Author: lbostgadmin
Not so fast
January 30 (LBO) – The central bank is planning to introduce new prudential regulations for credit cards, following their rapid use and growth in lending, an official said. Last year the government slapped a 10 rupee stamp duty on every 1000 rupees of purchases through credit cards.Up to last November Sri Lankan banks have issued […]
Ship Ahoy
Jan 30 (LBO) – Lanka Indian Oil Corporation has called for vessels to supply lubricant base oil for its new blending plant in the East of Sri Lanka, which is to begin production in June this year. Last week, the fuel retailer, a unit of India’s Fortune 500 Indian Oil Corp got a government licence […]
Sri Lanka treasury bill yields leap forward as central bank baulks at printing money
January, 30 (LBO) – Government securities vaulted up at Tuesday’s auction, with cut off rates for one year treasury bills touching 14.5 percent, dealers said. The weighted average yield at Tuesday’s auction for all maturities climbed up 31 basis points to 13.80 percent. “The rates are now reflecting the true state of the market,” says […]
Sri Lanka raises 23 million dollars from rupee bond sale
January 30 (LBO) – Sri Lanka goverment has raised 23 million dollars by selling rupee bonds to foreign investors, its public debt office said Tuesday. The island has a BB- sovereign rating from Fitch and B+ rating from Standard and Poors. . The announcement came ahead of a visit by a government team to Singapore […]
Donors call for peace to restore investor confindence
GALLE, Sri Lanka, Jan 29, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka must commit to peace and restore investor confidence if it is to develop its potential, a senior World Bank official said ahead of a crucial review Monday of international aid.The bank’s vice president for South Asia, Praful Patel, said it was “deeply concerned” about a […]
Top donors draw focus from cash to conflict and governance, at Sri Lanka aid parley
January 29 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s top donors steered the focus of an annual aid review from cash to solving the internal conflict, giving relief to affected people and improving governance and human rights. “No amount of development assistance by the US or any other donor can have any lasting impact however, without finding a […]
Will jumbo cabinet bring stability to Sri Lanka?
Jan 29, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s minority government has weakened the opposition with a spate of defections and won a crucial simple majority in parliament, but analysts say the turncoats will only trigger more instability.President Mahinda Rajapakse swore in Sunday a 53-member cabinet, by far the largest since independence from Britain in 1948. He […]
Worldwide tourist numbers hit record in 2006
MADRID, Jan 29, 2007 (AFP) – The number of tourists worldwide rose 4.5 percent last year from 2005 to reach a record 842 million, with Africa showing the sharpest gain, the World Tourism Organisation reported Monday.It forecast an increase of 4.0 percent in tourist numbers in 2007, noting that the trend was now toward a […]
Citigroup buys Egg from Prudential
LONDON, Jan 29, 2007 (AFP) – British insurance group Prudential on Monday exited the consumer banking sector with the sale of its loss-making Internet bank arm Egg to US giant Citigroup for 575 million pounds in cash.Analysts welcomed the news, which leaves Prudential to concentrate on insurance and asset management, but said the price fell […]
i-Switch
Jan 29 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tech firm Interblocks said Monday that they had implemented an ATM Switch and Monitoring system to manage Central Finance’s ATM network. The tie up with Interblocks and implementation of the iSwitch system would facilitate inter-branch settlement and reconciliation, remote monitoring and proactive alerts. The company says it is the […]
Brotherly Ties
Galle, January 29 (LBO) – Bilateral talks starting this week will further broaden economic ties between India and Sri Lanka, while aid volumes to the country was also moving up, an Indian government official told an aid forum here Monday. Sri Lanka was now India’s largest trade partner in South Asia with India being Sri […]
Sold Out
Jan 29 (LBO) – Asian Hotels and Properties, developers of the new Emperor Condominium at Crescat City, says it has found buyers for 80 percent of the apartments. The Singapore Piling and Civil Engineering (PTE) Ltd, has been awarded the construction contract for the new condominium AHPL said. A member of the John Keells Holdings […]