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JAKARTA, December 30, 2009 (AFP) – China and Southeast Asia establish the world’s biggest free trade area (FTA) on Friday, liberalising billions of dollars in goods and investments covering a market of 1.7 billion consumers. Eight years in the making, the ASEAN-China FTA will rival the European Union and the North American Free Trade Area […]
’s Jayasuriya dropped for Bangladesh tri-series
December 30, 2009 (AFP) – The world’s most experienced one-day batsman, Sanath Jayasuriya, has been axed from next month’s limited-overs tri-series in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka Cricket said Wednesday.Jayasuriya, 40, was not named in Sri Lanka’s 15-man squad for the tri-series as selectors made changes after recent defeats to India, the third team taking part in […]
76 journalists killed in 2009: watchdog
PARIS, December 29, 2009 (AFP) – The number of journalists killed because of their work rose to 76 this year from 60 in 2008, the media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders said Tuesday. “The authorities in these countries have understood that by encouraging journalists to leave, they considerably reduced the pluralism of ideas and the […]
Gas Call
Dec 30, 2009 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan unit of the Shell gas multinational said it was holding domestic prices of liquid petroleum gas cylinders despite higher import costs as the government had cut taxes. The announcement came as the Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry said the other supplier Laugfs Gas will cut its prices […]
Fickle Pricing
Dec 30, 2009 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka unit of Indian Oil Corporation said it is likely to make losses on petrol sales after the dominant state-owned oil refiner slashed retail prices barely a month ahead of presidential polls. Last month on petrol sales we made a profit of one rupee per litre, said K […]
Sri Lanka inflation accelerates in December
Dec 30, 2009 (LBO) – Consumer prices in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo rose 4.8 percent in December from a year ago, against 2.8 percent in November, indicating inflation is picking up, the government’s statistics office and analysts said.In the month of December the revised Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) rose 1.2 percent, higher than the […]
Sri Lanka Jaffna peninsular revival driven by road link
Dec 30, 2009 (LBO) – At a remote fishing village in Sri Lanka’s northern Jaffna peninsular a fisherman tells a group of officials from a state-run commercial bank and the country’s central bank the difficulties faced in a getting loan.“We would like to thank the bank for introducing a new loan scheme, but the requirement […]
Sri Lanka Treasuries yields move up
Dec 29, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Treasuries yields edged up marginally across maturities at Tuesday’s auction, while the rollover was oversubscribed two times, the government’s debt office said.The short term paper received bids worth 17,285 million rupees at the auction, it said. The 3-month yield rose 06 basis points to 7.73 percent, the 6-month […]
Sri Lankan shares close up 0.57-pct
Dec 29, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed up Tuesday as investors bought further into high net worth counters before year end, while brokers said the current positive sentiment would generate further buying interest in 2010. The Colombo all share price index (ASPI) ended at 3,363.81, up 0.57 percent (18.92 points) while the more […]
Taking Care
Dec 29, 2009 (LBO) –Sri Lanka’s government must ensure adequate funding for road maintenance to prevent newly built and repaired roads deteriorating to previous levels, the Asian Development Bank has said. The bank, which has spent millions of dollars on roads in the island, said in a report its Road Sector Development Project (RSDP) had […]