Sri Lanka budget to cut deficit, maintain capex

Nov 20, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s budget for 2012 to be presented to parliament on Monday will seek to further narrow a deficit, maintain public investment and create an environment to improve productivity, officials have said. According to earlier statements, the 2012 plans to cut the deficit to 6.2 percent of gross domestic product […]

Lessons for Sri Lanka: Vietnam President Sang reveals secrets of FDI success

Nov 19, 2011 (LBO) – Vietnam’s remarkable success of drawing foreign direct investment, even from former foes involved in a bitter civil war, came from a combination of foreign and economic policy, Vietnam President Truong Tan Sang said. France, a former colonial power with which the first Indochina war was fought, has invested 2.9 billion […]

Sri Lanka ex-army chief jailed for three years

November 18, 2011 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan High Court sentenced former army chief Sarath Fonseka to three years in jail on Friday after finding him guilty of making a false allegation against the president’s brother. Fonseka, who ran against President Mahinda Rajapakse in 2010 elections, is already serving a 30-month prison term after a […]

Sri Lanka business chamber urges consistent tax, investor policies

Nov 18, 2011 (LBO) – The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce said it hopes the Sri Lankan government’s forthcoming budget for 2012 would maintain consistency in investor and tax policies. The Chamber last week had called on the government to defer a controversial expropriation law passed by parliament that rating agencies have warned would deter investors […]

Sri Lanka citizens need freedom for economic growth: lawmaker

Nov 17, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s citizens need freedom for economic progress, a lawmaker said during a debate on an expropriation law which violated property rights that pre-dated the island’s Western-style constitution. “I know that (economic development) minister Basil Rajapaksa and everyone here actually believe in the market economy,” lawmaker and economist Harsha de […]

Sri Lanka central bank pours oil on troubled waters

Nov 17, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank said there may be room for former owners of seized assets to negotiate with competent authorities appointed by the state, after rating agencies raised fears of deteriorating property rights in the island. The government expropriated land in 36 enterprises and ordinary shares of listed Hotel Developers, […]

Sri Lanka seized assets re-offered to private managers: minister

Nov 17, 2010 (LBO) – Former owners of expropriated assets may be given a chance to manage the companies again if a competent authority appointed by the state finds them acceptable, a minister said. Cabinet spokesman and information minister Keheliya Rambukwelle said the government will shortly appoint competent authorities to the seized firms and they […]

Sri Lanka expropriations will hurt investment: Fitch

Nov 16, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s new law to expropriate 37 businesses would discourage investment and hurt growth, despite the state promising that it would be a one-off measure, Fitch Ratings has said. “While the Sri Lankan government has said that this is a one-off measure, and the list implies that the Act is […]

Petroleum Prospects

Nov 15, 2011 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka unit of Indian Oil Corporation’s profit for the September 2011 quarter fell sharply from a year ago with sales staying virtually stagnant, interim accounts filed with the stock exchange showed. Lanka Indian Oil Corp. said net profit fell 44.6 percent to 277.8 million rupees in the quarter […]

Sri Lanka to allay expropriation fears

Nov 15, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will explain to Moody’s, a rating agency that expressed alarm over policy uncertainty and deteriorating property rights, that there will be no more expropriations, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said. The State is seizing land in some 37 enterprises and expropriating one listed firm it is entirety for […]

Gas Strike

Nov 14, 2011 (LBO) – Cairn Lanka, a unit of India’s Cairn Energy, has made a second gas strike off the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka. On October 04, Cairn Lanka had begun work on CLPL-Barracuda-1G/1, a second well. The presidents office said in a statement that the state petroleum exploration office has been informed […]

Sri Lankan nationalisation law criticised

November 13, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s new law to nationalise “under utilised” private firms could shatter investor confidence and push the country into authoritarian rule, the opposition and press said Sunday. The bill was signed into law on Friday by parliamentary Speaker Chamal Rajapakse, the eldest brother of President Mahinda Rajapakse. The president, who […]

Page 107 of 593