Tag: lankabusinessonline
Sri Lanka celebrates end of war
MATARA, May 18, 2014 (AFP) – President Mahinda Rajapakse led celebrations at a major victory parade Sunday to mark the fifth anniversary of the end of Sri Lanka’s Tamil separatist war, after banning commemorations for its victims.As the envoys of Western nations stayed away from the parade, a defiant Rajapakse insisted he would not bow […]
Sri Lanka to get US83mn to improve dam safety
May 16, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s will get an additional 83 million US dollars to improve safety at high risk dams, expanding an existing program covering the most vulnerable 32 reservoirs, the World Bank said.The dam network in Sri Lanka comprises over 350 large and medium dams. Many of these dams are aging and […]
Lube Moves
May 10, 2014 (LBO) – Malaysia’s Hyrax Oil Sdn. Bhd, will set up a lubricant blending plant in Sri Lanka partnering with state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, which owns the largest fuel distribution network in the country. The joint venture plant with an investment of 9 million US dollars will cater to the local and international […]
‘s 2014 economic growth upgraded to 7.0-pct by IMF
May 06, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s economic growth forecast for 2014 has been upgraded to 7.0 percent by the International Monetary Fund in its latest regional outlook for the Asia Pacific region, up from 6.5 percent in December. The 6.5 percent growth for 2015 published following a post program monitoring mission has been kept […]
Oil Show
TEHRAN, May 6, 2014 (AFP) – Iran’s annual oil and gas fair opens in Tehran on Tuesday, with 600 foreign companies seeking to position themselves for a return to large-scale operations if international sanctions are lifted.“I hope that Western officials will be more accommodating because of the general political climate in Iran,” he said, noting […]
Sri Lanka exports up 5.4-pct in February, imports fall
May 05, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s exports rose 5.4 percent in February 2014 from a year earlier, with apparel exports up 6.6 percent, while imports fell amid weak credit growth, official data showed. The trade deficit contracted 20.7 percent to 503.7 million US dollars. In the first two months of 2014, exports rose 13.9 […]
Sri Lanka temple tackles reconciliation amid fresh fears of fighting
MATARA, May 4, 2014 (AFP) – At a temple in the heart of Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese south, an unusual attempt at reconciliation is underway after decades of ethnic bloodshed, even as the government warns of fresh fighting.Such mythological stories about Sri Lanka’s history are common on the island, whose Sinhalese majority can trace their roots […]
Sri Lanka inflation at 3.5-pct in April by citizen index
May 03, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s inflation in the 12-months to April was measured at 3.5 percent, lower than the 4.9 percent shown by the official index compiled by the state statistics office.The CAL UPI Index, compiled by CAL Research, an equities research firm has shown slightly lower than official inflation since December 2013. […]
Global press freedom hits fresh lows: watchdog
WASHINGTON, May 1, 2014 (AFP) – World press freedom has hit its lowest level in a decade, amid regression in Egypt, Turkey and Ukraine, and US efforts to curb national security reporting, a survey showed Thursday.The report by Freedom House, which has been conducting annual surveys since 1980, found that the share of the world’s […]
Sri Lanka Muslims seek protection from nationalist hate
COLOMBO, May 2, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Muslim legislators on Friday asked President Mahinda Rajapakse to protect their minority community from “Buddhist extremist elements” blamed for a recent spate of hate attacks. The country is emerging from nearly four decades of ethnic war which according to UN estimates claimed at least 100,000 lives between […]
Investors concerned over objections to casinos in Sri Lanka: minister
May 02, 2014 (LBO) – Investors have expressed concern over objections to large resorts which were given tax breaks under a strategic investment law to which casinos have been dragged in, Sri Lanka’s deputy investment promotions minister said. Minister Mustapha said the opposition had claimed that the three tax proposals passed in parliament were for […]
Shrugging off Q1 stall, Fed keeps tapering stimulus
WASHINGTON, April 30, 2014 (AFP) – The US economy nearly froze in the glacial first quarter but emerging signs of vigor kept the Federal Reserve on its stimulus taper track Wednesday. The GDP data came as the World Bank reported Wednesday that China’s rapidly expanding economy could leapfrog the United States this year to become […]