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Oil Hunt
Oct 11, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Petroleum Ministry said Thursday that 42 companies including seven oil majors attended a series of road shows held to promote exploration off the island’s west coast. Petroleum minister A.H.M. Fowzie said in a statement that three road shows were held in London, Houston and Kuala Lumpur in September […]
Sri Lanka gross borrowings to rise by Rs85bn next year
Oct 10, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will have to borrow 740 billion rupees in 2008, to bridge the budget deficit and roll-over existing debt in 2008, a bill put before lawmakers this week showed. Last year the government got parliamentary nod to raise 655 billion rupees but lack of cheap concessional debt has pushed […]
Sri Lanka opposition says Fitch Ratings wrong, insists on defaulting bond
Oct 10, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s main opposition United National Party (UNP) said an assessment by a rating agency that a future administration run by the party would repay a sovereign bond that is now being marketed is wrong and insisted that it would default. The UNP has said the attempt to raise around […]
Port Bids
Oct 10, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court Wednesday ordered the government to open all four financial bids to build a new container terminal in the new Colombo south port project, officials said. The order came after a consortium led by conglomerate John Keells Holdings sought court intervention when their technical bid for the […]
‘s academy
NEW DELHI, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) – Renowned coach Dav Whatmore has accepted a job with India’s cricket academy four months after being snubbed for the post of the national team’s head coach.The former Australian Test batsman, 53, will take over as director of operations at the Bangalore-based National Cricket Academy later this month, the […]
Sri Lanka dockyard chases new navy and civil jobs
Oct 10, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Colombo Dockyard, the island’s sole listed ship builder, is bidding for three new local ship building contracts, including one from the navy where it has tied up with a Croatian yard, officials said. The yard, a subsidiary of Japan’s Onomichi Dockyard Co. which provides management and technical expertise, […]
Singapore dollar at 10-year highs
SINGAPORE, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) – The Singapore dollar was trading at 10-year highs against the greenback on Wednesday after the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) signalled a slight tightening of its policy, dealers said.In morning trade the local unit was at 1.4665 to the US dollar, up from 1.4752 on Tuesday. MAS, the de […]
Sri Lanka minister wants Atapattu back
Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge is keen to bring back former captain Marvan Atapattu into the squad for next month’s tour of Australia, a ministry official said here Wednesday. “The minister hopes to see Marvan in the next few days to hear his side of the story. He is […]
Sri Lanka plans arms dealing restrictions: report
COLOMBO, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government is planning to introduce a blanket ban on its nationals’ involvement in officially authorised arms dealing, a state-run newspaper said Wednesday.The new restrictions appear to be part of an effort by Colombo to centralise its own burgeoning weapons purchases, which in the past have been conducted […]
Sri Lanka plans record defence spending
Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka plans to hike overall defence spending by 20 percent to a record 1.48 billion dollars amid a rise in fighting with Tamil Tiger rebels, according to a bill tabled in parliament on Wednesday.More than 5,500 people have been killed since December 2005, after a 2002 Norwegian brokered truce […]