Sri Lanka could use fresh water bodies for premium tourism

Dec 09, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan policy makers should follow the Maldivian example by opening a few dozen of the thousands inland lakes in the country to attract high end tourists willing to pay high premiums for ‘privacy’, a top architect said. “People are willing to pay 200 – 300 dollars on a holiday, […]

Executive Care

Dec 09, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan banks have been urged to select their boards of directors with care to ensure they hire capable people with integrity and not just based on friendship or wealth.Attorney general Mohan Peiris, the government’s chief legal officer, said regulatory standards had been toughened in recent years amid heightened public […]

Sri Lanka lures Indian tourists by sea

Dec 08, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has struck a deal with the world’s fifth largest cruise line to attract Indian tourists to the island by cruise ship, officials said. The Tourism Promotion Bureau said the cruise calls are expected to increase the number of Indian tourists visiting the island by 4,000 a month. Its […]

Sri Lanka November tourist arrivals up 20-pct

Dec 08, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tourist arrivals for November went up 20.1 percent to 44,311 from a year ago, boosted by more visitors from key markets like the United Kingdom, Germany and India, while arrivals from Eastern Europe dipped, tourism data showed. Cumulative arrivals, which had fallen steadily till May, were up 0.4 […]

Bank Watch

Dec 08, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank is to introduce a mandatory deposit insurance scheme, strengthen bank supervision and launch an internal rating system for banks, governor Nivard Cabraal said.These were some of the new measures the banking regulator is taking to strengthen the island’s financial system to ensure its future stability and […]

Risk Cover

Dec 08, 2009 (LBO) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it has signed trade finance agreements with three Sri Lankan banks that will help them provide loans and guarantees to exporters and importers.“Nevertheless, companies in emerging markets, particularly small and medium-sized firms, have typically faced difficulties in accessing enough credit to fill export orders […]

Guarantee Status

Dec 07, 2009 (LBO) – Finance and Guarantee Company Limited, a regulated finance company in the troubled Ceylinco group will be renamed The Island Finance Company, the Central Bank said. The company suffered liquidity constraints in the wake of the crisis in the Ceylinco Group and its day to day operations were restricted following legal […]

War Risk

Dec 07, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is sending a team of shipping and navy officials for talks with London underwriters to get the island off the war risk insurance rating list, shipping officials said. The team would seek a fresh risk evaluation following the end of the ethnic war and removal of the island […]

Cargo Screening

Dec 07, 2009 (LBO) – A US decision to extend the deadline for scanning all containers entering the country will afford relief to Sri Lankan exporters who had been concerned it would cause delays and raise costs.A new report by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) said the Customs and Border Protection has made relatively […]

Sri Lanka, India captains clash on umpire reviews

MUMBAI, December 6, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara on Sunday called for the umpires’ review system to be made mandatory after India defeated his side 2-0 in the Test series.But his Indian counterpart Mahendra Singh Dhoni was not in favour of the umpires’ review system, saying it was not “100 percent fool-proof.” […]

Sri Lanka power utility sells assets to military

Dec 06, 2009 (LBO) – A housing facility built by contractors for a hydro electric dam project will be sold by the state-run Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to the military, the government has said.The cabinet of ministers had given the nod for the housing complex built for Swedish expatriates who worked at the Kukule river […]

India on top of the world after mauling Sri Lanka

MUMBAI, December 6, 2009 (AFP) – India became the number one Test team on Sunday after routing Sri Lanka by an innings and 24 runs in the third and final cricket Test in Mumbai to clinch the series 2-0.Pace spearhead Zaheer Khan took 5-72 as Sri Lanka, trailing by 333 runs on the first innings, […]

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