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Sri Lankan stocks close up 1.22-pct
Oct 19, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares made a comeback Tuesday, boosted by gains from banking sector stocks that weigh heavily on the index, while a big private deal in a hospital boosted turnover past three billion rupees, brokers said. John Keells Holdings, an index heavy conglomerate closed at 310.00 rupees, up 1.00 (0.32 […]
Hospital Strategy
Oct 19, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka™s Asiri Hospital has bought a 10 percent stake in Asiri Surgical Hospital for 500 million rupees increasing its stake to 40 percent, managing director, Ashok Pathirage said. State-run Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation sold the stock for 9.50 rupees a share Tuesday, he said. SLIC had a 22 percent […]
‘s corals hit by mass die-out
SYDNEY, October 19, 2010 (AFP) – Coral reefs in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean are dying from the worst bleaching effect in more than a decade, Australian marine scientists said Tuesday. The bleaching, triggered by a large pool of warm water which swept into the Indian Ocean in May, has caused corals from Indonesia […]
Sri Lanka raises defence spending by six percent
October 19, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka announced Tuesday it would raise defence spending by six percent in 2011 — broadly in line with annual hikes announced during the government’s war with Tamil rebels. Sri Lanka’s fiscal deficit shot up to 9.7 percent of gross domestic product in 2009, exceeding the seven percent target set […]
SriLankan Airlines adds flights to India
Oct 19, 2010 (LBO) – SriLankan Airlines plans to improve connections to major Indian cities by adding several flights to Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore, a statement said. Also, large numbers of Indian travellers transit Colombo to destinations as far as North America, Europe and the Far East, as well as nearer regions such as the […]
” rights groups
LONDON, October 19, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s foreign minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris rejected “colonial” criticism Tuesday of a government-appointed civil war probe, after foreign rights groups snubbed an invitation to attend. New York-based Human Rights Watch, London-based Amnesty International and Brussels-based International Crisis Group last week accused the panel of a cover-up and refused […]
Canada welcomes Thai move on Tamil migrants
OTTAWA, October 19, 2010 (AFP) – Ottawa on Monday welcomed Thailand’s arrest for possible deportation more than 150 Tamil migrants who some reports said wanted to seek asylum in Canada. “These people are minority Tamils fleeing war in their country and seeking asylum through the UN. But they came to Thailand with tourist visas, allowing […]
Sri Lanka central bank keeps policy rates unchanged
Oct 19, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank will maintain benchmark interest rates at current levels as inflation remains low, credit flows are picking up and economic growth strong, a statement said. The Monetary Board of the bank at Monday’s meeting decided to maintain the Repurchase rate and the Reverse Repurchase rate at 7.25 […]
Sri Lanka urged to become part of global supply chain
Oct 19, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka must integrate itself with global production processes and markets instead of trying to produce everything itself, W A Wijewardena, a former central bank deputy governor, has said. “Previously we thought it was English. Now we call it globish – global English – the language used by Chinese, Japanse […]
Sri Lankan stocks close flat
Oct 18, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed flat Monday as retail investors continued to stay on the sidelines, while heavy buying interest on index heavy stocks pushed the Milanka index up, brokers said. Ceylon Leather Products, a unit of ERI closed at 97.30 rupees, up 4.00 (2.3 percent), while its Warrants 0012 closed […]
Viable Proposition
Oct 18, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank aims to increase lending under its micro-finance portfolio as it has been found to be good business although misunderstood by many, chief executive Rajendra Theagarajah said. “Micro-finance is part of the ‘DNA’ of HNB, even though it accounts for only two percent of our balance […]
Credit Trend
Oct 18, 2010 (LBO) – Credit to Sri Lanka’s businesses from commercial banks rose 12.6 percent in August 2010 to 1,226.5 billion rupees from a year earlier while credit to government fell, official data shows. Sri Lanka’s petroleum firms for example are taxed till they run losses and prices are politically controlled. Growth in loans […]