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Little Damage
April 29, 2007 (LBO) – The Indian and Dutch partners of petroleum facilities targeted by Tamil Tigers, which are jointly owned with the government of Sri Lanka, are confident of resuming normal business as the damage is minimal, officials said. The Tigers first hit a petroleum facility in Kolonnawa, a suburb of Colombo, which is […]
Land Locked
April 28, 2007 (LBO) – A deal to sell a prime commercial property belonging to a troubled state trading firm to a state-bank has got deadlocked with creditors scrambling after the property, but the bank has recovered an advance that it paid, a top official said. Last year the bank made 1,919 million rupees in […]
China invests in key projects in Zimbabwe as West tighten economic sanctions
BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, April 27, 2007 (AFP) – Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said on Friday that burgeoning economic ties with Asian countries were paying off for the country shunned by its former trading allies in the west. “I am pleased to report that significant headway has been made with a number of investment projects that have […]
Sri Lanka lose toss and fields in cricket World Cup final
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, April 28, 2007 (AFP) – Australia captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to bat against Sri Lanka in the World Cup final at Kensington Oval here Saturday. Rain delayed the scheduled 09.30am local (1330GMT) start time but with the match due to get underway at 10.15am (1415GMT) the game remained a […]
Sri Lanka skipper says Aussies can be beaten
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, April 27, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene believes that Australia can be beaten in the World Cup final here on Saturday because they are human, not supermen.“Obviously they are a very good side, but they are also humans and in 100 overs people do make mistakes and we need to […]
”’ holding 194 child soldiers: UNICEF
April 28, 2007 (AFP) – A pro-government Tamil militant group is holding at least 194 child soldiers despite promises it would free underage combatants, UNICEF said Saturday. The UN agency for children said the Tamil Tiger faction known as the “Karuna group” was failing to honour its public promises not to recruit child soldiers. Out […]
Sri Lanka capital sealed off amid fears of Tiger attack
April 28, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan police and security forces sealed off the capital on Saturday, searching every vehicle entering and leaving the city amid fears of a Tamil Tiger attack, officials said. Huge traffic jams were reported at every entry point to Colombo with motorists spending several hours before they could be allowed […]
Sri Lankans splurge on snacks and drinks for all night match viewing
April 28, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankans were stocking up on snacks, soft drinks, ice cream and liquor on Saturday to watch their home team battle Australia at the cricket World Cup finals in the Caribbean. Supermarkets, grocery and wine stores were reporting brisk sales as customers stood in lengthy queues. “It took us nearly […]
Small Credit
April 27, 2007 (LBO) – The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has joined hands with six Sri Lankan private banks to educate small and medium enterprise (SME) owners on getting loans to finance their business. Local banks are heavily weighted towards collateral-based lending, instead of project-based lending, which makes it difficult for smaller firms to access […]
Dollar Deal
April 27, 2007 (LBO) – State-owned Bank of Ceylon’s syndicated dollar loan has been able to raise more money than originally envisaged. (US Dollar = 110 rupees) Updated There had been substantial interest from prospective lenders allowing the loan size to be enhanced, an official said. The deal, arranged with bookrunner HSBC, was earlier scheduled […]