Author: lbostgadmin
Liquidity Status
July 16, 2010 (LBO) – A credit guarantee scheme introduced by Sri Lanka’s central bank has become operational with a finance company making use of the first liquidity facility this week, a statement said. “The Central Bank is actively encouraging the speedy utilization of the scheme by the RFCs and the respective banks,” it said. […]
Rail Deals
July 16, 2010 (LBO) – Indian and Chinese companies have been awarded two deals to modernise and rebuild parts of Sri Lanka’s railway network damaged by war and extend tracks, a government statement said. Indian and Chinese firms have already been given contracts to rebuild or modernise other parts of the rail network in the […]
Sri Lanka appoints rating advisors
July 16, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has appointed Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and The Royal Bank of Scotland as rating advisors for four years, the Central Bank said. Sri Lanka wants to push its speculative sovereign rating to investment grade by 2014. The Central Bank has also […]
Sri Lanka mobile users up 30-pct in first quarter
July 15, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s mobile phone subscribers grew 30 percent to 15. 0 million in the first quarter of 2010, while fixed wireless users grew 4.7 percent and wireline users were flat, official data show. Fixed wireless subscribers grew to 2. 58 million users in the first quarter from 2. 47 users […]
Indonesia lukewarm on Australia asylum centre plan
JAKARTA, July 15, 2010 (AFP) – Indonesia gave a lukewarm response Thursday to Australia’s plans for a processing centre for asylum-seekers in East Timor, saying it was only a part of a regional solution to people-smuggling. The comments by Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa came after he agreed to meet his Australian counterpart Stephen Smith, […]
South Korea unveils new measures to attract foreign tourists
SEOUL, July 15, 2010 (AFP) – South Korea Thursday unveiled new measures such as development of ecological attractions to attract more foreign tourists, especially from China. Six new quays for cruise ships will be created on the southern resort island of Jeju and in the western port city of Incheon and other coastal towns, the […]
IT IPO
July 15, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s PC House, an information technology firm, will raise 630 million rupees in an initial public offering (IPO) to expand its IT enabled services business and product distribution, officials said. “The government has taken a lot of initiatives, they have already started spending, trying to bring IT to the […]
Dual Fight
July 15, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Nokia sales agents want to preserve market share by winning back customers from Chinese brands with the launch of handsets that can connect to two networks, an official said. The rest of the market is shared between other brands such as Blackberry, HTC, Motorola, Samsung and LG. Nokia […]
India Assam tea output to fall on pest attack: report
July 15, 2010 (LBO) – Tea output in India’s Assam region, the country’s top production region may fall 30 to 40 percent in the second half of 2010, leading to higher prices, a media report said. Last year India had produced 979 million kilograms of tea. Assam is said to produce more than half of […]
Cargo Risk
July 15, 2010 (LBO) – International insurers have removed Sri Lanka from their cargo war risk insurance list paving the way for reduced import costs, removal of surcharges and increasing business confidence, a government statement said. “Post-war economic revival would be greatly boosted with increased business confidence, reduction of the cost of imports, removal of […]
Sri Lankan stocks close up 0.84-pct
July 15, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed higher Thursday from price gains on manufacturing, hotel, hospital and banking shares, while retail investors continued to trade on speculative ‘penny’ stocks, brokers said. The All Share Price Index closed at 4,638.71, up 38.49 points, while the Milanka index of more liquid shares rose 0.99 percent […]
IMF to hire more Asians
Daejeon, KOREA July 14, 2010 (LBO) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) plans to hire more Asians as it undergoes reforms and seeks to improve relations with Asia which is increasing its economic clout, a senior official said. Strauss-Kahn said that now 40 percent of his management team is from Asia. “So among the management […]