Author: lbostgadmin
Sri Lanka Treasury bill yields bottom out
Aug 12, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka 3-month Treasury bill yields showed signs of bottoming out at Wednesday’s auction with 6 and 12 month yields up marginally, despite the government’s debt office not accepting the entire offered volume from the market. Since a float of the currency ended a balance of payments crisis in March […]
Sri Lanka has space for commercial borrowing under IMF program: officials
Aug 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has ample space for foreign borrowing under a 20-month International Monetary Fund program, which has set a ceiling of 1,750 million US dollars for new commercial loans, officials said. A US dollar bond issue, sold mostly to domestic buyers with access to foreign exchange, matures this week. “A […]
Sri Lanka exports, imports fall in June
Aug 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s exports fell 18.0 percent to 3.1 billion US dollars and imports 36.7 percent to 4.4 billion US dollars in the 6-months to June, and the trade deficit contracted 59.9 percent to 1.2 billion US dollars, the central bank said.Agricultural exports were down 18.2 percent to 725.3 million US […]
Sri Lanka lawmaker says election spending should be capped
Aug 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka should cap election spending to prevent honest politicians being crowded out and criminal elements entering the parliament, a breakaway ruling party politician has said. “One of the proposals I have submitted for consideration for the next manifesto is to have some form of a cap for election spending […]
‘s Andaman Islands
PORT BLAIR, August 10, 2009 (AFP) – A huge 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck off the Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday, triggering panic as people fled their homes amid initial warnings of a possible tsunami.A tsunami alert issued for India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh was later cancelled by the Pacific Tsunami Warning […]
‘s Exxonmobil signs 21 bln dlr India deal: minister
MELBOURNE, August 11, 2009 (AFP) – Energy giant Exxonmobil’s Australian arm has signed a gas supply contract with India’s Petronet worth 25 billion dollars (21 billion US) over 20 years, Energy Minister Martin Ferguson said Tuesday.Ferguson said the liquefied natural gas (LNG) deal heralded a new trading partnership between Australia and India. “I hope this […]
Sri Lanka Spence Hotel losses double in June
Aug 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings said losses more than doubled in the quarter ending June 2009, considered the off-season in the tourist industry, with the downturn in arrivals worsened by global recession. The company said in a stock exchange filing that its net loss rose 137 percent to 114 […]
Stored Value
Aug 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s banking regulator said it intends to regulate and closely supervise payment card service providers almost a year after the collapse of one firm triggered a crisis in a local conglomerate. The Central Bank said in a statement that use of payment cards, such as credit cards, debit cards […]
Bank Rating
Aug 11, 2009 (LBO) – RAM Ratings said it has lifted the Rating Watch on Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka (MBSL) and also confirmed the long- and short-term ratings at AA- and P1. The long term rating has a stable outlook, the rating agency said in a statement. The AA- ratings of the bank’s 300 […]
Sri Lankan shares close flat, blue chips down
Aug 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed flat Tuesday as retail investors were seen taking profits on selected blue chip and high value shares, while there was renewed interest in certain mid-cap counters, brokers said. The benchmark Colombo All Share Price Index (ASPI) closed up 0.09 percent (2.15 points) to end at 2,524.92 […]
Sri Lanka sells US$190mn 2-year bonds
Aug 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has sold 190 million US dollars of 2-year bonds at an average yield of 449.8 basis points above the London interbank offered rate (LIBOR) the government’s debt office said. Today’s LIBOR rate was 0.91 percent, the debt office said. On June 19, Sri Lanka sold 115.8 million US […]
Sri Lanka foreign reserves US$1,556mn in June
Aug 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s official foreign reserves without an advance to local banks were 1,556 million US dollars in June, up from 1,291 in May, with 270 million US dollars flowing in to rupee Treasuries so far this year, the Central Bank said.In July, with the approval of a 2.6 billion US […]