Author: lbostgadmin
Sri Lanka December 2008 exports fall sharply
Feb 19, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s total exports in December 2008 fell 19.1 percent to 681 million dollars from a year ago, dragged down by a sharp fall in its main product tea, as well as garments, the central bank said.“The performance of agricultural and industrial exports appears to have been affected by the […]
Inter Connection
Feb 19, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC) will ask mobile phone operators to give adequate connections to calls from customers of new entrant Bharti Airtel, an official said. “I think what would have happened is Airtel is overwhelmed with more traffic than they had originally estimated, and now they are crying […]
Sri Lanka to protect Ceylon Tea intellectual property
Feb 19, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is seeking protection for the Ceylon Tea brand and seven growing areas under international intellectual property laws that cover products under ‘geographical indicators’, a government minister said. Sri Lanka Tea Board, a state regulatory body, has been authorized to seek protection under the provisions of the agreement on […]
Banking Numbers
Feb 19, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s NDB Bank said group net profit rose sharply in the December quarter, although annual profit was up only five percent to 1.6 billion rupees from a year ago.NDB group total income for the December quarter rose almost 30 percent to 3.2 billion rupees and net profit increased almost […]
Bailout Program
Feb 19, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government will make a final decision on a bailout package to deal with toxic assets of banks and finance companies next week, government minister said. He said the first round of negotiations was held Wednesday. State-run People’s Bank has also stopped payments on hedges to counterparty banks, opening […]
Sri Lankan stocks attract foreign investors
Feb 19, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed down Thursday but foreign investors have begun taking medium to long-term positions on blue chips like John Keells Holdings (JKH), Hemas Holdings and Dialog Telekom, brokers said. Dialog Telekom lost 10 cents to close at 4.90 rupees, while Sri Lanka Telecom lost 50 cents to close […]
Sri Lanka treasury bill yields flat
Feb 19, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Treasury bill yields were flat at an auction Wednesday, with the government selling 4.2 billion of the 7.0 billion bills offered for sale.The 12-month yield eased 01 basis points to 17.73 percent, the 6-month also by a basis point to 16.93 percent and the 3-month by 02 basis […]
Sri Lanka must sacrifice growth for stability: economist
Feb 19, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government should focus on restoring macro-economic fundamentals which have deteriorated in recent years to help it overcome the global economic crisis, even if means slower growth, an economist has said. Resources had to be set aside for both while the government had to do normal development activities. But […]
Sri Lanka to trim own contribution to push multilateral projects: minister
Feb 18, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is hoping to push through foreign funded projects which have been held up due to lack of ‘counterparty funds’, with a lower contribution from the government, a senior minister said. Deputy finance minister Sarath Amunugama said there were “a lot of projects” awaiting a 15 percent government contribution, […]
India ready to help evacuation of Sri Lankan Tamil civillians
NEW DELHI, February 18, 2009 (AFP) – India said Wednesday it was ready to help evacuate tens of thousands of Tamil civilians caught in the crossfire between Sri Lankan troops and Tiger rebels in the northeast of the island.Indian troops, sent in by ex-Congress premier Rajiv Gandhi to enforce a peace deal on the island, […]
Sri Lankan Airlines wins IndiGo maintenance deal
Feb 18, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan Airlines said its engineering arm has been awarded a major contract by IndiGo to carry out a series of important maintenance checks on the fast-growing Indian carrier’s aircraft fleet.The work will be done by Sri Lankan Engineering, the aircraft maintenance arm of Sri Lanka’s national airline, at it […]
‘s war zone: running the gauntlet
TRINCOMALEE, February 18, 2009 (AFP) – Shopkeeper Subramaniam Sudaharan says he is lucky to be alive after his two teenage sons were shot dead as the family fled Sri Lanka’s increasingly brutal war zone.What was left of the devastated family — he, his wife and a younger boy — were among 440 war-wounded evacuated from […]