Category: Industry
Cricket Australia slammed over row with agency lockout through Sri Lanka Test
BRISBANE, Australia, Nov 9, 2007 (AFP) – Australia cricket’s governing body came under fire Friday for imposing restrictions that have locked global news agencies out of the opening Australia-Sri Lanka cricket Test in Brisbane. “And with the Indian team arriving later this summer, backed by the world’s largest cricket audience, it would be a disaster […]
Commonwealth games decision in Sri Lanka today
Nov 9, 2007 – The Commonwealth Games Federation general assembly will vote Friday to decide whether Abuja of Nigeria or Scotland’s Glasgow hosts the 2014 games, officials said. Abuja and Glasgow will get a final opportunity to sway voters when they each make a 30-minute presentation and answer questions during a 10-minute period just before […]
Sri Lanka to buy 200MW of private power
Nov 09, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will shortly call for the supply of 200MegaWatts of private power to bridge an energy deficit until a coal plant comes on stream, officials said. Energy Minister John Seneviratne told LBO that the cabinet of ministers had given the nod to call for proposals from existing independent power […]
Savings Giant
Nov 09, 2007 (LBO) – Fitch Sri Lanka has affirmed the National Savings Bank’s (NSB) ‘AAA(lka)’ rating with a stable outlook, but said high taxes and narrower margins were eroding profitability. “The rating reflects the full state ownership of the bank, low credit risk on its assets due to its significant exposure to government securities […]
Sri Lanka Australia Tests open with global media locked out
BRISBANE, Australia, Nov 8, 2007 (AFP) – Australia’s Test cricket season opened Thursday with international fans unable to follow the action after organisers locked global news agencies out of the ground in Brisbane.The restriction was lifted 90 minutes before the tournament kicked off. The row also left Australia’s largest media organisation, News Limited, unable to […]
Be Careful
Nov 08, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s shaky budgets and complementary monetary policy are the biggest dangers to the banking system, an international rating agency has warned. Fitch Ratings says the ongoing internal war and even the December 2004 tsunami had little direct impact on the stability of Sri Lanka’s banking system. “However, the state’s […]
Heavy fighting in Sri Lanka leaves scores killed and wounded
Nov 7, 2007 (AFP) – Heavy fighting between Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels Wednesday left a large number killed or wounded, both sides said. The government and rebels had agreed to a Norwegian-brokered truce in 2002, but the peace process began to unravel in December 2005. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) […]
Sri Lanka test news coverage threatened over Cricket Australia restrictions
SYDNEY, Nov 6, 2007 (AFP) – Global news agencies said Tuesday they may be forced to cancel coverage of the first Australia-Sri Lanka cricket Test after organisers imposed unprecedented restrictions on the media. “The broader global debate is probably not going to be resolved for several years, as all parties increasingly understand what this means […]
Agri Tour
Nov 06, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank is sending local farmers to India to study agricultural practices and learn new techniques, officials said. The farmers, who are customers of 12 HNB branches hail from agricultural centres like Dambulla, Trincomalee, Vavuniya, Tissamaharama, Gampaha and Nuwara Eliya. “This is to encourage farmers to be […]
Central Rating
Nov 06, 2007 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka has confirmed Central Finance Company’s (CF) long-term rating of ‘A+ (lka)’ with a ‘stable’ outlook. CF has a 20 percent interest in Nations Trust Bank (‘A (lka)’), a licensed commercial bank. “CF’s rating factors in its strong financial profile and its dominant market position as the second-largest […]
Top Dog
SHANGHAI, Nov 5, 2007 (AFP) – PetroChina became the world’s largest company by market value Monday, worth nearly one trillion dollars — double the value of ExxonMobil — as its shares surged in their debut on the Chinese mainland. The milestone underlined the ongoing boom on Chinese markets, which have been flooded with ready cash […]
Open Sesame
Nov 05, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s teleco operators are pushing the industry regulator to remove technology limits and allow networks to share resources as part of a broad plan to liberalise the market further, officials said.The wish list — prepared during an industry pow-wow with the telecom watchdog last week — also includes prickly […]