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Lease Focus
May 28, 2009 (LBO) – Ceylinco Finance, a listed firm in the Ceylinco group, says it is re-structuring itself under the guidance of a veteran banker to focus on leasing, and is planning to ask for a finance company license. N B S B Balalle, a former chief executive of state-run National Savings Bank, has […]
Fee Hit
May 28, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Citibank unit’s March 2009 quarter profits were down 41.7 percent to 230.6 million rupees on sharply lower fee income, though the net interest margins were up, published accounts showed. Interest income was up 14.5 percent to 756.8 million rupees, while interest expense was down 12.1 percent to 208.0 […]
Mortgage Rating
May 28, 2009 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka has confirmed an ‘AA-(lka)’ rating assigned to a mortgage backed security issued by Sri Lanka’s HDFC Bank. Fitch said the outlook of the rating on the 82.6 million rupee HDFC Home Loan Securitisation Trust 2005 – Sri Lanka’s (HLST) was ‘stable’. The security was given a Loss […]
Sri Lanka poultry sector in dead trouble
May 28, 2009 (LBO) – A top Sri Lankan poultry breeder says it is destroying parent stock amid a deepening slump in the industry, while a related chicken feed producer said it was hit by fresh government taxes. Printed Bubble Following several years of money printing, Sri Lanka’s also saw inflation peaking at 29.9 percent […]
United Breweries, Heineken may form Indian venture
NEW DELHI, May 28 (Asia Pulse) – Vijay Mallya-led United Breweries (UB) and Dutch beer maker Heineken could come together in the Indian market, following the exit of Jaipuria from Asia Pacific Breweries-Pearl. “Talks between both companies (UB Group and Heineken) are in the advance stages and soon both will announce the deal,” a source […]
Sri Lanka blocks call for human rights probe
GENEVA, May 27, 2009 (AFP) – The UN Human Rights Council ended a special session on Sri Lanka’s conflict on Wednesday with diplomats failing to bridge an Asian-Western divide over whether to probe alleged abuses.“There is no reason for a probe.These are political statements made by various people. I don’t think we should get excited […]
EU expresses regret as Sri Lanka avoids war crimes probe
BRUSSELS, May 28, 2009 (AFP) – The European Union expressed regret Thursday at the failure to launch a probe into alleged war crimes committed by the Sri Lankan military during its offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels.On Wednesday, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution proposed by Sri Lanka and non-aligned states that welcomed Colombo’s […]
UN rights chief, campaigners press for Sri Lanka probe
GENEVA, May 28, 2009 (AFP) – The UN human rights chief and campaign groups insisted Thursday that an independent probe should be held into violations in Sri Lanka although the UN’s top rights assembly turned down such calls UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay maintained her demand for an investigation into abuses allegedly […]
Sri Lanka avoids war crimes probe, slams West
May 28, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka celebrated a major diplomatic victory Thursday after managing to torpedo Western demands for a probe into alleged war crimes committed during the offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels. A little more than a week after government troops defeated the separatist army, the island’s diplomats managed to lobby Asian support […]
Obama names US ambassadors to Sri Lanka, Japan, India
WASHINGTON, May 28, 2009 (AFP) – President Barack Obama on Wednesday named US ambassadors to Japan, India and Sri Lanka, amid heightened tension in Asia over North Korea’s nuclear tests, unrest in Pakistan and ethnic tension in Sri Lanka. Obama named longtime technology-focused lawyer John Roos as US ambassador to Japan, and named Democratic former […]