Sri Lanka tea exporter profits halve, demand down

Sept 01, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Tea Services, which exports value-added teas under the Dilmah brand, said net profit halved last year and sales are likely to remain poor this year owing to recession.Group net profit in the year ended March 31, 2009 fell 55 percent to 487 million rupees from a year […]

Slow Transport

Sept 01, 2009 (LBO) – Vehicle imports to Sri Lanka fell 35.5 percent in June with motor cars falling 70.6 percent, three wheelers, 33.6 percent and motor cycles 24.1 percent, the latest official data shows.In the 6-months to June total vehicles imports were down 33.4 percent, according to data released by the Central Bank. In […]

Rail Move

Sept 01, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-owned railway has ordered wagons to transport petroleum products from Pakistan as it seeks to increase freight transport by rail to reduce congestion on roads, a senior official said.The railway service has been making heavy losses in recent years and has not been allowed by government to raise […]

Sri Lankan stocks close down 0.16-pct

Sep 01, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed down Monday owing to profit taking from last week’s gains, while investors bet heavily on market speculation of a possible takeover of The Finance Company by Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka, brokers said. The benchmark Colombo All Share Price Index (ASPI) fell 0.16 percent (4.28 points) […]

Sri Lanka bill yields flat

Sept 01, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Treasuries yields were flat for the fourth week running at Tuesday’s auction with the 3-month yield at 10.55 percent, down 02 basis points and the 6-month yield at 11.42 percent, down 01 basis point, the government’s debt office said.However the Central Bank has been sterilizing liquidity on a […]

Sri Lanka August inflation 0.9-pct

Aug 31, 2009 (LBO) – Consumer prices in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo moved up 0.9 percent from a year earlier, compared with 1.1 percent in July, the government’s statistics office said. In the month of August, prices fell 0.3 percent. Un-adjusted inflation was 1.1 percent in July. Prices adjusted for seasonal changes, which is a […]

Sri Lanka economists look for recovery at annual parley

Aug 31, 2009 (LBO) – The way forward following the fallout of a global economic slump that triggered a balance of payments crisis and a slowdown in island will be the focus of a conference of Sri Lanka’s economists later this month.Sri Lanka Association of Economists (SLAE) will hold its 2009 annual session on September […]

Sri Lankans among 470 children under British immigration detention: report

LONDON, August 31, 2009 (AFP) – More than 400 children were being held in British immigration detention centres with their families, a report said Monday, citing official figures. The Home Office said: “The UK Border Agency fully recognises its responsibilities towards children but these responsibilities have to be exercised alongside our duty to enforce the […]

India posts 6.1 pct quarterly growth

NEW DELHI, August 31, 2009 (AFP) – India’s economy expanded by 6.1 percent in the three months to June, picking up pace from the previous quarter as the country emerged from the global downturn, official data showed Monday. The quarterly growth figure was up from the 5.8 percent growth posted in the March quarter, but […]

Bond Profits

Aug 31, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run Nation Savings Bank (NSB) profits for the 6-months to June were up 207.8 percent on capital gains on government bonds held for trading, when market interest rates fell, officials said. “We were able to take the market opportunity when the rates came down and we made a […]

Green Shoots

Aug 31, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s corporate debt market is generating green shoots with rates coming down, lenders gaining confidence and credit spreads narrowing, officials said.“We are seeing the first securitizations transactions after the absence of more than six to eight months,” says Ajith Fernando, head of Capital Alliance Holdings. “Corporate debt markets are […]

Sri Lankan stocks down 0.06-pct

Aug 31, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed flat Monday as retail investors took profits from last week’s gains in the hotel sector, but placed bets on selected high value counters and midcap stocks, brokers said. Environmental Resource Investments normal shares closed at 42.75 rupees, up 3.25 with 1.19 million shares changing hands. Sri […]

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