Author: lbostgadmin
Tech Archaeology
Sept 10, 2009 (LBO) – At Sigiriya, in central Sri Lanka, a group of geophysicists are probing the ground around an ancient rock fortress with ground penetrating radar, looking for man-made structures which are 1,500 years old.The rock is surrounded by a landscaped patchwork of shallow ponds – a water garden – which is irrigated […]
Sri Lanka tea prices rise on supply uncertainty
Sept 10, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea prices rose sharply at this week™s auctions, driven by supply uncertainty, with labour unions preventing teas leaving hill country estates, possibly creating shortages at future sales, brokers said. Asia Siyaka Commodities said there was more general demand in the catalogues from estates with buyers paying up for […]
Sri Lanka luxury resort developers to raise equity
Sept 10, 2009 (LBO) – Developers of a luxury island resort managed by the Six Senses chain in Sri Lanka who have set up an investment fund will seek to raise further cash through a private share offering, an official said. Neil De Silva, chairman of Dutch Bay Resorts which is to build the resort […]
Sri Lanka August tourist arrivals up
Sept 10, 2009 (LBO) – Tourist arrivals into Sri Lanka in August 2009 rose 34.3 percent to 41,207 from a year ago, led by visitors from key markets like the UK, Germany, India, the Tourism Authority said. It was the third straight monthly rise in visitors since May, when a 30-year war ended, compared with […]
Sri Lanka investors take profit after hotel share rally
Sept 10, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks ended marginally up Thursday as investors took profits on a hotel share rally but trading volumes remained above a billion rupees for the third straight day, brokers said.“Profit taking was seen in stocks like Sampath Bank and the hotel sector.” HDFC Bank closed at 170.50 rupees, up […]
Sri Lanka to issue US$50mn dollar bonds to local market
Sep 10, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is selling 3-year bonds for 50 million US dollars in the local market to qualified investors who can hold dollar assets, the government’s debt office said.The bonds will pay interest based on the 6-month London interbank rate (LIBOR).A 35 million US dollars in bonds are maturing this month. […]
Sri Lanka first sovereign bond trades above par: official
Sept 10, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s first sovereign bond which has a coupon above 8.25 percent has started to trade above par in recovering from steep discounts seen before an internal war ended, an official said. Sri Lanka is now evaluating bids from seven international investment banks to float another 500 million US dollar […]
Sri Lanka lags Pakistan and Maldives in ease of doing business: IFC-World Bank study
Sept 09, 2009 (LBO) – Bangladesh was the top reformer in South Asia in the past year, and Pakistan and Maldives remained in the lead as the easiest places to do business, with Sri Lanka a distant third, an annual World Bank’s survey said. Nepal had cut the fee for transferring a property from 6.0 […]
Gold higher, the best bet in uncertain times
PARIS, September 9, 2009 (AFP) – Gold is back in favour, hitting 18-month highs above 1,000 dollars as investors hedge their bets on the dollar in a global economy struggling out of its worst slump in decades, analysts said. Gold is the ultimate store of value when all else fails and in uncertain times like […]
‘s Sri Lanka expulsion
UNITED NATIONS, September 8, 2009 (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon Tuesday denounced a decision by the Sri Lankan government to expel a UNICEF spokesman, who allegedly took a pro-rebel stance at the end of the island’s ethnic war. “The secretary-general strongly regrets the decision of the Sri Lankan government to expel Mr.James Elder,” Ban’s […]
Sri Lanka gets US help to clear mines
Sept 09, 2009 (LBO) – The United States military’s Pacific Command is providing training and equipment to the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to helps it clear landmines in the island’s former war zone, the US embassy said. This training will build additional SLA capacity to clear mines in the Northern Province and expedite the safe […]
Sri Lanka plantations firms, unions in more wage talks
Sept 09, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan regional plantations companies (RPCs) and labour unions are to hold another round of talks on a wage hike Thursday to resolve differences that have disrupted production and transport of tea, officials said. Obeysekere said workers continued to disrupt work on estates, disrupting supplies of water and electricity, apart […]