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Sri Lanka credit-default swaps start trading after bond sale
Oct 18, 2007 (LBO) –Credit-default swaps tied to Sri Lanka’s debt started trading Thursday after the government sold 500 million dollars in bonds to foreign investors for the first time, Bloomberg newswire reported. Five-year contracts used to speculate on the South Asian nation’s ability to repay debt were quoted at 375 basis points as of […]
Migrant Votes
Oct 18, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankan migrant workers who account for as much as 12 percent of voters are still denied the right to vote although they constitute the island’s second biggest foreign exchange earner. Commissioner of elections Dayananda Dissanayake told LBO migrant workers remain without the ability to vote because successive governments remained […]
‘s Ceylon Glass says exports surging
Oct 18, 2007 (LBO) – Ceylon Glass Company Thursday announced net profit for the quarter ended September 30 rose 29 percent to 44.6 million rupees and that exports were doing well. The company’s interim results released to the Colombo bourse showed revenue for the quarter increased to 504 million rupees from 421 million in the […]
IMF urges fresh thinking on oil prices as dollar continues to fall
Washington, Oct 17, 2007 (LBO) – The International Monetary Fund’s top economic researcher said the Fund was having a fresh look at the phenomenon of high oil prices which is partly caused by a weakening dollar, and urged emerging economies to re-think their exchange policies. . “Oil is denominated in dollars. As the dollar depreciates […]
China has 345,000 millionaires: study
BEIJING, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) – China had 345,000 millionaires by the end of last year, the second-most in Asia after Japan, according to a new study by US investment bank Merrill Lynch. The number of Chinese US dollar millionaires was up 7.8 percent from the year before, helped by a stock market that saw […]
Sri Lanka military says 27 Tamil rebels killed
COLOMBO, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military said Thursday that its troops killed 27 suspected Tamil Tigers in renewed clashes in the island’s north, although the rebels dismissed some incidents as attacks on civilians.The Sri Lankan navy fired early Thursday at a cluster of Tamil Tiger boats off the northwest coast. They recovered […]
Sri Lankan media watchdog slams military censorship
Oct 18, 2007 (LBO) – The Free Media Movement (FMM), a Sri Lankan media watchdog, Thursday sharply criticised heavy-handed action by military personnel in censoring media coverage of an accident involving a truck carrying ammunition. It said in a statement that the state security forces had censored media and deleted photos taken by photojournalists on […]
Offshore Business
Oct 18, 2007 (LBO) – Two of Sri Lanka’s top listed conglomerates, John Keells Holdings and Hayleys are positioning themselves to exploit business opportunities expected to emerge from an anticipated oil strike offshore. The aim of sending the business delegation to Norway was to widen the scope for business collaborations in new sectors with high […]
Sri Lanka trade fair draws foreign interest
Oct 18, 2007 (LBO) – Trade delegations from 12 countries have already confirmed their participation at IMEXPRO 2008, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce said Thursday. The event is an international import – export promotion fair to be held from 14-16 February 2008 in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, it said in a statement. The Ceylon […]
Port Bids
Oct 17, 2007 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Wednesday dismissed conflicting claims by rival bidders for a new terminal contract, saying they were inaccurate as bids were still being evaluated. “No one can claim to be the highest bidder,” said Nalin Aponso, deputy chief manager for communication and PR at the SLPA. […]