Author: lbostgadmin
Sri Lanka govt says preventing rupee appreciation to help exporters
Aug 20, 2010 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government is preventing the further appreciation of the rupee against the dollar to support exporters after the loss of a trade deal giving duty free access to the European market, a spokesman said. “We held a number of discussions with manufacturers. After 10 years of tariff preferences […]
Sri Lanka fabric maker hit by high cotton prices, lower sales
Aug 20, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Kuruwita Textile Mills said it made a net loss of 125 million rupees in the June 2010 quarter as it was hit by record high cotton prices and less demand. Sales fell almost five percent to 1.3 billion rupees over the period, the company, a unit of clothing […]
Sri Lanka shell company bought by Malaysian firm
Aug 20, 2010 (LBO) – Malaysia’s Fly Asia has bought a 70 percent stake in Sri Lanka’s Infrastructure Developers (IDL), essentially a loss-making shell company listed on the Colombo bourse, a stock exchange filing said. Fly Asia, an air transport company which operates air services and builds aerodromes, has made a mandatory offer for the […]
‘s booming middle classes unmasked in new study
NEW DELHI, August 19, 2010 (AFP) – They are every marketeer’s dream and the future of the world economy — now Asia’s aspirational middle classes have been laid bare in a major new study focusing on their astonishing growth. The Asian Development Bank forecast in the research released Thursday that over the next two decades […]
Sri Lanka gives more money to promote rice over wheat flour
Aug 19, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government is to spend 2. 5 billion rupees over the next three years to extend a programme to encourage rice cultivation and consumption and reduce wheat flour consumption, a spokesman said. Rambukkwelle said the government wants to support the agriculture sector which it sees as a key factor […]
Sri Lankan stocks close down 0.10-pct
Aug 20, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed down Friday as investors took profits from the weeks bull-run, while a large deal on Asian Alliance Insurance and high investor interest on John Keells Holdings (JKH) boosted turnover, brokers said. Commercial Bank closed at 191.00 rupees, down 60 cents (0.31 percent), Hatton National Bank closed […]
Oil Supply
Aug 19, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is to extend a deal with Iran to buy two million metric tonnes of crude oil a year with a 120-day interest free credit facility, a government spokesman said. Media minister Keheliya Rambukkwelle said Sri Lanka buys most of its crude oil from Iran and the government’s agreement […]
Iceland strives to become a global press freedom haven
REYKJAVIK, August 19, 2010 (AFP) – After Iceland’s near-economic collapse laid bare deep-seated corruption, the country aims to become a safe haven for journalists and whistleblowers from around the globe by creating the world’s most far-reaching freedom of information legislation. The project, developed with the help of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, flies in the face […]
SriLankan Airlines trains first batch of technicians under European certification
Aug 19, 2010 (LBO) – SriLankan Airlines has graduated its first batch of Aircraft Maintenance students under the EASA 147 European certification as it seeks to build its engineering business, a statement said. The 26 students, including seven foreign students from the Maldives, Oman and India, underwent two years of training at SriLankan’s Technical Training […]
India proposes formula to break BlackBerry logjam: report
NEW DELHI, August 19, 2010 (AFP) – India’s government has proposed a formula that could avert its threatened shutdown of the core features of the BlackBerry smartphone over security worries, a newspaper reported Thursday. The communications ministry has put forward a plan by which security agencies could gain access to heavily encyrpted corporate email sent […]
Vehicle Market
Aug 19, 2010 (LBO) – India’s Mahindra group said it is studying the possibility of introducing its electric vehicle, Mahindra Reva, to the Sri Lankan market and launching new models soon after their launch in India. Vice chairman Anand Mahindra told a news conference the company was targeting vehicle sales of 10,000 by the 2013 […]
Bank Profits
Aug 19, 2010 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan unit of Standard Chartered Bank’s (SCB) June quarter profits shot up 679 percent to 8. 773 billion rupees on a specific loan loss provision reversal on an oil hedging deal, its published accounts showed. SCB’s interest income fell 32 percent to 3. 41 billion rupees, while interest […]