All Blogs
Different Route
An action plan to clean up the local transport mess is lined up for Cabinet approval but private bus owners, currently paying up over million rupees a month as kickbacks to alleged gangsters that control bus routes, are not convinced of a change.The new Minister of Transport Felix Perera will present an action plan to […]
Steady Beat
Sri Lanka Insurance Corp., clinched a AA-(sri) (AA minus) national insurer financial strength rating from Fitch Ratings Lanka, becoming the first insurer to do so.An AA-(sri) national insurer financial strength rating is given for SLICs ability to meet its policyholders obligations and benefits. rn rnFitch also gave the insurance giant an A+(sri) (A plus) national […]
Bitter Teas
Misty Mountains Holdings bid to buy into the Lankan tea sector fell apart with John Keells Holdings and HVA Lanka calling off their deals with the US firm.John Keells said on Monday it called off its sale and share purchase agreement as Misty Mountain had failed to satisfy pre-sale conditions. The deal, which was struck […]
Spadework
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, has told the BBC that peace talks with Tamil Tigers rebels will resume before the end of July.Rajapakse told the BBC Sinhala service that the opposition United National Party has already said that it will support the negotiations. rn rnRajapakse was speaking after meeting the Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen in […]
Closing The Gap
Sri Lankas trade deficit for February contracted marginally, on the back of a lower import bill and a drop in apparel sector revenues, the Central Bank said Monday.Trade deficit for February fell to US$ 90 mn from US$ 119 mn in 2003, bringing the cumulative deficit for Jan-Feb down to US$ 242 mn.rn rnEXPORTS rn […]
The Big Two
Banking giant HSBC says emerging markets like India and China could change the way banking is done in Asia. A top regional CEO from the bank said the influence by these countries would be felt as they absorb an increasing amount of financial resources available in Asia.rn rnldblquote The influence of these two economies is […]
Picked by an Angel
Developed economies spend the equivalent of two to three percent of their GDP on Research and Development (R&D).rnBut the figure is much lower for emerging markets including Sri Lanka.rnrnExperts say without prosperity there wont be enough for R&D expenditure and without R&D spending growth will always be below par.rn rnWithout prosperity there wont be enough […]
Smart Hutchison
Hutchison telecom says their local operation will connect an additional one hundred thousand customers to their GSM network when its commercially launched later this month.But the company says they dont plan to eat in to market share of other GSM mobile operators but would go after over 90 percent of people who do not own […]
At Your Service
The services sector made the biggest contribution to economic growth last year.The sector that accounted for a little over forty percent of economic activity when the country adopted a market economy, today accounts for nearly 55 percent of the countrys GDP.rn rnOver 54 percent of the countrys GDP is accounted for by the service sector. […]
Dim View
Suspected Tamil Tigers shot dead a soldier in eastern Sri Lanka after the rebels warned that Norways renewed efforts to broker peace in the island were in jeopardy, a local official saidThe victim, a member of an intelligence unit, was taken off of a bus and killed in broad daylight near the town of Batticaloa, […]