Category: Industry
Sri Lanka not claiming full duty free access to US
Oct 23, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan exporters are not making enough use of duty free access to the United States under its Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programme, officials said. “It is necessary to educate our exporters about the duty free access to the US,” said Gomi Senadheera, Sri Lanka’s Director-General of Commerce. “There […]
Rural Transport
Oct 23, 2009 (LBO) – The Asian Development Bank said it has given financial assistance amounting to 70 million dollars to Sri Lanka for rebuilding roads in two provinces affected by war.The total investment cost of the project in the island’s Eastern and North Central Provinces is 78 million dollars of which eight million will […]
Sri Lanka GSP trade deal dropped from EU resolution
Oct 23, 2009 (LBO) – A European Parliament resolution that was critical of Sri Lanka’s human rights record dropped a reference to the GSP Plus trade deal giving duty free access to the island’s exports to European Union markets.The future of the GSP deal is in doubt after a European Commission report earlier in the […]
Sri Lanka at disadvantage in Iraq tea tender
Oct 23, 2009 (LBO) – Iraq has issued a tender for 15 million kilos of packed black tea but Sri Lankan exporters are disadvantaged by high prices of Ceylon teas and payment problems, a broker said. But the deficit is still 42 million kilos compared with the output in 2008. The global tea tea production […]
Sri Lanka budget airline to get six planes
Oct 22, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s loss-making state-owned budget airline, Mihin Lanka, is to buy six aircraft, Ports and Aviation Minister Chamal Rajapaksa said.He made the revelation during a debate in parliament on Sri Lankan Airlines, the national carrier, also state-owned, our sister news website, Vimasuma.com reported. Rajapaksa did not give further details about […]
Nomadic Workers
Oct 22, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s migrant workers and their remittances are unlikely to be seriously affected by the global economic slowdown, the Institute of Policy Studies said in a report. But unskilled migrant workers, especially those in the construction industry, may be affected by the slowdown in construction and service sectors in Gulf […]
Deposit Franchise
Oct 22, 2009 (LBO) – RAM Ratings Lanka said it has assigned long- and short-term financial institutions rating of A and P1 to Sri Lanka’s State Mortgage and Investment Bank (SMIB). “The ratings are primarily based on the state ownership of the bank, tempered by the wide asset-liability maturity mismatch (ALMM) inherent in its business […]
Sri Lanka hydro power producer gets more generating licenses
Oct 21, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan mini hydro power company Vallibel Power Erathna said it has bought a firm that has approvals for two power plants and deals to sell electricity to the state utility. Vallibel Power, which is being eyed by a US investor, said in a stock exchange filing that it has […]
SriLankan Airlines says bookings up, to increase flights
Oct 21, 2009 (LBO) – SriLankan Airlines said it will increase flights this winter season to a dozen cities throughout Europe, the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, and Far East as bookings were on the rise. The move is based on its projection that passenger numbers will “definitely increase” following the end of the island’s […]
Big Number
Oct 21, 2009 (LBO) –Sri Lanka’s The Finance Company (TFC), a former unit of the troubled Ceylinco Group, said it made a 2.5 billion rupee loss in 2008, owing to a slump in property prices and a run on deposits. TFC said in a statement the company had been adversely affected by the high profile […]
Sri Lanka threatened with loss of EU trade perks
BRUSSELS, October 19, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka was threatened on Monday with losing preferential trading status with the European Union over human rights violations, the EU commission said Monday. A Sri Lankan foreign ministry statement said Colombo had blocked a team of experts from visiting “as a matter of principle”. The country’s textile industry […]
Sri Lanka says to study EU report on trade deal
Oct 20, 2009 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government said it will study a report by the European Union that said it was in breach of commitments on human rights that might cause it to lose a trade deal. The EC report said the Commission will now decide whether to propose a temporary withdrawal of […]