Sri Lankan stocks close flat

Sep 03, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka shares closed flat Thursday, as retail investors took profits and bet heavily on Seylan Bank and Blue Diamonds Jewelry Worldwide non-voting shares, which are part of troubled Ceylinco Group, brokers said. The benchmark Colombo All Share Price Index (ASPI) was down 0.06 percent (1.55 points) to close at […]

Tug Boats

Sept 03, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Colombo Dockyard said it has won an order worth about seven billion rupees to build two tugs for a Singapore customer with an option for two more vessels of the same type.The contract for the 130 tonne bollard pull Anchor Handling Tug Supply Vessels was significant as it […]

Uva Roads

Sep 03, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will upgrade 200 kilometres of roads in the under-developed Uva province and 100 kilometres in Amparai in the eastern province with a 105 million US dollar World Bank credit, a senior minister said. “The project is aimed at improving access to social and economic activities in the Eastern […]

Chinese Leg

Sept 03, 2009 (LBO) – A 30-kilometer fourth stage of a 126-kilometre expressway from Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo to the southern city of Matara will go to a Chinese contractor but the supervision consultancy will be open for international bids. The first two sections of the road (34.3 and 31.7 km) is financed by the […]

Road Upgrade

Sept 03, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will upgrade 150 kilometres of provincial roads in the east of the country and 220 kilometres in the north central province with a 70 million US dollar credit from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), a senior minister said.Information minister Anura Yapa said the total cost of the project […]

Abandoned Property

Sept 03, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank said it has issued new instructions to banks to put assets unclaimed by customers for a long period to an account in the Central Bank. All licensed commercial banks holding any abandoned property are required to inform the banking regulator each year and transfer such monies […]

Loss Transfer

Sept 03, 2009 (LBO) – Citibank Sri Lanka has transferred billions of rupees of losses from a defaulted derivative deal with a state-run oil retailer to a foreign unit and the local branch has retained its ‘AAA(lka)’ rating, Fitch Ratings said. At end-December 2008, the top 20 loans had accounted for 93.1 percent of total […]

Rating Retained

Sept 03, 2009 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has confirmed HSBC Sri Lanka’s long term national Long-term rating at ‘AAA(lka)’ with a ‘stable’ outlook, on the strength of its parents ‘AA/negative outlook’ rating. HSBC Sri Lanka is a branch of Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, Hong Kong’s largest banking group and is wholly-owned by HSBC […]

Savings Rating

Sept 03, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Fitch Ratings has confirmed the ‘AAA(lka)’ rating of state-run National Savings Bank (NSB), with a ‘stable’ outlook. “The rating reflects NSB’s state ownership, systemic importance, the low risk nature of most of its asset base and explicit guarantee from the Government of Sri Lanka on its deposits,” Fitch […]

Sri Lanka tea trade warns labour action will hit exports

Sept 03, 2009 (LBO) – Action by labour unions on Sri Lanka’s tea estates to disrupt the movement of teas could hamper exports and threatens the industry and entire economy, the Colombo Tea Traders™ Association (CTTA) warned. It would also worsen the current cash-flow problems of plantation companies, the CTTA warned and result in serious […]

Jailed Journalist

OTTAWA, September 2, 2009 (AFP) – Canada is “deeply concerned” by Sri Lanka’s sentencing of a journalist to 20 years of hard labor, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said Wednesday. “The government of Canada is deeply concerned by the sentencing of J.S. Tissainayagam to 20 years in prison for violating Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism […]

”’ adjusts to life in the IT sector

KATHMANDU, September 3, 2009 (AFP) – As a child, she was worshipped as a “living goddess” in Nepal after she proved her bravery in an ancient ritual by not crying at the sight of a sacrificed buffalo.But now Rashmila Shakya, 29, meets friends in cafes, listens to Bollywood music — and is building a promising […]

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