Category: Special Reports

After decades of waiting, telephones have finally begun ringing in villages and rural areas across Sri Lanka.After decades of waiting, telephones have finally begun ringing in villages and rural areas across Sri Lanka. Not mobiles, nor standard landlines, but a clever combination of the two that is quickly making telephony accessible to all. “We have […]

Central Bank on right track; Treasury caught lying! Those of you regular readers might recall my congratulatory message to the Central Bank a couple of months back for standing their ground and tightening monetary policy at long last. Central Bank on right track; Treasury caught lying! Those of you regular readers might recall my congratulatory […]

Two years after the process started, NDB and its commercial banking arm NDB Bank announced the companies will merge next month, after parliament amended the NDB Act.Two years after the process started, NDB and its commercial banking arm NDB Bank announced the companies will merge next month, after parliament amended the NDB Act. The NDB […]

A fishing community in Kirinda, in Southern Sri Lanka, could lose their livelihood as their harbor is filling up with sand brought in by the tides. A fishing community in Kirinda, in Southern Sri Lanka, could lose their livelihood as their harbor is filling up with sand brought in by the tides. A dredger that […]

A fishing community in Kirinda, in Southern Sri Lanka, could lose their livelihood as their harbor is filling up with sand brought in by the tides. A fishing community in Kirinda, in Southern Sri Lanka, could lose their livelihood as their harbor is filling up with sand brought in by the tides. A dredger that […]

The spread of mobile phones is creating a new class of entrepreneurs and economic activity by providing an alternative to poor quality government infrastructure like roads and postal services. The spread of mobile phones is creating a new class of entrepreneurs and economic activity by providing an alternative to poor quality government infrastructure like roads […]

Top government aide Mano Tittawella says passing legislation for reform will be tougher for a minority government but hopes issues will be depoliticized.Top government aide Mano Tittawella says passing legislation for reform will be tougher for a minority government but hopes issues will be depoliticized. He heads the strategic enterprise management agency in charge of […]

The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank in a joint study has found that poor infrastructure, lack of policy and political stability as key constraints that discourage investments in Sri Lanka. Urban firms in particular cited the macro-economic instability as a reason to hold back investment.Another widely cited reason was high real interest rates. […]

Philautus Asankai, a powder-blue mountain frog, a new species discovered from Sri Lanka’s central highlands. (AFP) Conservationists in Sri Lanka, the world’s top spot for frogs, have discovered 35 new species of the amphibians — only to find that another 19 species have died out. Philautus Asankai, a powder-blue mountain frog, a new species discovered […]

Modern trade or shopping at super markets is a developing habit in Sri Lanka. Modern trade or shopping at super markets is a developing habit in Sri Lanka. But people who have access to information and exposure to brands are shopping at supermarkets more frequently here than in some of the bigger regional economies. Shifts […]

Central Bank is pushing commercial banks to improve risk management and be ready to adopt stringent ‘BASEL II’ standards soon after they are implemented.Central Bank is pushing commercial banks to improve risk management and be ready to adopt stringent ‘BASEL II’ standards soon after they are implemented. The banks deputy governor Ranee Jayamaha told LBR […]

Dozens of Sri Lankans go overseas to surgically enhance their looks according to a local conglomerate that introduced a brand of implants to the local market. Dozens of Sri Lankans go overseas to surgically enhance their looks according to a local conglomerate that introduced a brand of implants to the local market. But importers are […]