Category:
Flashing Dollars
America has pledged more peace and development oriented funds for Sri Lanka as it rolled out its South Asia assistance plan for the coming financial year. Most of the funds will be broadly for ldblquote short-term, high impact programs that are both an incentive to peace, and a boost to reconstruction and reconciliation in war […]
Go Slow
Development projects are on track but are slowing down because of jittery foreign investors says the UNF.rnrnldblquote Whatever projects that were initiated by the UNF government are still going on but progress of these projects have slowed down because foreign investors are moving very slowly, dblquote said Minister of Lands, Rajitha Senaratne at the UNF […]
Be Generous
Commercial Bank of Ceylon is in talks with its Unions to ask them to contribute part of their earnings towards a bank pension schemeInitial discussions made some headway, with Unions agreeing not to include employees who join after January 1, 2004, from contributing to the Fund.rn rnThe Pension Fund is presently, non-contributory to employees, while […]
Steady Growth
Hayleys will delve deep into its traditional operations to increase profits in 2004-05 while pegging growth prospects on agriculture and transportation. The transport sector is earmarked as a key area of growth for the Hayleys Group with growth estimates of between 20 percent and 25 percent during the year.rn rnExpansion into shipping and the recent […]
On Test
The much-hyped third generation cellular services will soon be a reality, with the first of three trial networks launched by Dialog GSM on Tuesday. Though only on a test basis, CEO Dr.Hans Wijayasuriya says it creates an opportunity for Sri Lankans to interact with new age technology and offer application providers a platform to test […]
Montero Monks
Buddhist monks launched their formal drive for Sri Lankas parliament from a historic temple town Tuesday with a vow to cleanse politics and restore “ultimate peace”. The saffron-robed monks chanted prayers here before being driven to the islands holiest Buddhist shrine, the Temple of the Tooth, in the central town of Kandy, 112 kilometres (72 […]
Election Sniper
Gunmen have shot dead a political activist in eastern Sri Lanka in a second murder believed to be related to next months elections, police said Tuesday. The attackers gunned down Ponniah Yogendran, 28, from the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) in the district of Batticaloa on Monday night, police said.rn rnThe EPDP said the slaying […]
Borrowing Cheap
The Central Bank says it will issue Rs. 2 bn worth of two-year treasury bonds to the debt market, as part of its borrowing programme for March.rnrnOf the Rs. 27.114 bn worth of treasury bills maturing, the bank has opted to re-issue only Rs.20.364 bn worth of paper. The balance Rs. 6.750 bn will be […]
Good Show
The Seylan Merchant Bank (SMB) Groups earnings rose 344 percent to Rs. 50.29 mn over revenues of Rs. 565 mn for the fiscal year ending Dec.31, 2003.In unaudited results released recently, SMB Groups Net Income rose by 22 percent to Rs 668 million from Rs 546 million in the corresponding period in 2002.rn rnMeanwhile, the […]
Hard Sell
Modeled on the likes of top branded resorts like Banyan Tree, Jetwing Hotels is revamping its hotels and spas into three core brands endash Eco, Ayurveda and beach holidays.The group is making a determined shift up-market, in efforts to lure the discerning high spenders with more than just the best package deal.rn rnldblquote In the […]
Muddy Waters
Sri Lankas Buddhist clergy Monday accused President Chandrika Kumaratungas Marxist allies of launching a “smear campaign” against them in the run up to parliamentary elections. The Marxist JVP, or Peoples Liberation Front, which partnered with Kumaratungas Freedom Alliance for the snap April 2 polls, had began clandestinely distributing pamphlets protesting the entry of clergy into […]
Cosy Chat
The Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna says it will re-negotiate the US$ 567 mn structural loan facility with the IMF, when it comes to power next month.The IMFs concessionary loan package endash the largest ever granted to Sri Lanka last April endash was to be disbursed in equal tranches of US$ 81 mn over a three-year […]