Category:
Nordic Battles
Norway is seeking to jumpstart Sri Lankas stalled peace talks, but faces a challenge to bridge a “gulf of confidence” between the new government and Tamil rebels, diplomats said Wednesday.Norways foreign minister Jan Petersen is to arrive here this weekend for talks with President Chandrika Kumaratunga and top Tamil Tiger rebel Velupillai Prabhakaran to discuss […]
Country at Crossroads
Broader and deeper structural reforms in the last two years gave the economy a boost together with progress in peace talks.Central bank governor A S Jayawardene told LBR in an interview that the resilient Lankan economy could post double the current growth if permanent peace is achieved. Following are excerpts of the interview.rn Shamindra Kulamannage: […]
Steady Flow
Treasury bill yields remained flat at Mondays auction signaling a steady outlook for short-term interest rates.The Central Bank offered and accepted bids for Rs.7,797 mn, though the auction was received bids for Rs.16,242 mn.rn rnThe bank retired Rs. 2,500 mn worth of bill that retired this week.rn rnThree-month yields slipped 200 basis points to 7.77 […]
Trade Routes
Trade to the North East has taken to the road, washing away business for the seaports in the region. The Trinco harbour saw the number of ships calling there drop to 121 ships, down 78 ships from 2002, the Central Bank said in its 2003 Annual Report, adding that this was mainly due to the […]
Re-Igniting
The insurance watchdog is getting tough with the industry by re-introducing fire tariffs with a few modification starting June 1.Present fire tariffs have not been revised for nearly 30 years, and insurers have effectively honoured the regulations in breach.rn rnCurrent premiums are whittled down way below minimum tariffs. The new regulation is expected to push […]
What Women Want
Women are climbing the corporate ladder in record numbers but only a handful manages to get top executive positions in big companies. Experts say the numbers of top jobs held by women are not a reflection of the number of females completing higher education.rn rnSome of them are victims of the glass ceiling an artificial […]
Stinging Response
Sri Lankan authorities Monday sought divine intervention to calm a colony of venomous wasps who stung more than 200 tourists at the fifth-century rock fortress of Sigiriya, a World Heritage Site.Cultural ministry officials said they offered alms and cash to gods at the foot of the 180-metre (600-foot) fortress, 160 kilometres (100 miles) north of […]
Sinhala Code
Ensuring the life of the Sinhalese language in the computers era, a fresh draft font standard is now in circulation for public comment. This proposed standard provides a coding of the set of Sinhala characters for use in computer and communication.rn rnThis standard character code set specifies a 7-bit code table (out of 16 bits […]
Soft Stand
Sri Lankas Tamil Tigers told Norwegian peace brokers Monday they were willing to resume talks based on their plan for self-rule, but warned the new government here not to support renegade rebels.rn The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) told a top Norwegian envoy the rebels were ready to open negotiations with the Sri Lankan […]
VAT an Act!
The government is expected to amend the Value Added Tax Act to legalize the introduction single tax rate despite opposition to the amendments on political platforms. The combined rate for VAT has been effective since the beginning of the year but the amendments to the Act are yet to be approved by parliament.rn rnExperts say […]
Growing Pains
Central Bank says the economy will grow at 5.5 percent this year if fiscal discipline is maintained.rnrn Governor A.S.Jayawardene said that ceasefire and strict fiscal discipline helped boost growth to 5.9 percent in 2003 while other economic indicators also improved.rn rnInitially predicted GDP growth rate for 2004 was six percent. However the Central Bank has […]
Reverse Gear
The Finance Minister toned down talk of increased spending and a bigger budget deficit, as financial market players expressed concern about the possible economic fall out. rnThe minister pledged policy continuity and said he will keep a close eye on the deficit while emphasizing the need to meet the government revenue targets.rn rnExperts say the […]