Category: Economy and Markets
Sri Lankan stocks close up 1.22-pct
Oct 19, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares made a comeback Tuesday, boosted by gains from banking sector stocks that weigh heavily on the index, while a big private deal in a hospital boosted turnover past three billion rupees, brokers said. John Keells Holdings, an index heavy conglomerate closed at 310.00 rupees, up 1.00 (0.32 […]
Sri Lankan stocks close flat
Oct 18, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed flat Monday as retail investors continued to stay on the sidelines, while heavy buying interest on index heavy stocks pushed the Milanka index up, brokers said. Ceylon Leather Products, a unit of ERI closed at 97.30 rupees, up 4.00 (2.3 percent), while its Warrants 0012 closed […]
Sri Lanka may have 20,000 illegals mainly from Pakistan, India: report
Oct 17, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka may have about 20,000 guest workers, mainly from India and Pakistan working as labourers, domestic workers, cooks and waiters in restaurants in several towns without proper authority, a media report said. Sri Lanka’s The Sunday Times newspaper said the number was an ‘official estimate’ but the island’s immigration […]
Sri Lanka rulers can set example by paying taxes: ex public servant
Oct 16, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s rulers can set an example to the people by starting to pay taxes and the increasing privileges of elected officials can permeate wider into a bloated state, a retired public servant who has spent his life batting on the side of the people said. “For instance there is […]
Sri Lanka stocks becalmed
Oct 15, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed flat Friday, as price gains on selected high value and midcap shares offset selling by retail investors taking defensive positions, while index heavy John Keells Holdings continued to slide, brokers said. The Colombo All Share Index closed up 0. 07 percent (4.78 points) to 6,626.86 points, […]
Sri Lanka mini-hydro firm looks for cash to expand
Oct 15, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hydro Power Free Lanka is looking for 350 million rupees in equity to build three new plants while the firm also has a revenue stream from two existing plants, officials said. Hydro Power Free Lanka posted revenues of 114. 9 million rupees and earned profits of 56.7 million […]
Sri Lanka may trim 25 taxes on business to 15: official
Oct 15, 2010 (LBO) – A report on reforms to Sri Lanka’s complex national and regional taxes will recommend consolidating 25 different existing taxes into 15 or lower, a member of an expert committee said. Saman Kelegama, a member of a presidential commission on taxation, and head of Sri Lanka’s Institute of Policy Studies, a […]
Sri Lanka 2011 budget process gets underway
Oct 15, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s 2011 budgeting process will get underway with the presentation of an ‘appropriation bill’ in parliament on October 19, and planned deficit of 7.0 percent of the economy from around 8.0 for the current year. Tax revenues have also been in line with nominal GDP growth at 18.3 percent […]
Singapore pushes currency up to counter dollar inflation
SINGAPORE, October 14, 2010 (AFP) – Singapore on Thursday announced a surprise move to tighten monetary policy, pushing the local dollar to new highs as the economy headed for 13 to 15 percent expansion this year. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) signalled its anti-inflation stance after government data showed the economy expanded an annual […]
Sri Lankan stocks close down 0.10-pct
Oct 14, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks slid further Thursday, after Wednesday’s early morning fall and late afternoon rally, with falls in index heavy stocks like John Keells Holdings (JKH), Hatton National Bank (HNB) and Aitken Spence, brokers said. The Colombo All Share Index was down 0.10 percent (6.75 points) to 6,622.08 points, while […]
Sri Lanka should be re-assessed by US business: Asst. Trade Rep
Oct 13, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka should be re-assessed by US businesses after the end of a 30-year war as the country moves forward in a peaceful environment though ethnic reconciliation remained a challenge, a top US trade official said. “We think that political reconciliation could be greatly accelerated with economic growth. We need […]
Sri Lanka Treasuries yield inch up
Oct 13, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Treasuries yields inched up slightly at Wednesday’s auction with the 6-month yield moving up 05 basis points to 7. 04 percent and the 12-month yield moving up 05 basis points to 7. 17 percent, the government’s debt office said. There were no sales of 3-month bills. The government […]