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Sri Lankan media groups slam govt attempt to muzzle journalists
May 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan journalists’ unions and media rights groups Wednesday condemned government attempts to prevent those in the state media from criticising the government. Five media groups in a letter to defence ministry secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa deplored comments by him and another senior government official that journalists working in the state […]
Top Sri Lanka official says freezing prices an economic crime
May 29, 2008 (LBO) – A top official of a government body said freezing prices of government output was an ‘economic crime’ because the popular concept of ‘government bearing the burden’ had no factual basis. “Suppressing prices and freezing them is an economic crime,” head of Sri Lanka Railways Lalithasiri Gunaruwan told reporters. “It is […]
Sri Lanka to sell 200 million dollars in bonds to residents
May 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is offering 200 million dollars worth bonds to resident investors next month, the government’s debt office said.The securities, called Sri Lanka Development Bonds (SLDBs), are offered on three maturities, the Public Debt Department, which is a unit of Sri Lanka’s central bank, said in a letter to market […]
Sri Lanka stock market slide deepens
May 28, 2008 (LBO) – The slide in Sri Lankan share prices gathered momentum Wednesday, with the main index down one and a half percent amid disappointing corporate earnings. The All Share Price Index fell 1.49 percent (38.12 points) to 2,520.77 while the more liquid Milanka fell 1.85 percent (56.73 points) to close the day […]
Slow Down
May 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Seylan Bank March quarter profits fell 36 percent to 135 million rupees amid flat loan growth as high interest rates made it difficult for companies and individuals to borrow. The bank’s interest income grew 31 percent to almost five billion rupees but interest costs rose 48 percent to […]
Tight Numbers
May 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Samapath Bank group net profits for the March 2008 quarter fell 24.2 percent amidst rising interest costs while revenue grew 23.2 percent, results filed with the Colombo Stock Exchange said. Group gross assets were up 0.4 percent to 137.9 billion rupees. Group net profit after tax grew to […]
Early Action
May 27, 2008 (LBO) – Financial regulators should take early preventive action and anticipate trouble spots and Sri Lanka’s banks should keep an eye on apparel firms to manage possible future risks, the island’s central bank governor said. “If necessary policy interventions are done ahead of time, interventions requiring cash could be avoided,” Cabraal said. […]
Maldives to offer 11 new islands for resort development
May 28, 2008 (AFP) – The Indian Ocean island of the Maldives plans to open 11 new islands to foreign investors to develop upmarket tourist resorts, an official said Wednesday.The government is also building 10 new regional airports to compliment the booming resort development and allow locals to commute quickly between the chain of 1,192 […]
Sri Lanka treasury bills rejected
May 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government debt office rejected bids to buy 8.5 billion rupees of treasury bills Wednesday, selling 3.2 billion rupees through the auction. The government sold 2.0 billion rupees of 6-months bills at 18.14 percent, down 16 basis points from last week. The yield on 12-month bills also fell 10 […]
African leaders criticise donor nations on trade
May 28, 2008 (AFP) – African leaders on Wednesday lashed out at rich nations for failing to tackle trade inequalities even as they make lofty pledges to boost aid.The leaders, in Japan for a major development conference, urged industrialised nations to make it easier for them to export food, coffee and other products at fair […]