Category:
Northern Power
Sept 27, 2007 (LBO) – A Malaysian firm which has bought a listed construction firm in Colombo has said it had bought an independent power producer (IPP) which will supply Sri Lanka’s northern Jaffna peninsula. MTD has also been interested in an expressway Sri Lanka hopes to build between its capital Colombo and the central […]
Pirate Attack
Sept 26, 2007 (LBO) – Several fishing vessels chased and tried to board a yacht off southern Sri Lanka in a rare attempted incident of piracy, according to a report from a piracy watchdog. The yatch, whose identity was not revealed, was enroute from the Maldives to Malaysia. The yacht managed to evade the attempted […]
New Course
Sept 26, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is planning to revamp the Central Freight Bureau, a state agency that at the time controlled the shipping business, into a research body, officials said. The new organization hopes to provide research material of commercial value to the shipping community. Ranjith de Silva, additional secretary to the Ministry […]
Niche Demand
Sept 26, 2007 (LBO) – A new Sri Lankan apartment developer says there is unmet demand in niche markets, though high interest rates from an expanding budget deficit have started to affect the overall property market. “There is a demand for quality apartments. One should stick to niche markets,” Gishanka De Silva, director DGS Holdings […]
Corrupt Rank
Sept 26, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has slipped ten places in a global ranking of public sector corruption, the latest study by anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International shows. . The island was placed the 94th least transparent country among 180 nations in 2007, down from 84th place a year earlier in a corruption perceptions index […]
Bottom End
Sept 26, 2007 (AFP) – High taxes and red tape are eroding confidence in Sri Lanka, one of the worst places to do business in South Asia, a study by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) showed Wednesday. The research which ranked 178 countries around the world on trade, taxation, business start-up costs, labour laws and […]
Split Order
WELLINGTON, Sept 26, 2007 (AFP) – The New Zealand government on Wednesday ordered the country’s dominant phone company Telecom to split into three units in a bid to level the playing field in the telecommunications industry.But investors took the latest news in their stride, with shares rising six cents at 4.36 New Zealand dollars by […]
Sri Lanka claims killing 13 Tamil Tigers
COLOMBO, Sept 26, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops shot dead 13 suspected Tamil Tiger rebels in clashes across northern defensive lines, the defence ministry said Wednesday.Ten members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) died Tuesday trying to inflitrate army defences in Vavuniya district, the ministry said in a statement. Four government troops […]
Sri Lanka says human rights criticism is neo colonialism
Sept 26, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has rejected criticism of its human rights record by Western countries saying it was being unfairly targeted in a campaign reminiscent of colonial era exploitation and domination. “Human rights must not be regarded as a new version of the White Man’s Burden,” Dayan Jayatilleka, Ambassador and Permanent Representative […]
Sri Lanka tells UN military campaign is to get Tigers to resume talks
Sept 26, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has told the United Nations that his government’s military campaign was aimed at convincing the Tamil Tigers they cannot achieve a military victory in their campaign for a separate state. Addressing the UN General Assembly at its headquarters in New York Tuesday, Rajapakse called on […]
Sri Lanka treasury yields up again
Sept 25, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s benchmark 3- month treasury yields went up 15 basis points to 18.20 with the cut-off pushing 18.30 percent dealers said, as authorities struggled to stabilize an economy hit by heavy government spending. Meanwhile 6-month yields went up 15 basis points to 17.47 percent and the 12-month went up […]
Apples and Oranges
Sept 25, 2007 (LBO) – The International Monetary Fund which has warned of further fallouts from the sub-prime crisis has called on credit evaluators to use a new rating scale to describe default risks of asset-backed securities. Now asset-backed debt products or securitized instruments use the same rating scale that is used from straightforward bonds […]