Author: lbostgadmin
Bank Bid
April 15, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Sampath Bank said it has submitted an Expression of Interest to the Central Bank to buy a stake in Seylan Bank, part of the troubled Ceylinco group. The Sampath Bank announcement was in a stock exchange filing that gave no other details. The bank was responding to an […]
Higher Costs
April 15, 2009 (LBO) – A Chinese contractor building a part of an expressway to Sri Lanka’s south has more than doubled the original contract value following cost escalations and a decision to widen the road.The cost of building the section of road from Kottawa in the suburbs of Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo to Dodangoda, […]
‘ Burden
April 15, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s over-staffed and inefficient state-owned bus and railway services made heavy losses in 2008 despite higher revenues after fare increases, the central bank said. Still, despite the average railway fare increase of 42 percent in 2008, it was not enough to generate a profit. “However, the fare revision in […]
Sri Lankan stocks up in thin volume trade
Apr 15, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares gained marginally on Wednesday in razor thin trade in selected blue chip shares with most investors still to return after traditional new year holidays earlier in the week, brokers said. The Sri Lanka rupee traded around 115.80/90 against the US dollar in wafer thin trading volumes in […]
Sri Lanka treasuries yields flat
April 15, 2009 (LBO) – Six and 12-month yields at Sri Lanka’s weekly treasuries auction steadies after steeps falls over several weeks, the government’s debt office said. The government sold 5,290 million rupees worth bills at this week’s auction. In bond markets, a 3-year bond maturing on 15.01.12 dropped to 17.00/10 percent levels from 17.15/25 […]
Pakistan president signs sharia law deal
ISLAMABAD, April 14, 2009 (AFP) – Pakistan’s president signed an accord to put part of the country under Islamic law as part of efforts to end a Taliban insurgency, despite fears Tuesday that it would encourage extremism. President Asif Ali Zardari’s move formalises a controversial deal between a pro-Taliban cleric, who led thousands of supporters […]
Australian parliament examines sports news row
CANBERRA, April 14, 2009 (AFP) – Australia’s Senate will this week examine a critical dispute between sports administrators and global media over the use of digital technology to cover sporting events. The issue has become increasingly controversial, sparking media boycotts of major events as sports bodies seek to impose strict conditions on how games are […]
Sri Lanka Eagle Insurance says competition eroding profitability
Apr 14, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Eagle Insurance, whose 2008 profits fell 12.0 percent to 463.7 million rupees, says it faces tough competition in motor insurance, higher claims and increasing lapse rates. Eagle Insurance Group’s holdings of government securities have increased by 17.1 percent or 1.65 billion rupees, to 11.6 billion. Interest income from […]
Sri Lankan rebels say ready for truce, peace talks
April 14, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels said Tuesday they were ready to negotiate a ceasefire with government forces and restart peace talks to halt decades of ethnic bloodshed.The government said it hoped that non-combatants would be able to leave a narrow strip of coastal jungle where they are allegedly held hostage […]
Sri Lanka state enterprises to get tax write-off: report
Apr 13, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s pampered state-enterprises, often overstaffed, and usually distinguished with poor customer service, are to get tax-write offs, a media report said, as the private sector is squeezed by yet new taxes. State-run Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation which has borrowed 150 million rupees from the Treasury will qualify for relief […]
‘s residence
SYDNEY, April 13, 2009 (AFP) – Hundreds of Tamil protesters staged a rally outside Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s official Sydney residence Monday calling for a lasting ceasefire in Sri Lanka. About 300 demonstrators gathered outside Kirribilli House and nearby Admiralty House, the governor-general’s residence, to urge the Australian government to call for Colombo to […]
Sri Lanka strips Norway of peace-broker role: official
April 13, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka on Monday stripped Norway of its role as broker of the island’s moribund peace process, a government official told AFP. Sri Lanka formally invited the Scandanavian nation to act as peace broker in January 2000, and Oslo managed to secure a ceasefire between the government and rebels which […]