All Blogs
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 […]
Sri Lanka sees revenue improving with strong tax effort
July 28, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank said it expects government revenue collection to improve later this year, despite the downturn in the first few months, through better collection, a new Nation Building Tax and reduced tax holidays.The government is committed to increasing tax revenue by at least two percent of GDP by […]
Sri Lankan stocks up
July 27, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares made further gains Monday as selected blue chips like Commercial Bank, Dialog Telekom and Distilleries pushed indices up, brokers said. People’s Leasing mopped up most of the floating Seylan Merchant Leasing shares on a mandatory offer. The benchmark Colombo All Share Price Index (ASPI) closed up 1.44 […]
Train Trouble
July 27, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s railway needs to raise fares and train travellers must be prepared to pay more to reduce losses and make the state-owned service viable, experts said.This would ensure enough traffic so the train services could be run profitably, perhaps with private sector investment. The same approach could be followed […]
Capital Education
July 27, 2009 (LBO) – Management and finance students of Jaffna University will get easy access to Colombo Stock Exchange data, market regulator Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said. The qualification starts with a certificate and leads up to a degree. The SEC said the Jaffna University would get a fully equipped capital market information […]
Sri Lanka IMF supported budget implies tight second half
July 27, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s IMF supported budget for 2009 implies a more credible revenue target, maintaining nominal capital expenditure at previous year’s levels in an economy that is inflating less, initial analysis shows.Sri Lanka’s runaway budgets were the underlying reason for the balance of payments crisis last year. IMF said short term […]
Sri Lanka keeps back IMF technical MOU
July 27, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has not released the technical memorandum of understanding between the government and the International Monetary Fund, taking a step back from the level of transparency established earlier.Sri Lanka’s central bank has published a letter of intent (LOI) and a memorandum of economic and financial policies (MEFP) relating to […]
Slow Lane
July 26, 2009 (LBO) – Too many transport ministries and agencies which do not co-ordinate effectively has resulted in poor transport service in Sri Lanka and delayed its aim of becoming a hub, an expert said. There were also high levels of exclusion between different modes – land, water, air – with three ministries involved. […]