Author: lbostgadmin
Health Support
March 31, 2009 (LBO) – The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has given equipment and basic medical supplies to Sri Lanka’s health service for use in the north of the country, the US embassy in Colombo said. Sri Lanka’s health ministry will distribute these supplies to hospitals in Vavuniya, Mannar, Trincomalee, and Anuradhapura, where […]
Sri Lanka, Nepal mull tourism, air links
Mar 31, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka and Nepal are discussing joint tourism packages that combine the attractions of Himalayan hikes with Indian Ocean beaches, the island’s international trade minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris said.Collective action by south Asian countries such as broadening trade in services like tourism could help them better cope with the effects […]
Sri Lankan stocks close down
Mar 31, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed down on Tuesday, dragged down by blue chips such as John Keells Holdings (JKH) and National Development Bank (NDB) on low volume trades despite inflation and interest rates coming down, brokers said. Dialog Telekom, a subsidiary of Telekom Malaysia, closed flat at 4.90 rupees. The All […]
Sri Lanka IMF talks stretch to second week
Mar 30, 2009 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka rupee closed at 115.20/45 against the greenback, with the country’s reserves running low as talks with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout package, stretched to a second week. The Sri Lanka rupee broke the Central Bank’s defended peg level of 114.25 last Thursday. The IMF team […]
Sri Lanka allays private sector fears over trade deals
Mar 30, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government recognises private sector fears of non-tariff barriers in bilateral trade deals and will not open up the economy against its wishes, a senior minister said.The free trade deal with India, for instance, recognised the asymmetric character of the economic ties between the two countries given their differences […]
25 killed in Sri Lanka sea battle: navy
March 30, 2009 (AFP) – At least 24 Tamil Tiger rebels and a navy sailor were killed in a major sea battle off Sri Lanka’s northeast coast on Monday, a navy spokesman said. Government forces sank four boats of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) off the coast of Mullaittivu, spokesman D.K. P. Dassanayake […]
Growing Pool
Mar 30, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s software export industry said it is trying to promote the island as a BPO (business process outsourcing) destination for finance and accounting outsourcing (FAO). The Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies (SLASSCOM) and the Information and Communication Technology Agency recently held meetings in London and Barcelona […]
Sri Lanka agro firm helps combat mealy bug menace
Mar 30, 2009 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan agro firm has set up a help desk to combat the spread of ‘mealy bug’ which is sweeping through home gardens in the island’s capital Colombo, and is threatening several agro areas. Hayleys Agro says its pesticide ‘Admire SL 20’ has been found to be effective in […]
Branching Out
Mar 30, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Nations Trust Bank (NTB), a unit of John Keells Holdings, is growing its personal banking small business segments to maintain above industry average growth rates during the next four years, an official said. Last year, the bank went through a behind-the-scenes transformation introducing a number of products as […]
Rating Cut
Mar 30, 2009 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has downgraded the long-term rating of Singer Finance (Lanka) Limited (SFL) to BBB-(lka) from ‘BBB(lka)’.The outlook is ‘stable’. “SFL’s rating is linked to Singer Sri Lanka PLC’s (Singer), of which it is a fully-owned subsidiary, and takes into account the implied support assumed to be available from Singer, […]
Sri Lanka stocks close down despite Light House deal
Mar 30, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed down Monday despite large crossings of Lighthouse Hotels Limited (LHL) which went through during the last minutes of trading at a premium, brokers said. The All Share Price Index was down 0.23 percent (3.85 points) to end at 1,644.59 while the more liquid Milanka slid 0.23 […]
Foreign aid groups seek access to war-torn Sri Lanka
NEW DELHI, March 28, 2009 (AFP) – A senior European official said Saturday that aid groups want to help Sri Lanka meet the humanitarian needs of civilians in the country’s battle zone and are “not against” the government.Sri Lanka hit back earlier this week against human rights and aid groups, accusing them of supporting the […]