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Sri Lanka planning credit scheme for the war-affected: CB Governor
May 27, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is planning a central bank re-financed credit scheme for people in former war-affected areas to allow people to rebuild their lives, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said. However Cabraal says re-financing would be within reserve money and inflation targets. “These people need help and society will have to […]
Sri Lanka may relax forex trading curbs from June: CB Governor
May 27, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka may expand forex trading limits of banks from next month, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said, as the country emerged from a balance of payments crisis with the monetary authority becoming net dollar buyer. “If we did not buy the rupee would appreciate further,” Cabraal said. The rupee […]
Sri Lankan shares recover, rupee flat
May 26, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks ended up Tuesday, as investors were bullish on blue chips and hotel stocks, while the rupee was flat against the greenback and traded at 114.90/95 levels, broker and traders said. Dialog Telekom, Sri Lanka’s largest celco is a fully owned subsidiary of Telekom Malaysia. Development Finance Corporation […]
Tight Quarter
May 26, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank said group profits fell 12.9 percent to 892 million rupees in the March 2009 quarter, as its loan book shrank and the firm also changed the way it accounted for a troubled oil derivative sale. “In the future provisions will be provided after making an assessment […]
Bank Trade
May 26, 2009 (LBO) – Profits of HSBC’s Sri Lanka unit grew 40 percent to 628.1 million rupees in the March 2009 quarter on strong foreign exchange income, despite rising interest expenses, its published accounts showed. The bank’s gross assets from December to March had grown by 8.2 percent to 161,544.4 million rupees, while net […]
Mobile Growth
May 26, 2009 (LBO) – Mobitel, a unit of Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), has increased subscribers by 73 percent to 2.8 million in the year to March 2009, while revenues climbed 48 percent to 3.6 billion rupees in the first quarter, the group said. In the year to March 2009, Millicom International Cellular said its […]
More than 110 dead after cyclone hits Bangladesh, India
DHAKA, May 26, 2009 (AFP) – Bangladesh and India launched major relief operations Tuesday after a cyclone tore into the northern coast of the Bay of Bengal, killing at least 116 people and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless. Many of the casualties in Bangladesh were reported to be children who drowned when Cyclone Aila triggered […]
Sri Lanka Ceylinco Insurance March profit down 29-pct
May 26, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Ceylinco Insurance Company said March 2009 net profit fell 29 percent to 101 million rupees from a year ago as claims went up, despite a sharp increase in investment income. The firm is part of the Ceylinco group which was thrown into a crisis when an unlisted subsidiary, […]
UN rights council divided over Sri Lanka
GENEVA, May 26, 2009 (AFP) – Asian and Western members of the UN Human Rights Council failed to find a common voice on the situation in Sri Lanka before they were due to hold a special session on the issue Tuesday. Switzerland, with the support of about 30 mainly Western states, has tabled a draft […]
Sri Lanka manpower exporters battle downturn
May 26, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankans working abroad send home nearly three billion dollars a year, and despite a global economic meltdown and stiff competition from regional neighbors, industry officials say they are fighting the downturn. Around 1.8 million people are estimated to be employed abroad, according to Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau data […]