All Blogs
Sri Lanka LNG power plant push is outside the law: officials
Oct 07, 2009 (LBO) – Attempts to connect a private liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plant to Sri Lanka’s state-run power utility outside a competitive bidding process is not legal under a new public utility regulatory law, officials said.From this October PUC is issuing licenses to the Ceylon Electricity Board, independent power producers and smaller […]
Britain says Sri Lanka war victims should be freed
October 6, 2009 (AFP) – Britain on Tuesday expressed disappointment with Sri Lanka’s handling of war-displaced civilians and demanded that they be given the freedom to leave state-run camps. “Freedom of movement is critical if a humanitarian crisis is to be averted,” visiting British Development Minister Mike Foster said after touring the camps, where over […]
Oil Support
Oct 07, 2009 (LBO) – A call for offshore oil field support services by a company exploring for oil in Sri Lanka provides domestic firms the opportunity they have been waiting for, officials said.Oil explorations firms are expected to source some of their requirements from local industry in order to ensure the benefits of oil […]
Gold price hits record high on report to ditch dollar
LONDON, October 6, 2009 (AFP) – The price of gold struck an all-time high Tuesday as the dollar fell on a news report of a plan by Gulf states to stop using the greenback for oil trading.Gold hit 1,045.00 dollars per ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange in late trades. Hours earlier on the […]
Sri Lanka delays budget till polls over
Oct 07, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will delay its budget for next year, usually presented to parliament in November until national polls scheduled for the first quarter of 2010 is over, a government minister said.Deputy finance minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said general elections were likely before April and a mini budget or ‘vote on accocunt’ […]
Sri Lankan shares close up; stock values top Rs1,003bn
Oct 06, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed at a new all time high with stock values topping 1,000 billion rupees, and the market up 108.1 percent from the beginning of the year, according to Colombo Stock Exchange data. The All Share Price Index closed up 29.3 points to end at 3,124.87 while the […]
Container Trade
Oct 06, 2009 (LBO) – A Colombo port container terminal in which Sri Lanka’s John Keells Holdings group has a majority stake said volumes rose to a record high in August 2009, the fourth straight monthly rise. Colombo is south Asia’s hub port, where cargo is shipped on feeder vessels to and from smaller ports […]
BPO Buy
Oct 06, 2009 (LBO) – Control of IsmartTimex, a Sri Lanka based outsourcing firm has been acquired by India’s Aegis Limited, a unit of the Essar group, but a minority 20 percent stake will be held by local partners, the company said. Aegis says it has operations in India, Philippines, the US, Costa Rica, Kenya, […]
Bharti to keep busy despite MTN failure: analysts
NEW DELHI, October 6, 2009 (AFP) – So what’s next for Indian telecoms tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal after the collapse of his proposed mega-merger deal with South African flagship cellular operator MTN?Plenty, say analysts. The 51-year-old chairman of India’s top mobile phone Bharti Airtel — who calls himself a business “junkie,” always hungering for new […]
Maldivian ministers train for underwater cabinet
October 5, 2009 (AFP) – Ministers in the Maldives have taken diving lessons ahead of an underwater cabinet meeting that will highlight the threat global warming and rising sea levels pose to the low-lying atoll nation.President Mohamed Nasheed will chair the meeting on October 17 ahead of the world climate change summit in Copenhagen in […]