Author: LBO
Telecom operators and partners accelerate restoration of connectivity after cyclone Ditwah
Sri Lanka’s national telecommunication operators, in close coordination with government authorities, are intensifying round-the-clock recovery efforts to reconnect communities battered by severe flooding and landslidestriggered by Cyclone Ditwah since 27 November. The disaster has claimed 334 lives, left nearly 400 people missing or unaccounted for, and affected more than 1.3 million individuals nationwide, with rising […]
Evolution Auto brings multi-brand electric vehicle showroom to Kurunegala
Evolution Auto, a pioneer in Sri Lanka’s electric mobility sector, has officially opened its multi-brand electric vehicle (EV) showroom in Kurunegala, in collaboration with New Jayasekara Auto Motors (Pvt) Ltd. The new showroom offers customers a chance to explore, test drive, and purchase a wide range of electric vehicles, making eco-friendly transportation more accessible than […]
Sri Lanka’s Jan-June trade deficit widens sharply on oil
August 4, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s trade deficit expanded 48.0 percent to 1,793 million dollars for the six months to June, compared with the same period 2005, the central bank said Friday, as the island spent more to import fuel. From January-June, the island imported 4,955 million dollars worth of goods, up 20.3 percent […]
Tigers hit Sri lanka’s main naval port as battle for canal heats up
Aug 1, 2006 (AFP) – Tiger rebels shelled Sri Lanka’s main navy base Tuesday, killing four sailors and wounding 30, while warplanes bombed guerrilla positions as a bloody battle for a disputed waterway entered a seventh day. The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) used 122-millimeter artillery to target the base at Trincomalee as […]
Bloodiest ground battle tests Sri Lanka’s threadbare truce, toll 44
July 31, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops and Tiger rebels Monday fought their bloodiest ground battle since a 2002 truce, with the military reporting at least 44 combatants killed, but monitors said it was still not full-scale war.More than 60,000 people have been killed in the three-decade-old Tamil separatist conflict. The army’s ground offensive […]
Sri Lanka’s consumer prices ease in July to 14.7%
July 31, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s consumer prices for July eased marginally to 14.7 percent, the Census & Statistics Department said Monday, as a drop in vegetable prices helped offset hikes in rice, bread and jam. Prices of sugar, garlic, tamarind, red onions, eggs, coconuts and most varieties of vegetables, helped inflation ease up […]
Sri Lankan ‘miracle of Lebanon’ returns home penniless
TYRE, Lebanon, July 30, 2006 (AFP) – Vasanthi Darmadasa was sweeping her employers’ garden when her life changed.An Israeli bomb came thundering out of the sky, destroying the house and killing everyone there — except her.“I was thrown to the ground by the shockwave. I didn’t feel anything in my legs and I did not […]
Sri Lanka’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 […]
Fitch upgrades Nations Trust Bank to ‘A(lka)’
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. […]
Fitch upgrades People’s Leasing securitsed notes to A+(lka)
July 26, 2006 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka Wednesday has upgraded the Lease Backed Trust Certificates issued by People’s Leasing Trust Nine to ‘A+(lka)’ from ‘A(lka)’. People’s Leasing trust nine, is a special purpose vehicle created by People’s Leasing Company of Sri Lanka (PLC) for the sole purpose of this transaction. The rating action says […]
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, […]