Tag: Sri Lanka
S.Lanka approves emergency ahead of election
March 9, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s outgoing parliament Tuesday approved the extension of a state of emergency until after next month’s legislative elections, giving sweeping powers to police and troops. Parliament voted strongly to extend the laws enacted by President Mahinda Rajapakse earlier this month to deal with anti-government elements after the crushing of […]
Sri Lanka can build more infrastructure with project specific bonds: rating expert
Feb 09, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka should follow Malaysia’s example in selling project specific bonds for infrastructure, which will give confidence that money is not mis-directed and make it easier to tap money for capital investment, a senior financial expert said. The island has under-invested in infrastructure for decades, leaving the country with weak […]
Sri Lanka relaxes some forex controls
Mar 08, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has relaxed several exchange controls relating to opening bank accounts abroad, forward forex cover and imports margin deposits and prepayments from March 11 in the first phase of a forex liberalization plan announced earlier in the year. “This is the first series of relaxations,” Central Bank governor Nivard […]
‘s detained opposition leader threatens hunger strike
March 7, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s former army chief and defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka has threatened to go on a hunger strike to protest against his detention, his wife said Sunday. However, he later fell out with Rajapakse and mounted a failed bid to unseat the president in elections. Fonseka will begin his […]
”
March 6, 2010 (AFP) – India’s foreign secretary Nirupama Rao will hold talks with Sri Lanka’s president on resolving the grievances of the island’s Tamil minority this weekend, an official source said Saturday. India sent troops to supervise a 1987 Indo-Lanka peace pact and ended up fighting separatist Tamil rebels. After its troop withdrawal in […]
Sri Lanka to protect Colombo from floods with Chinese finance
Mar 05, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will build a flood protection system for parts of the capital Colombo with Chinese funding, a government minister said. Colombo suburbs of Kotte, Dehiwela-Mount Lavinia, Maharagama, Kesbewa and Moratuwa will be protected from storm water flooding by the project, minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris said. The 6,800 million rupees […]
Sri Lanka guarantees Rs50bn in new credit to state entities in 2009
Mar 04, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has guaranteed 52 billion rupees in credit to state entities in 2009 from state-run banks with loss making energy utilities and airlines getting tens of billions in new loan facilities, a finance ministry report said. State-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has been supported with a 25 billion rupee […]
Sri Lanka state to pay extra to local contractors
Feb 04, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government will allow local contractors to bid 15 percent higher than foreign ones in state projects paid for with money raised from the people domestically, a government minister said. There has been some unhappiness among local contractors at projects funded by China which are built by Chinese contractors […]
China leads Sri Lanka foreign lenders in 2009: fiscal report
Mar 03, 2010 (LBO) – China became the top donor to commit aid to Sri Lanka in 2009 lining up more than half the total with 1. 2 billion US dollars, though Japan was still slightly ahead in actual disbursements, a finance ministry report said. A pre-election fiscal report issued this week ahead of parliamentary […]
Sri Lanka think tank highlights regional market prospects
March 02, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan exporters have a virtually untapped opportunity in south Asia’s huge market that could compensate for difficulties in accessing traditional Western markets, a new study has said. “For Sri Lanka, south Asia is increasingly becoming important as a trading partner,” said Saman Kelegama, director of the Institute of Policy […]
Sri Lanka employers should have closer dialogue with workers: ILO
Mar 02, 2010 (LBO) – Businesses can ride out economic downturns easier by having stronger relations with their workers through collective bargaining; an approach used countries like in Germany, an International Labour Organization (ILO) official said. Curtis was speaking at the tripartite workshop on freedom of association in collective bargaining in Sri Lanka, Nepal, the […]
Sri Lanka overall budget deficit nears 10.3-pct of GDP in 2009
Mar 02, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s budget deficit for 2009 has exceeded 10.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), with a planned 7.0 percent deficit derailed by weak revenues and sharply higher expenditure, a finance ministry report said. The pre-election fiscal report said the revenue deficit (the gap between total revenues and current expenditure) […]