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Sri Lanka Amana Takaful cuts losses, sees scope in medical insurance
April 23, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Amana Takaful Insurance said it made a premium income of over a billion rupees in 2008, helping to reduce losses, and that it expects medical insurance to grow this year.Gross Written Premium grew by 26.56 percent to 1,024 million rupees with life insurance growing by 44 percent to […]
Sri Lanka Treasury bill yields fall after rate cut
April 22, 2009 (LBO) – Yields at the weekly Treasury bill auction plunged across the board with the 12-month yield falling 100 basis points to 15.40 percent, the government’s debt office said, after a 175 basis point rate cut earlier in the day.The 6-month yield fell 98 basis points to 14.90 percent and the 3-month […]
Sri Lanka rupee looks for direction, amid rate cut
April 22, 2009 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka rupee edged lower but recovered before hitting a psychological 120.00 level against the greenback, Wednesday with some exporters taking profits, dealers said.The rupee opened wide at 118.75/119.25 a day after the central bank talked up the rupee, weakening towards 119.65/120.00 and recovering to 119.00/119.10 levels later in […]
Sri Lanka cuts rates by 175bp to boost lending
April 22, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank has cut its de facto signal policy rate by 175 basis points to 13.0 percent to spur lending as credit to the private sector fell 5.6 percent in February, and trimmed the repo rate to discourage excess reserves. The rate cuts come as the rupee is […]
Sri Lankan stocks propelled by more gains in war
Apr 22, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares extended gains Wednesday as the military rescued more civilians trapped in a no-fire-zone in an offensive to crush the 25-year-old Tamil Tiger separatist rebellion, brokers said. The All Share Price Index of the Colombo stock exchange rose 1.35 percent (23.64 points) to end at 1,777.58 while the […]
Policy Breaks
April 22, 2009 (LBO) – Colombo Dockyard stands to benefit from several concessions being considered in the new draft Sri Lankan government shipping policy, industry officials said.“In the absence of any other local builder capable of meeting local demand, removing such a ceiling will be considered by government as otherwise it would only open the […]
Sri Lanka rules out amnesty for cornered Tiger leader
April 22, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s cornered Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran will not be eligible for amnesty, having “spurned” an offer to surrender, the island’s president said.President Mahinda Rajapakse said the guerrilla leader, whose Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are fighting to prevent complete defeat after being pushed to a narrow stretch […]
82,000 civilians flee Sri Lanka war zone: minister
April 22, 2009 (AFP) – Nearly 82,000 civilians have escaped from the shrinking patch of territory still controlled by the Tamil Tiger rebels, defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said Wednesday.He said 81,420 men, women and children were counted as they registered with security forces since fleeing the remaining rebel-held coastal jungle area Monday and Tuesday.He did […]
Fears grow for civilians in Sri Lanka conflict zone
April 22, 2009 (AFP) – US and Red Cross officials pleaded for the lives of tens of thousands of civilians trapped in Sri Lankan jungle Wednesday as government troops pressed a relentless offensive against Tiger rebels.The apparent end game in Sri Lanka has triggered protests around the world, with up to 30,000 Tamil demonstrators clogging […]
Tamil protest jams Canadian capital
OTTAWA, April 21, 2009 (AFP) – Up to 30,000 Tamil protestors stepped up pressure on the Canadian government on Tuesday, clogging the capital for a 15th day in a row to demand it try to broker a ceasefire in Sri Lanka.Screaming “no more genocide,” beating drums heard throughout downtown, waving fists in the air and […]