Category:
Soldier killed in mortar bomb attack in Sri Lanka
June 28, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger guerrillas fired mortar bombs at an army camp in northeastern Sri Lanka Wednesday, killing one soldier and wounding three others, the defence ministry said.The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) staged a pre-dawn attack on the Kokkuthuduvai camp using mortars, spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe said. “We have retaliated […]
Emerging market companies in spotlight after Mittal’s Arcelor deal
NEW DELHI, June 27, 2006 (AFP) – Takeovers of major western companies by emerging market players, particularly from India and China, will escalate as they chase growth outside their traditional home markets, analysts say.“It will be critically important to know these challengers well and to use that knowledge in making key business decisions.Decisions made without […]
Foundation Stone
June 27, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse Tuesday launched a new state-own development bank aimed at assisting small and medium scale entrepreneurs. The Lankaputhra Development Bank, kicked off with 1.5 billion rupee seed capital from the treasury, with a further 2.0 billion rupees expected from the Private Sector Infrastructure Development Fund. “We […]
Adding Beds
June 27, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Asha Central Hospital has bought land in Colombo to build a new 200-bed hospital, its Managing Director said Tuesday. The attractive fiscal incentives offered by the government to attract foreign and local investment to the health care industry have also helped spur growth. The 180-perches block of land, […]
‘s Arcelor deal
NEW DELHI, June 27, 2006 (AFP) – Takeovers of major western companies by emerging market players, particularly from India and China, will escalate as they chase growth outside their traditional home markets, analysts say.“It will be critically important to know these challengers well and to use that knowledge in making key business decisions.Decisions made without […]
Regional, bilateral trade pacts threaten to weaken WTO
PARIS, June 27, 2006 (AFP) – Regional and bilateral trade pacts forged outside the scope of the World Trade Organization are increasingly attractive, undermining the WTO just as it struggles to stitch together a new global deal to boost commerce. Although trade ministers are to convene Thursday in Geneva to mount a last-ditch effort to […]
Slender Loris gasps for survival as urban India expands
BANGALORE, India, June 27, 2006 (AFP) – Hunted for centuries for its purported qualities as an aphrodisiac, asthma cure and as a kind of living voodoo doll, the tiny primate known as the Slender Loris has long faced a battle just to survive.But the biggest threat to the rare nocturnal animal, which has a distinctive […]
Senior Tamil Tiger leader regrets 1991 Gandhi slaying
NEW DELHI, June 28, 2006 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger rebel leader expressed regret Tuesday over the 1991 assassination of former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, in an interview aired on Indian television.“I would say it is a great tragedy, a monumental historical tragedy for which we deeply regret and we call upon […]
Troops, roadblocks as Sri Lanka ups security after suicide bombing
June 27, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka on Tuesday deployed more troops and threw up roadblocks in Colombo as the government tightened security following the assassination of a top army general.Heavily armed soldiers took up positions around the capital while police stepped up random vehicle searches, a senior police officer told AFP. “There is a […]
Sri Lanka truce monitors hold crisis talks amid rising war fears
June 27, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan peace broker Norway goes into crisis talks Thursday to try to salvage the island’s faltering ceasefire, as the assassination of a top army general underscored the threat of renewed war. “It is a case where they want to score something and then say, ‘Let’s talk’,” said retired army […]
People’s Merchant Bank gets a ‘BBB-(lka)’ rating
June 26, 2006 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka on Monday assigned a ‘BBB-(lka)’ rating for People’s Merchant Bank’s long-term debt, citing its parental backing and conservative management techniques, as a reason for it. “The rating reflects the potential support from its shareholders particularly People’s Bank (rated ‘A-(lka)’, which currently owns 39.0 percent of PMBs shares […]
Fitch rates Singer’s four-year debenture ‘A+(lka)’
June 26, 2006 (LBO) – Singer (Sri Lanka) Ltd secured a A+(lka) ratings for their upcoming four-year 600 million rupee debenture from Fitch Ratings Lanka, the rating agency said Monday. Fitch also affirmed Singer’s outstanding debentures: • 200 million rupees 2004/2008 • 250 million rupees 2004/2008 • 300 million rupees 2005/2009 • 400 million rupees […]