Author: lbostgadmin
Sri Lanka gets US$85mn from ADB for water supply
March 19, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will get 85 million US dollars in loans and grants from the Asian Development Bank for water supply and sanitation in four regional urban areas, a government minister said. The National Water Supply and Drainage Board will use the funds to rehabilitate and develop water and sanitation infrastructure […]
UN urged to act over jailed Sri Lankan reporters
March 18, 2009 (AFP) – A media rights group on Wednesday urged the United Nations to intervene on behalf of two Sri Lankan journalists being held on charges related to the war against the separatist Tamil Tiger guerrillas. The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said J.S. Tissainayagam has been held under an anti-terrorism law for […]
Sri Lanka Allianz unit pre-tax profit up
March 19, 2009 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka unit of Allianz Insurance, a German insurer, said net profit before tax rose 63 percent to 86 million rupees in 2008 from 53 million rupees in 2007.Allianz Lanka said in a statement its pure Underwriting Profit comprises more than 47 percent of the total profit component. The […]
More civilians flee Sri Lanka fighting: military
March 19, 2009 (AFP) – Civilians are continuing to flee Sri Lanka’s war zone as security forces step up an offensive against Tamil Tigers, with another 31 rebels killed, the defence ministry said Thursday.About 1,000 men, women and children left the area still under the control of the rebels on Wednesday to seek shelter with […]
Sri Lanka to protest against pro-Tiger rallies abroad
March 19, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka will lodge strong protests with countries where there have been demonstrations in favour of the island’s separatist Tamil Tiger rebels, a minister said Thursday.Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said pro-rebel sympathisers have been staging demonstrations in Australia, Belgium, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United […]
Sri Lanka tightens corn imports
March 19, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has tightened rules on corn imports to arrest falling domestic farm gate prices with a record area under cultivation this year, a government minister said.For the 2008/2009 cultivation season 65,850 hectares of corn are expected to be put under the crop and 60,582 has already been planted. The […]
Sri Lankan hotels told of financial gains of cleaner production
March 19, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan hotels stand to make financial gains by adopting cleaner production methods if done in a systematic manner, the head of the hotel trade body has said. Srilal Miththapala, president of the Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka, said many hotels have embarked on some form of energy conservation […]
Sri Lankan shares revived by rate cut
Mar 19, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed up Thursday for the second day running amidst foreign selling in conglomerate John Keells Holdings (JKH) as local investors snapped up shares following an interest rate cut, brokers said. The All Share Price Index was up 0.45 percent (7.21 points) to end at 1,626.05 while the […]
Sri Lanka treasuries yields fall after rate cut
Mar 19, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Treasury bill and bond yields fell across the board Wednesday by around 40 basis points following a 175 basis point rate cut, the government’s debt office and dealers said.A bond maturing on 01.08.2013 fell from around 17.90 levels to 17.20 percent levels, dealers said. At the weekly auction […]
Sri Lanka must link leading region to rest of country: World Bank
March 17, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka needs to urgently integrate the western province, which accounts for half of gross domestic product, with the rest of the country to accelerate economic growth, a senior World Bank official said. Naoko Ishii, World Bank Country Director for Sri Lanka, said one of key objectives of the government’s […]
Sri Lanka economy slows to 6.0-pct in 2008, 4Q 4.3-pct
Mar 16, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s economic growth slowed to 6.0 percent in 2008 from 6.8 percent a year ago, with growth in the fourth quarter slowing to 4.3 percent, the government’s statistics office said. “The impact of global turmoil coming from the external trade sector was the key reason for the slowdown,” director […]
Sri Lanka Jan 2009 exports, imports fall sharply
March 18, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s trade deficit contracted by 66.5 percent in January 2009 from a year ago to 208 million US dollars as exports and imports fell sharply, the central bank said.Private remittances also fell, largely owing to the strength of the dollar, it said, but exports of apparel, a key industry, […]