‘s Suntel: report

June 7, 2007 (LBO) – India’s Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) has put in a bid between 160 million dollars to 180 million for the Sri Lankan wireless fixed access operator Suntel, Indian news reports said. The Economic Times newspaper said the MTNL bid was believed to be the highest, though company officials declined to […]

Sri Lanka police evict jobless Tamils from capital

June 7, 2007 (AFP) – Armed police forced hundreds of ethnic minority Tamils out of the Sri Lankan capital Colombo Thursday as part of an effort to clear the city of feared Tamil Tiger cells, officials and witnesses said. Police stormed Tamil-majority areas of the capital under the cover of darkness and forced guests at […]

Sri Lanka should trim corruption and modernise education to go forward: US envoy

June 07, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s should trim redundant ministries, increase wages for senior officials and be more transparent to help propel the country forward, the US envoy in Colombo said. The CIMA business leaders’ summit will discuss how good, mediocre or bad companies can make the leap to be great companies. “Reduce the […]

Sri Lankan commercial bank widens reach of hedging products

June 06, 2007 (LBO) – The Commercial Bank of Ceylon says it is broadened the availability of forex hedging products, allowing even individuals to use them in addition to large corporates and small and medium businesses. These products will also help customers to diversify their cash investment portfolios, Commercial Bank’s Head of Global Treasury, Dula […]

Sri Lanka finance ministry, auditor-general in row over revenue losses

June 06, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Finance Ministry has disputed a report by the auditor-general that weak collections led to a revenue loss of 360 billion rupees. The loss, it said in its annual report for 2006, was not more than 6.2 billion rupees of which half related to the VAT refund fraud which […]

Sri Lanka reaches May reserve money target: Central Bank

June 04, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has reached its reserve money target for May with several billion rupees to spare, indicating that inflation will continue to move down in the future, the Central Bank said. “The achievement of reserve money targets will lead to the continuous deceleration of the growth in broad money and […]

Sri Lanka says Tamil Tigers are a threat to international shipping

SINGAPORE, June 3, 2007 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels are a threat to shipping in the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka’s foreign minister told a regional security conference Sunday in an appeal for global action against the guerrilla group. Rohitha Bogollagama said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were one of the few “terrorist organisations” […]

Sri Lanka bans trucks travelling to capital from Tiger-controlled areas

June 2, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka said Saturday it would not allow trucks coming from rebel-held areas in the northeast into Colombo after police claimed to have discovered explosives destined for the city in a goods carrier.Residents in areas bordering rebel-held Wanni in the northeast were told not to send trucks south after police […]

India urges Sri Lanka not to shop for arms in China, Pakistan

CHENNAI, India, June 1, 2007 (AFP) – India is urging Sri Lanka not to buy weapons from China and Pakistan to fight Tamil rebels, New Delhi’s national security advisor said. “We are the big power in the region.It is very clear,” M. K. Narayanan told reporters Thursday evening. “Whatever their requirements, they (Sri Lanka) should […]

Sri Lanka gets French help to develop construction industry and tsunami re-building

June 1, 2007 (AFP) – France on Friday gave Sri Lanka a 10 million euro (13.4 million dollar) loan to develop its construction industry and rebuild areas hit by the December 2004 tsunami, the finance ministry said. The money will be channelled through local banks to help contractors buy equipment and for their working capital […]

Sri Lanka sitting on a budget deficit time bomb: economist

June 01, 2007 (LBO) – A large budget deficit is a fiscal time bomb, and central bank attempts to stabilize the economy may not work unless support comes from fiscal discipline, a British economics don has said. “In the end, no matter how successfully the central bank tries to maintain financial and monetary stability, if […]

Sri Lanka government offers to talk peace, amidst fighting

June 1, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president offered to open peace talks with Tamil Tiger rebels on Friday even as security forces were locked in combat with the guerrillas. President Mahinda Rajapakse would enter negotiations with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) if they agreed to resume where they left off in October […]

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