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Broken Axle
March 04, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s once prosperous motor industry has seen a sharp fall in sales, hit by shrinking credit, a fast depreciating rupee and import restrictions, a senior official of the Ceylon Motor Traders Association (CMTA) said. Revenues for the December quarter had plummeted by 17 percent or 384 million rupees, to […]
Sri Lanka seeks insurance after Pakistan attack
March 4, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka on Wednesday called for bids to insure the national cricket team, a day after a gunmen ambushed their bus in Pakistan, leaving seven players and an assistant coach injured.Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said it was looking for an insurance policy to cover group travel, medical and personal accident […]
Cricketer ambush an attack on Sri Lanka-Pakistan relations: United States
Mar 04, 2009 (LBO) – An armed ambush of the Sri Lanka cricket team, which visited Pakistan when India pulled out of a tournament, was an attack on peaceful relations among the two South Asian nations, the United States said. Several Pakistan policemen who were protecting the players died in the attack. “This is not […]
Sri Lankan cricketers rushed to hospital on return from Pakistan
March 4, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s wounded and shaken cricketers flew home to Colombo Wednesday and were rushed straight to a local hospital, a day after being attacked in a deadly ambush in Pakistan, officials said. There were emotional scenes as relieved relatives welcomed home the 25-member tour party, who were led from a […]
Pakistan hunts attackers of Sri Lanka cricket team
LAHORE, March 4, 2009 (AFP) – Pakistan stepped up a manhunt on Wednesday for the armed militants behind a deadly ambush targeting Sri Lanka’s cricket team, which has plunged the troubled nation deeper into crisis.It was the first deadly direct assault against a sports team in nuclear-armed Pakistan, where over 1,600 people have died in […]
Sri Lanka in US$200mn bond sale
Mar 03, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is seeking buyers for 200 million US dollars of 2-year bonds, which pays a semi-annual coupon, the government’s debt office said, as debt markets remain risk averse and liquidity tight. This month 215 million US dollars of Sri Lanka Development Bonds (SLDBs) are maturing, but the government is […]
Sri Lankan shares down on earnings jitters
Mar 03, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks tumbled on Tuesday as blue chip counters took a beating due to worse-than-expected corporate results which kept investors on the sidelines, brokers said. The All Share Price Index lost 1.93 percent (32.22 points) to end at 1,639.47while the more liquid Milanka shed 2.27 percent (39.71 points) to […]
Profit Standard
LONDON, March 3, 2009 (AFP) – Emerging markets bank Standard Chartered said Tuesday that net profit jumped a fifth to 3.41 billion dollars (2.69 billion euros) in 2008, leaving it well-placed to face the global slowdown. Despite the gain in profits after tax, Standard Chartered was not immune to rising bad debts linked to the […]
Downgraded
Mar 03, 2009 (LBO) – The ‘AAA(lka)’ rating on Sri Lanka’s Dialog Telekom was cut by two notches to ‘AA(lk)’ Fitch Ratings, following price competition which is weakening margins and rising costs, Fitch Ratings said. Dialog’s rating of its outstanding redeemable preference shares reflected the subordinate nature of the instrument. Though Dialog has started a […]
Outlook Cut
Mar 03, 2009 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has cut the credit outlook of Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), the island’s largest fixed access operator, to ‘negative’ from ‘stable’ after the sovereign rating outlook was lowered last week. Fitch said SLT’s long-term foreign currency rating of ‘B+’ and local currency rating of ‘BB-‘ were unchanged. Its domestic […]