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AFP.com/Correspondent) Mel Gunasekera became AFP’s first full-time woman correspondent in Colombo when she joined in January 2007. She had covered Sri Lanka’s Tamil separatist war and its bloody finale in 2009 and was widely respected across the country.On February 2, she was murdered at her Colombo home after confronting a burglar.By Amal Jayasinghe When a […]
Consolidation View
Feb 11, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s plan to consolidate banks, could bring long term benefits and greater system stability, Fitch Ratings said.The consolidation master plan envisaged the creation of bigger banks, with an asset base of over 1,000 million rupees. “Only one bank met this threshold at end-September 2013,” Fitch Ratings said. “The government […]
Sri Lanka stocks close higher
Feb 11, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka stocks end slightly higher Tuesday with tobacco stocks gaining amid strong foreign selling, brokers said. The Colombo benchmark All Share Price Index closed 2.88 points higher at 6,113.15, up 0.05 percent. The S&P SL20 closed 5.08 points lower at 3,349.35, down 0.15 percent. Turnover was 1.98 billion rupees, […]
Sri Lanka gilt dealer begins trading listed debt
Feb 11, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s first gilt dealer has begun trading listed corporate debt in the Colombo Stock Exchange kicking off a process that could improve liquidity and secondary trading, officials said.Capital Alliance Ltd (CAL), a primary dealer in government securities became the first firm to trade as a dealer-broker Tuesday, under new […]
Sri Lanka Treasuries yields mixed
Jan 11, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s short term Treasuries yields fell at Tuesday’s auction from two weeks ago, but the 12-month yield was steady from a week earlier, data from the state debt office showed.The debt office offered 12.0 billion rupees of bills for auction and accepted 20.8 billion in bids. Last week bids […]
‘s finance companies pushed into riskier business: ex-banker
Feb 10, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s finance companies, non-bank lenders that lent to riskier clients were taking on more risk due to structural changes in the financial sector, a veteran banker said. Ranjith Fernando, former head of National Development Bank said finance companies served an important function in the economy by catering to customers […]
Sri Lanka exports up 6.3-pct, imports down 6.2-pct in 2013
Feb 10, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s exports rose 6.2 percent to 10.38 billion US dollars in 2013 from a year earlier and imports fell 6.2 percent to 17.99 billion US dollars, the Central Bank said.In December 2013 exports rose 13.2 percent from a year earlier to 986.1 million US dollars with industrial products up […]
Asia-Pacific needs nearly 13,000 new planes by 2032: Boeing
SINGAPORE, February 10, 2014 (AFP) – The Asia-Pacific will require almost 13,000 new airplanes worth .9 trillion over the next 20 years, Boeing said Monday, as booming wealth in the region fuels demand for air travel.Ahead of the Singapore Airshow, the US plane maker said 12,820 extra aircraft would be needed by 2032 and that […]
Merger Moves
Feb 10, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s banks could benefit from a regulatory move for consolidation, despite heightened short term risks, Standard & Poor’s, a rating agency said. Sri Lanka’s central bank is pushing banks and finance companies to merge, to reduce the total number in operation and make remaining ones bigger. “We believe Sri […]
Risky Business
Feb 10, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s finance companies, non-bank lenders that lent to riskier clients were taking on more risk due to structural changes in the financial sector, a veteran banker said.Ranjith Fernando, former head of National Development Bank said finance companies served an important function in the economy by catering to customers who […]
Sri Lanka stocks close down 0.5-pct
Feb 10, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka shares end 0.51 percent down Monday with tobacco and telco stocks losing ground amid net foreign selling, brokers said. The Colombo benchmark All Share Price Index closed 31.45 points lower at 6,110.27, down 0.51 percent. The S&P SL20 closed 14.87 points lower at 3,354.43, down 0.44 percent. Turnover […]
Pope agrees to Sri Lanka trip, honours Korean martyrs
VATICAN CITY, February 8, 2014 (AFP) – Pope Francis on Saturday turned his focus to Asia, announcing a possible trip to Sri Lanka and approving the beatification of 124 Korean martyrs. Asia has repeatedly been tipped as a destination for possible papal trips as Francis’s predecessor Benedict XVI did not travel there during his eight-year […]