Author: LBO
Sri Lanka’s economy expands 8.1% first quarter: Central Bank
June 29, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s 24-billion dollar economy expanded by 8.1 percent during the first quarter of this year, ahead of a recent government forecast of 7.0 percent, the Central Bank said Thursday. The bank, which is forecasting a year-end growth of 7.0 percent said the economy would remain vulnerable an upsurge in […]
Killings slow Sri Lanka’s economic drive: World Bank
June 29, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s deteriorating security situation is undermining growth and slowing the island’s attempts to snap out of the poverty trap, a top World Bank official said Thursday. “The political situation and the sustained violence in the recent past are undermining the potential for growth,” the bank’s country head designate for […]
Sri Lanka demands Tiger apology over Gandhi slaying, says ‘regret’ not enough
June 28, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka Wednesday demanded the Tamil Tigers apologise for the 1991 assassination of former Indian premier Rajiv Gandhi, saying their latest expression of regret over the killing was meaningless. “The whole world knows that the LTTE killed Rajiv Gandhi,” Sri Lankan government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said. “In their latest television […]
Emerging market companies in spotlight after Mittal’s Arcelor deal
NEW DELHI, June 27, 2006 (AFP) – Takeovers of major western companies by emerging market players, particularly from India and China, will escalate as they chase growth outside their traditional home markets, analysts say.“It will be critically important to know these challengers well and to use that knowledge in making key business decisions.Decisions made without […]
Key dates in Sri Lanka’s armed conflict
June 26, 2006 (AFP) – Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels deployed a motorcycle riding suicide bomber to kill Sri Lanka’s number three army officer, Major General Parami Kulatunga, in a suburb of Colombo Monday.June 15, 2006: Blast rips through bus full of civilians, killing 64 and wounding 80. Tigers deny involvement. The Sri Lanka military responds […]
AK-47 to remain world’s favorite killing machine for next 20 years — report
UNITED NATIONS, June 26, 2006 (AFP) – The Kalashnikov assault rifle will remain the world’s favorite killing machine in conflict zones for at least the next 20 years because its production is poorly regulated, a report released here Monday said. Up to 70 million AK-47s and variations of its design are in circulation around the […]
People’s Merchant Bank gets a ‘BBB-(lka)’ rating
June 26, 2006 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka on Monday assigned a ‘BBB-(lka)’ rating for People’s Merchant Bank’s long-term debt, citing its parental backing and conservative management techniques, as a reason for it. “The rating reflects the potential support from its shareholders particularly People’s Bank (rated ‘A-(lka)’, which currently owns 39.0 percent of PMBs shares […]
India’s Tata Coffee pays 220 million dollars for US’s Eight O’Clock
NEW DELHI, June 26, 2006 (AFP) – India’s largest coffee producer, Tata Coffee Ltd. said Monday it signed a deal to buy U.S.-based Eight O’Clock Co. from Gryphon Investors for 220 million dollars. “This acquisition is a strategic fit with our growth plans and helps Tata Coffee in attaining its objective to become an international […]
Fitch rates Singer’s four-year debenture ‘A+(lka)’
June 26, 2006 (LBO) – Singer (Sri Lanka) Ltd secured a A+(lka) ratings for their upcoming four-year 600 million rupee debenture from Fitch Ratings Lanka, the rating agency said Monday. Fitch also affirmed Singer’s outstanding debentures: • 200 million rupees 2004/2008 • 250 million rupees 2004/2008 • 300 million rupees 2005/2009 • 400 million rupees […]
Women turning backs on matrilineal society in India’s northeast
SHILLONG, India, June 25, 2006 (AFP) – It’s not that Rosanna Lyngdoh Mawphlang isn’t grateful that under her Khasi tribe’s matrilineal system she, rather than her brothers, will inherit the family’s sprawling 21-roomed home.It’s just that she’s not sure she wants all the responsibility that goes with it. “I know this is a privilege that […]
Norway’s next step is key to Sri Lanka’s faltering peace: analysts
June 25, 2006 (AFP) – A tense calm has settled over Sri Lanka as the government and Tamil Tiger guerrillas await a decision from peace broker Norway that could make or break the fragile truce keeping the island from all-out war, analysts say. Norwegian diplomats who have struggled to bring the two sides together will […]
Sonic booms cause panic in Sri Lanka’s capital
June 23, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo was thrown into panic Friday after sonic booms caused by jet fighters were mistaken for bomb blasts off the coast, the military and police said.Defence Ministry spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe said Israeli-built Kfir jets were on a training mission and may have broken the sound barrier causing […]