All Blogs
Sri Lanka alert as Tamil Tigers commemorate 322 suicide bombers
July 5, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka was on high alert Thursday as Tamil Tiger rebels commemorated the 322 male and female suicide bombers who have blown themselves up for the guerrilla cause over the last two decades. The Tamil Tigers are fighting for an independent homeland for the minority ethnic Tamils on the majority […]
Debt Capital
July 04, 2007 (LBO) – Sampath Bank has completed a debenture issue to raise 250 million rupees, the bank told the Colombo Stock Exchange. The money will strengthen the bank’s tier II capital base. The bank has a double AA- (lka) national long term rating from Fitch Ratings Lanka. Its debentures have previously been rated […]
Crawl Speed
July 04 (LBO) – Lengthy delays in automating Sri Lanka’s cargo clearing system were hurting the island’s chances of becoming a trading hub and making trading inefficient, a top freight forwarder said. “The automation of Sri Lanka’s cargo clearing system has not happened yet although it has been talked about for about five years,” said […]
BOT BPO
July 04, 2007 (LBO) – Aviva, one of the world’s biggest insurance firms, has hired over 300 Sri Lankan accounting and finance professionals into its business process outsourcing unit in Colombo. The professionals were trained on a build and transfer contract between Aviva Global Services (AGS) and Sri Lanka’s WNS, a third-party service provider for […]
High Standards
July 04, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s freight forwarders are seeking new rules to improve standards in the trade after winning a court order that quashed a set of regulations proposed by government. “We did not see much policing in the proposed law,” Kadawatharatchie said. “There’s a need to punish rule breakers.” Niral Kadawatharatchie, chairman […]
Sri Lanka stretches the lead with flourishing strokeplay
July 4, 2007 (AFP) – Kumar Sangakkara hit an unbeaten 170 as Sri Lanka continued to flay Bangladesh on the second day of the second cricket Test against Bangladesh here on Wednesday. The hosts, who bowled out Bangladesh for a meagre 62 on the first day, moved from their lunch score of 267-2 to 385-5 […]
Sri Lanka jets strike Tamil Tiger bases
July 4, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan air force jets on Wednesday carried out a second straight day of bombing raids against Tamil Tiger rebels positioned in jungles in the east of the island, the military said. The raids were part of a months-old effort aimed at dislodging the ethnic rebels from their hideouts in […]
Congressmen want US to do more to end Sri Lanka conflict
WASHINGTON, July 3, 2007 (AFP) – About 50 US lawmakers have written to President George W.Bush asking him to step up American efforts to help resolve the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka.“The United States has the opportunity to serve as a leader” in renewed international efforts to bring about a peaceful resolution to the conflict, […]
Passing Bucks
July 04, 2007 (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s state-run oil firm Ceylon Petroleum Corporation has asked the treasury to pick up a six billion rupee subsidy tab for selling fuel to the Ceylon Electricity Board at a steep discount, officials said Wednesday. The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), currently buys fuel at 55 rupees a litre from […]
Sri Lanka call rates edge up despite cash injections
July 3, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s call rates moved above 35 percent with liquidity disappearing from the banking system despite the monetary authority pumping billions of rupees of new money into the system. Ministers told the media that the government may lose up to ten billion rupees through cuts of value added tax on […]