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Sri Lanka to host South Asia economic summit on Aug 28
Aug 22, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will host a South Asian Economic Summit (SAEA) from August 28, where civil society, academics, private sector and state representatives can debate economic issues, a Colombo-based think thank said. Former Nepalese finance and foreign minister Bekh Thapa, former Bangladeshi foreign minister Kamal Hossain, former SAARC secretary generals Ibrahim […]
Sri Lanka stocks stagnate, more trading in CIC
Aug 21, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed marginally weaker Thursday, the indices dragged down by falls in blue chips, with Chemical Industries (Colombo) again being heavily traded, brokers said.The All Share Price Index was virtually unchanged, just half a point down at 2,424.71 while the more liquid Milanka dropped 0.17 percent (4.82 points) […]
Fleet Plans
Aug 21, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Mercantile Shipping Company said it expects delivery of the first of two new cargo ships on order by the middle of next year as construction is slightly ahead of schedule.The company said it made good profits in the last financial year but that cash flow would be tight […]
Banking Challenge
August 21, 2008 (LBO) – Hatton National Bank has staged a steady turnaround under the direction of its chief executive Rajendra Theagarajah. But with a weakening economy of high inflation and volatile interest rates, banks in general are under pressure.HNB is now looking at maintaining asset quality and increasing its exposure abroad as domestic loan […]
Sri Lanka expects firm tea prices despite commodity bubble burst
Aug 21, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea exporters are expecting prices to remain high owing to good quality leaf, savvy marketing and packaging, though the US dollar is strengthening and a global commodity bubble may have burst.Romesh Moraes of the Tea Exporters Association said the trade aims to maintain its price advantage over its […]
Piracy Battle
Aug 21, 2008 (LBO) – Business Software Alliance (BSA) has appointed an attorney-at-law to support action against piracy in the software market in Sri Lanka, where nine out of ten programmes are unlicensed. The world wide rate for piracy is lesser at 38 percent or 47 billion dollars, Chan said. “The BSA anti piracy campaign […]
Asian electronics sector holding up: analysts
SINGAPORE, August 21, 2008 (AFP) – Asia’s electronics manufacturing sector is holding up, despite a slowing global economy, because of sustained demand from Brazil, Russia, India and China, analysts said Thursday.The need for newer technology to put into cars, mobile phones and flat screen television panels should help drive demand for increasingly sophisticated electronics chips, […]
Overseas Bangladeshis to send nine bln dollars home this year
DHAKA, August 21, 2008 (AFP) – Bangladeshis abroad will pump close to nine billion dollars back into the nation’s economy this year, the foreign minister said Thursday, but warned migrant workers they were at risk of human trafficking.Itekhar Ahmed said that since January, migrant workers had sent 6.5 billion dollars back to Bangladesh, and the […]
Oil prices above US$114 traders mull lower gasoline stocks
NEW YORK, August 20, 2008 (AFP) – Oil prices rose on Wednesday after a sharp spike the previous day as traders nervously mulled a larger-than-expected decline in US gasoline stocks. Prices closed higher in edgy trade, wiping out declines experienced earlier in the day, as traders assessed a weekly US inventory report for clues on […]
‘s Qantas reports record profit
SYDNEY, August 21, 2008 (AFP) – Australia’s national airline Qantas Thursday reported a 44 percent increase in annual net profit to a record 969 million dollars (842.6 million US dollars). Revenue for the year ended June 30 rose 7.5 percent to 16.19 billion dollars after Qantas carried 38.6 million passengers, up 6.0 percent, the company […]
Sri Lanka CB governor says South Asian policy making improving
Aug 21, 2008 (LBO) – Economic policies in South Asia are improving and people are taking ownership for policymaking and are no longer driven by multilateral institutions, Sri Lanka’s central bank governor Nivard Cabraal said.“We are now taking ownership of our own destinies,” Cabraal said at the opening of a regional symposium of senior central […]
Casualty
Aug 20, 2008 (LBO) – A cargo vessel owned by Sri Lanka’s Vallibel group sank off the Bangladeshi port of Chittagong Wednesday after colliding with a tanker, shipping and company officials said. The Vallibel group of businessman Dhammika Perera owns a few merchant ships. The crew of Sri Lankan and Burmese was rescued, they said, […]