Category:
Regulator Succession
Dec 20, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank has promoted four officers to the post of Assistant Governor with effect from January 01, 2012 in line with the succession plan of the banking regulator. The four officers are A Kamalasiri, R Dheerasinghe, S S Ratnayake and K D Ranasinghe, the bank said in a […]
Small Stature
Dec 20, 2011 (LBO) – RAM Ratings Lanka has confirmed the long- and short-term financial institution ratings of Sri Lanka’s Union Bank at BBB and P3 with the long-term rating having a stable outlook. Union Bank’s performance is deemed moderate, albeit with an improving trend since fiscal 2009. Supported by its robust loan growth that […]
Sri Lanka tea trade sees gains from Russia WTO entry
Dec 20, 2011 (LBO) – Russia’s entry in to the World Trade Organization last week will enable high import duty on value-added tea to be reduced, creating better access for Sri Lankan teas, industry officials said. “Russia is our largest market for tea and we would like to increase value-added teas being sent to Russia […]
Sri Lanka to probe whale deaths, do acoustic monitoring
Dec 20, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is launching a probe on whale deaths which are suspected to be due to shipping, and also study the mammals by monitoring their calls underwater, the head of a research agency said. “Too many whales are dying around Sri Lanka,” Hiran Jayewardene chairman of Sri Lanka’s National Aquatic […]
Sri Lanka should boost international relations for progress: Razeen Sally
Dec 20, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka should strengthen relations with the West and India and expand economic freedoms to boost foreign direct investments and exports, an economist who is a specialist in international trade said. “There is every argument to diversify exports,” Sally said. “That should be done with utmost vigor. But it will […]
Sri Lanka money tight, stocks open weaker
Dec 19, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s money markets were tight with overnight gilt backed cash trading around 7.75/8.00 percent and call money at 8. 75/9.00 percent and stocks opened weaker in thin liquidity, brokers and dealers said. But a 2015 July bond was quoted lower at 9.90/95 percent, in a slight anomaly, dealers said. […]
Sri Lanka stocks down 25-pct from peak
Dec 19, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka stocks closed 0. 5 percent lower Monday down 25 percent from a peak earlier in the year with steep corrections in several illiquid stocks, brokers said. The Colombo All Share Index shed 31.7 points to close at 5,860.9, down 0.54 percent and the Milanka Index of more liquid […]
Healthy Funding
Dec 19, 2011 (LBO) – RAM Ratings Lanka has confirmed the long- and short-term financial institution ratings of People’s Bank at AAA and P1 with the long-term rating having a stable outlook. The ratings are premised on the bank’s position as the second-largest licensed commercial bank in Sri Lanka, its healthy funding, good asset quality, […]
Open Loans
Dec 19, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank has lifted a 5.0 percent limit on margin loans by saying a correction in stock prices showed that the danger of an asset price bubble has passed. The central bank said declining earnings multiples of firms and lower utilization of margin credit showed that banks were […]
Top Marks
Dec 19, 2011 (LBO) – The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has been named Sri Lanka’s ˜Bank of the Year’ by the UK-based ˜The Banker’ Magazine, the eighth time it won the award. The award is decided on the strength of strong performance in key indicators and saw competition from banks in 147 countries this year, […]
Sri Lanka tourist arrivals top 800,000 by Dec 19
Dec 19, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka greeted its 800,000th tourist on December 19, with arrivals up 33. 1 percent from the 654,476 in the 12-months to December 2009, the island’s tourist promotion office said. Sri Lanka is expecting 2.5 million visitors by 2016. The 800,000th tourist arrived from flight from UK, and was welcomed […]
Sri Lanka targets Russia with specialty teas
Dec 19, 2011 (LBO) – A specialty tea contest held in Russia recently would help Sri Lankan exporters promote Ceylon teas in the biggest market for the island’s main agricultural export, officials said. ‘Blind tasting’ of the teas was done by a panel of 12 tea tasters with 66 entries being sent to Russia for […]