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Sri Lankan cinnamon faces threat from cheap rival
KOSGODA, Sri Lanka, March 12, 2006 (AFP) – Arabs and Europeans invaded Sri Lanka partly to control the island’s cinnamon trade, but centuries later the commodity is facing a new threat from a cheaper substitute.Tropical Sri Lanka is better known for its aromatic black tea, but it is also the world’s top supplier of natural […]
Hot Potatoes
Mar. 11 (LBO) – Vanaspati, pepper and haggling over negative lists has pushed back trade talks between India and Sri Lanka on liberalising its service sectors, to May.The next round of negotiations under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two countries was to be held at the end of March. “There are few […]
Scrapping By
Mar10. (LBO) — The government doubled a cess on nonferrous metal exports in a move to keep down raw material costs of small scale brass and copper based metal based industries in Sri Lanka.A Ministry of Finance and Planning statement said Friday, the increased cess is as per an August 2005 gazette notification and under […]
Safe e-road
Mar. 10 (LBO) — Sri Lanka cleared the way for safer e-commerce this week by passing a new law that strengthened the legal validity of electronic transactions.“It will provide a firm foundation for e-commerce transactions and give formal recognition to e-mail communications,” says Jayantha Fernando, legal advisor of the ICT Agency of Sri Lanka. “It […]
Wider Base
Mar.10 (Dow Jones)–Sri Lanka’s Softlogic Holdings Ltd.said Friday it has bought the consumer electronics and automobiles units of diversified Uniwalkers Ltd. as part of an expansion plan. “This is a part of our strategy to diversify, expand our operations and increase annual turnover levels,” said Ashok Pathirage, the company’s chairman. He declined to disclose the […]
Debt Swap
Mar. 09 (LBO) — State-run People’s Bank is negotiating with the treasury to replace over Rs.20 billion worth of restructuring bonds with tradable government treasuries, officials said Thursday. Around Rs. 10.54 billion worth of 30-year restructuring bonds were issued in April 1993, priced at 12 percent, with interest payable every six months, according to the […]
Small Fry
Mar. 09 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has raised the minimum investment limit by five times to US$250,000 with immediate effect for foreigners operating restaurants, health centres, shops and other businesses in the country, officials said Thursday. Presently, some 1,600 such foreign owned entities are registered with the Board of Investment (BOI), provided they meet the […]
Hillside Homes
Mar 09 (LBO) – A group of Singaporean investors will put in US$ 6 million to build a luxury condominium complex in hill country Kandy.A pilot project for Dynasty Developments Pvt Ltd, construction of the apartments block is to begin end March this year and be completed by third quarter 2007. About 12 of the […]
Public Talk
Mar09. (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s only payphone operator, Tritel Services will invest US $35 million over three years to set up its own CDMA based public phone network, an official said. The initial investment phase will pay for more than 20,000 payphones outside the commercialised western province and will cover Anuradhapura, Galle, Trincomallee, Batticalo, Kurunegala, […]
Mighty Atom
Mar. 08 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is pushing for greater access into the Indian banking industry when both countries meet for bilateral trade talks in May, industry sources said. Neighboring India recently streamlined capital requirements for banks entering into the country but there are still limitations on shareholder ownership and the number of branches that […]