Tag: news
”s call for peace
COLOMBO, July 22, 2014 (AFP) – A firebrand Sri Lankan monk on Tuesday criticised the Dalai Lama for urging the island’s Buddhists to halt violence against minority Muslims and rejected him as a global spiritual leader.Buddhist monk Galagodaatte Gnanasara said the Dalai Lama was ignorant of the “true situation in Sri Lanka” and accused the […]
Sri Lanka president skips Commonwealth Games
COLOMBO, July 22, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse will skip the Commonwealth Games starting this week in Glasgow despite being chair of the bloc, his office said Tuesday, after activists threatened to protest at his attendance.Rajapakse’s military crushed rebels fighting for a separate homeland for ethnic minority Tamils in 2009 following a […]
‘s Ceylon Cold Stores net up 87-pct in June quarter
July 23, 2014 (LBO) – Profits at Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Cold Stores, which has interests in consumer goods and retailing, surged 87 percent to 299.3 million rupees in the June 2014 quarter from a year earlier as revenues rose 18 percent. Sri Lanka is recovering from a balance of payments crisis where consumer spending power […]
Sri Lanka bank credit subdued in May: data
July 21, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s loans to private business from commercial banks slipped 7.9 billion rupees in May 2014 from a year earlier while credit to the state and state enterprises also contracted, official data shows.Private credit has contracted in four out of five months this year and is down 60 billion rupees […]
Top Sri Lanka lawyer says fears for life after criticising govt
COLOMBO, July 16, 2014 (AFP) – The head of Sri Lanka’s bar association said on Wednesday he feared he might be killed after he described President Mahinda Rajapakse’s government as becoming more autocratic.“We observe that the post-war Sri Lankan polity has been in an acute and deepening crisis,” he said. Another legal group, the Lawyers […]
Sri Lanka to re-start oil refinery
July 16, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has repaired an offshore unloading buoy allowing state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation to re-start its refinery which was closed due to lack of crude stocks, the petroleum ministry said.The buoy was repaired on July 15 and 50,000 barrels were unloaded yesterday, the ministry said, allowing the refinery to start […]
Sri Lanka banks urged to tighten spreads amid slow credit
July 14, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank held policy rates at 6.50 and 8.00 percent and urged banks to tighten spreads to lower lending rates as private sector credit demand remained weak.In May credit to the central government from the banking sector has fallen by 11.5 billion rupees and loans to state enterprise […]
” to get kids to Australia
SYDNEY, July 9, 2014 (AFP) – A dozen mothers in an asylum-seeker camp have reportedly attempted suicide so their children can be settled in Australia, piling pressure on Prime Minister Tony Abbott who said Wednesday he would not be morally blackmailed. The Sydney Morning Herald said the women tried to kill themselves this week after […]
HSBC India chief at Sri Lanka business forum
July 10, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Chamber of Commerce said HSBC India Chairperson Naina Lal Kidwai will deliver the keynote address at its annual business forum.Naina Lal Kidwai, Chairperson of HSBC India, will speak on the second day of “Sri Lanka Economic Summit” organized by the Chamber on August 05 and August 06.Naina […]
”
COLOMBO, July 9, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has banned non-government organisations from holding press conferences under a new order from the defence ministry seen by AFP on Wednesday, raising new fears for freedom of speech.The order, sent widely to civil society groups earlier this month, said all NGOs should refrain from “unauthorised activities with […]
Sri Lanka demand for water pipes, electrical switches seen recovering
July 08, 2014 (LBO) – Demand for water pipes and electrical switches have weakened during the past year, but appear to have bottomed out, Central Industries, a maker of plastic-based water supply and electrical products has said.“The PVC industry is currently plagued with overcapacity as anticipated growth in demand in the post conflict era has […]
” rating confirmed on lower inflation, better SOE balances: S&P
July 8, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s ‘B+’ rating was confirmed with a ‘stable’ outlook on lower inflation and better state enterprise performance despite weak institutions and high debt service, Standard and Poor’s, a rating agency said. S & P said there was a marked improvement in state-run Ceylon Electricity Board and Ceylon Petroleum Corporation […]