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Sri Lanka has 10-pct of foreign reserves in gold: WGC
Mar 17, 2010 (LBO) – Gold now makes up 10 percent of Sri Lanka’s foreign reserve assets after the country tripled its gold holdings with a purchase from the International Monetary Fund in 2009, industry data showed. The United States remained the largest gold holder with 8,133. 5 tonnes, Germany second with 3,406.8 tonnes and […]
EU in talks with Sri Lanka on maintaining trade privileges
BRUSSELS, March 16, 2010 (AFP) – The European Union wants to work with Colombo to avoid the withdrawal of Sri Lanka’s trade privileges with the bloc, under threat due to rights concerns, an official said Tuesday. “The Commission remains committed to work with Sri Lanka to see whether the conditions for a reversal” of a […]
Sri Lankan stocks 1.58-pct down
Mar 16, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks ended lower Tuesday dragged down by falls in speculative and retail driven stocks, brokers said. The All Share Price Index closed at 3,782.84, down 1.58 percent (60.71 points) Tuesday, while the Milanka index of more liquid shares dived 2.35 percent (104.22 points) to close at 4,335.39. Turnover […]
Sri Lanka Spence Hotel earmarks investments for former war zone
Mar 16, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings said the largest chunk of 2.5 billion rupees it plans to raise through a rights issue will go for new hotels in the island’s former war zone. It also plans to build a hotel in the northern Jaffna region. The firm said about a […]
Furniture Push
Mar 16, 2010 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka unit of Singer, a consumer durables firm, said it was re-branding a furniture range under its own name and pushing it out to rural areas where the firm has strong brand loyalty. “There is more potential in the growth in the consumer behaviour in rural areas. There […]
Sri Lanka to allow recreational flying
Mar 16, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has decided to lift restrictions on private flying and open up her skies for recreational aviation to lure tourists after the end of a 30-year war, a senior official said. Dissanayake said they want to revive an ‘open skies’ scheme started in November 2006 in the island’s south […]
Sri Lanka Tea Board probes fake tea complaint
Mar 16, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Tea Board is investigating complaints by an exporter that certain teas sold in Europe as pure Ceylon tea are actually blended with teas from other origins, officials said. Zarook alleged that his competitors in Germany were competing on price because they were mixing Ceylon tea with Vietnamese tea […]
Consolidating Colombo, Sri Lanka as an aviation hub
Mar 16, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is to become a “Naval, Aviation, Commercial, Energy and Knowledge hub.” We are already an incipient aviation hub for the southern Indian region, including the Maldives. How did we get here? How can we build on what has been achieved? How did we get here? First, the government […]
‘s ex-army chief on trial
March 16, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s former army chief, now a sworn political enemy of President Mahinda Rajapakse, faced a military court Tuesday on controversial charges that could see him jailed for up to five years. Fonseka, a war hero last year after helping end the Indian Ocean nation’s 37-year civil war, stepped down […]
Sri Lanka to sell US$100mn in bonds
Mar 15, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is offering 100 million US dollars in two and three year floating rates bonds, paying interest every six months mainly targeting the domestic market with bids closing on March 18, the government’s debt office said. Sri Lanka has an outstanding dollar denominated ‘development bond’ debt stock of 1,469 […]