Airport Express

Oct 28, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has opened a 25.8 kilometre toll-road to the main international airport which is expected to sharply cut travel time and reduce congestion on existing roads.Travel time to the airport in Katunayake, from Peliyagoda, just outside the capital Colombo is expected to be 20 minutes, down from about an […]

Slow Gear

Oct 28, 2013 (LBO) – Profits and Diesel and Motor Engineering Plc, agents for Mercedes and Tata in Sri Lanka slipped 58 percent to 47,590 million rupees in the September 2013 quarter form a year earlier.The firm reported earnings of 5.36 rupees per share for the quarter. For the six months to September profits were […]

Sri Lanka stocks down 0.33-pct, rupee weaker

Oct 28, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka stocks closed down 0.33 percent amidst heavy foreign selling and the rupee weakened against the US dollar on importer demand, brokers and dealers said. The benchmark Colombo All Share Price Index closed 19.78 points lower at 5,928.97, down 0.33 percent, after peaking at an intraday high of 5,953.39. […]

Workers Unite

MONTEVIDEO, October 26, 2013 (AFP) – Unions representing domestic workers met here Saturday to urge countries to ratify a year-old international convention that sets minimal labor standards for domestic workers.So far only 10 countries have ratified the International Convention on Domestic Workers, which went into effect a year ago in September. But Myrtle Witbooi, president […]

Sri Lanka has to cut budget deficit, boost rule of law, for growth: economists

Oct 26, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has to reduce its budget deficit to boost domestic savings and improve rule of law to create a better environment for investment, economists said.Reduction of budget deficits will increase domestic savings, reducing the dependency on foreign borrowings for investments, A V de S Indraratne, chairman of Sri Lanka […]

New Zealand pull McCullum, Taylor out of Sri Lanka cricket tour

WELLINGTON, October 25, 2013 (AFP) – Senior New Zealand cricketers Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor will sit out next month’s tour of Sri Lanka so they can prepare for the upcoming home Test series against the West Indies, chief selector Bruce Edgar said Saturday.The pair will return home after the current tour of Bangladesh with […]

‘s new trunk road

COLOMBO, October 24, 2013 (AFP) – Twenty-four elephants lined up for a race Thursday on Sri Lanka’s newest expressway, but thousands of spectators were left disappointed when organisers scrapped the event due to safety concerns. The animals and jockeys were jostling at the start line on the Chinese-built 25.8-kilometre (16 mile) four-lane expressway from the […]

Sri Lanka budget carrier to operate Boeing 737s from 2015

Oct 25, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run Mihin Air, will operate two Boeing 737-800 aircraft from 2015, chief executive officer Kapila Chandrasena said. The two aircraft is being leased from Air Lease Corporation. Chandrasena said the aircraft are expected to be delivered in June and July 2015. Mihin Lanka co-ordinates its operations with full-service […]

Sri Lanka DFCC says 9.6-pct dollar bond profitable

Oct 25, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s DFCC Bank said 100 million US dollars from a 5-year bond sale at 9.6 percent was still profitable, and compared ‘very favourably’ with the cost of raising rupee funds.DFCC said it will use the 100 million US dollars to retire existing borrowings, on-lend to infrastructure development and key […]

Lube Slip

Oct 25, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Chevron Lubricants reported higher profits with falling base oil prices but said the lubricant market was contracting. Revenues in the September 2013 quarter fell 7 percent to 2.7 billion rupees from a year earlier, with cost of sales falling at a faster 15 percent to 1.75 billion rupees, […]

‘s ex-warzone

October 25, 2013 (AFP) – Britain’s David Cameron is set to become the first foreign leader to visit Sri Lanka’s war-torn Tamil heartland during next month’s Commonwealth summit when he will press Colombo on human rights.British High Commissioner (ambassador) in Colombo, John Rankin, made it clear last week that London’s concern was not limited to […]

Done Deal

Oct 25, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s DFCC Bank has raised 100 million US dollars from an international bond at yield around 9.6 percent, market sources said. The DFCC deal went to the market with a price guidance of 9.625 percent, and faced tough conditions, taking more than two days to close. According to earlier […]

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