All Blogs
Sri Lankan stocks close down 0.37-pct, rupee stable
Aug 19, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed down Wednesday as retail investors took profits on the last few day’s gains, while the rupee stabilized against the greenback, brokers and dealers said. The benchmark Colombo All Share Price Index (ASPI) closed down 0.37 percent (9.44 points) to end at 2,521.24, while the Milanka index […]
Sri Lanka spices hit by bad weather
Aug 19, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan spice exporters and producers said this year’s production and exports have been affected by bad weather on which the crops are dependent. Karthik Ramachandran, chairman of the Spices & Allied Products Producers™ & Traders™ Association (SAPPTA) said demand for the island’s spices was growing rapidly. “SAPPTA is trying […]
Sri Lanka tea marketing hit by govt cash crunch
Aug 19, 2009 – The Sri Lanka government’s failure to give back cess funds collected from tea exports for brand building spells danger to Ceylon tea, as rival origins step up marketing efforts, exporters have warned.Tea Exporters Association chairman Jayantha Keragala said promotional funding to help exporters to build brands in overseas markets, meant to […]
Retail Plan
Aug 19, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s supermarket chain Cargills (Ceylon) said it plans to invest in the former northern war zone as its retail and consumer goods businesses lifted June 2009 quarter profits.The company said in a stock exchange filing that group net profit grew 36.6 percent to 162 million rupees in the June […]
Mobile Google
Aug 19, 2009 (LBO) – Mobitel, a unit of fixed access provider Sri Lanka Telecom, is offering Google’s mobile email, calendar and document reading services to its mobile subscribers in a partnership launched in Colombo Wednesday. Leisha de Silva Chandrasena, head of Sri Lanka Telecom, said the Google service would help Sri Lanka on the […]
”’s reputation: think tank
MELBOURNE, August 19, 2009 (AFP) – Attacks on overseas students and dodgy education providers risk “poisoning” international attitudes to Australia and souring relations with China and India, a major think tank said Wednesday. The crisis facing Australia’s international education sector could also destroy the country’s third-largest export earner, worth more than 12 billion US dollars […]
Sri Lanka to maintain defence budget despite Tiger defeat
August 19, 2009 (AFP) – The Sri Lankan government plans to keep up record defence spending despite its recent victory over Tamil rebels that ended nearly four decades of fighting, a senior official said. Defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse said the military needed to be modernised and payments made on hardware bought on credit. Sri Lanka […]
British lawmakers urge review of Sri Lanka arms exports
LONDON, August 18, 2009 (AFP) – Britain should review all arms export licences to Sri Lanka in the wake of the recently-ended war with Tamil Tiger rebels, lawmakers said Wednesday.Ministers should also provide full details of what British arms were used by Sri Lankan forces during the conflict, the Committees on Arms Export Controls said […]
Sri Lanka gets more US aid for refugees, demining
Aug 19, 2009 (LBO) – The United States said it is giving more aid to Sri Lanka to support civilians displaced by the ethnic war and to clear land mines so they could return home soon. The US embassy said in a statement it is giving two million dollars to support the needs of refugees […]
Power Deal
SYDNEY, August 19, 2009 (AFP) – Australia touted itself as a “global energy superpower” after shrugging off diplomatic tensions with China to sign a record 41.3 billion US dollar resources deal.In Australia’s biggest ever trade agreement, PetroChina ordered 2.25 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) a year over two decades from ExxonMobil’s share of […]