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Audit Check
The securities watchdog has issued tough guidelines on the role of auditors and non-audit services, which will be made compulsory for listed firms from next April.Listed firms will also be required to rotate their auditors every three years from 2006. rn rnThe guidelines focus on two areas i.e. audit of listed companies and audit committeesof […]
Building High
A 22.46 percent larger loan book propped up by lower interest rates and growing demand for homes upped income at Housing Development Finance Corp., Bank (HDFC Bank to Rs. 829.85 million, 31.5 percent over 2002. Chief Executive C A Sarathchandra told Lanka Business Online that a concerted effort to increase the housing stock saw up […]
Mismatch
Total revenue for the period Jan-Apr fell three percent to Rs. 91.7 bn while overall expenditure jumped 33 percent to Rs. 121.0 bn, the Finance Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama said Wednesdayrn rnA change in the Value Added Tax (VAT) from 20 percent to 15 percent, saw revenues drop 14 percent to Rs. 36 bn, while […]
Rising Expectations
Sri Lankas inflation rate for June shifted up to 3.9 percent on the back of rising prices of essential goods like rice, red onions, potatoes and vegetables.The Census & Statistics Dept said Wednesday that the Colombo Consumers Price Index or CCPI had touched 3,672.8 from 3,598.2 recorded in May this year.rn rnCommenting on the data, […]
Upping It
The Central Bank says it hopes to raise up to US$ 400 mn in bonds shortly, to bridge the budget deficit and ease the pressure on the local debt market.The bank had earlier planned to raise US$ 250 mn. But delays in aid disbursements and a weak rupee has prompted a change of plans.rn rn”The […]
Top Gear
Central Bank is to take action against 4000 pyramid promoters who had fraudulently helped send nearly US$ 7 million out of the country in the in the first quarter of this year.“We can impose fines up to three times the value of the foreign exchange transaction involved,” Exchange Controller H A G Hettiarachchi told a […]
Holy Battles
ldblquote The proposed legislation is a violation of human rights, dblquote Head of the Legal Division, Centre For Policy Alternatives (CPA), Rohan Edrisinha says. rn rnMany others warn that the Bill could lead to further communal differences in the island already divided on ethnic lines.rn rnThe CPA is just one of the civil rights organisations […]
Nomad Cell
Mobitel will tap the telecom watchdogs payphone subsidy to rollout call boxes in the Sri Lankan outback using ACeS satellite connections. The Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) cellular subsidiary signed up with Asian satellite communication services provider ACeS on Tuesday to offer satellite phone connections that work anywhere within the island and the Asian region at […]
Holding On – Updated
The Central Bank on Tuesday reiterated its call for political stability, fiscal discipline and structural reforms to enable the economy grow by five percent this year.For the seventh consecutive quarter, Sri Lankas economy exceeded five percent to notch a 6.2 percent growth.rn rnTo sustain the growth momentum, the bank said the government needs to ensure […]
Steady Float
Sri Lankas foreign reserves slipped 3.7 percent dip in April, slightly above a 5.7 percent drop in January 2004, according to latest data released by the Central Bank.rnrn Official or rnCentral Bank reserves slipped to US$ 2,242.3 mn, while total reserves, which rnalso include private holdings, rose 3.3 percent to US$ 3,323.6 mn.rn rn Sri […]