Category:
Infamous
Aug 27, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s finance ministry chief lashed out at the country’s cautious banks which are reluctant to engage in risky lending and also slammed a credit information office, labeling it ‘infamous’. “The associated risks and the mismatch in asset and liabilities of these institutions have imposed a severe burden to their […]
Merchant Merger
Aug 27, 2010 (LBO) – The state-owned Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka (MBSL) seeks to merge with two units of its parent Bank of Ceylon group, a stock exchange filing said. It said a proposal is being considered to merge Merchant Credit of Sri Lanka and Ceylease Finance Services with Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka […]
Mindset Change
Aug 27, 2010 (LBO) – A top Sri Lankan banker has urged a shift to loans based on cash-flows, not assets, and more lending to people in the north-east of money mopped up by new branches in the former war zone. Rajendra Theagarajah, chief executive of the private listed Hatton National Bank, said banks should […]
Sri Lanka to withdraw visa on arrival: public notice
Aug 27, 2010 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government has decided to withdraw the on-arrival visa facility to tourists from September 30, 2010, a public notice said. The Department of Immigration & Emigration website said on-arrival visas will be given only to visitors from countries that reciprocate. No reason was given for the change and […]
Sri Lanka hotel group exits loss-making Maldives resort
Aug 27, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s John Keells Holdings (JKH) group said it had exited from an island further away from the capital of the Indian Ocean archipelago of Maldives, and extended its lease at a more profitable resort. But the Alidhoo island was making losses, and Dhonveli was more profitable the firm said. […]
Arabian Fright
August 27, 2010 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan housemaid who had 24 nails embedded in her body — allegedly by her Saudi employer — was recovering in hospital Friday after doctors removed 18 of them during a three-hour surgery. L.T. Ariyawathi, 49, said her employer in Saudi Arabia had inflicted the injuries on her as […]
Biomed Skills
Aug 27, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is laying the foundation to build a biomedical sector by offering courses in the subject based on British standards to train much needed human resources, educators said. “The development of the human capital base of the country is an important factor for that country to attain a sustainable […]
Nail Torture
Aug 27, 2010 (LBO) – Doctors in Sri Lanka have removed 15 metal objects including nails and pins from a woman domestic worker who had returned from Saudi Arabia a media report in the island said. Some also go the Maldives, which is the best managed economy in South Asia with the strongest exchange rate. […]
Cooling Ardour
Aug 27, 2010 (LBO) – PC House, a Sri Lankan information technology company which debuted on the stock exchange this week, closed below its issue price of 11 rupees Friday, the second day of trading, brokers said. The share opened the day’s trading at 10. 90 rupees, went down to 9.90 and closed at 10.00 […]
Mobile Money
Aug 27, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank has drafted guidelines for mobile phone payment systems and called for public comments, according to a notice on its website. Mobile payments will be allowed through accounts in licensed banks and registered finance companies as well as Custodian Account Based Systems operated by non-bank service providers. […]
India government warns on BlackBerry
NEW DELHI, August 26, 2010 (AFP) – India warned the makers of the BlackBerry Thursday its messaging services could be shut down if it failed to give security agencies access “in readable format” as a compliance deadline loomed. A shutdown would affect corporate users among BlackBerry’s 1.1 million customers, whose communications have a higher level […]
‘s consumer prices slide, unemployment falls
TOKYO, August 27, 2010 (AFP) – Japan’s consumer prices continued to slide while the unemployment rate fell for the first time in six months in July, the mixed data Friday illustrating the fragility of the country’s recovery. Japan’s core consumer price index fell 1.1 percent in July from a year earlier, government data showed, marking […]