Category:
Turning Around
January 29, (LBO) – State Mortgage and Investment Bank has trimmed its non-performing loans sharply, the rating agency Fitch said, affirming the banks’ A (lka) rating with a stable outlook. Gross non-performing loans were cut down to 14.7 percent of gross loans by the third quarter of 2006, from 21 by the end of the […]
Sold Out
Jan 29 (LBO) – Asian Hotels and Properties, developers of the new Emperor Condominium at Crescat City, says it has found buyers for 80 percent of the apartments. The Singapore Piling and Civil Engineering (PTE) Ltd, has been awarded the construction contract for the new condominium AHPL said. A member of the John Keells Holdings […]
Brotherly Ties
Galle, January 29 (LBO) – Bilateral talks starting this week will further broaden economic ties between India and Sri Lanka, while aid volumes to the country was also moving up, an Indian government official told an aid forum here Monday. Sri Lanka was now India’s largest trade partner in South Asia with India being Sri […]
i-Switch
Jan 29 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tech firm Interblocks said Monday that they had implemented an ATM Switch and Monitoring system to manage Central Finance’s ATM network. The tie up with Interblocks and implementation of the iSwitch system would facilitate inter-branch settlement and reconciliation, remote monitoring and proactive alerts. The company says it is the […]
Citigroup buys Egg from Prudential
LONDON, Jan 29, 2007 (AFP) – British insurance group Prudential on Monday exited the consumer banking sector with the sale of its loss-making Internet bank arm Egg to US giant Citigroup for 575 million pounds in cash.Analysts welcomed the news, which leaves Prudential to concentrate on insurance and asset management, but said the price fell […]
Worldwide tourist numbers hit record in 2006
MADRID, Jan 29, 2007 (AFP) – The number of tourists worldwide rose 4.5 percent last year from 2005 to reach a record 842 million, with Africa showing the sharpest gain, the World Tourism Organisation reported Monday.It forecast an increase of 4.0 percent in tourist numbers in 2007, noting that the trend was now toward a […]
Choices: Rule of law or rule of men?
January 29, 2007 (LBO) — What shall we make of the new 52-member, multi-party Cabinet (depicted in Figure 1) sworn in on January 28th, 2007? Source: News reports Note: Party affiliations are per Supreme Court, and are subject to interpretation. Is it good for Sri Lanka and its future? Each person will have to make […]
Will jumbo cabinet bring stability to Sri Lanka?
Jan 29, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s minority government has weakened the opposition with a spate of defections and won a crucial simple majority in parliament, but analysts say the turncoats will only trigger more instability.President Mahinda Rajapakse swore in Sunday a 53-member cabinet, by far the largest since independence from Britain in 1948. He […]
Top donors draw focus from cash to conflict and governance, at Sri Lanka aid parley
January 29 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s top donors steered the focus of an annual aid review from cash to solving the internal conflict, giving relief to affected people and improving governance and human rights. “No amount of development assistance by the US or any other donor can have any lasting impact however, without finding a […]
Donors call for peace to restore investor confindence
GALLE, Sri Lanka, Jan 29, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka must commit to peace and restore investor confidence if it is to develop its potential, a senior World Bank official said ahead of a crucial review Monday of international aid.The bank’s vice president for South Asia, Praful Patel, said it was “deeply concerned” about a […]
Davos favour greening of business
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 28, 2007 (AFP) – When US Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss mentioned his doubts about climate change during a debate at the World Economic Forum last Friday, gasps emerged from the business-minded audience.“Whether it’s something that we need to be totally alarmed about, or nature taking its course, I don’t know,” said the […]
Sri Lanka government appoints 51 member cabinet, claims absolute majority
January, 28 (LBO) – The defection of 18 opposition members has strengthened the administration of President Mahinda Rajapakse, a senior minister said, while the opposition symbolically tore up a co-operation agreement with the government in front of journalists. œThe most experienced and ablest member of the opposition has joined the government, Information Minister Anura Yapa […]