Category:
Sri Lankans seen deprived of free trade benefits by protectionist lobby
Sept 01, 2010 (LBO) – Protectionist lobbies holding up a new free trade deal with India are putting Sri Lanka at risk of being left out of emerging regional trade blocs and depriving consumers the benefits of free trade, an official said. “Sri Lanka is rather insignificant in the larger calculations of world powers except […]
Expanding Gas
Sept 01, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan liquid petroleum gas (LPG) supplier Laugfs Gas is to expand with plans for regional storage facilities in the north and south, an official said. Laugfs has said recently that it is also keen on buying the local assets of its competitor Shell Gas Lanka which wants to sell […]
Sri Lanka trade deficit surges amid economic recovery
Sept 01, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s exports grew 13.7 percent to 3.6 billion US dollars in the first half of 2010, and imports expanded 42.1 percent amid an economic recovery, expanding the trade deficit by 108 percent to 2.8 billion US dollars, official data show. In the month of June exports grew 23.4 percent […]
Euro, yen and emerging currencies gain forex share: BIS
GENEVA, September 1, 2010 (AFP) – The euro, Japanese yen and some emerging market currencies are gaining ground in the foreign exchange market while the dollar is continuing to decline, a bank survey said Wednesday. “The US dollar continued a slow retreat from its 90 percent peak share of all transactions reached in the 2001 […]
Sri Lankan stocks close up 1.02-pct
Aug 31, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks bounced back Tuesday, driven by interest in selected blue chip and midcap stocks, while heavy buying of Asia Capital and Distilleries Company boosted turnover, brokers said. The All Share Price Index closed at 5,658.01, up 1.02 percent (57.24 points) while the more liquid Milanka index rose 0.47 […]
Cutting Flab
Aug 31, 2010 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Ports Authority plans to shed staff with a voluntary retirement scheme and change worker attitudes to ensure a better service, its chairman Priyath Wickrama said. “Within five years we will convert this to a better port, with better attitudes. ” “We plan to release 4,000 employees by […]
Offshore Focus
Aug 31, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Colombo Dockyard has delivered the second of a series of four Multipurpose Platform Supply Vessels (MPSV) for Singapore’s Greatship Global Offshore Services, a statement said. Colombo Dockyard has said it will deliver a total six vessels this year and will focus more on offshore work with the search […]
Credit Lift
Aug 31, 2010 (LBO) – The outlook on Sri Lanka’s Sampath Bank’s ‘AA-(lka)’ ratinghs been lifted to ‘positive’ from ‘stable’ on improving risk management ahead of other banks, Fitch Ratings has said. Its subordinated debenture rating (one notch lower) reflected the relatively lower recovery prospects for investors of this instrument compared to the bank’s senior […]
Ordeal
KUALA LUMPUR, August 31, 2010 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan tourist died fleeing kidnappers in Malaysia while a friend escaped and another was rescued by police, the force said Tuesday. “As I was heading to the toilet, I turned around and kicked the kidnapper before running out of the flat. I ran up to the […]
Telecom Bonds
Aug 31, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) has commissioned a fibre optic cable linking the former war zone in the northern Jaffna peninsula with the rest of the country, offering high-speed communications, a statement said. The “information superhighway” to the north has been built alongside the A9 main route to Jaffna, where information […]
India BlackBerry users relieved as shutdown averted
NEW DELHI, August 31, 2010 (AFP) – India’s BlackBerry users heaved a sigh of relief Tuesday after the government gave the company a two-month reprieve on a threat to ban its messaging services, averting a showdown over security access. Research in Motion (RIM), the smartphone’s maker, has made “certain proposals for lawful access” to heavily […]
Germany charges suspected Tamil Tigers
BERLIN, August 31, 2010 (AFP) – German prosecutors said Tuesday they had charged three men suspected of fundraising and buying weapons for the Sri Lankan separatist group the Tamil Tigers. Sri Lankan national Vijikanendra V. S., 35, and German nationals Sasitharan M. , 33, and Koneswaran T., 39, were charged with belonging to a banned […]