Sri Lankan tea prices up

April 30, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea prices rose again at this week’s auction, propelled by the weakening rupee and strong demand from the Middle East, brokers said.“Teas in the higher priced bracket continued to decline further following quality whilst the neat leaf coloury teas showed a firming up of prices. Poor leaf teas […]

Sri Lanka dismisses critics, vows to crush Tigers

April 30, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president on Thursday ruled out halting the military’s offensive against the Tamil Tigers, and warned the rebels that they must give up or be killed.“We have no plans to go for a ceasefire with the Tigers, but they have a little time left to drop their weapons and […]

Volatile Prices

April 30, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s two liquid petroleum gas suppliers, a unit of multinational Shell Gas, and the locally owned Laugfs Gas, said they will raise prices from midnight Thursday.It said prices were cut in November 2008 and January 2009 because of lower import costs. “Import costs for February and March 2009 have […]

Sri Lanka begins re-settling war displaced

April 30, 2009 (AFP) – About 400 Sri Lankan civilians returned home on Thursday two years after being forced to flee by fighting in the country’s ethnic conflict, the United Nations refugee agency said. Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said the government was hoping to resettle all Tamil civilians within a year as […]

Sri Lanka inflation slows to 2.9-pct in April

April 30, 2009 (LBO) – Consumer inflation in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo, in the 12-months to April slowed to 2.9 percent from 5.3 percent in March, with prices declining for the seventh straight month, the statistics office said.The Colombo Consumer Prices Index (CCPI) has been declining on an absolute basis from October after peaking at […]

Sri Lanka close to getting 15-year loan from Libya: CB Governor

April 30, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is close to finalizing a 500 million US dollar long-term loan from Libya, Central Bank governor Nivard Cabraal who is visiting the country for discussions on the government-to-government credit, said.In a telephone interview from Rome Thursday, Cabraal said Sri Lanka was negotiating a 15-year year loan with a […]

Sri Lanka hosts IMF team as loan deal nears

April 30, 2009 (LBO) – An International Monetary Fund (IMF) ‘Safeguards Assessment’ mission is in Sri Lanka as talks on a 1.9 billion dollar loan nears its final stages, the central bank said in a statement.“The Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) facility sought by the government of Sri Lanka from the IMF has now reached an advanced […]

Sri Lanka treasuries yields plunge

April 29, 2009 (LBO) – Yields on Sri Lanka’s treasuries plunged across the board at the weekly auction Wednesday with the 12-month yield falling 135 basis points to 14.05 percent, the government’s debt office said. The 6-month yield fell 95 basis points to 13.95 percent, and the 3-month yield fell 73 basis points to 12.65 […]

Sri Lanka shares up 1.5-pct, rupee steady

Apr 29, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks rebounded across the board Wednesday, as investor sentiment improved, while the rupee remained steady against the greenback, dealers said.Conglomerate JKH has interests in transport, finance, property development, retail and food processing sectors. Mobile giant Dialog Telekom, subsidiary of Telekom Malaysia, closed flat at 5.25, while fixed line […]

Terminal Bids

April 29, 2009 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Ports Authority has extended the deadline for bids for the first container terminal in the new South Port of Colombo, work on which is now underway, officials said.The new port will help Colombo retain and enhance its position as a transhipment hub for the south Asian region, […]

Sri Lankans asked to limit foreign travel to prevent swine flu spread

April 29, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankans should limit non-essential foreign travel to protect themselves from swine flu, the island’s health ministry said, adding that travelers from high risk countries were being screened at the country’s main airport. “The ministry of health appeals to the public to limit foreign travel to essential purposes to protect […]

‘s Bharti Airtel Q4 profit jumps 21 pct

MUMBAI, April 29, 2009 (AFP) – India’s top mobile phone company Bharti Airtel reported Wednesday that fourth-quarter net profit jumped 21 percent year on year, boosted by a rise in the number of cellular phone users.For the full year, the New Delhi-based company announced a 26 percent jump in net profit to 84.69 billion rupees […]

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