Category:
Sri Lankan stocks close down 0.2-pct
July 16, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed down on Thursday, as retail investors took profits on mid cap stocks and index heavy blue chips, brokers said. The benchmark Colombo All Share Price Index closed down 0.27 percent (6.30 points) to end at 2,366.74, while the Milanka index of liquid stocks gained 0.61 percent […]
Permit Fever
July 16, 2009 (LBO) – Private bus operators in Sri Lanka are clamouring for permits to ply the northern Jaffna route with the end of a drawn out civil conflict, Amal Kumarage, chairman of the island’s National Transport Commission said. Government forces defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels in May after a lengthy military campaign and […]
Liquid Option
July 16, 2009 (LBO) – Depositors of a collapsed Sri Lankan financial firm should seek its liquidation under civil law to realize assets while criminal proceedings may put pressure on directors surrender other assets, a senior lawyer has said. “But in my view there is a limit to what could be realized and in my […]
Sri Lanka calls for debt relief, non-aligned emergency lender
July 16, 2009 (LBO) – Developing countries need debt relief to overcome a global economic slump, and a non-aligned emergency bailout fund, Sri Lanka’s president Mahinda Rajapaksa has said.“The world is today confronted by a crisis that is essentially the creation of the financial markets of certain developed countries,” President Rajapaksa said in the published […]
Fed sees end to recession, eyes exit strategy
WASHINGTON, July 16, 2009 (AFP) – The Federal Reserve signaled Wednesday it sees an end this year to the brutal recession and hinted that it was preparing an “exit strategy” for its unprecedented stimulus efforts.The central bank raised its outlook for 2009 and 2010 economic output, projecting a rebound in the second half of 2009 […]
Sri Lankan Treasuries yields fall
July 15, 2009 (LBO) – The 3-month Treasury bill yield fell 23 basis points to 11.05 percent at Wednesday’s auction, amid record excess liquidity in the banking system of 28 billion rupees. The government sold 2.5 billion rupees of 3-month bills, 3.1 billion rupees of 6-month bills and 4.8 billion rupees of 12-month bills. The […]
Sri Lankan shares volumes lifted by Com Bank deal
July 15, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed up on Wednesday as foreign interest on blue chip Commercial Bank boosted trade volumes, brokers said. National Development Bank closed at 155.75 rupees, down 1.25, while Hatton National Bank closed at 117.25 rupees, up 1.25. Hulangamuwa said the return of institutional and foreign investors would depend […]
Virgin Market
July 15, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s National Development Bank (NDB) said it has launched its Bangladesh joint venture investment bank, NDB Capital Limited, positioning the group to be able to expand in a bigger market. “It’s a virgin market where professional investment banking services are currently not available,” Vajira Kulatilaka, chief executive of NDB […]
Network Move
July 15, 2009 (LBO) – Aepona, a global provider of telecoms software products and services headquartered in Belfast, Northern Ireland, said it has bought Valista, and will expand operations in Sri Lanka. It enables mobile and broadband operators to treat their network and informational assets as marketable resources that can be made available to third […]
Cheap housing offers lifeline to Indian developers
NEW DELHI, July 15, 2009 (AFP) – “No frills, Simple homes” reads the banner hanging in the Delhi headquarters of Unitech, India’s leading property developer.It’s a mantra that has been taken up by realtors across the country with a new-found passion for affordable housing that owes little to their social conscience and everything to their […]
Sri Lanka cancels US$200mn in arms deals
July 15, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has cancelled orders for 200 million US dollars of military hardware and ammunition from China, after a 30-year war with Tamil Tiger separatists ended, a top official said.Fonseka said soldiers in areas like northern Jaffna found it difficult to take leave at the current strength. “If we want […]
‘s new army chief vows to re-focus military
July 15, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s new army chief took up his post Wednesday vowing to “re-motivate” his 200,000-strong force and build a peacetime military following the crushing of Tamil Tiger rebels.Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, 50, said his first priority would be the military’s new role in supporting a massive reconstruction effort in areas […]