Tag: economy

VANCOUVER, October 18, 2009 (AFP) – A ship suspected of carrying 76 illegal migrants was intercepted in the Pacific Ocean off Canada’s west coast, police said Saturday.Authorities including military, police and border agents “identified and secured a vessel displaying the name ‘Ocean Lady’ that was approaching the coast of British Columbia” province, said a statement […]

Oct 17, 2009 (LBO) – The United States has asked Sri Lanka, ranked high for software piracy in Asia, to better enforce intellectual property rights and also lift restrictions on American imports like genetically modified food.Sri Lanka’s Director-General of Commerce Gomi Senadheera acknowledged the US concerns on IP rights and said the government was trying […]

Oct 16, 2009 (LBO) – A four-month mini budget is expected to be presented to parliament in November seeking approval for Sri Lanka’s government to spend 362 billion rupees collected from the people through taxes or borrowed. Sri Lanka has a bloated public sector that does not pay income tax on their salaries and more […]

Oct 16, 2009 (LBO) – American companies are keen to invest in Sri Lanka with the end of the ethnic war to help rebuild the economy and contribute to national reconciliation, government officials from both countries said.Export Development and International Trade Minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris said some of America’s biggest companies had sent representatives to […]

Oct 16, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is in line to receive 600 to 700 million US dollars in foreign direct investment in 2009 and fresh applications are pouring in after the end of a 30-year civil war, officials said. “We have had discussions with the World Bank officials to see how we can score […]

Oct 15, 2009 (LBO) – Standard & Poor’s has lifted the outlook on Sri Lanka’s ‘B’ sovereign rating to ‘positive’ from ‘stable’ expecting that a program with the International Monetary Fund would be completed, the rating agency said. “The swift recovery in Sri Lanka’s foreign currency reserves is propelled by both fundamental and market factors,” […]

October 15, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president on Thursday accused international financial institutions of placing too heavy a burden on developing nations by demanding they slash subsidies in exchange for help. President Mahinda Rajapakse told a meeting of the 31-member Asian Cooperation Dialogue in Colombo that elimination of poverty in developing nations “should not […]

NEW YORK, October 13, 2009 (AFP) – The dollar faced more headwinds Tuesday and the euro leapt to a new 2009 high on the greenback, as rising economic confidence whetted investors’ appetite for the riskier assets. The euro earlier in the day fell as low as 1.4762 dollars after publication of Germany’s ZEW survey which […]

October 12, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka on Monday announced plans to tap its expatriate community to help rebuild the island’s war-ravaged areas and encourage much-needed foreign investments.President Mahinda Rajapakse has invited leading Sri Lankans abroad for a meeting to discuss investment opportunities following the crushing of Tamil separatists in May after nearly four-decades of […]

Oct 13, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank is holding its main policy rate steady at 10.50 percent amid low inflation, expecting the effect of previous cuts to spread wider into the banking system. Weak Credit In the year to August private sector credit was down 4.6 percent according to Central Bank data, while […]

Oct 13, 2009 (LBO) – American firms are scouting for business opportunities in post-war Sri Lanka in anticipation of accelerated economic growth, officials said.Senior executives, mainly from top US companies in India, are in Colombo for talks with Sri Lankan firms and government agencies. US investments could help rebuild the war-ravaged economy and contribute to […]

BANTEN, October 11, 2009 (AFP) – Indonesia detained about 260 Sri Lankan migrants in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra while attempting to make their way by wooden boat to Australia, police said Sunday.Indonesia is a key staging point for people smugglers bringing Afghans and other nationals for a perilous onward sea journey to […]