Ex Chamber chief seeks SLBA explanation for secrecy breach

The efficacy of Sri Lanka’s banking secrecy laws has been called into question by former Chairperson of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and good governance activist Chandra Jayaratne, in the wake of a purported leaking of the confidential bank account details of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake to Members of  Parliament.

Apple works with Asian suppliers to test new TV

US technology giant Apple has been working with component suppliers in Asia to test new TV sets in a possible move to branch into the television market, a report said Wednesday.

Stocks rise 1.8% after rate cut

Stocks rose 1.82 percent to a three-week high yesterday after the central bank surprised the market with a 25 basis point rate cut followed by a reduction in yields on government securities.

Emerging markets, developed economies to face bigger challenges in 2013: Jim Walker

ET Now: Do you think given the kind of policy measures the Government of India has recently announced, Indian economy could once again reclaim levels of 6% to 7% GDP growth?

Revolutionizing Sri Lanka’s hospitality industry rupee

Here the vision would be to build the strategic approach to optimize the revenue performance of the hotel industry, and to keep with the overall tourist arrival goals in Sri Lanka, enhancing profitability of the hotel properties.

T-bill yields fall following rate cut

The Treasury bill yields at yesterday's bill auction for the re-issue of Rs.12 billion maturing bills, fell significantly amidst a policy rate cut announced by the central Bank.

Duty hike on vehicles: India mulls diplomatic effort

Clearly unhappy over the decision of the Sri Lankan government to impose fresh import duty on automobile exports from India, the Indian government indicated that it would explore the option through diplomatic channels to prevail upon Sri Lanka to bring down the import tariff as such a move could hit Indian vehicle exports to Sri Lanka.

SL’s average household size, female unemployment decline: Nielsen

Rising income levels in Sri Lanka are leading to notable changes in residential and employment demographics, according to the latest findings from Nielsen.

Monetary policy relaxed; credit ceiling to be lifted end 2012

The Monetary Board of Central Bank of Sri Lanka today reduced the policy rates by 25 basis points in view of slowing of credit growth and inflation.

HSBC to pay record $1.9bn fine in money laundering case

HSBC Holdings PLC has agreed to pay $1.92 billion to settle a multi-year U.S. criminal probe into money-laundering lapses at the British lender, the largest penalty ever paid by a bank

AIA appoints nominees to NDB Aviva board

Subsequent to the completion of the acquisition of Aviva NDB Insurance PLC last week, AIA Group announced five appointments to the firm’s director board amidst the resignation of directors representing Aviva and National Development Bank (NDB), a stock exchange filing by the company said.

It all starts and ends with competitive advantage

If you want to start a successful business or survive in business, you’ve got to have some degree of advantage over your competitors. Otherwise, why would anyone ever buy from you?

Investing tips from Lynch, Graham, Buffett

The long fierce bull faced by Sri Lankan equities, which brought yields down was due in part to fundamentally steady economic growth, rising profits and investor sentiment.

Lankan equities offer attractive valuations - report

Foreign investors will continue to invest in the Colombo Stock Exchange based on attractively low valuations of Sri Lankan equities particularly against regional emerging and frontier markets, according to a report from NDB Stockbrokers (Pvt) Ltd.

ADB cuts 2013 South Asian growth outlook

The GDP growth of South Asian countries comprising of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka for 2013 have been reduced from 6.4% to 6.2% while the growth outlook for 2012 has been cut to 5.3% from the previous estimated 5.5%. In 2011, the region grew by 6.2%.

Authorities mull lifting Corex cough syrup ban

Authorities are said to be working on the lifting of the sales ban of cough syrup, Corex and Corex-D in a month’s time, the Cosmetics, Devices & Drugs Regulatory Authority (CDDRA) said.

Mobitel cricket team on winning streak

Mobitel’s cricket team made its way into the finals of the ‘Elephant Lemonade Cup’, MCA ‘D’ Division League Tournament 2013.

October trade gap narrows 6.7% YOY

Sri Lanka’s trade deficit in October narrowed 6.7 percent Yearon-Year to US $ 810 million, amidst falling import expenditure and improved foreign inflows, the external performance report released by the Central Bank for the month of October showed.

Stocks recover on foreign buying

Sri Lankan stocks gained more than 1 percent yesterday to hit a two-week high, recovering from a three-month low, as foreign investors bought blue chips.

Has Apple lost Steve Jobs streak?

He was the corporate world’s perfect eccentric geek – brilliant in his capacity to grasp changing consumer needs and trends and...

Amana Bank accessible through 500+ ATMs

Amana Bank, Sri Lanka’s premier bank operating in complete harmony with the principles of Islamic banking, is now accessible through the Bank’s new ATM network.  The Bank’s ATM service is available through its own ATM machines and through all Commercial Bank of Ceylon ATM machines island-wide.

AIA completes acquisition of AVIVA NDB Insurance

Asian insurance giant, AIA Group Limited, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, yesterday said it has closed the acquisition of Aviva NDB Insurance PLC (CTCE) as the company acquired 92.3% of the firm in a US$ 109 million deal that was announced in September, this year.

Korean Air to commence Colombo flights from March

One of the most popular and prestigious airlines in Asia, Korean Air (KE) is returning to Sri Lanka in March 2013 after a lapse of 28 years. 

Sri Lankan increases flights to Riyadh

Sri Lankan Airlines is to introduce three more flights to Riyadh thereby increasing the total number of flights to five per week effective from December, 13 2012.

T-bill yields edge up; 3-month bills rejected

The long-term Treasury bill yields edged up at yesterday's auction for the reissue of Rs.15 billion T-bills with offers for three-month bills being rejected, the Public Debt Department of the Central Bank said

CDIC divests 1.5mn Aviva shares; Aviva-AIA deal expected to go through this week

NDB Capital Holdings PLC (CDIC) is believed to have divested 5 % stake of Aviva NDB Insurance PLC (CTCE) today as a part of the Aviva- American International Assurance Company (AIA) deal which is expected to occur either today or during the course of the week, informed sources said.

Airport taxes to go up by US $ 10 from January

The Treasury has instructed Sri Lanka’s Civil Aviation Authority to increase the airport tax by US $ 10 from January 1, 2013 and to revise the applicable exchange rate of US $ 1 to Rs.130.

Turkey keen on direct air links

Turkey is in discussions to strengthen air-links with Sri Lanka as a precursor to improving bilateral trade between the two countries, according to visiting Turkish Ambassador, Serpil Alpman.

NDB & CRISIL to launch Lanka’s only Fixed Income Indices

NDB Capital Holdings PLC today announced the introduction of a family of fixed income indices in Sri Lanka which would measure the performance of government securities of selected maturities namely; NDBIB-CRISIL 91 Day T-Bill Index, NDBIB-CRISIL 364 Day T-Bill Index, NDBIB-CRISIL 3 year T-Bond Index and NDBIB-CRISIL 5 year T-Bond Index

GSK to set up Rs.200mn plant to produce Iodex and Eno locally

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), one of the world’s largest research based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies in the world is planning to invest Rs.200 million Sri Lanka to set up a manufacturing plant to locally produce its well known pain relief balm and gastritis treatment pill