All Blogs
Sri Lanka stocks close up 1.11-pct
Nov 01, (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s stocks closed up Monday, with gains shown yet again in the banking sector, brokers said. The Colombo All Share Index rose 1.11 percent (74.38 points) to 6,752.43 points, while the Milanka Index of more liquid stocks rose 0.48 percent (34.48 points) to 7,276.25, according to provisional Colombo Stock Exchange […]
Sri Lanka slashes import taxes on edible oils, potatoes
Nov 01, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has slashed import taxes on vegetable oils, potatoes and onions to encourage imports as local prices rose, a senior finance ministry official said. S R Attygalle, director general fiscal policy, said the import tax on coconut oil has been cut to 15 rupees a kilo or 15 percent, […]
‘ half-year performance hits new record
Nov 01, 2010 (LBO) – Dubai-based Emirates airline’s first-half profit shot up 351 percent to 925 million US dollars (3. 4 billion UAE Dirhams) from a year ago as it carried more passengers and cargo, a statement said. The airline attributes the sharply higher profit in the six months ending September 30, 2010 mainly to […]
Sri Lanka thrash Australia
PERTH, October 31, 2010 (AFP) – Australian captain Michael Clarke again failed with the bat as his side lost their first Twenty20 game at home in a one-off international against Sri Lanka at the WACA Ground in Perth on Sunday. After winning the toss and batting first, the home side, featuring only four players expected […]
‘s visa changes
Nov 01, 2010 (LBO) – I keep getting asked about when Sri Lanka will change its visa policies. The out-of-the-blue announcement that visitors from all countries other than the Maldives and Singapore would have to obtain visas prior to arrival and the even more sudden suspension of that decision appears to have carried far. I […]
Sri Lanka could gain 1.5-pct of GDP revenue by tightening tax holidays: IMF
Nov 01, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka can gain as much as 1.5 percent of gross domestic product in revenue by limiting tax holidays, and also cut tax rates if the base is broadened, an International Monetary Fund review has said. China had a standard rate of 17 percent and got 5.8 percent. Sri Lanka […]
Sri Lanka budget slightly behind target in August
Nov 01, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s budget performance for the first eight months of the year is broadly on track though a gap between revenues and current spending has overshot the the full year target, official data show. The revenue deficit in the budget which involves cash items such as salaries puts pressure on […]
Sri Lanka think tank warns against reliance on foreign loans
Nov 01, 2010 (LBO) – Depending too much on foreign borrowings to fuel growth in post-war Sri Lanka can be risky, the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), a think tank, has warned in a new report. Its annual ‘Sri Lanka: State of the Economy’ report for 2010 is devoted to an assessment of the economic […]
Wider Margins
Oct 31, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank of Ceylon has reported profits of 1. 4 billion rupees for the September 2010 quarter, up 46 percent from a year earlier, on stronger interest margins and loan growth. Revenues rose 0.2 percent to 10.55 billion rupees. The bank reported earnings per share of 3. 75 […]
Sri Lanka farm gate coconut prices up 26-pct over two months
Oct 31, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s raw coconuts prices hit another high this week pushing average farm gate prices up 26. 5 percent over the past two months, as import protection remained tight amid higher global prices for substitutes. At Thursday’s auctions in Colombo average prices rose 894 rupees to 33,910 rupees for a […]