Category:
Lending Support
Oct 07, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s DFCC Bank has got a 30 million US dollar loan from a German development finance institution for lending to small businesses especially in the former north-east war zone. The loan from DEG (Deutsche Investitions – und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH) is repayable over eight years, a statement said. It will […]
Debt Rating
Oct 07, 2011 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka has assigned Hatton National Bank’s (HNB) proposed subordinated debentures of up to two billion rupees a National Long-Term rating of ‘A+(lka)’. “The issue is rated one notch below HNB’s National Long-Term rating reflecting its debt-like features,” a statement said. The full Fitch rating report follows: Fitch Ratings […]
Top Rating
Oct 07, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lankan mobile phone operator Dialog Axiata has retained its ‘AAA(lka)’ Fitch rating with a stable outlook, remaining the top player albeit with reduced market share while lowering revenue exposed to the overcrowded mobile industry. At the same time, Fitch said in a statement it has confirmed Dialog’s cumulative redeemable […]
Indian Ocean tsunami alert system to be tested on Oct 12
PARIS, October 6, 2011 (AFP) – Nearly two dozen countries next Wednesday will take part in a full-scale test of the Indian Ocean’s tsunami alert system, using the 2004 Sumatra quake as the basis for the exercise, UNESCO said on Thursday. Exercise IOWAVE 11 will re-enact the seismic events of December 26, 2004, simulating a […]
US seeks WTO action on China, India subsidies
WASHINGTON, October 6, 2011 (AFP) – The United States said Thursday it has enlisted the World Trade Organization to obtain detailed information on subsidy programs in China and India. US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said that Washington had submitted information to the WTO identifying nearly 200 subsidy programs that China has failed to notify as […]
Sri Lanka budget on November 21
Oct 07, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s 2012 budget will be presented on November 21 with estimates being prepared with a deficit of 6.2 percent of gross domestic product and inflation at 6-7 percent. In the budgeting process, “priority has been given for the completion of ongoing development activities before allocating resources for new projects,” […]
Sri Lanka should avoid destroying historical buildings: Singapore don
Oct 07, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka should avoid the mistake of destroying historical buildings when cities are modernized and demand for land and real estate rises, a Singapore-based academic told a forum in Colombo. Separately an advisory board to the National Museum has written to the president saying that the boundary wall has been […]
‘ body offers expertise to regions
Oct 07, 2011 (LBO) – The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon, which represents Sri Lankan companies, plans to extend its services to businesses outside the capital by tying up with business chambers in the island’s outlying regions. The EFC has signed agreements with the Yarlpanam Chamber of Commerce and Industries in northern Jaffna and the southern […]
Sri Lanka equity markets to see net inflow: Deputy CB Governor
Oct 07, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s equity markets would see a positive inflow by the end of the year as better pricing attracts investors, deputy Central Bank governor Dharma Dheerasinghe said. So far this year Sri Lanka’s equity markets have seen a net outflow of 150 million dollars. “By the end of the year […]
Sri Lanka overnight rates ease
Oct 06, 2011 (LBO) – Interest rates in Sri Lanka’s overnight money markets eased Thursday, a day after the monetary authority resumed cash auctions to inject liquidity, dealers said. Sri Lanka’s rates have been rising in recent weeks with the defence of a dollar peg which has drained liquidity from the system. The Central Bank’s […]
Sri Lanka stocks end down 0.4-pct
Oct 06, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed weaker for the third straight day Thursday with interest in ‘penny’ stocks and those that had drawn speculators, brokers said. The main All Share Price Index fell 0.43 percent (28.64 points) to 6,677.84, while the more liquid Milanka index fell 0.47 percent (27.91 points) to close […]
Cargo Call
Oct 06, 2011 (LBO) – Mediterranean Shipping Company has decided to extend by two years a deal with the Sri Lanka Ports Authority under which it calls at a state-run container terminal in Colombo port. The container shipping line is also interested in investing in new ports being developed in the island, an SLPA statement […]