Author: lbostgadmin
‘s plastics
HAWTHORNE, December 22, 2009 (AFP) – Frederic Scheer is biding his time, convinced that by 2013 the price of oil will be so high that his bio-plastics, made from vegetables and plants, will be highly marketable.Cereplast, which has 25 employees in California and in Indiana, has accumulated a series of patents for the technology it […]
Satellite Partners
Dec 22, 2009 (LBO) – Two Malaysian telecom firms have expressed interest in taking part in a communications satellite project promoted by Sri Lanka’s telecom regulatory commission, a top official said.Sri Lanka wants to launch a geo-stationary satellite in the next three years, at an estimated cost of some 150 million US dollars and has […]
Mortgage Outlook
Dec 21, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Fitch Ratings has lifted the outlook on the ‘BBB+(lka)’ rating on Housing Development Corporation Bank (HDFC) to ‘stable’ from ‘negative’ citing a hiking of rates to counter interests rates risk. The rating agency also confirmed a ‘BBB+(lka)’ rating on a 250 million rupees senior debenture. The rating took […]
Port Prospects
Dec 22, 2009 (LBO) – A new port next to Colombo the Asian Development Bank is helping Sri Lanka to build should get enough cargo despite the expansion of India’s own ports, a senior bank official said.Vokes said Colombo should be able to attract cargo as long as it provides an efficient service to shipping […]
Sri Lanka stocks hit new high, up 1.44-pct
Dec 22, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed up Tuesday as investors continued buying into the market to cash in on an anticipated market re-rating following presidential elections next month, brokers said.The benchmark Colombo All Share Price Index (ASPI) closed up 1.44 percent (46.54 points) to end at 3,280.82 while the Milanka index of […]
Sri Lanka Treasuries yields, CB T-bill stock up
Dec 22, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Treasuries yields edged up marginally at Tuesday’s auction the government’s debt office said, while the Treasury bill stock held by the Central Bank continued to climb. The 3-month yield edged up 07 basis points to 7. 67 percent, the 6-month yield was also up exactly 07 percent, and […]
Sri Lanka gains service sector jobs in 3Q: official survey
Dec 21, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has generated 234,000 service sector jobs in the third quarter of 2009 from a year earlier, though 89,000 jobs were lost in industry, and 240,000 were lost in the farming sector, a government survey showed. Fernando says there are a large number of seasonal workers in agriculture. Industry […]
Sri Lanka to get $350mn ADB aid next year
Dec 21, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is to get about 350 million US dollars of aid from the Asian Development Bank next year, much of it going for the north and east which was ravaged by war, a senior official said. The ADB forecasts Sri Lanka’s economy will grow by about 4-4.5 percent this […]
Sri Lanka firms should look overseas for expansion: corporate leader
Dec 21, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan businesses are compelled to look overseas to expand sales as the domestic market is too small, a senior corporate executive said, calling for government policies to support expansion abroad. Inward-looking economic policies are making it difficult for firms to build their own brands, said Ranjith Page, chief executive […]
Sri Lanka seizes Tiger rebel ship: navy
December 21, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military said Monday it had seized a cargo ship suspected of being an arms smuggling vessel used by the defeated Tamil Tiger rebels at an undisclosed foreign port.Navy spokesman Captain Athula Senarath said the 90-metre (300-feet) long Princess Christina had been captured at a foreign port but refused […]
Sri Lanka says asked by UN to answer new war crime charges
December 21, 2009 (AFP) – The United Nations has asked Sri Lanka to explain allegations by a former army general that surrendering Tamil rebel leaders were killed in cold blood in mid-May, the government said on Monday. The presidency in Colombo said the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Philip Alston, sought […]
Refugee Drama
JAKARTA, December 20, 2009 (AFP) – Fifteen of the Sri Lankan asylum seekers who spent weeks refusing to get off the boat that rescued them near Indonesia have left the country, a foreign ministry official said Sunday.“They left Indonesia yesterday.Two were flown to Australia and the other 13 were taken to an evacuation centre in […]