How to buy a land in Sri Lanka ( as a citizen )?

 

In Sri Lanka, there is an ancient folk tale call four laughs. One of those laughs is, how the land laugh at people who fight for the land. There's a short story call "How much land does a man require" by Leo Tolstoy. It beautifully elaborates about a man , in his lust for land, forfeits everything. Love for the lands, men have is such, unstoppable, unavoidable and never get over. But every family need a land.

Buying a land in Sri Lanka is something you should do with extreme carefulness. Otherwise, if you get in to courts for a land case, case with drag your life time as well as your child's life time and make the family bankrupt.

Basic land laws in Sri Lanka is based on Roman Dutch Law.

Latest trend in the job recruitments in Sri Lanka - analyse candidates using social media

Last week I met a long lost friend of mine. Currently he is working at the Human Resources department of one of the biggest business groups in Sri Lanka. So what are you up to now? I asked. He is a social media analytic. He apparently handles social media research and analysis of the candidates and potential candidates. What the hell is that now? Well its the next level of human resource management.

No need to say, even I got bit shaken given that I too are a regular user of social media in public capacity. Though my writings or comments make sense for me, corporate aspect and personal interpretations could be insane some times.  Without my knowledge they track my social media behaviour? Well, most likely it is , he burst out laughing. Jokes aside, I can tell you more about some people than you gossip girls ever know, he assured. Now that's worth enough information for an article. I managed to get him agreed to publish some of the details.

 

 

 

(picture credit - http://socialmediastrategiessummit.com/)

The unexpected path to entrepreneurship - A great scientist shares her story (and a little wisdom gleaned from the journey)

Last week I met three science graduates.

One person was talking about the issue where even the science graduates do not have proper jobs. Second person told me that now she regret for selecting science as her field. She said, “If I manage to do a MSc, maybe I will get a university lecturer job. Third person was talking about a different issue on our mothers and sisters moving to Middle East and the social issues that come with that.

While I sat back and thought of what they discussed, I met this awesome lady, another scientist, Ms Praveena Joseph-de Saram.

 

10 Features of a good bus transportation system - Bus system in Oslo

I was on a short stay in Europe and  was much impressed with some of the things I experienced.  Therefore I thought may be I should share some of it. One of it is the bus system in Oslo. It is one of the best transportation systems in the world and managed by the company "Ruter AS". Ruter offers transport by metro, tram, bus and ferry where you can use one ticket and travel by all means.

 

 

 

(Photo credit - http://cdn-media-1.lifehack.org/wp-content/files/2013/03/A-developed-country-is-not-a-place-where-the-poor-have-cars..jpg)

How to track the fruads in a small / medium company?

What is the main challenge a small or medium business faces these days? Could it be competition?  Could it be loosing customers? Could it be employee frustration, or could it be the downfall of profits? I've met quite a lot of small to medium businessmen in Sri Lanka. They actually knew how to handle the core of the business and earn revenue. But their biggest challenge was to cope up with the fraudsters and frauds. It wasn't easy. They came up with all forms of phases and faces. They exists everywhere. What are the ways of tracking those and protecting businesses from frauds?

 

 

 

 

Things to consider when starting a small / medium business in Sri Lanka

Once a friend of mine teased that "you should never encourage a foreign investor to invest in Sri Lanka". Well if you exclude the legal and political frame work, there are many benefits of investing in Sri Lanka. I've worked with investors from all continents except Africa. I can assure that compared to many countries, Sri Lanka is not as bad as they say. I have to agree its not easy to practically operate smoothly. But there are many benefits. In this article I'm trying to give a summarized picture of both sides, the risks and the benefits of starting a business in or with Sri Lanka and more in to how to over come some of the difficulties.

 

 

(picture credit - http://mysrilankaholidays.com)

 

How to change a career - A scientist turned in to an event planner

 I could not log in to my blog for nearly an year. But today I came across an amazing launching of a web site by an upcoming event planner in Sri Lanka. I just could not resist, but post this.

I have met many people who says "oh we choose to be a doctor / engineer / lawyer /banker/ accountant etc, no body told us life will be so complicated and unhappy with this job". But many do not even consider quitting and start a whole new path. I met this scientist who has a MSc Hon from university of Auckland, then turned in to an event planner.

How to find a good company secretary in Sri Lanka?

A wonderful company secretary !

(Picture credit - edugroomers.blogspot.com)

Once, a friend of mine had to deal with a “wonderful” company secretary :).

In my efforts to help her, I got to know many interesting facts about some of the secretaries in Sri Lanka, and thought I should share.

Why a company needs a company secretary?

1. Because the companies Act (No 7 of 2007 – Sri Lanka) say so.

221 (1) Every company shall have a secretary.

2. There are many duties in a registered company to be performed by a company secretary.

Who can be a company secretary in Sri Lanka?

Usually company secretaries are Attorneys at law, Chartered Accountants or members of the Institute of chartered secretaries.

(222. The secretary of every company having a turnover or stated capital of an amount prescribed under this Act, shall have such qualifications as may be prescribed, having regard to the nature of the duties the secretary will be called upon to discharge.)

Why you should plan your tax in Sri Lanka?

Life is full of Taxes!!!!

Benjamin Franklin once said that “nothing is certain, but death and taxes”!!

I obtained the below quote from Mr. O.M. Weerasooiya - Retired Commissioner General of Inland Revenue, Sri Lanka :)

"Tax his land, tax his bed,
Tax the table at which he's fed.
Tax his tractor, tax his mule,
Tax his cow, tax his goat,
Teach him taxes are the rule!!"

Even though the lines above are hilarious, it just reminds us that Tax is a very important part of our life which we cannot get rid of. You cannot stay away from tax. But you can manage your tax!

How to start a company in Sri Lanka - 1

(Picture credit - sundaytimes.lk)

I'm not an expert on company law. But since we were involved with registering couple of companies, I think I can write something with my personal experience and refer you to relevant places as well. If anything here is not appropriate or incorrect, please feel free to correct it.


Who can to start a company in Sri Lanka?

As per my knowledge, I can simply say - Anyone!!

How to start a business in Sri Lanka?

Obviously, first you should have an idea as to what is the business you are planning to do. And how to do it etc. So if you are dreaming to be a businessman, just start looking out for opportunities. Start with what you know. Check how to market it. Think how you can fit in there.

If you need any help to obtain more information on developing an idea, just drop us a mail. We should be able to refer you to a place where you can get consultation. Since scope for a business is too wide, I do not wish to write all those here.