All Blogs
‘s Tamil Tigers should not walk out of talks half-way: envoy
WASHINGTON, Jan 25, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka said Friday it could not return to the negotiating table with the Tamil Tigers unless there was a guarantee from the rebels that they would not walk away from the talks. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) must also be prepared to compromise on its demand […]
Sri Lanka sees build up of bipartisan support for inflation targeting
Jan 26, 2008 (LBO) — A senior opposition lawmaker in Sri Lanka has expressed support for inflation targeting, in a build up of bipartisan backing for legal changes needed to take the country towards low inflation.. “If you print money inflation is going to go up,” parliamentarian Kabir Hashim, an economic policy heavyweight in the […]
Sri Lanka to scrap country-wide index after inflation jumps to 26.2-pct
Jan 25, 2008 (LBO) — Sri Lanka will scrap a country-wide price index that showed a record 26.2 percent inflation in November 2007, officials said.“By releasing several indices, or making public aware of several indices, problems have come up,” Sri Lanka’s statistics chief Suranjana Vidyaratne said. “Though we have done this as a technical subject […]
Sri Lankan share prices slump, trading dries up
Jan 25, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks weakened further Friday with trading drying up to just a trickle as investors stayed away from the market owing to political and economic uncertainty. The All Share Index fell 3.21 points to 2,433.50 while the liquid Milanka index closed hardly unchanged at 3,125.25. Turnover slumped to 66 […]
Travel Costs
Jan 25, 2008 (LBO) – The national transportation commission of Sri Lanka has authorised a hike in bus fares due to recent fuel price increase, but private bus owners say it is insufficient. The fare increases approved by the commission will be effective from February 1 and are meant to minimise the effects of recent […]
Net Security
Jan 25, 2008 (LBO) – Bank of Ceylon (BOC) has deployed international authentication services provider VeriSign’s hacking and identity theft countering security features in its online banking transactions in Sri Lanka. VeriSign’s Identity Protection Services (VIP) for BOC’s online banking customers will provide an extra layer of security through VeriSign’s multiple authentication scheme. The scheme […]
‘s tea output dips in 2007, prices up
Jan 25, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea production for 2007 fell by six million kilograms to 304 million kilograms as bad weather and the lagged effects of a strike hit production in the early part of the year, brokers said. Tea prices at the Colombo auctions have remained high in recent weeks and there […]
Down Under
Jan 25, 2008 (LBO) — Australia is looking to supply coal to Sri Lanka’s power stations and also provide clean coal and natural gas technology that can improve the efficiency of thermal generation, its envoy to Colombo has said. “The government of course has plans to develop coal fired power generation in Sri Lanka and […]
LawAsiaICT2008
Jan 25, 2008 (LBO) — Sri Lankan regulators should look for all options to bring down the cost of mobile phone ownership as the industry has emerged as a key driver of economic growth, the head of the island’s top celco has said.Better connectivity has enabled people become more productive, he added. Business drivers in […]
Bank of Japan governor dismisses call for rate cut
TOKYO, Jan 25, 2008 (AFP) – Japan’s central bank chief on Friday dismissed a call for an interest rate cut in coordination with the US Federal Reserve, saying that current policies were enough to keep the economy firm.Central banks’ job is to “select appropriate policies by analysing outlooks of each country’s economy and prices even […]