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Sri Lanka eases check points in capital
October 27, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka said Wednesday it would begin dismantling a dozen permanent military check points in the capital which are a legacy of decades of ethnic conflict on the island nation. Two permanent road blocks on the southwestern edge of Colombo will be removed Wednesday and 10 other similar points will […]
Sri Lanka mulls IT use in tax reforms
Oct 27, 2010 (LBO) – A report on reforms to Sri Lanka’s complex national and regional taxes has recommended using information technology to make it easier to charge and pay taxes, a statement from the president’s office said. The report by the presidential commission on taxation was handed over to President Mahinda Rajapaksa Tuesday after […]
Sri Lanka stockbroker stirs up storm by calling for end to dissent: report
Oct 27, 2010 (LBO) – A call by a stockbroking firm to immediately identify and eliminate “traitors” who may question a “noble” government goal of making the “motherland” a financial hub of South Asia, has stirred up a storm, a media report said. Sri Lanka’s Daily FT business daily said the call was contained in […]
Sri Lanka seen slightly less corrupt
Oct 27, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has marginally improved its score in a global corruption index but governance is still so bad that it ranks among other countries seen to be very corrupt, a statement said. “The score indicates that these countries continue to have a serious corruption problem in their public sector.” In […]
Sri Lanka stocks close down 1.31-pct
Oct 26, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka stocks closed down, dragged down by index heavy stocks like John Keells Holdings and Aitken Spence, brokers said. JKH closed at 295.90 rupees, down 6.10 (2.02 percent) while Aitken Spence closed at 182.20 rupees, down 0.50 (0.27 percent). Corrected – Sampath Bank share price There were 33 gainers […]
Asset Quality
Oct 26, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Sampath Bank September 2010 net profit rose 47 percent to 789 million rupees from a year ago as it reversed provisioning for bad loans, a stock exchange filing said. The bank’s interest income fell 13.1 percent to 4.7 billion rupees while interest expenses fell at a faster 23. […]
Implied Support
Oct 26, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Seylan Bank was assigned a ‘BBB+(lka)’ National Long-term rating for its proposed senior unsecured redeemable debentures of up to two billion rupees, Fitch Ratings Lanka said. The rating agency also confirmed the bank’s National Long-term rating at ‘BBB+(lka)’ with a stable outlook while also confirming the bank’s 3.4 […]
Bank Numbers
Oct 26, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Pan Asia Bank net profit for the September 2010 quarter rose 87 percent to 129 million rupees from a year ago as interest costs fell and non-interest income rose, a stock exchange filing said. Interest income fell two percent in the September 2010 quarter to 776 million rupees […]
Mercy Plea
October 26, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has appealed for the king of Saudi Arabia to spare the life of a Sri Lankan housemaid convicted of killing an infant, his office said Tuesday. Rizana Nafeek, who was working in the Middle Eastern country, was found guilty of killing a four-month-old baby boy […]
Arbitration
Oct 26, 2010 (LBO) – Arbitration proceedings of disputed oil derivative contracts between Sri Lanka’s state-run run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and Citibank will start in Singapore on November 01, a top official said. Sri Lanka has disputed oil derivative contracts sold to the CPC by Citibank, Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank and two Sri Lankan […]
Indian arms race offers prizes for presidential visits
NEW DELHI, October 26, 2010 (AFP) – Arms-hungry India is expected to hand out a raft of military deals worth billions of dollars during an upcoming rush of presidential visits from the United States, France and Russia. The biggest-ticket item is the scheduled signing of an estimated 30 billion-dollar stealth fighter co-production agreement when Russian […]
Sri Lanka lifts price controls on rice
Oct 26, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has lifted price controls on rice originally imposed to prevent a sharp price spike caused by low harvests and state controls that prevented imports from coming in to stabilize prices. The government’s information office said the consumer affairs authority has lifted a 70 rupee per kilogram price cap […]