‘s war probe panel to start work

August 10, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka announced the government-appointed panel looking into the island’s civil war that ended last year would hold its first public hearings on Wednesday. The eight-member panel will hear testimony for five days in the capital Colombo and two days in Vavuniya, near the former war zone, an official statement […]

Sri Lanka advised to improve connectivity to prosperous areas

Aug 10, 2010 (LBO) – The World Bank has advised Sri Lanka to change its development approach and improve access of people to prosperous parts of the country instead of shifting economic activity to lagging regions. These measures include investment subsidies, tax rebates, local regulations, local infrastructure development and targeted investment climate reforms, such as […]

Sri Lankan stocks close down 3.99-pct

Aug 09, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks continued to slide and fell below the 5,000 points mark Monday, on panic selling by retail investors unable to meet margin-calls, while heavy interest on Commercial Bank boosted turnover past a billion rupees, brokers said. Most high value blue chip stocks held their value despite the market […]

Sri Lanka Keells Hotels losses mount, investments up

Aug 09, 2010 (LBO) – Losses at Sri Lanka’s John Keells Hotels rose in the June 2010 quarter from a year ago but it increased investments in new hotels and upgrading existing ones, a stock exchange filing said. The unit of the John Keells Holdings conglomerate said the net loss for the quarter widened 12 […]

Sri Lanka Sigiriya Village Hotels to raise funds for revamp

Aug 09, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Sigiriya Village Hotels is planning a rights issue to raise funds to refurbish and renovate its hotel in the island’s north-central region, a stock exchange filing said. The company, which has a stated capital of 175 million rupees, is to issue 2. 1 million ordinary shares priced at […]

Sri Lanka hotels energy effort cuts costs, lures tourists

Aug 09, 2010 (LBO) – An energy efficiency initiative by Sri Lankan hotels is helping them to reduce costs and attract special interest visitors, an official said. “Through it we expect to develop a combined approach to improve energy conservation activities in our hotels,” Deheragoda said. Krishan Deheragoda, former chairman of the Sri Lanka Sustainable […]

Sri Lanka central bank warns of more shocks, urges policy stability

Aug 09, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan Central Bank governor Nivard Cabraal warned possible economic shocks in future could take different forms and urged policymakers to stick to their policies despite pressure for change in the short term. Policy makers have to learn to balance different competing interests when administering the policies needed to restore […]

Creative Assets

Aug 08, 2010 (LBO) – Managements of Sri Lankan companies could be held liable for any violations of intellectual property in their organisations even if they were unaware of it, an official said. Dr D M Karunaratne, director general, of the National IP Office said anyone who violates IP rights is liable to be punished […]

Early Burnout

MANILA, August 8, 2010 (AFP) – Daybreak is happy hour in a world turned upside down at a trendy bar in the Philippines’ financial district, the clientele young and loud and with a vague California accent. Vodka cruisers and beer fly by the bucketful as good friends Cici, Pau and Jels go off duty along […]

Message Monitor

JEDDAH, August 7, 2010 (AFP) – BlackBerry has “virtually” sealed a deal with Saudi Arabia on its encrypted messenger services to avert a ban on the smartphone, a Saudi telecoms company official told AFP on Saturday. “A deal has been virtually reached and we are in the process of adding the final touches,” said the […]

All white on the night for Australian elections

SYDNEY, August 8, 2010 (AFP) – Despite its Aboriginal roots and a large Asian population, Australia’s politics are almost exclusively white with just a handful of ethnic minority candidates in this month’s elections. Australia’s diversity — from Outback townships to Sydney’s Chinatown and growing numbers of South and Southeast Asians — is poorly reflected in […]

”s Ssangyong

NEW DELHI, August 7, 2010 (AFP) – India’s leading sport utility vehicle maker Mahindra and Mahindra announced Saturday plans to bid for a majority stake in cash-strapped South Korea’s Ssangyong Motor Co as the firm seeks to go global. Mahindra’s board of directors approved the bid at a board meeting Saturday after the company carried […]

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