All Blogs
Sri Lanka stocks down 0.5-pct
July 18, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka share prices weakened Monday after a slight two-day rally last week, with several recently listed stocks among the losers, brokers said The main All Share Price Index closed at 6,744.19, down 0.48 percent (32.84 points) while the more liquid Milanka index fell 0.98 percent (61.81 points) to close […]
Regional Expansion
July 18, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s port expansion projects in the capital Colombo and Hambantota in the south, can benefit from expanding regional trade as India and China grows, a media report said. ‘South-South’ trade could account for 40 percent of world trade in 2030 from 18 percent now, according to a Standard Chartered […]
Northern Revival
July 18, 2011 (LBO) – Loans worth 4. 6 billion rupees have been disbursed in Sri Lanka’s war-torn north to revive livelihoods and businesses under Central Bank sponsored credit programmes since the conflict ended in mid-2009. The programmes helped promote livelihood and income generating activities among conflict-affected households and refugees in the Northern Province, a […]
Bank Rating
July 18, 2011 (LBO) – RAM Ratings Lanka has confirmed Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka’s (MBSL) long- and short-term financial institution ratings at AA- and P1, a statement said. At the same time, the long-term rating of AA- for the company’s 186.80 million rupee Unsecured Unlisted Public Debentures has also been confirmed. All the long-term […]
Poor Signal
July 18, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Telecommunications Regulatory Commission has fared poorly in a recent telecom regulatory and policy framework survey conducted by think tanks Lirne Asia and Institute of Policy Studies. “But the uncertainty reduces the investment. It also creates an opportunity for what in economics politely is called rent seeking.” Sri Lanka’s […]
India signs deal to end ethnic unrest in tea hills
NEW DELHI, July 18, 2011 (AFP) – India was to sign a deal Monday to grant autonomy to an ethnic group in the Himalayan tea-growing area of Darjeeling in an effort to end decades of often-violent demands for a homeland. Bimal Gurung formed the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha pressure group in 2007 and rebelled against the […]
Sri Lanka Textured Jersey IPO oversubscribed by three times
July 18, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lankan fabric supplier Textured Jersey Lanka’s initial public offer of 80 million shares to raise 1.2 billion rupees drew applications for thrice as many shares worth almost 3. 7 billion rupees. The regulators moved after complaints small investors were being edged out by the use of bank guarantees. A […]
Sri Lanka tolls without thought: Backed up traffic and black money
July 18, 2011 (LBO) – There is a reason for applying expertise to major infrastructure projects. The costs of ill-planned actions are very high; and the costs of fixing problems even higher. The costs of bad planning for Sri Lanka’s first expressway will take two forms: congestion at the exit or entry points (where the […]
Offshore Support
July 18, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hayleys conglomerate has strengthened its bid to provide support for offshore oil exploration work to begin in August by getting required international accreditation on safety and environmental management. Hayleys Energy Services, a logistics provider for the oil and gas industry, said it has got certifications covering quality and […]
”: Fitch
July 18, 2011 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has upgraded Sri Lanka’s long-term foreign and local sovereign ratings to ‘BB-‘ from ‘B+’ with stable outlooks for both. “In contrast, continued double-digit inflation or deterioration in political stability would put downward pressure on Sri Lanka’s ratings.” Fitch said Sri Lanka has also made some “important headway” in […]