Resumed

Aug 28, 2013 (LBO) – Fonterra, a New Zealand based milk producer said it was resuming operations at its Sri Lanka unit after assessing that there was no threat to staff. “Last Friday we took the decision to temporarily suspend our Sri Lanka operations to protect our people, and to protect our farmer shareholders™ assets,” […]

Sri Lanka rupee weaker, bonds flat

Aug 27, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s rupee weakened below 133 to the US dollar Tuesday and bond were flat amid jitters in international forex markets, dealers said.The rupee weakened to 133.05/10 levels to the US dollar in the spot next market, where settlement is made three days later, weakening from 132.90/133.00 Monday. Exporters were […]

Credit Snapshot

Aug 27, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Nations Trust Bank expects loan growth to pick up towards the end of the year but the lender will be cautious and maintain liquidity, a top official said. “We estimate some revival in credit demand by fourth quarter of this year,” NTB chief executive Renuka Fernando told an […]

Sri Lanka tourist arrivals up 9.5-pct in July

Aug 27, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals rose 9.5 percent to 98,944 in July 2013 from a year earlier, helped by India, Germany and China, data from the state tourism promotion office said. In the seven months to July visitors were up 12.5 percent to 611,222. South Asian arrivals rose 24.6 percent to […]

World tourism shows surprise surge

MADRID, August 26, 2013 (AFP) – International tourist numbers surged by 5.2 percent to nearly half a billion people worldwide in the first half of 2013, beating earlier expectations, the United Nation’s World Tourism Organisation said Monday. Some 494 million international tourists spent at least one night abroad in the first six months of the […]

Bangladesh holds Fonterra milk products over scare

DHAKA, August 27, 2013 (AFP) – Bangladesh authorities have restricted imports of powdered milk mostly from New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra following a contamination scare that has seen global recalls, officials said Tuesday. Customs officials are holding more than 600 tonnes of powdered milk mostly from Fonterra until mandatory chemical tests showed they were safe, […]

India says people can afford food-for-poor scheme as markets tank

NEW DELHI, August 27, 2013 (AFP) – India’s finance minister insisted Tuesday the government could afford a vast new food programme for the poor despite growing concern about public finances which drove the rupee to a new record low.The Indian currency, which has been under sustained pressure, fell 2.73 percent to 66.07 against the dollar […]

‘s rupee hits fresh lifetime low

MUMBAI, August 27, 2013 (AFP) – India’s rupee fell to a new low Tuesday on fears over the country’s slowing economy and the impact of a new food programme for the poor on already strained finances.The rupee, like currencies of other emerging markets, has also fallen on fears of foreign fund outflows as the US […]

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