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July 26, 2006 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings said Wednesday it has upgraded Sri Lanka’s Nations Trust Bank’s long-term debt to A(lka) with its outlook on the rating to “stable”. The ratings agency said the revision mainly reflects NTBs stronger financial profile, equity infusion post merger with Mercantile Leasing Ltd (MLL) and an expanded asset base. […]
Sharp Rise
July 26, 2006 (LBO) – Hatton National Bank, the island’s second biggest privately owned lender by assets, Wednesday posted a net profit of 506.46 million rupees for the three months to June, up 48 percent from 343.09 million rupees in the same period last year. For the six months to June, the group’s income rose […]
Aitken Spence Hotels re-brands its Maldivian properties
July 26, 2006 (LBO) – Aitken Spence Hotels re-branded its Maldivian properties under a new Adaaran brand, with six of its resort products coming under the new umbrella. The hotels will be branded in four tiers – Adaaran Select, Adaaran Club, Adaaran Prestige and Adaaran Ayurveda Village the company said Wednesday. The group also recently […]
Sri Lanka launches air attacks on Tiger rebels
July 26, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan war planes bombed suspected Tamil Tiger positions in northeast Sri Lanka Wednesday after the rebels allegedly blocked an irrigation canal, a government minister said.Israeli-built Kfir jets pounded bases of the rebels at Maavilaru and Hirugalaru in the northeast district of Trincomalee where the Tigers had blocked the waterway, […]
‘s army chief back at work after bombing
July 26, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s army chief Sarath Fonseka has resumed work after surviving a suicide bomb attack three months ago, military spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe said Wednesday. More than 60,000 people have been killed in the conflict.Lieutenant General Fonseka returned to the capital Colombo Tuesday after undergoing specialised treatment in Singapore for more […]
Norway launches fresh bid to save Sri Lanka truce
July 26, 2006 (AFP) – Peace broker Norway will launch a fresh bid to save Sri Lanka’s troubled peace process ahead of a September 1 deadline set by Tiger rebels for European truce monitors to quit, officials said Wednesday. Special envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer will arrive on the island in the “early part of August” to […]
On the Boil
July 26, 2006 (LBO) – Fears of another fuel shortage were sparked off on Wednesday as the government refused to give in to trade union demands and said it would seek a court order restraining unions. “We are trying to get a court order tomorrow (Thursday) for the newly appointed Chairman Asantha de Mel to […]
Singapore to shut ‘open outcry’ facility, one of last in Asia
SINGAPORE, July 25, 2006 (AFP) – There will be no more shouting or waving of hands in obscure signals from September when one of Asia’s last traditional “open outcry” exchange trading facilities is closed in Singapore.The Singapore Exchange said Tuesday its open outcry facility will shut at the close of business on Friday September 29 […]
WTO collapse set to fuel Asia’s “noodle bowl” effect
TOKYO, July 25, 2006 (AFP) – The breakdown of the WTO talks is likely to encourage the further proliferation of bilateral free trade pacts in Asia that have raised concerns about a “noodle bowl” of overlapping rules, analysts said. East Asian nations have already been rushing to negotiate individual agreements to remove barriers to trade, […]
Trade Fiasco
July 25, 2006 (LBO) – India has said that few Sri Lankan vanaspati manufacturers have put in bids to resume exports of the vegetable oil, though both sides have still not agreed to conditions. India™s National Agricultural and Marketing Federation (NAFED) have received three offers for import of 20,000 metric tonnes of vanaspati from Sri […]