Author: lbostgadmin
Premium Banking
July 20, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Nations Trust Bank (NTB) has launched priority banking services for premium customers with higher interest rates and benefits, officials said. Dedicated agents will be present in NTB branches to serve Inner Circle members, Fernando says. The priority service is available all year round in NTB branches of Colombo, […]
Sri Lanka clamps down on duty free import of white goods
July 19, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will ban the duty-free import of a range of white goods now allowed to be brought into the country by returning citizens that worked abroad, a senior revenue official said.Sri Lanka Customs would not allow any type of air conditioners, deep freezers or dishwashers and fully automatic washing […]
‘s Kandamby shines against touring India
July 18, 2008 (AFP) – Test hopeful Thilina Kandamby top-scored with 84 to help the Sri Lanka Board XI make 224 against a visiting India on the opening day of their three-day tour match here on Friday.The Sri Lankans were tottering at 82-4 before Kandamby and Chamara Silva rescued them with a 100-run fifth-wicket partnership. […]
USA set to defend Olympic medal supremacy in Beijing
WASHINGTON, July 19, 2008 (AFP) – Americans will attempt to lead the overall medal table for the fourth Summer Olympics in a row next month in Beijing, but hosts China and Russia will challenge for supremacy in golds and total medals.US teams had the greatest medal haul for a record fourth Games in a row […]
‘s half-ton
July 19, 2008 (AFP) – Sachin Tendulkar marked his return from injury with a well-made 69 but the rest of the Indian batsmen struggled in a three-day tour match against a Sri Lanka Board XI here on Saturday. This is the only warm-up game between the sides ahead of the start of the three-Test series […]
Global commodity bubble wobbles, as economies run out of steam
LONDON, July 18, 2008 (AFP) – Oil prices slumped this week as traders worried the slowing US economy would dampen demand from the world’s biggest energy consumer, sparking losses across other key commodity markets.OIL: Crude futures plummeted further from record high points above 147 dollars per barrel that were struck exactly one week ago. “The […]
Nepal to vote for first president
KATHMANDU, July 19, 2008 (AFP) – Lawmakers in Nepal are expected to vote on Saturday for the country’s first president following the abolition of the Hindu monarchy, paving the way for the dominant Maoists to form a government.“With the three parties going three separate ways, the road to the smooth functioning of the new government […]
Zimbabwe introduces 100-billion-dollar note
HARARE, July 19, 2008 (AFP) – Zimbabwe, grappling with a record 2.2 million percent inflation, has introduced a new 100-billion-dollar bank note in a bid to tackle rampant cash shortages, the central bank said Saturday. The new note will go into circulation on Monday, the bank said in a statement cited by state media, joining […]
Sri Lanka army chief says war nearly won
July 19, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s army chief said Saturday his forces had wiped out two-thirds of the Tamil Tigers’ military capability, and that the decades-old conflict with the rebels was at its tail-end.Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) would gradually start collapsing, the state-run Daily News paper […]
Capital Controls
July 19, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal has said its exchange control department had streamlined approvals for overseas investments by local firms.The government wants to encourage big Sri Lankan companies to grow bigger and invest abroad, as a few have already done, he said. “Now the exchange control department […]
Sri Lanka gets more World Bank money for roads
July 18, 2008 (LBO) – The World Bank is giving 98 million US dollars in additional financing for road re-building in Sri Lanka amid soaring costs of oil based materials, the multilateral lender said. “The project has made good overall progress,” says World Bank infrastructure specialist Amali Rajapaksa. “Importantly, it has played a pivotal role […]
Sri Lanka trade deficit up on oil imports, slow industrial exports
July 18, 2008 LBO) – Sri Lanka’s trade gap had expanded 79 percent to 2.5 billion US dollars in the five months to May 2008 on higher imports of oil while industrial exports slowed, government data showed. The Central Bank said 58 percent of the increase in imports came from oil and 21 percent from […]