Author: lbostgadmin
Selling Down
May 06, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s listed Sampath Bank has sold down more of its stake in a Bangladesh finance firm, the bank said in a series of disclosures in the Dhaka stock exchange. On April 19 Sampath Bank as a corporate sponsor of the LankaBangla Finance said it had sold a total of […]
Wider Margins
May 06, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Seylan Bank group has reported profits of 195.5 million rupees in the March 2010 quarter from break-even levels a year earlier with wider interest margins boosting the bottom line. Group interest income fell 34.6 percent to 4,052 million rupees, but interest expenses fell at a faster 54.6 percent […]
Finance Listing
May 06, 2010 (LBO) – Sinhaputhra Finance, a regulated non-bank financial firm based in Sri Lanka’s hill country city of Kandy, has been given the nod for a listing on its second board, the Colombo Stock Exchange said. The firm will list 6,295,893 shares, the CSE statement said without elaborating. The firm will be listed […]
Sri Lankan stocks close flat
May 6, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed flat Thursday as price drops on selected high value shares were compensated by price gains on small and midcap stocks, brokers said. This created a buying spree from retail investors who expect Nawaloka Hospitals financials to improve in coming quarters, brokers said. In a privately negotiated […]
Sri Lanka creates more state jobs, but costs mount
May 05, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s expanding state has created more jobs in recent years but costs are mounting with 57. 6 cents out of every tax rupee being taken home by workers as salaries and pensions last year, official data shows. In 2009 Sri Lanka had increased state workers by a net 61,856, […]
Sri Lanka plans ethnic reconciliation panel
May 5, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka plans to set up a reconciliation commission to foster ethnic unity as the island emerges from nearly four decades of bloody conflict, a state-run newspaper said Wednesday. Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne said the government hoped the panel would ensure that majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils did not […]
Sri Lanka scales down state of emergency
May 5, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s parliament on Wednesday scaled down tough state of emergency laws that were first introduced 27 years ago to deal with separatist Tamil rebels. Government troops finally defeated the Tamil Tiger guerrillas a year ago after a massive military offensive swiped out the rebels’ territory and killed their leaders. […]
” corruption undermines Indian media
NEW DELHI, May 5, 2010 (AFP) – The Indian media, a pillar of the country’s vibrant democracy, is riddled with corruption that sees journalists report stories for cash in a phenomenon known as “paid news,” a probe has revealed. The findings of an investigation for the Press Council of India, seen by AFP but yet […]
Regional Visit
May 05, 2010 (LBO) – HSBC’s Asia Pacific head of corporate real estate, Richley Featherstone is visiting Colombo to meet senior management and the head of the bank’s operations in Sri Lanka and Maldives. The corporate real estate department acts as the custodian of HSBC premises providing the right property at the right time to […]
Sri Lankan stocks close 0.3-pct up
May 05, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed 0.34 percent higher Wednesday as investors scrambled for Nawaloka Hospitals shares after it sold a large stake of Galadari Hotel which had hurt the hospital group’s balance sheet earlier, brokers said. The All Share Price Index closed at 4,219. 76, up 14.25 points while the Milanka […]
Sri Lanka Treasuries yields fall
May 05, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Treasury bill yields eased at Wednesday’s auction despite the government raising an additional billion rupees than the maturing stock, the government’s debt office said. The 3-month yield fell 16 basis points to 8.24 percent with only a billion rupees of bill being sold and the 6-month yield fell […]
Sri Lanka appoints new deputy finance minister
May 05, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan president and finance minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has appointed Sarath Amunugama, a former cabinet minister, as deputy minister of finance and planning, the president’s office said in a statement. Amunugama was among four cabinet ministers and six deputy ministers sworn in Wednesday following parliamentary polls in April won by […]