will gravitate towards strong leaders”. Noam Chomski (Imperial Ambitions) The war is over. But defence expenditure keeps on increasing. According to media reports, the defence allocation for...

By K. Ratnayake Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse’s trip to New York and speech at the UN General Assembly last week had two main purposes: to cover up for war crimes committed during the country’s civil war and to appeal...

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 ...

Next, a British clothing retailer, has stopped sourcing its garments from Sri Lanka because of the uncertainty of the continuance of the g.s.p.+ duty free concession. “It has moved over to Bangladesh,” an industry source told The Sunday Leader.  The g.s.p.+ facility helps Sri Lanka to export garments and several other products to the E.U. ...