Category: Other
Sri Lanka tea industry to get back withheld funds; objections to new cess
April 30, 2007 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government has agreed to release all funds owed to the tea industry from the export cess but key stakeholders are opposing a proposal to further increase the cess. Tea Board Chairman Lalith Hettiarachchi told LBO the Cabinet had agreed to release all funds of the tea export cess, […]
China invests in key projects in Zimbabwe as West tighten economic sanctions
BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, April 27, 2007 (AFP) – Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said on Friday that burgeoning economic ties with Asian countries were paying off for the country shunned by its former trading allies in the west. “I am pleased to report that significant headway has been made with a number of investment projects that have […]
‘s inflation soars to 2,200 percent
HARARE, April 26, 2007 (AFP) – Zimbabwe, already battling to contain the world’s highest rate of inflation, announced on Thursday that the figure had soared once more to 2,200 percent. Before the devaluation, the Zimbabwean dollar had been trading at around 25,000 to the greenback, against the official rate of 250 dollars. After the official […]
Sri Lanka plans performance based incentives to push value-added tea exports
April 27, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state tea promotion agency is planning a new initiative based on performance incentives to boost flagging valued added tea exports, an official said. The incentive is to be based on exporters performance in increasing the volume and value of such teas, Sri Lanka Tea Board Chairman Lalith Hettiarachchi told […]
Robot Watchdog
April 26, 2007 (LBO) – Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) is considering introducing computerized surveillance systems to monitor stock market activity and detect abuses as trading volumes get bigger. The SEC is looking at a few systems by vendors here and in India, including the National Stock Exchange, de Silva said. We’re […]
‘s Talawakelle Tea estate profits dip after strike
April 25, 2007 (LBO) – Hayleys subsidiary Talawakelle Tea Estates (TTEL), has reported a sharp fall in first quarter profits after a strike crippled production late last year.Net profit for the three months ended March 31, 2007 fell 60 percent to 30.2 million rupees from 75.8 million rupees in the same 2006 period.Revenue was down 16 […]
‘s central bank keeps key rates unchanged
MUMBAI, April 24, 2007 (AFP) – The Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday left key short-term borrowing rates unchanged as it seeks to keep economic growth on track despite inflation running well above its comfort zone.The RBI’s decision had been widely expected following a series of rate hikes but significantly, the central bank also tweaked […]
Fraud Warning
April 24, 2007 (LBO) – The Central Bank of Sri Lanka is warning the public against payment card fraud following the discovery of a massive fraud in the United Kingdom which has been linked with Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers. “This scam which has been said to be running for several years has involved in cloning […]
Tougher Rules
April 24, 2007 (LBO) – Tough new corporate governance rules were being made mandatory to make the markets more attractive to foreign and local investors, Sri Lanka’s capital market regulators said. The SEC has also put in rules on money laundering, but so far no prosecutions have been made. We firmly believe it to be […]
Indian outsourcing sector sets up watchdog to stamp out data theft
NEW DELHI, April 23, 2007 (AFP) – India’s booming services and software industry Monday announced that an independent watchdog has been setup to create a “global safe-deposit vault” to halt data theft such as credit card details. Shyamal Ghosh, a former Indian bureaucrat, was named chairman of the Self Regulatory Organisation and said the watchdog […]
‘s founding leader dismisses gripes over pay hike
SINGAPORE, April 23, 2007 (AFP) – The debate over the million-dollar paychecks of Singapore’s cabinet ministers is “rubbish” because the city-state needs to attract extraordinary people to run it, founding leader Lee Kuan Yew said in remarks published Monday.“The biggest mistake any Singaporean can make is to believe that Singapore is an ordinary country and […]
Plastic Probe
LONDON, April 21, 2007 (AFP) – British police are investigating a global credit card scam, allegedly linked to Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels, which has conned thousands of British motorists out of cash, the BBC reported Saturday. BBC television said that the Sri Lankan government has claimed that its opponents, the Tamil Tigers, are behind […]