Fashion Statement

Oct 20, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan retailer Odel’s net profit rose 18 percent to 63. 6 million rupees in the September 2010 quarter from a year ago with sales strong but costs also rising sharply, a stock exchange filing said. Sales rose 50 percent to 836 million rupees in the quarter, its first as […]

Sri Lanka stocks close down 0.59-pct

Oct 20, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka stocks closed down Wednesday, dragged down by falls in index heavy stocks like John Keells Holdings (JKH) and Hatton National Bank (HNB), brokers said. The Colombo All Share Index closed down 0.59 percent (39.39 points) to 6,664.22 points, while the Milanka Index of more liquid stocks dipped 1.07 […]

Sri Lanka Treasuries yields up slightly

Oct 20, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Treasury bill yields edged up 05 basis points at Tuesday’s auction with the government also resuming the sale of 3-month bills at 7.02 percent, a statement from the debt office said. The government sold 6-month bills at 7.09 percent up 05 basis points, and 12-month bills at 7.22 […]

Sri Lanka halts overnight open market operations

Oct 20, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank has stopped overnight auctions to withdraw excess liquidity from money markets until further notice, but will continue term auctions of securities to sterilize excess liquidity, officials said. Last month Sri Lanka also raised a billion dollars in international markets of which only about half was used […]

Sri Lanka urged to become part of global supply chain

Oct 19, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka must integrate itself with global production processes and markets instead of trying to produce everything itself, W A Wijewardena, a former central bank deputy governor, has said. “Previously we thought it was English. Now we call it globish – global English – the language used by Chinese, Japanse […]

Sri Lanka central bank keeps policy rates unchanged

Oct 19, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank will maintain benchmark interest rates at current levels as inflation remains low, credit flows are picking up and economic growth strong, a statement said. The Monetary Board of the bank at Monday’s meeting decided to maintain the Repurchase rate and the Reverse Repurchase rate at 7.25 […]

Canada welcomes Thai move on Tamil migrants

OTTAWA, October 19, 2010 (AFP) – Ottawa on Monday welcomed Thailand’s arrest for possible deportation more than 150 Tamil migrants who some reports said wanted to seek asylum in Canada. “These people are minority Tamils fleeing war in their country and seeking asylum through the UN. But they came to Thailand with tourist visas, allowing […]

” rights groups

LONDON, October 19, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s foreign minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris rejected “colonial” criticism Tuesday of a government-appointed civil war probe, after foreign rights groups snubbed an invitation to attend. New York-based Human Rights Watch, London-based Amnesty International and Brussels-based International Crisis Group last week accused the panel of a cover-up and refused […]

SriLankan Airlines adds flights to India

Oct 19, 2010 (LBO) – SriLankan Airlines plans to improve connections to major Indian cities by adding several flights to Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore, a statement said. Also, large numbers of Indian travellers transit Colombo to destinations as far as North America, Europe and the Far East, as well as nearer regions such as the […]

Sri Lanka raises defence spending by six percent

October 19, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka announced Tuesday it would raise defence spending by six percent in 2011 — broadly in line with annual hikes announced during the government’s war with Tamil rebels. Sri Lanka’s fiscal deficit shot up to 9.7 percent of gross domestic product in 2009, exceeding the seven percent target set […]

‘s corals hit by mass die-out

SYDNEY, October 19, 2010 (AFP) – Coral reefs in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean are dying from the worst bleaching effect in more than a decade, Australian marine scientists said Tuesday. The bleaching, triggered by a large pool of warm water which swept into the Indian Ocean in May, has caused corals from Indonesia […]

Hospital Strategy

Oct 19, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka™s Asiri Hospital has bought a 10 percent stake in Asiri Surgical Hospital for 500 million rupees increasing its stake to 40 percent, managing director, Ashok Pathirage said. State-run Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation sold the stock for 9.50 rupees a share Tuesday, he said. SLIC had a 22 percent […]

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