Category:
Sri Lankan apparel to get wider access to Indian market
July 06, 2007 (LBO) – India has agreed to lift restrictions relating to fabric origins on duty free Sri Lankan apparel exports to the sub-continent market in the latest trade talks between the two neighbours, a senior official said. “Now apparel exporters to India can source their fabric requirements from anywhere,” Manel de Silva, Director-General […]
Sri Lanka central bank to retail treasuries
July 05, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank will use its regional offices to sell government securities to rural investors, the bank said, as real returns on treasuries are turning positive in a market that has been shaken with a series of aborted auctions.The bank runs the government’s debt office as an agency function […]
Retail Collection
July 05, 2007 (LBO) – HSBC has tied up with Singer Sri Lanka, a household durables firm, to use its network of outlets to collects payments for credit card bill payments for cardholders outside the capital. HSBC customers can use 162 Singer outlets throughout the island to pay settle their bills. “Our intention was to […]
Finance Probe
July 05, 2007 (LBO) – A presidential commission of inquiry probing the collapse of a string of finance companies in Sri Lanka has begun questioning Central Bank officials. The four-member commission comprising of senior legal and finance experts commenced sittings on July 2 and will hold its next sessions on July 6 and 13. The […]
Joint Effort
July 05, 2007 (LBO) – Senior officials from South Asian central and commercial banks will meet in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo Friday to discuss the setting up of a regional payment system, the country’s central bank said. Officials of regional central banks as well as the World Bank and Bank for International Settlements are […]
No Deal
July 05, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s construction industry has successfully lobbied the government to defer the liberalisation of construction and related services under a free trade deal with India, an official said. The industry is not wholly against the idea of liberalising services but wants to protect local players until they are ready to […]
Islamic banking and finance set to grow in Asia
SINGAPORE, July 5, 2007 (AFP) – Islamic banking and finance is likely to continue growing in the Asia Pacific region but the real test of its sustainability will be how the system reacts to a major financial crisis, a report said Thursday. The industry is set to develop its own identity separate from conventional banking […]
Sri Lanka alert as Tamil Tigers commemorate 322 suicide bombers
July 5, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka was on high alert Thursday as Tamil Tiger rebels commemorated the 322 male and female suicide bombers who have blown themselves up for the guerrilla cause over the last two decades. The Tamil Tigers are fighting for an independent homeland for the minority ethnic Tamils on the majority […]
Debt Capital
July 04, 2007 (LBO) – Sampath Bank has completed a debenture issue to raise 250 million rupees, the bank told the Colombo Stock Exchange. The money will strengthen the bank’s tier II capital base. The bank has a double AA- (lka) national long term rating from Fitch Ratings Lanka. Its debentures have previously been rated […]
Crawl Speed
July 04 (LBO) – Lengthy delays in automating Sri Lanka’s cargo clearing system were hurting the island’s chances of becoming a trading hub and making trading inefficient, a top freight forwarder said. “The automation of Sri Lanka’s cargo clearing system has not happened yet although it has been talked about for about five years,” said […]
BOT BPO
July 04, 2007 (LBO) – Aviva, one of the world’s biggest insurance firms, has hired over 300 Sri Lankan accounting and finance professionals into its business process outsourcing unit in Colombo. The professionals were trained on a build and transfer contract between Aviva Global Services (AGS) and Sri Lanka’s WNS, a third-party service provider for […]
High Standards
July 04, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s freight forwarders are seeking new rules to improve standards in the trade after winning a court order that quashed a set of regulations proposed by government. “We did not see much policing in the proposed law,” Kadawatharatchie said. “There’s a need to punish rule breakers.” Niral Kadawatharatchie, chairman […]