Author: lbostgadmin
Sri Lanka turns back Tamil aid ship
June 8, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan authorities Monday ordered a foreign-owned ship carrying aid for Tamil civilians to leave the island without unloading its cargo.The Syrian-registered ship, Captain Ali, was seized last week, and the Sri Lankan defence ministry said the cargo of food and other supplies had been destined for the now defeated […]
Chief Judge
June 08, 2009 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government has appointed Justice Asoka de Silva as the island’s new chief justice. Justice de Silva took oaths as Sri Lanka’s 32nd chief justice before President Mahinda Rajapaksa Monday morning, the government information department said in a statement. He is the senior-most Sri Lankan judge and has […]
Losing Quarter
June 08, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s The Finance Company, a unit of the troubled Ceylinco group said it lost 1.3 billion rupees in the March 2009 quarter, as net interest income turned negative and loan loss provisions increased. Investment in real estate was shown as 5,256 million rupees, investments in housing projects 1,140 million […]
Tight Quarter
June 8, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Seylan Bank group said profits fell 99.8 percent to 135,279 rupees in the March 2009 quarter, non performing loans grew steeply and net-interest income fell as its balance sheet contracted. Group net assets were up 1.6 percent to 9,519 million rupees. Gross assets shrank 7.5 percent to 151.7 […]
Box Trade
June 08, 2009 (LBO) – A container terminal in Colombo port in which Sri Lanka’s John Keells Holdings (JKH) group has a big stake said volumes have recovered after five consecutive months of falls.South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT), a key source of profit for JKH which has a 42.2 percent stake in the facility, handled […]
Sri Lankan shares up, rupee rock steady
June 08, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks gained Monday as investors regained their confidence after last week’s court order to reverse the 2003 privatization of Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC) to the Distilleries Group, brokers said. The spot dollar remained unchanged at 114.90/95 levels in late afternoon trade, dealers said. The Colombo All Share […]
Sri Lanka central bank collects US$160mn since float
June 8, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank has bought 160.25 million US dollars from foreign exchange markets since a float of the currency in late March 2009, with 123.0 million collected in the month of May. As soon as the ‘quantity easing’ stops, the peg tightens. A float is necessary to break the […]
Japan envoy to discuss Sri Lanka war victims: diplomats
June 7, 2009 (AFP) – Japan will send a special envoy to Sri Lanka this week to discuss the plight of nearly 300,000 Tamil civilians displaced by recent fighting, diplomats said Sunday. Japan, Sri Lanka’s largest single aid donor, was sending Yasushi Akashi on a three-day visit starting Monday to assess Colombo’s moves to re-settle […]
Iran inflation dips below 24 pct
TEHRAN, June 7, 2009 (AFP) – Iran’s inflation rate, one of the biggest economic challenges facing its next president, dipped last month to under 24 percent, the ISNA news agency reported on Sunday. His claim was dismissed by Karroubi.Inflation fell to 23.6 percent in the Iranian calendar month of Ordibehesht ending May 21 from 24.5 […]
Sri Lanka grants amnesty to military deserters
June 7, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president on Sunday marked a key Buddhist celebration by granting a pardon to 585 jailed military deserters, officials said. In 2003, the government moved to legally discharge from the security forces 51,000 deserters. Tens of thousands were killed in Sri Lanka’s decades-old Tamil separatist conflict. The pardon applied […]
‘s share market on a roll: analysts
MUMBAI, June 7, 2009 (AFP) – Indian shares trading near 10-month highs are on a roll and could see more gains as investors pour money back into the South Asian country, analysts say. Indian stocks are already among the top-performing emerging markets this year as financial institutions and overseas funds bet on robust growth in […]
Sri Lankan FM denies 20,000 Tamils killed in final onslaught: report
LONDON, June 6, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama has denied claims that more than 20,000 Tamil civilians were killed during the government’s final onslaught against rebels, a report said Saturday. Bogollagama told The Times that the newspaper was wrong to report last week that so many civilians had died in the […]