Wire Drop

July 29, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s wireline telephone connections dropped by 60,000 to 876,064 in the first quarter of 2009, the latest official data showed, though fixed wireless phone use continued to grow. “The decline of fixed connections started around 2000 in Finland, where now over 40 percent of homes are mobile-only,” says Rohan […]

Sri Lankan clothing retailer expands to the Maldives

July 29, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan menswear retailer Hameedia has expanded into the neighbouring Maldive islands, opening a showroom in the capital Male.“It involves a careful selection of fabrics and accessories, studying both national and international market trends, and, the demanding task of marketing.” Hameedia Managing Director Fouzul Hameed said the company was looking […]

Sri Lanka private flying revival in the offing

July 29, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s civil aviation authority is considering giving approval for the operation of more private aircraft, the use of which was severely restricted and sometimes banned during the ethnic war.But the Tigers were defeated by government forces in May and flying restrictions are being eased with the end of the […]

Sri Lanka rupee may move if IMF forex reserve targets are not met

July 28, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tight peg with the US dollar, which is now backed by complementary monetary policy may move under an International Monetary Fund program if foreign reserve targets are not met, an official said. The 20-month IMF program is underpinned on a flexible exchange rate, and is based on specific […]

Chinese Deal

July 28, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank said it has signed an Investment Facilitation Agreement with China Development Bank, considered one of China’s three policy banks that also funds the country’s large infrastructure projects.“Under this agreement, China Development Bank will initially place a US dollar deposit with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, […]

Bank Numbers

July 28, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Seylan Bank said net profit for the June 2009 quarter fell 39 percent to 188 million rupees from a year ago with both interest income and fee income falling and bad loans rising.The bank, part of the Ceylinco group, said in a stock exchange filing that interest income […]

Sri Lanka in ADB south Asia tourism project

July 28, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has been included in an Asian Development Bank funded project to link and promote tourist sites in south Asian countries, especially for eco-tourism and pilgrimage tourism. A report by the ADB said the project was conceived as a linked series of sub-regional tourism investments in the five countries […]

Million Mark

July 28, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Bharti Airtel has exceeded one million customers and the firm is rolling out its network in the east of the island, following the end of a 30-year war in the island, a top official said.“We have exceeded one million customers in Sri Lanka in 171 days of operations,” […]

Sri Lanka insurance sector grows in tight conditions

July 28, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s life insurance sector grew 13.9 percent taking in gross written premiums of 23.6 billion rupees in 2008, a year that saw high inflation, a report by the industry regulator, Insurance Board of Sri Lanka (IBSL) said. The life insurance sector grew 21.2 percent in 2007, the annual report […]

” over Sri Lankan camps: envoy

July 27, 2009 (AFP) – The United States was “deeply concerned” that tens of thousands of displaced people were still locked inside camps two months after Sri Lanka’s decades-long ethnic war had ended, a US envoy said Monday.Around 300,000 people displaced during the final stages of the war continue to live in temporary shelters run […]

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