Asian stocks at 1-1/2 year highs on robust Wall St; dollar retreats

HONG KONG, Feb 16 (Reuters) – Asian stocks edged up to fresh 19-month highs on Thursday, helped by an extended rally on Wall Street and strong U.S. data though the dollar stepped back after a recent bounce. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.2 percent, rising to its highest since July […]

Sri Lanka senior citizens’ deposits up to Rs1.5Mn to get higher interest

Feb 15, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Finance Ministry said that it will increase the upper limit up to 1.5 million rupees for 15 percent special interest paid on fixed deposits maintained by senior citizens. Director General of Department of Development Finance said the treasury will pay 18,000 million rupees to cover the difference during the […]

Indonesia donates 5,000MT of rice to Sri Lanka

Feb 15, 2017 (LBO) The Indonesian government will donate 5,000 metric tonnes of rice to Sri Lanka following a request of President Maithripala Sirisena through the local ambassador in Jakarta. The consignments to be shipped in a few days are expected to arrive in Colombo in March, the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry said in a statement. […]

New Zealand Aid Programme announces Commonwealth Scholarships for Sri Lanka

(PRESS RELEASE) – The New Zealand Government has announced its fresh round of Commonwealth Scholarships for Sri Lankan students who wish to commence programmes of study at New Zealand academic institutions in 2018. The application process opens on February 15 and closes on March 30. “New Zealand and Sri Lanka share an important and growing relationship, which is built […]

Sri Lanka assumes Chair of Asia-Pacific Group at United Nations in Vienna

(PRESS RELEASE) – H. E. Ambassador Priyanee Wijesekera assumed the Chairmanship of the Asia-Pacific Group at United Nations in Vienna from Philippine. In this honourable role, Sri Lanka is coordinating communication and organization of meetings between the 54 members of Asia-Pacific Group and the United Nations Organizations in Vienna. Furthermore, H. E. Ambassador Priyanee Wijesekera […]

‘s national insurance scheme

Feb 15, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has taken a step forward in its policy making by introducing a national insurance scheme, the World Food Program said. Executive Director of World Food Program Ertharin Cousin said that the WFP can provide technical assistance to deal with natural disasters such as floods, earth slips or drought. “Technical assistance […]

Hayleys 3Q16 profits grow by 8-pct to Rs.1.1Bn

(PRESS RELEASE) –  Sri Lankan conglomerate Hayleys PLC’s profits after tax rose by 8% Year-on-Year (YoY) to reach Rs. 1.1 billion during the quarter ended 31st December 2016 (3Q16). Revenue during the quarter increased by a sharp 27% YoY up to Rs. 30 billion buoyed by strong performances across in the Group’s Agriculture, Construction Materials […]

South Asian stock exchange officials to meet in Colombo

Feb 14, 2017 (LBO) – The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) will host the executive committee board meeting for the current term of the South Asian Federation of Exchanges (SAFE) on the 27th of February 2017. “The event will strengthen cooperation among our exchanges and create opportunity for cross-border investment linkages,” Vajira Kulatilaka, chairman, SAFE and CSE […]

Rice millers call for release of govt stock to maintain price control

Feb 14, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Small and Medium Scale Rice Mill Owners’ Association says if they are to sell rice to consumers at a controlled price the government needs to release 67,000 metric tons of paddy in store at the Paddy Marketing board. This request was made at a meeting held with Finance Minister Ravi […]

Japanese company plans to invest USD 1Mn in mini hydro

Feb 13, 2017 (LBO) – Japan’s Zero Plus Co. Ltd will invest one million dollars in a 700 kilowatt mini hydro project at Erathna in Ratnapura, TAD Lanka Investments (TAD), the local facilitator of this project said. The power plant is due to be commissioned in August 2017. “Despite its electricity generation being primarily run by […]

Sri Lanka puts in place competitive pricing for medium scale solar

Feb 13, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Power Ministry has decided to put in place a competitive pricing mechanism for medium scale solar power generation companies commencing later this week, the minister said. “This is a turning point in the pricing system and the consumers will be the beneficiaries,” Ranjith Siyambalapitiya, minister of power and renewable energy said. […]

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