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Sri Lanka rupee shows life
Aug 17, 2009 (LBO) – The rupee strengthened against the greenback Monday with state banks that usually represent the monetary authority staying off the market amid a large dollar inflow, dealers said. Speculators hit a currency when a central bank tries to keep a ‘soft’ peg. A central bank (especially one with exchange controls) through […]
Sri Lankan shares close flat, rupee up
Aug 17, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed flat Monday as investors took defensive positions on mostly blue chip stocks that took a beating last week owing to poor June quarter results, while the rupee strengthened against the dollar, brokers and dealers said. The benchmark Colombo All Share Price Index (ASPI) closed down 0.03 […]
Tough Streak
Aug 17, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s The Finance Company, a unit of the troubled Ceylinco group, said it lost 693 million rupees in the June 2009 quarter as net interest income remained negative and loan loss provisions continued to rise. The company had made a net profit of 45 million rupees in the same […]
Sri Lanka Maskeliya Plantations makes profit in June quarter
Aug 17, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Maskeliya Plantations said June 2009 quarter net profit was marginally higher than a year ago despite lower sales and sharply higher finance costs. The company said in a stock exchange filing that net profit for the June quarter went up two percent to 53 million rupees from a […]
Sri Lanka core measure may have understated inflation: IMF study
Aug 17, 2009 (LBO) – An official core-inflation index for Sri Lanka may have understated underlying price pressures in 2008, but there is wide disagreement even among proponents of core measures about their calculation and usefulness, a new International Monetary Fund study has said. “Although not stated explicitly, it was implied that headline inflation would […]
Sri Lanka to push overseas investments
Aug 17, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is seeking to encourage local businessmen to venture overseas by establishing clear rules and reducing red tape, especially for capital outflows, seen as a key impediment, a senior official said. Kanchana Ratwatte, the new chairman of the National Enterprise Development Authority (NEDA), said a growing number of Sri […]
Brand Building
Aug 16, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka known as a manufacturing hub for leading international brands and a commodity producer should develop a strategy to build its own brands to earn more and cope with rising costs, a marketing expert said. According to Business Week magazine, in 2008Coco-Cola’s brand value was 66 billion dollars, while […]
Legal Move
Aug 16, 2009 (LBO) – The directors of two failed property firm in Sri Lanka’s troubled Ceylinco group has been given court nod to have a board meeting in prison to approve the setting up of a trust to repay investors, a media report said. Directors of F & G Property Developer (Pvt) Ltd, and […]
India faces drought but economists upbeat
NEW DELHI, August 16, 2009 (AFP) – Crops are shrivelling as India faces the spectre of drought but economists say they are still upbeat about the country’s economic prospects. They are banking that a strong industrial performance will help offset the impact of the worst monsoon in years in Asia’s third largest economy. Analysts have […]
‘s war refugee camps flooded: govt official
August 16, 2009 (AFP) – Heavy rains flooded camps housing some of Sri Lanka’s 300,000 war refugees, officials said Sunday, raising fears for the welfare of the detainees.She said a section of the Manik Farm camp was the worst hit by the floods as the drainage system was only half built. The privately-run Sunday Times […]