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Sri Lanka fetes Myanmar junta leader on rare foreign trip
KANDY, November 13, 2009 (AFP) – Dozens of dancers, drummers and three elephants greeted Myanmar’s reclusive junta leader as the elderly general began a pilgrimage in Sri Lanka Friday on a rare foreign outing. Schoolchildren cheered and waved paper flags of both countries and passers-by took pictures as the visiting leader’s motorcade slowly drove through […]
Large crowds greet Myanmar leader in Sri Lankan city
ANURADHAPURA, November 14, 2009 (AFP) – Large flag-waving crowds greeted Myanmar’s junta leader General Than Shwe on Saturday as he toured an ancient city in north-central Sri Lanka on a religious pilgrimage.The crowds, clutching flags of Myanmar and Sri Lanka, lined the streets of the sacred Buddhist city of Anuradhapura to welcome the reclusive general, […]
” for Sri Lanka foreign reserves: CB Governor
Nov 14, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank, which maintains a soft peg with the US dollar, said gold would be an ‘important anchor’ for its foreign reserves, which have zoomed in 2009 with large foreign inflows.Gold has hit new highs in recent weeks, with the US dollar again weakening under extended loose monetary […]
Sri Lanka stocks end up 1.77-pct
Nov 13, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares ended firmer Friday with investors encouraged by the latest crop of quarterly company earnings although trading volumes were low, brokers said. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 The All Share Price Index closed at 2,979.41, up 1.77 […]
Ship Building
Nov 13, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan ship builder Colombo Dockyard said net profit for the September 2009 quarter almost doubled from a year ago with earnings boosted by orders to build new vessels for overseas customers.The yard, which is majority owned by Japan’s Onomichi Dockyard, said in a stock exchange filing that September quarter […]
Bank Margins
Nov 13, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Nation’s Trust Bank, a unit of John Keells Holdings said net profits grew 28 percent to 173.9 million rupees in the September 2009 quarter from a year earlier, while revenues fell 3.0 percent to 3.5 billion rupees. Interest income fell 4.0 percent to 2.97 billion rupees, interest expenses […]
Tight Quarter
Nov 13, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank’s profits grew 3.5 percent to 971 million rupees in the September quarter from a year earlier with lower provisioning, while total revenues fell 6.1 percent to 10.5 billion rupees. The bank’s interest income fell 6.1 percent to 8.87 billion rupees, interest expenses fell at a slower […]
Research Link
Nov 13, 2009 (LBO) – Intellectual property protection in Sri Lanka is still to weak to encourage companies to do research and develop new crop varieties with better yields, an agri-business company official said. “IP rights laws do not have provision to register agricultural innovations,” said Samantha Ranatunga, chief executive of the listed Chemical Industries […]
22 refugees leave Australian ship: Indonesia police
TANJUNG PINANG, November 13, 2009 (AFP) – A group of 22 Sri Lankan asylum seekers left an Australian customs ship to come ashore in Indonesia Friday, police said, partially easing a standoff which began last month.The group, who were among a total of 78 ethnic Tamils on the Oceanic Viking anchored off Bintan island near […]
Myanmar junta leader suffers stomach bug in Sri Lanka: doctor
KANDY, November 13, 2009 (AFP) – Myanmar junta leader General Than Shwe was treated for a mild stomach bug hours after his arrival in Sri Lanka, a doctor from the hospital that treated him said Friday.The reclusive junta leader complained of discomfort after his entourage had checked into a deluxe hotel in the central Buddhist […]
‘s top general
November 13, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government sidelined top general Sarath Fonseka because of fears he would launch a coup, he wrote in a bitter resignation letter ahead of an expected election battle with the president. The United Nations reported that more than 7,000 civilians may have perished in fighting this year, though this […]
‘s top general quits ahead of vote
November 12, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s top general Sarath Fonseka, a war hero at home credited with crushing Tamil rebels, quit Thursday, heightening speculation he will enter politics to challenge President Mahinda Rajapakse.“I gave my resignation. I have submitted my retirement papers,” Fonseka told reporters at a Buddhist temple he visited after sending his […]