Category:
Sri Lanka subsidy ideology is a myth: business leader
Dec 17, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan people are being fooled by state subsidies when high inflation triggered by big budget deficits erodes their income, the head of Sri Lanka’s top business chamber said. “The idea of subsidies is an absolute myth,” said Anura Ekanayake, chairman, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. Most people were not aware […]
Sri Lankan bill yields move up
Dec 16, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan Treasury bill yields edged up across maturities, at Wednesday’s auction, the government’s debt office said, despite only a part of the bids being accepted. The 3-month yield rose 09 basis points to 7.60 percent, the 6-month yield rose 09 basis points to 8.59 percent and the 12-month yield […]
Sri Lankan shares close up 0.41–pct on large JKH deal
Dec 16, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed up Wednesday, propelled by a foreign of-the-floor deal on John Keells Holdings (JKH) and banking counters headed by a large deal on blue chip Commercial Bank, brokers said. The All Share Price Index closed at 3,089.45 up 0.41 percent (12.49 points) while the Milanka Price Index […]
Liquidity Support
Dec 16, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank said it will guarantee loans given by banks to registered leasing and finance companies in liquidity trouble, though the assistance would be conditional. The Central Bank quickly moved to act on the finance companies and also took action against directors of the Ceylinco firm. In providing […]
Managed Finance
Dec 16, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank said it has appointed People’s Leasing Company as managing agent of Industrial Finance Limited, a company facing liquidity shortages, with immediate effect. The Central Bank said in a statement all directors of Industrial Finance, which is currently under its supervision, will continue to serve as members […]
Lower Step
Dec 16, 2009 (LBO) – RAM Ratings Lanka said it has downgraded the long-term rating of Central Investments and Finance Limited (CIFL) from B+ to C-, reflecting its poor financial performance and liquidity pressures. It also reflects the acute deterioration in the company’s asset quality, the rating agency said in a statement. “The outlook on […]
Sri Lanka tea factories cut energy costs
Dec 16, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea factories are cutting energy costs under an initiative to make them more competitive in overseas markets given the island’s high cost of electricity, industry officials said.Furthermore, a lot of the machinery in tea factories is old and not energy efficient, officials said.Tea was the first sector selected […]
Debt Refinance
Dec 16, 2009 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka said it has assigned an ‘A-(lka)’ National Long-term rating to the Sri Lanka unit of Singer’s proposed 600 million rupees senior unsecured debenture issue. At the same time, the rating agency has confirmed the ratings on Singer’s outstanding senior unsecured notes at ‘A-(lka)’ with a stable outlook. […]
Indicted
NEW YORK, December 15, 2009 (AFP) – The founder of Galleon hedge fund, Raj Rajaratnam, was indicted Tuesday in a multi-million-dollar Wall Street insider-trading probe.Billionaire Rajaratnam and co-defendant Danielle Chiesi were indicted by a federal grand jury in New York on charges of using non-public information from company executives to earn about 20 million dollars […]
Fibre Net
Dec 16, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom, Dialog Telekom, India’s Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Sweden’s Ericsson, are among the firms in the running to get a fibre optic backbone for the island, an official said.“We are hoping to award the deal by April 2010,” director general of Sri Lanka’s Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) […]
‘s Bharti to buy Bangladesh mobile operator: regulator
DHAKA, December 16, 2009 (AFP) – Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel is seeking to buy Bangladesh’s fourth-largest mobile phone operator Warid from its Abu Dhabi-based owners, regulators said Wednesday.The Dhabi Group, which fully owns Warid Telecom, has sought approval from the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission for the sale of a 70 percent stake in the […]
EU gives six million euros to help Sri Lanka refugees
BRUSSELS, December 16, 2009 (AFP) – The European Commission on Wednesday granted more aid for tens of thousands of people who fled fighting between Sri Lankan forces and Tamil fighters, voicing concern for their lack of protection.The commission is “concerned by the lack of protection for the internally displaced, especially for female-headed households and single […]