The release of the annual Central Bank report is a time for many to take a second look at the economy, particularly the performance of State-Owned Enterprises. It was reported that the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) alone have made a combined loss of Rs. 119.5 billion in 2011 on ...

The 2012 race season started with Team NGK DSL joining hands with more qualified and high performance drivers with proven records in the race tracks. The team comprises of Upulwan Serasinghe, Janaka Dias, Lakmal Wijayarathne, Ajith Keerthi and Lalin Kirinda. From left: Janaka Dias,  Upulwan Serasinghe,  Lakmal Wijayarathne,  Lalin Kirinda and  Ajith Keerthi The market ...

SINGAPORE (Reuters): Asia’s economic growth probably troughed in the first quarter but a bounce-back may be muted, a Reuters poll showed. Although the fear factor has faded over Europe’s debt crisis and a slowing U.S. economy, both will still be a drag on growth rates in the region. Respondents in a quarterly survey of over ...

Mackwoods Energy Ltd. has launched high powered DV gensets for both local and export markets. The DV Series has been designed and developed by Kirloskar to deliver reliable high power in the ranges of 320 to 625 KVA. The Kirloskar Green DV engines are environmentally friendly and proven for their durability and reliability and are ...

The all-new Boxer BM 150 is a more powerful, newly-designed and overall even more high-performing bike than its former model. High on reputation and trusted as the best-performing bike for any workload, the new Boxer BM 150 with its 150 cc four-stroke Engine has a wide array of new features that makes it the Number ...

The Porsche 911 was honoured as the “2012 World Performance Car” at the recent New York International Auto Show. The 911 won the award against strong competition. The choice was between 19 vehicles in all. A high-powered jury made up of 64 automotive journalists from 25 countries gave first place to the 911. The seventh ...

BERLIN/FRANKFURT, (Reuters): Volkswagen’s Audi unit has agreed to buy thoroughbred Italian motorcycle maker Ducati for about 860 million euros ($1.12 billion) including debt, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. The deal allows VW chairman Ferdinand Piech, who has long coveted Ducati and himself owns one of their super bikes, to make ...

AMMAN (Reuters): Hussein Dabbas, President and CEO of Royal Jordanian Airlines(RJ), said he had resigned after almost three years as head of the state airline following a tough year for both the company and the industry due to regional political turmoil. “It has been a very tough year for the airline industry as a whole ...

Importers secure increase in age limit for cars and commercial vehicles; higher duty to stay President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday stepped up the accelerator for re-conditioned vehicles agreeing to revise the recently imposed age limit rules at a meeting with importers. Responding to pleas by motorists as well as Vehicle Importers Association, the President has agreed ...

ASIA’S rapid growth is leaving millions behind, causing a widening gap between rich and poor that threatens to undermine the region’s stability, according to a new report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The report points out that as many as 240 million more people could have been lifted out of poverty in the last ...

Reuters: Sri Lanka will face a challenge in meeting this year’s budget deficit target as the recent monetary and fiscal tightening measures may hurt revenue growth, the island nation’s central bank chief told Reuters on Monday. The $59 billion economy has agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to target a budget deficit of 6.2 ...

Airbus delivered 131 jets, Boeing 137 in Q1 Airbus sold 100 jets, Boeing 440 Boeing expected to regain industry crown in 2012 PARIS (Reuters) : Boeing overtook Airbus in deliveries in the first quarter, setting itself on course to recapture the coveted number one spot in annual aircraft production for the first time since 2002, ...

Hanjin Shipping has announced the delivery of its first 13,100TEU class containerships. Named Hanjin Sooho (named after Sooho Cho, the Late Chairman) and Hanjin Asia, these new vessels are the first and second of the series of nine 13,100TEU class ships ordered at Hyundai Heavy Industries. These vessels are known to be equipped with fuel-efficient ...

Unfolding new chapter in the construction industry LAUGFS Engineering Limited (LEL), subsidiary of the LAUGFS Holdings Limited was ranked as ‘EM 1 for steel fabrication’ activities by Institute of Construction Training and Development (ICTAD), the governing body of the Ministry of Housing and Construction. EM1 is the highest level rank for this sector and LEL is ...

HONG KONG, CHINA: Asia’s rapid growth is leaving millions behind, causing a widening gap between rich and poor that threatens to undermine the region’s stability, according to a new report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). “Another 240 million people could have been lifted out of poverty over the past 20 years if inequality had ...

Times of India: CHENNAI: The Madras high court on Wednesday reserved orders on petitions seeking lof ifting the ban on LTTE in India. The MDMK leader Vaiko, who had moved the high court against the ban, told newspersons later even though the statue of Mahatma Gandhi had been vandalized and desecrated in Sri Lanka, the ...

REUTERS: Isolated North Korea said on Wednesday it was injecting fuel into a long-range rocket “as we speak” ahead of a launch condemned by its neighbours and the West as a disguised long-range ballistic missile test. The launch, set to take place between Thursday and next Monday, has prompted neighbours such as the Philippines to ...

Sri Lanka will continue Iran crude, but will have to reduce Sri Lanka indirectly penalised by US sanction – Basil Reuters: Sri Lanka could trim Iran crude imports up to 20 per cent in the face of US sanctions, the island nation’s economic development minister said on Tuesday as it had taken strong measures to ...

With ending of the Maha season paddy harvesting, newspapers and TV have been highlighting problems encountered by farmers in disposing of their harvest. Due excellent weather, free from drought, flood and disease, farmers have received a bumper crop but the problem is to convert the harvest into cash, in order to settle debts incurred in ...

MAN Truck & Bus Middle East and Africa, a leading commercial vehicle producer, has launched the fifth generation of its premium Neoplan Skyliner bus. UITP Mena Congress and Showcase 2012 is the ideal platform for MAN Truck and Bus to engage with partners and potential customers, in order to exchange ideas and experiences on public ...

Since taking over operations of the China Bay tank farm ten years ago in 2002, Lanka IOC has made significant investments in developing the tank farm, while ambitious plans are also underway to make Trincomalee an important industrial site. Lanka IOC PLC’s Managing Director, K.R  Suresh Kumar said, “Over the past 10 years, since 2002, ...

By Asia Wealth Management Government’s recent measure to impose new exchange controls by raising taxes on vehicle imports may further moderate the excessive credit expansion in the economy. The fact that nearly 80 percent of Sri Lanka’s vehicle purchases are financed through domestic borrowings indicates that newly imposed exchange controls may considerably curb consumer demand ...

Broking firm Arrenga Capital Ltd., has come up with an analysis on the outlook for Sri Lankan economy capturing some of recent developments and their implications. Here are excerpts Economic Summary: Delayed decision to curb excessive credit growth Sri Lanka’s excessive credit growth experienced in the 2H2011 coupled unsustainable rupee peg was leading the country ...

Several days after its original announcement of suspension of flights during off-peak season, SriLankan Airlines retracted saying services to Rome, Milan and Moscow will continue uninterrupted. “SriLankan Airlines’ services to Rome, Milan and Moscow will remain uninterrupted as per the present schedule. The flight frequencies to these three destinations will also remain the same,”...

Central bank Governor says country is targeting per capita income of $4,000 by 2015Ajit Nivard Cabraal is a man intimately associated with the economic development of Sri Lanka. Well before he became the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, in 2006, Cabraal was the chief economic adviser to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was ...

IATA says outlook remains fragileThe International Air Transport Association (IATA) last week released global traffic results for February 2012 showing an 8.6% improvement in passenger demand and a 5.2% rise in cargo demand compared to the same month in the previous year. Several factors inflated February 2012 results and distorted comparisons with the year-ago period. ...

The Government has revised upward import tariffs and excise duties intensely for all motor vehicles and spare parts except on agricultural tractors, buses, lorries and trucks with effect from 31 March 2012. According to the Government, the current upward revision was effected to achieve the objective of controlling the sharp increase of import bills and ...

SriLankan Airlines yesterday announced certain capacity adjustments to its European route network, taking into consideration the rise in fuel and operational costs and economic indicators in the EU region. It said taking current travel trends into consideration, the airline will cancel flights to Zurich, Switzerland during the off-peak from 1 May to 26 June and ...

UNP MP Dr. Harsha de Silva yesterday charged that the Government and the Central Bank seriously lacked credibility, whilst the people were being taken for a ride with falsehood. He alleged that a few months ago the Government, especially the Central Bank, was hoodwinking the masses saying the economy was robust and fiscal and monetary ...

COLOMBO (Reuters): Sri Lanka’s central bank will have room to raise interest rates by at least another 50 basis points if April trade and inflation data show signs of stabilizing, the treasury secretary said on Wednesday. “Since we have already raised policy rates by half a percent (in February), maybe another 50 basis points upward ...