Sampath Exits

March 01 (LBO) – Sampath Bank has sold its 15 percent stake in Asian Alliance Insurance one of Sri Lanka’s newer insurance firms, an official said. The tranche was sold for 20.50 a share Thursday for 76.8 million rupees. A firm connected to high net worth investor Dhammika Perera is believed to have taken the […]

Head Hunted

March 01 (LBO) – Former head of Fitch Ratings Lanka, and head of Amba Research in Sri Lanka Ravi Abeysuriya, joined as commission member of the country’s securities watchdog on Thursday. The appointment as member of the Securities and Exchange Commission was made by President Mahinda Rajapakse, the SEC said in a statement. Abeysuriya is […]

Sri Lanka point-to-point inflation eases, but still at 10-year highs

February, 28 (LBO) – Consumer prices in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo fell 1.3 percent in the month of February easing 12-month inflation to 19.2 percent from 20.5 percent a month ago, the government statistics office said. The Colombo Consumer Price Index, the most widely watched index in the country, fell to 5116 points from 5184 […]

UN chief slams rebel shelling in Sri Lanka

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 27, 2007 (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday condemned a Tamil rebel artillery attack in Sri Lanka that injured several foreign diplomats, including a UN official, taking part in a humanitarian assessment mission.“The secretary general condemns the shelling” by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Batticaloa district, “which […]

Sri Lanka Navy fires on unidentified ship off the south coast

February, 28 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Navy has fired on an identified ship off the island’s south coast after the ship ignored an order to halt and fired on a government vessel a Navy spokesman said. The spokesman said the vessel which had been contacted by Navy officials had given false identification and turned to […]

Use of Sri Lanka anti-terror law against media condemned by rights body

February 28 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s use of anti-terror law against the media has been condemned by the Reporters without Borders (RSF) which called for the release of a media official arrested two days ago. RSF called for the release of Dushantha Basnayake, financial director of Standard Newspapers, which publishes the Sinhalese-language weekly Mawbima, who […]

”, warns Ponting

SYDNEY, Feb 28, 2007 (AFP) – Australia captain Ricky Ponting warned Wednesday that despite some recent poor form the world champions will be “extremely hard to beat” at the upcoming cricket World Cup. Speaking to reporters at Sydney airport as the team flew out to the Caribbean in search of a third straight World Cup […]

Born in 1971, now a giant

NEW DELHI, Feb 28, 2007 (AFP) – When a rain-ruined Test between Australia and England in 1971 resulted in the first one-day international at Melbourne, few believed that this new form of cricket would become a global, money-spinning affair.Cricket: Born 1971, one-day cricket grows into giant The first one-dayer was not a pre-planned affair as […]

Sri Lanka captain keen to change horror script

Feb 28, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene goes to the World Cup in the Caribbean hoping to erase bitter memories of the previous tournament. The 2003 World Cup in South Africa ended in a nightmare for Jayawardene, who scored just 21 runs in nine matches. His form was so poor that he […]

Asian equity markets plunge on opening

SINGAPORE, Feb 28, 2007 (AFP) – Singapore share prices opened 4.82 percent lower Wednesday, in line with continued falls in regional markets. The Straits Times Index opened down 155.89 points or 4.82 percent at 3,076.13. Blue chips were among the big losers, including Singapore Airlines, down 4.32 percent and Singapore Press Holdings down 4.37 percent […]

Indian shares follows region down 3%

MUMBAI, Feb 28, 2007 (AFP) – Indian share prices fell 3.17 percent on Wednesday in line with a wave of selling that has swept global markets on fears of a US economic slowdown, dealers said. “The markets expectedly opened weak due to global weakness in a knee-jerk reaction,” said Atul Mehra, managing director of capital […]

Lay Off

February 28 (LBO) – Ceylon Hotels Corporation shares closed 11 percent up Wednesday after the group announced it had reached agreement with labour unions to trim staff. Ceylon Hotels Corporation will spend 174 million on a voluntary retirement scheme and group company Kandy Hotels, which owns Hotel Suisse, will spend 51.6 million, the two hotels […]

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