Author: lbostgadmin
Disappointing Year
May 17, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hayleys Ltd Wednesday reported a 24 percent drop in net profits for the financial year ended March 31, due to higher input costs in its various subsidiaries. Hayleys, which has diversified interest in power, rubber products, coir, transport, agriculture, resorts and consumer durables, said group net profits were […]
War fears batter investor confidence in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, May 16, 2006 (AFP) – Fears Sri Lanka could return to civil war have punched a hole in investor confidence and wiped millions of dollars off the value of local shares, analysts said Tuesday The tiny Colombo Stock Exchange has shed nearly 53 billion rupees (5.3 million dollars) of its value since the crisis […]
Lame Excuse
May 16 (LBO) – A top economist tells Sri Lanka not to delay petroleum pricing reforms by taking cover behind potential oil reserves. Sri Lanka is a net oil importer, with a fuel bill in the region of 1.6 billion dollars (160 billion rupees) last year, over 800 million dollars the year before, driven upwards […]
Policeman killed in Sri Lanka blasts
May 16, 2006 (AFP) – A policeman was killed and two others wounded Tuesday in two claymore mine explosions in Sri Lanka’s restive north-eastern district of Trincomalee, the military said.The blasts were aimed at officers who were clearing the main road of mines at Thampalakamam, a military official told AFP. The injured constables were rushed […]
Children pay high price for Sri Lanka fighting: UNICEF
May 16, 2006 (AFP) – At least six children were killed in the latest surge of violence in Sri Lanka’s northeast and thousands were made homeless, the United Nations children’s fund UNICEF said Tuesday.“The ongoing violence underlines the urgency for the parties to the conflict to take immediate action to avoid slipping back into a […]
‘s Tamil Tigers
May 16, 2006 (AFP) – The United States has asked the European Union to follow its lead and ban Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers as a terrorist group, a visiting US State Department official said Tuesday.“We have encouraged the EU to list the LTTE” as a terrorist group, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and […]
Telekom Malaysia sees spike in first quarter profits
KUALA LUMPUR, May 16, 2006 (AFP) – Malaysia’s largest telecommunications provider Telekom Malaysia has seen a sharp gain in its first quarter profit, including gains from Indonesian mobile subsidiary PT Excelcomindo Pratama.Telekom said in a statement late Monday that its three months to March net profit rose 39 percent from a year earlier to 518.95 […]
Exclusive Hong Kong club would have Bond shaken and stirred
HONG KONG, May 16, 2006 (AFP) – With the click of a switch, brightly polished restaurant tables lift almost magically into the ceiling and from sliding panels in the floor ice buckets emerge in time for the waiter who arrives with the champagne.As the drinks are served the main back wall lifts slowly to reveal […]
Sri Lankan troops and Tigers trade artillery fire across front line
May 16, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels exchanged artillery fire across a truce line in the northern peninsula of Jaffna Tuesday, military officials said.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fired across the army-held line at Nagarkovil and wounded at least two soldiers, the officials said. “The firefight lasted about […]
John Keells pays US$ 21 mn for new Maldivian resort
May 16, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s John Keells Holdings said Tuesday that they have paid 21.8 million dollars to secure Maldivian based Dhonveli Beach & Spa on a 15-year lease. However, the absence of peace talks since April 2003, the two sides have been drifting apart and leading to more violence in a country […]
Delayed Flight
May 16 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government is to hold a fresh round of talks with Emirates Airlines next month, on extending the management contract with SriLankan Airlines. The two sides are yet to set a date and detailed agenda for talks. Preliminary discussions on the way forward were cordial, though the meeting was […]
Central Bank rejects 3-year bond auction
May 16, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank Tuesday rejected all bids sent in for the three-year bond auction, but did not give any reason.The bank offered a billion rupees worth of paper and received offers worth 1,360 million rupees, which carried a coupon rate of 7.50 percent. Three-year paper currently trades at around […]