All Blogs
Jayawardene plays down Mendis hype in Pakistan series
KARACHI, January 18, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene Sunday refused to single out spin sensation Ajantha Mendis as the major threat for Pakistan in the one-day series.The 23-year-old Mendis and his more illustrious partner Muttiah Muralitharan are tipped to hold the aces against the home team in the three-match series which starts […]
Hedge Exposure
Jan 19, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank said its exposure to an oil derivative sold through People’s Bank would be 21.6 million dollars with oil at 35 dollars a barrel, which the state-run bank has so far not honoured. The contract is one of several arranged for state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) by […]
Sri Lanka would not apply for IMF bailout: Central Bank
Jan 19, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank said it would not apply for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout or devalue the currency but would seek other means to shore up the island’s dwindling foreign reserves. A typical IMF package involves a clean float of the currency to stop further sterilized intervention and […]
Sri Lanka Tamil Tigers surrounded, rebel chief may have fled: army
January 18, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan government troops have almost completely cornered the Tamil Tigers in their northeastern jungle base and the rebels’ leader may have already fled the island, the army chief said.The Sri Lankan army chief, who narrowly escaped assassination in a Tamil Tiger suicide bombing in April 2005, said he hoped […]
” as Sri Lanka keeps up offensive
January 18, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers are threatened with “extinction” following a massive military drive against them, but a political solution will be crucial to end long-standing Tamil grievances, observers say. The Tigers’ de facto state in the north of the island has been crumbling rapidly.They lost their political capital Kilinochchi earlier […]
Box Rates
Jan 17, 2009 (LBO) – A sharp fall in freight rates owing to the global recession and oversupply of tonnage is helping Sri Lankan exporters cope with slowing demand in overseas markets and high domestic costs, trade officials said.Randolph Perera, chairman of the Sri Lanka Shippers’ Council representing exporters and importers, said the drop in […]
Sri Lanka civilians flee as fighting escalates: army
January 17, 2009 (AFP) – Some 170 people have fled rebel-controlled areas in northern Sri Lanka as fresh fighting erupted across several fronts, the military said Saturday. A massive assault by Sri Lankan troops has left the Tigers cornered in their military stronghold in the northeastern coastal district of Mullaittivu. Sri Lanka has poured a […]
Sri Lanka gets new deputy finance minister
Jan 17, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa has appointed public administration and home affairs minister Sarath Amunugama as deputy minister of finance and planning, the president’s office said in a statement. Amunugama had been finance minister under previous administration and has also been a public servant before he took to politics. Amunugama […]
Sri Lanka rates up as liquidity tightens; CB bill stock Rs151bn
Jan 16, 2008 (LBO) – Overnight money rates spiked in Sri Lanka’s inter bank market and bond rates picked up amid tighter liquidity and the monetary authority opened its 12.00 percent liquidity facility, dealers said. Market participants parked 7.7 billion rupees at the repo window of the central bank by Friday while borrowing 14.1 billion […]
Sri Lankan stocks firmer, JKH up 30% this week
Jan 16, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s John Keells Holdings (JKH) closed the week up almost 30 percent at 66 rupees Friday after a media report that one of its largest shareholder would not divest any further, analyst said. “The market is not expecting good results, it depends on how much the market has absorbed […]