All Blogs
Making Up
Commercial banks returning from a long holiday week soaked up the excess cash in the banking system, pushing up inter-bank interest rates. The inter-bank borrowing rate rose to the 7.75 per cent level, from 7.50 per cent on Monday and a flat 7.40 per cent throughout the previous week. rn rnMoney market analysts say heavy […]
Disclosure
Sri Lanka was rated 3.5 on ten by top rating agency Dun & Bradstreet for willingness of its companies to disclose information. Amidst state politics and a tradition of privately held family businesses, South Asia is easily one of the most difficult regions in the world to collect information. rn rnSri Lanka is no exception, […]
Face To Face
Norways foreign minister met with the top Tamil Tigerrnleader Tuesday in efforts to revive peace talks between the Sri Lankanrngovernment and the guerrillas that stalled a year ago.rnThe meeting between Jan Petersen and Tiger chief Velupillai Prabhakaranrnin northern rebel-held Kilinochchi came amid concerns that a recent spate of killings may jeopardize Sri Lankas fragile cease-fire […]
Building Up
Sri Lankas foreign reserves took a 2.2 percent dip in February, slightly above a 5.7 percent drop in January 2004, according to latest data released by the Central Bank.rnrn Officialrnor Central Bank reserves slipped to US$ 2,277.5 mn, while total reserves, whichrnalso includes private holdings, rose 4.9 percent to US$ 3,374.2 mn.rn SrirnLanka has to […]
Different Route
An action plan to clean up the local transport mess is lined up for Cabinet approval but private bus owners, currently paying up over million rupees a month as kickbacks to alleged gangsters that control bus routes, are not convinced of a change.The new Minister of Transport Felix Perera will present an action plan to […]
Steady Beat
Sri Lanka Insurance Corp., clinched a AA-(sri) (AA minus) national insurer financial strength rating from Fitch Ratings Lanka, becoming the first insurer to do so.An AA-(sri) national insurer financial strength rating is given for SLICs ability to meet its policyholders obligations and benefits. rn rnFitch also gave the insurance giant an A+(sri) (A plus) national […]
Bitter Teas
Misty Mountains Holdings bid to buy into the Lankan tea sector fell apart with John Keells Holdings and HVA Lanka calling off their deals with the US firm.John Keells said on Monday it called off its sale and share purchase agreement as Misty Mountain had failed to satisfy pre-sale conditions. The deal, which was struck […]
Spadework
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, has told the BBC that peace talks with Tamil Tigers rebels will resume before the end of July.Rajapakse told the BBC Sinhala service that the opposition United National Party has already said that it will support the negotiations. rn rnRajapakse was speaking after meeting the Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen in […]
Closing The Gap
Sri Lankas trade deficit for February contracted marginally, on the back of a lower import bill and a drop in apparel sector revenues, the Central Bank said Monday.Trade deficit for February fell to US$ 90 mn from US$ 119 mn in 2003, bringing the cumulative deficit for Jan-Feb down to US$ 242 mn.rn rnEXPORTS rn […]
The Big Two
Banking giant HSBC says emerging markets like India and China could change the way banking is done in Asia. A top regional CEO from the bank said the influence by these countries would be felt as they absorb an increasing amount of financial resources available in Asia.rn rnldblquote The influence of these two economies is […]