Author: lbostgadmin
India BlackBerry users relieved as shutdown averted
NEW DELHI, August 31, 2010 (AFP) – India’s BlackBerry users heaved a sigh of relief Tuesday after the government gave the company a two-month reprieve on a threat to ban its messaging services, averting a showdown over security access. Research in Motion (RIM), the smartphone’s maker, has made “certain proposals for lawful access” to heavily […]
Telecom Bonds
Aug 31, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) has commissioned a fibre optic cable linking the former war zone in the northern Jaffna peninsula with the rest of the country, offering high-speed communications, a statement said. The “information superhighway” to the north has been built alongside the A9 main route to Jaffna, where information […]
Ordeal
KUALA LUMPUR, August 31, 2010 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan tourist died fleeing kidnappers in Malaysia while a friend escaped and another was rescued by police, the force said Tuesday. “As I was heading to the toilet, I turned around and kicked the kidnapper before running out of the flat. I ran up to the […]
Credit Lift
Aug 31, 2010 (LBO) – The outlook on Sri Lanka’s Sampath Bank’s ‘AA-(lka)’ ratinghs been lifted to ‘positive’ from ‘stable’ on improving risk management ahead of other banks, Fitch Ratings has said. Its subordinated debenture rating (one notch lower) reflected the relatively lower recovery prospects for investors of this instrument compared to the bank’s senior […]
Offshore Focus
Aug 31, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Colombo Dockyard has delivered the second of a series of four Multipurpose Platform Supply Vessels (MPSV) for Singapore’s Greatship Global Offshore Services, a statement said. Colombo Dockyard has said it will deliver a total six vessels this year and will focus more on offshore work with the search […]
Cutting Flab
Aug 31, 2010 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Ports Authority plans to shed staff with a voluntary retirement scheme and change worker attitudes to ensure a better service, its chairman Priyath Wickrama said. “Within five years we will convert this to a better port, with better attitudes. ” “We plan to release 4,000 employees by […]
Sri Lankan stocks close up 1.02-pct
Aug 31, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks bounced back Tuesday, driven by interest in selected blue chip and midcap stocks, while heavy buying of Asia Capital and Distilleries Company boosted turnover, brokers said. The All Share Price Index closed at 5,658.01, up 1.02 percent (57.24 points) while the more liquid Milanka index rose 0.47 […]
Sri Lanka cabinet backs constitution change for president
August 30, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s cabinet on Monday backed changing the constitution to allow President Mahinda Rajapakse to run for office for a third term, opening the way for a vote in parliament. Rajapakse, who oversaw the defeat of the Tamil Tiger rebels last year after decades of civil war, has a firm […]
Sri Lanka govt inaction on theft seen threatening spice trade
Aug 30, 2010 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government’s failure to crack down on theft in spice plantations is threatening the industry, a key foreign exchange earner and provider of employment, a senior official has warned. Christopher Fernando, chairman of the Spices and Allied Products Producers™ and Traders™ Association (SAPPTA), said theft of produce was […]
Local Skills
Aug 30, 2010 (LBO) – Hatton National Bank, a big private listed commercial bank, plans to hire more executives from Sri Lanka’s north-east former war zone as it moves to increase lending in agriculture, an official said. Rajendra Theagarajah, chief executive of the private listed Hatton National Bank, said the new hiring scheme is based […]
Gold Credit
Aug 30, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank said it has started an overdraft facility backed by gold at 15 percent a year for current account holders, which the bank said is lower than the rate on regular overdrafts. “The Gold Overdraft is an ideal solution for those who invest in the stock market, […]
Terminal Award
Aug 30, 2010 (LBO) – A concession to build and operate a 450 million US dollar container terminal in an expanded port in Colombo port has been awarded to Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence and China Merchants Holdings, an official said. CHEC and China Merchant come under the same arm of the Chinese government, industry analysts […]