Author: lbostgadmin
Buying Time
Mar. 30 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank of Ceylon Thursday put off its annual and extraordinary general meetings till next week, as shareholder attendance fell short of the required quorum. The lack of a quorum is due to a court order which restricted the voting powers of some of Commercial Bank’s key shareholders including […]
Costly Plastic
Mar. 30 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s treasury secretary P B Jayasundara has asked the two state banks to step up credit card sales to public servants, following hefty salary increments this year. Under a recent government circular, those working in low and middle level jobs got a 25 percent pay hike, while medical services got […]
‘s HNB earn A- domestic rating from Fitch
Mar. 30 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank’s Rs1.22 billion debenture issue, which closes Friday has been privately placed mostly among institutions, with longer tenures running up to 18 years being snapped up by insurance firms, an official said. Fitch Ratings Lanka Thursday assigned a rating of A- (sri) and a stable outlook, for […]
Sri Lanka vows talks despite sinking of navy craft
Mar. 29 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government Wednesday pledged to continue talks with Tamil Tiger rebels despite the killing of eight sailors in a suicide blast and fears the island could slip back to full scale war.Colombo’s chief peace negotiator Nimal Siripala de Silva said Sri Lanka’s government will go ahead with talks next month […]
Tsunami helped to create peace, say UN experts
BONN, Mar.28 (AFP) – Wars were one of the main problems hampering efforts to save lives in natural disasters but catastrophes like the Asian tsunami have helped to promote peace, UN experts said here on Tuesday.The death toll in Sri Lanka, one of the countries hit by the December 2004 tsunami, was aggravated by the […]
‘s top Nordic peace envoys to visit the island next week
Mar. 29 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Nordic peace envoys will visit the island next week for a series of meetings with the government and the Tamil Tiger rebels, the Norwegian embassy said Wednesday. New special envoy Jon Hanssen-Baur will make his maiden visit to the island on Monday April 3 for four-days. Hanssen-Baur, a Middle […]
Filling Gaps
A fast track program to give non-tech graduates jobs in the IT field has paid off, with a first batch of students finding full time work in top companies. The four month program by the Moratuwa University gives graduates from other fields marketable skills like computer programming, web design, networking and business know how. Surveys […]
Extended Invitation
Mar. 29 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Department of Inland Revenue is giving three extra months to pay back-taxes without facing penalties.Newly appointed Inland Revenue Chief A A Wijepala said those who did not have tax files earlier but register to pay tax this year, would not be questioned about their incomes in previous years. In […]
Expensive Joke
Mar. 29 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will introduce stamp duties from April on a range of services like credit cards, leasing and insurance policies, as the government looks for ways to raise revenue to pay for infrastructure and welfare spending plans. -Mel Gunasekera: mel@ Exemption list: Insurance policy on: Life, Medical Plant, machinery and equipment […]
Sri Lanka mediator to meet rebel negotiator
OSLO, Mar. 28 (AFP) – The top mediator in Sri Lanka’s peace process, Erik Solheim of Norway, will meet with the rebels’ leading negotiator in London on Wednesday to discuss peace progress on the war-torn island, the Norwegian government said.Solheim and Tamil rebel negotiator Anton Balasingham will prepare the groundwork for a meeting between the […]
Post-tsunami boat building not up to par: FAO
ROME, Mar. 28 (AFP) – Thousands of replacement fishing vessels constructed since the Asian tsunami of December 26, 2004 are unsafe and flat-out dangerous, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization warned Tuesday.Tsunami-affected countries must “redouble their efforts to ensure that fishing boats built to replace those destroyed during the 2004 disaster meet minimum safety standards,” […]
Sri Lanka bans fishing after gunboat sinking
Mar. 27 (AFP) – Sri Lanka banned deep-sea fishing off its troubled northern coast from Monday, two days after Tiger rebels blew up a navy gunboat and killed eight sailors, a defence official said.The ban would apply to all fishing trawlers and vessels would need written permission from navy chief Wasantha Karannagoda to enter the […]