Author: lbostgadmin
Political Chessboard
Politicians of all hues and sizes have thrown their hat into the ring for next months snap poll. But smaller parties championing the Sinhala Buddhist, Tamil and Muslim votes are jostling to play the trump card in Sri Lankas next parliament. rnrn Inrnthe second in a series of political updates, Vajira Premawardhana ManagerrnResearch at Lanka […]
Bouncing Up
With court room and board room battles firmly behind, the diversified Richard Pieris Group made it to the news this week to pick up two plantation companies. The acquisition is the latest, after picking up Sathosa and getting a tentative foot into financial sector through Pramuka Bank.Its been a while since the once family controlled […]
No. No? No!
The Freedom Alliance says it will ldblquote stop the privatization of national resources and public institutions and make them to play an important role in the regeneration of the national economy. dblquote The Alliance revealed its economic policies on Thursday in its party manifesto, with high hopes to form a fresh government after the April […]
Q & A
UNF officials claim the Alliances campaign is dominated by the JVP agenda even allowing them to dominate the partys economic policies.rn rnThis, the UNF says jeopardizes economic stability and could push the country to the same plight as North Korea. rn rnComposed by Deputy Finance Minister Bandula Gunawardena, the 10 questions, UNF officials say, are […]
Business Plan
The Freedom Alliance says it will simplify the current tax system to generate the required revenue when it comes to power in the April polls.ldblquote Government revenue in relation to GDP has declined to 14 per cent in 2003, due to corrupt tax amnesties, numerous exemptions, generous concessions and a rundown tax administration, dblquote the […]
Guessing Game
Sri Lanka has made it to the list of developing countries selected for concessional funds under the US governments Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).The US government on Thursday named 50 countries that made it for the first round of assistance due in May.rn rnAt present, the list of countries are up for public comment endash as […]
Quick Jump
Union Assurance Ltd said Thursday its net profits have nearly doubled on renewed business sentiment in the overall insurance market.Its consolidate net profits was up Rs. 132.4 mn over Rs. 38.6 mn during the corresponding year 2002.rn rnProfits from Non-Life business was up to Rs. 99.4 mn, while the surplus from the Life business was […]
Comfort Zone
The Central Bank left its key short-term rates unchanged on Thursday, a sign that it was business as usual despite a snap poll and a hike in the domestic borrowing programme.The overnight repurchase rate (repo rate) was kept at 7.00 percent and the reverse repurchase rate (reverse repo) at 8.50 percent, the bank said in […]
What Next?
With less than three weeks to go to D-day on April 2, the political options of the average Sri Lankan are increasing by the day with more political newbies voicing ever more radical changes to the system.The Parliamentary general election of 2004 will accommodate 24 recognised political parties and 192 independent groups.rn rnAll told 3,361 […]
Spadework
Sri Lanka Telecom said it was pumping Rs. 600 mn to float a fully owned subsidiary endash Telecom City (Pvt) Ltd.SLT said the capital injection would come in on a staggered basis to suit progress and development of the project.rn rnIn the first instance, it has been decided to pay up Rs. 2.50 per share […]
Labour Of Love
Ten years of trying and the biggest bargaining tool in the local economy saw the light of day at the Labour Ministry on Wednesday bearing the harmless title lquote The Labour Code of Sri Lanka.The Labour Code of Sri Lanka brings together 26 of the most important labour legislation in Sri Lanka that directly influence […]
Flat Outlook
Treasury rates remained flat at this weeks auction ahead of Central Banks monthly monetary policy announcement on Friday.Market players are not expecting the bank to tinker with the short-term rates, though the Finance Minister recently announced that the government-borrowing programme would shoot up by Rs.22 bn this year.rn rnAfter nearly two-years of tough fiscal management, […]