All Blogs
Sri Lanka sovereign credit cut to B+ on bad budgets, foreign borrowing, war
April 03, 2008 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has downgraded Sri Lanka’s sovereign rating by one notch to ‘B+’ saying budgets were weak, inflation was high and the country was borrowing heavily from foreign lenders at commercial rates. The rating agency said the government’s “overriding priority” was war rather than fixing the economy. “The ratings downgrade […]
Sri Lanka treasury rates steady
April 02, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Treasury bill rates were flat after an auction in which the government sold 10 billion rupees worth of maturing bills, the government’s debt office said.The government sold 5.6 billion rupees worth 3-month bills at 18.40 percent, up 01 basis point, 2.9 billion rupees of 6-month bills at 18.97 […]
” tea
April 02, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Tea Board has turned down an appeal by export firms to ship tea below government stipulated standards, saying it no longer allowed such shipments. Tea board director-general H D Hemaratna said exports of sub-standard teas was a “serious matter” and the trade was concerned such shipments could tarnish […]
Tele Talk
April 02, 2008 (LBO) – Malaysia’s Usaha Tegas (UT) group, which bought a 35.2 percent stake in Sri Lanka Telecom, is likely to make changes at the telecom operator only after a minority shareholder buyout is completed, officials said. The UT group which paid 299 million dollars to NTT Communications through Global Telecommunications Holdings (GTH), […]
Sri Lanka life insurance market eyed by German insurer
April 02, 2008 (LBO) – German insurance company Allianz says its Sri Lankan insurance business has become very profitable and the company aims to extend from general insurance into the bigger life market. The company’s subsidiary, Allianz Insurance Co. Lanka, plans to hire more sales staff and open branches outside the capital Colombo as it […]
Asia skills shortage could hit growth: ADB
MANILA, April 2, 2008 (AFP) – Asia is facing a serious skills shortage that could hamper the region’s economic growth and push for modernisation, the Asian Development Bank said in its annual outlook report released Wednesday. The Manila-based ADB said the shortage was widespread and had been partly driven by skilled workers leaving to take […]
Singapore sovereign fund stands by UBS
SINGAPORE, April 2, 2008 (AFP) – The Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) on Wednesday stood by its decision to invest in troubled Swiss bank UBS and did not rule out a further capital injection.UBS on Tuesday revealed an additional 19 billion US dollars in writedowns, making it the bank worst-hit by a global crisis […]
Sri Lanka eye record-setting win over Windies
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, April 2, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka can kill the proverbial two birds with one stone when they face West Indies in the second and final Test, starting on Thursday at Queen’s Park Oval. When Sri Lanka flew into the region a fortnight ago, they had a single objective on their mind – […]
Sri Lanka Muslim lawmakers resign to contest provincial poll
April 02, 2008 (LBO) – Three members of Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), a minority Sri Lankan political party, have resigned their parliamentary seats to contest the forthcoming provincial council poll in the eastern province. . The party has a strong base in Eastern Sri Lanka where a sizable population of Muslims live. SLMC leader […]
Sri Lanka money growth slows in the first quarter
April 02, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s money supply growth has slowed faster than expected in the first quarter of 2008, amid tight monetary policy and credit growth was also falling, the central bank has said. Reserve money, measured as a quarterly average grew to only 273.7 billion rupees compared to a targeted ceiling of […]