Author: lbostgadmin
Sri Lanka plantations say productivity link to future wages
Sept 30, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s plantations industry has said new wage models are being considered in talks with labour unions after managing to link worker productivity to wages in recent negotiations.Dhamitha Perera, chairman of the Planters’ Association of Ceylon (PA), said the recent near 40 percent wage hike, raising a worker’s daily wage […]
Sri Lanka Aitken Spence in deal to manage south Indian hotel
Sept 30, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence Hotels has struck a deal to manage another hotel in south India as part of an expansion in the sub-continent, a senior official said.The company has said several more hotels are scheduled to commence operations under its management within the next two years.Malin Hapugoda, managing director […]
Fresh Capital
Sept 30, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-owned Bank of Ceylon said it has bought a 10 percent stake in Seylan Bank, once part of the troubled Ceylinco group.Bank of Ceylon said in a stock exchange filing that it bought 13 million Seylan shares at 35 rupees a share, amounting to an investment of 455 […]
Sri Lankan shares close up 0.87-pct
Sep 30, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed up Wednesday in an end-quarter rally with buyers chasing plantation sector stocks, and hotel stock extending gains, brokers said. The All Share Price Index was up 0.87 percent (25.39 points) to end at 2,938.64 while Milanka index liquid stocks gained 1.15 percent (37.47 points) to close […]
Sri Lanka central bank to issue own securities to mop up inflows
Sept 30, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank will soon issue its own securities to mop rupee liquidity generated from purchasing foreign exchange, because the monetary authority is about to run out of its Treasury Bills portfolio, Governor Nivard Cabraal said. On Monday the monetary authority’s net Treasury bills position fell to 2.7 billion […]
Sri Lanka Treasuries yields fall
Sept 30, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Treasuries bill yields fell across the board at Wednesday’s auction with the 3-month yield dropping 22 basis points to 9.48 percent, the government’s debt office said. The 6-month yield fell to 09 basis points to 10.63 percent. The 12-month yield fell 08 basis points to 11.09 percent. The […]
Sri Lanka poor governance hindering productivity: expert
Sept 29, 2009 (LBO) – Poor governance, weak institutions, high inflation, high interest rates and protectionism, are hindering efforts by Sri Lanka’s private sector to improve productivity, a trade promotion expert has said.Lloyd Yapa, a former government official who supervised an industrial export drive of the government at one time, also says companies should try […]
UN ratchets up criticism of Sri Lankan camps
September 29, 2009 (AFP) – The United Nations on Tuesday issued its strongest criticism yet of Sri Lanka over its continued internment of 250,000 people who fled fighting in the final stages of the island’s separatist war.Walter Kaelin, a representative of the United Nations secretary-general, said civilians held in tightly-guarded camps should be granted freedom […]
Bharti shares rise as MTN talks deadline looms
NEW DELHI, September 29, 2009 (AFP) – Shares of Bharti Airtel rose nearly two percent in morning trade Tuesday ahead of an expected announcement by the top Indian mobile firm and South Africa’s flagship group MTN on a possible tie-up.Shares of Bharti Airtel were up 1.75 percent or 7.25 rupees at 421.60, a day ahead […]
Strike forces Air India to suspend ticket sales
NEW DELHI, September 29, 2009 (AFP) – Air India said on Tuesday that about half of its international flights had been cancelled due to a strike by pilots and announced a suspension of new bookings.Nine out of 21 international flights and 37 out of 177 domestic flights were scrapped, spokesman Jitender Bhargava said, after pilots […]
India drops arms scandal case against Italian: report
NEW DELHI, September 29, 2009 (AFP) – India on Tuesday said it was dropping a graft case against an Italian involved in the arms scandal that ended Rajiv Gandhi’s premiership 20 years ago, the Press Trust of India reported. Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium told the supreme court the case against Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi would […]
‘s major species at threat: Australian report
SYDNEY, September 29, 2009 (AFP) – Almost 10 percent of the world’s mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish are in danger of extinction due to climate change and other factors, according to an Australian report released Tuesday.“We have a long way to go, we have discovered and named only about a quarter of Australia’s estimated […]