Category: General Services

May 26 (LBO) – Sri Lanka™s top business chamber called for tough disciplinary action following a two day strike by customs officers, which paralysed imports and exports. The long-term impact on competitiveness of exports that largely depend on meeting delivery deadlines, will undoubtedly be adverse, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce said in a statement on […]

May 25, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s excessive holidays, arbitrary salary increases and the government’s reluctance to settle billions to India’s main oil retailer, is turning out to be a stumbling block for Indians to invest here, officials said Thursday. Sri Lanka also wants more shipments of clothes in key categories and a relaxing of […]

May 10 (LBO) – Sri Lanka authorities have initiated a major crackdown on illegal foreign labour in the country, starting with workers in foreign owned factories. Last weekend investigators from the Department of Immigration and Emigration raided a factory in the Kalutara district and arrested seven Indian nationals. The Controller of Immigration and Emigration P […]

May 08 (LBO) – Ceylinco Healthcare Services is to set up Sri Lanka’s first private cancer treatment facility by May next year, to treat even advanced cases of the disease.The facility will support its existing cancer screening unit that offers genetic counselling and also tests for oral, breast, stomach, cervical and other cancers. The new […]

More than 50 senior executives of Chinese firms are participating in a business forum in Colombo, as commercial ties between the two countries continue to strengthen. The two day China-Sri Lanka CEO Summit, to be held on May 08th and 09th has been organized with the Asian Capital Forum, a CEO club and conference organizer. […]

May 02 (LBO) – Indo-Lanka trade talks hit a roadblock last week with dialogue on trade in goods shelved for later this month, though talks on services made headway. “We could not complete the talks on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) as scheduled. We were able to hold discussions on financial services and other […]

May 02 (LBO) – A tariff cut of up to 70 percent on imports from India under the Indo-Lanka Free Trade Agreement has been pushed back due to legislative delays. The tariff changes are currently in Parliament and there has been a delay in getting it approved but it is purely a procedural delay, Lal […]

DHAKA, April 27, 2006 (AFP) – Health ministers from seven South Asian nations have decided to develop a common strategy to combat bird-flu in the region, a statement said Thursday.The health ministers said after their meeting in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka Wednesday that “an impending pandemic influenza” posed a threat to the region’s 1.40 billion […]

GENEVA, Apr. 25 (AFP) – The spectre of failure has returned to haunt the World Trade Organisation, as negotiators prove unable to maintain momentum in the Doha Round talks and developing countries warn that no deal is better than a bad deal.The 149-nation WTO has acknowledged that it will miss an April 30 deadline for […]

Apr.24 (LBO) – Sri Lanka plans to ask for more shipments of clothes, edible oils and fewer limits on country of rules origins on exports of key items to India, when both nations meet for trade talks tomorrow, officials said. Four days of trade talks between the two nations under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement […]

DHAKA, April 21, 2006 (AFP) – South Asian nations have agreed to include services in the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) in a bid to boost regional economic integration, a report said Friday.The decision came at a meeting of South Asian trade ministers in Dhaka that ended Thursday on the free trade pact which […]

DHAKA, Apr.20 (AFP) – The trade ministers of seven South Asian nations said Thursday they had “fruitful” discussions on barriers still impeding a planned regional free trade area.Fruitful discussions were held in a very cordial atmosphere; the implementation of the SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Agreement) is now our prime task,” Bangladesh Trade Minister Altaf […]