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    <title>The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka) Business Times </title>
    <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk</link>
    <description>The Sunday Times is the largest selling independent English language weekly newspaper in Sri Lanka. It is widely respected for its fair, balanced and accurate reporting</description>
    <language>en-us</language>
    <managingEditor>ramesh@sundaytimes.wnl.lk</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>ramesh@sundaytimes.wnl.lk</webMaster>
    <copyright>sundaytimes</copyright>
	<item>
      <title>T-bills, not cash for acquired lands.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 22, Aug 2010 01:45:08 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100822/BusinessTimes/bt01.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[A ‘fair’ number of owners of land acquired by the government for road development are now being paid compensation with Treasury bills instead of cash on a directive by the President, Wasantha Karannagoda, Secretary to the Ministry of Highways and Road Development, said.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Mihin Air settles 60% of debt, monthly rev. $2 mln.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 22, Aug 2010 01:45:08 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100822/BusinessTimes/bt02.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Mihin Air, Sri Lanka’s only budget airline, says it has reduced its substantial debt by 60% with income matching operational costs now and operates without new debt. Since resuming operations 19 months ago (January 2009), the debt-ridden airline has seen turnovers rise to $2.2 million this month (so far) from $500,000 earlier, according to its CEO Kapila Chandrasena.]]></description>
    </item>
<item>
      <title>Tax Dept. falls short of targets.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 15, Aug 2010 01:05:58 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100815/BusinessTimes/bt01.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Government, seriously considering a suggestion made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is going ahead with a massive re-organisation of the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) as revenue collection is falling far short of expected targets. Last year the revenue collection from the target fell by over Rs. 9 billion.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Turnover drops panic brokers - crisis in the market.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 15, Aug 2010 01:05:58 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100815/BusinessTimes/bt02.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Colombo bourse lost steam and enthusiasm this week as investors were seen de-motivated by the new directives imposed to control unusual gains in trading, while analysts lamented that stock market regulators are baffling the players by sending confusing signals.]]></description>
    </item>
<item>
      <title>SEC, CSE stop casino-type trades.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 08, Aug 2010 03:16:10 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100808/BusinessTimes/bt01.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Colombo’s stockmarket may have exploded in six months time if not for this week’s intervention by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) after the market went into a tailspin with frenzied and casino-type activity, an issue that has worried foreign investors for many months.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Nivasie houses for Sri Lankan housemaids to suit their purse.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 08, Aug 2010 03:16:10 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100808/BusinessTimes/bt02.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[A new housing scheme catering to Sri Lankan housemaids who work abroad is being introduced by Nivasie Developers (Pvt.) Ltd. a fully owned subsidiary of International Construction Consortium Ltd. (ICC).]]></description>
    </item>
<item>
      <title>Proposed CEPA agreement to be made public.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 01, Aug 2010 01:45:15 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100801/BusinessTimes/bt01.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Commerce Department is preparing a comprehensive document on the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and Sri Lanka, which has drawn the ire of local industrialists and service providers, and will soon make it available to the public.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>KumbukRiver among the world’s top 20 unusual hotels.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 01, Aug 2010 01:45:15 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100801/BusinessTimes/bt02.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Sri Lanka’s own KumbukRiver has joined Dubai’s landmark Burj al Arab and the Galactic, the first-ever hotel in space, in a list of the world’s top 20 most unusual hotels, just announced by an international portal dedicated to the unusual and the audacious.]]></description>
    </item>
<item>
      <title>IT stocks – Sri Lanka’s next big thing?.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 25, Jul 2010 02:32:58 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100725/BusinessTimes/bt01.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Amidst a burgeoning number of initial public offerings (IPOs) slated for sectors such as hotels, power and energy, finance, healthcare and food; a new category is also gaining interest in the public eye: the IT sector.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Lankem to expand in leisure, paints.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 25, Jul 2010 02:32:58 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100725/BusinessTimes/bt02.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Paints giant Lankem Ceylon PLC (LCP) is moving big-time into the hotel sector, acquiring a majority stake in Weligama Bay Hotel, and looking at other opportunities while pushing ahead with plans to export paint, its core business activity, officials said.]]></description>
    </item>
<item>
      <title>SLT halts job cuts, aims to enhance productivity.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 18, Jul 2010 01:02:58 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100718/BusinessTimes/bt01.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) has abandoned plans to cut jobs and a recruitment freeze which was to have been done by shutting down unproductive divisions of the firm. The plan aimed at reducing staff to 3,500 from around 6,000 through its manpower restructuring method was introduced earlier in an effort to stem losses, a senior SLT official said.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Helitours dressed up; ready to go as a commercial venture.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 18, Jul 2010 01:02:58 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100718/BusinessTimes/bt02.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Sri Lanka Airforce helicoptors and transport aircraft, with the end of a 30 year-long armed revolt by the LTTE, are being commissioned for a more lucrative and productive venture: Commercial passenger and cargo transport.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>UN office siege could hurt Lanka’s rating prospects.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 11, Jul 2010 01:41:15 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100711/BusinessTimes/bt01.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[With public protests growing against the United Nations to force the world body to cancel its investigation of alleged abuses committed by the government during the war in the North and East, Sri Lanka could lose the goodwill of the international communiy, badly affecting the country’s efforts to upgrade its sovereign ratings, official sources said this week.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>CCI suggests Land Bank in Sri Lanka.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 11, Jul 2010 01:41:15 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100711/BusinessTimes/bt02.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Chamber of Construction Industry, Sri Lanka (CCI) is asking the government to set up a Land Bank to accelerate development projects in the country. CCI President Surath Wickramasinghe told the Business Times that land for development has been identified only in selected locations in the North and East and in the South and thus it is necessary to maintain a data base of available government and private sector owned lands in a land bank for the convenience of investors and developers.]]></description>
    </item>
<item>
      <title>Colombo stocks gone wild.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 04, Jul 2010 01:48:02 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100704/BusinessTimes/bt01.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) experienced a highly bizarre incident this week when 130.2 million shares of Blue Diamond (BLUEx) were traded on Thursday whereas the company has only 102.2 million shares in issue.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Chinese team visiting in July for Colombo South Harbour construction.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 04, Jul 2010 01:48:02 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100704/BusinessTimes/bt02.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The government is planning to issue a Letter of Intent, by the end of July, to China Merchants Holdings International, the Hong Kong-based, partially Chinese-government owned company, for the Colombo South Harbour terminal construction.]]></description>
    </item>
<item>
      <title>Calls for dialogue over GSP+.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 27, Jun 2010 01:34:15 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100627/BusinessTimes/bt01.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Trade unions on Friday offered to intervene in the dispute over GSP + trade concessions which reached a critical stage after the European Union (EU) issued a July 1 ‘receive or not’ ultimatum to the Sri Lankan government.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Cargills mulls Rs 400 million rice-bran oil project.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 27, Jun 2010 01:34:15 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100627/BusinessTimes/bt02.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Cargills Ceylon, the supermarket chain, is looking at setting up a Rs 400 million milling facility to produce oil from rice bran. The mill is to be located in the war-recovering Ampara district. The company is now in the process of testing the consumer market for rice-bran oil, which it claims has many health and cost benefits.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>LTTE wipe-out curbs ‘Hawala’ trade.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 20, Jun 2010 14:07:12 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100620/BusinessTimes/bt01.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The end of Sri Lanka’s bloody conflict not only brought peace to the country but has almost wiped out the ‘Hawala’ or illegal banking channel that Tamil rebels used extensively as a means of raising money for their cause, a top banker said this week.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>Climate change, restive workforce dogs Dankotuwa Porcelain.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 20, Jun 2010 14:07:12 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100620/BusinessTimes/bt02.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Crisis-hit Dankotuwa Porcelain Plc, grappling with a combination of a restive workforce and continuing losses for many years, was recently confronted with a fresh problem: climate change. The company’s raw material supply was affected after clay production slowed down in China due to unusual heavy rain that flooded mines.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Cabraal re-appointed Central Bank governor.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 20, Jun 2010 14:07:12 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100620/BusinessTimes/bt04.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Sri Lankan Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal on Thursday was re-appointed for a 6-year term of office beginning July 1, 2010.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>Private managers essential to run Shell under state control.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 20, Jun 2010 14:07:12 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100620/BusinessTimes/bt05.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[A Business Times email poll this week on a government decision to re-take part control of the gas business through Shell found most readers saying that private management should be brought in. Readers -- asked whether the government should run the company if and when it secures 100% control – gave a resounding 73 % vote for handing it over to private management. Some 22 % said the government should run the business.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Desktop PCs have come down to Rs 30,000 from Rs 90,000 .</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 20, Jun 2010 14:07:12 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100620/BusinessTimes/bt22.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Around three years ago the price of an average personal computer was in the range of Rs 80,000 to Rs 90,000. But today such computers could be purchased at prices ranging from Rs 30,000 and this would effectively tackle the piracy of computer software issue, according to Indika De Zoyza, Country Business Manager, Intel.]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>Controversy over costs and revenue of IIFA.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 13, Jun 2010 13:46:14 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100613/BusinessTimes/bt01.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[In its over-enthusiasm to attract more Indian tourists and build the Sri Lankan image as a major tourist destination following the end of the conflict, Sri Lanka spent a total of Rs 1.1 billion Sri Lanka rupees to host last week’s International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards in Colombo, of which over Rs 850 million has been provided by the Treasury while the balance came from sponsors, according to figures compiled by the Business Times (BT).]]></description>
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      <title>BOI funds transfer to Treasury, agreements being reviewed.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 13, Jun 2010 13:46:14 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100613/BusinessTimes/bt02.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Board of Investments (BOI) is reviewing its investment agreements which it inked during the last few years and is also planning to transfer some Rs 2 billion of its reserves to the Treasury, informed sources said.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Asiri Hospitals eyeing Bangladesh.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 13, Jun 2010 13:46:14 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100613/BusinessTimes/bt03.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Asiri Group of Hospitals, seeking to be a regional player in the medium term, is eyeing Bangladesh as their first stop, according to its Chairman and Managing Director Ashok Pathirage.We possess the expertise as the largest hospital group in Sri Lanka and we believe that Asiri has built a name regionally as the number one hospital group (in Sri Lanka).]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>ODEL raises capital, expands.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 13, Jun 2010 13:46:14 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100613/BusinessTimes/bt07.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[ODEL, Sri Lanka’s fashionable departmental store chain, this week said it planned to raise Rs 250 million from a public share issue with the additional funds going to upgrade its chain of stores and add new space.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>Sri Lanka's satellite: Lost in space?.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 13, Jun 2010 13:46:14 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100613/BusinessTimes/bt10.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Some things that start with a loud bang end with the softest whimper. A current example is Sri Lanka's plans to launch its own satellites. In an interview with Business Times last Sunday (6 June 2010) on a range of issues, the head of the Telecom Regulatory Commission (TRC) disclosed that the government is not going ahead with the much-hyped project as originally announced last year.]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>Govt. grapples with ways of increasing revenue.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 06, Jun 2010 13:11:25 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100606/BusinessTimes/bt01.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Sri Lankan government, grappling with ways to increase revenue through the 2010 budget while maintaining the deficit at 8% of GDP, is likely to introduce new taxes while reducing some of current ones, outside the budget. Some taxes through the budget is also being contemplated, official sources said.]]></description>
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      <title>FTA figures at IIFA Global Business Forum.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 06, Jun 2010 13:11:25 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100606/BusinessTimes/bt02.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Indo-Lanka Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was a hot topic at the FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum on Friday where Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Ashok Kantha said several Sri Lankan companies have made successful forays into the Indian market.]]></description>
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      <title>Tall order on education.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 06, Jun 2010 13:11:25 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100606/BusinessTimes/bt09.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The fact that most middle-class Sri Lankans are in favour of allowing private universities is well established and amply proved in this week’s Business Times poll on the same topic. Why we decided to hold a poll on this issue follows a statement by Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayake some days back where he announced that the government was planning to allow private universities as the state university system was bursting at the seams.]]></description>
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      <title>Tudawe Engineering ensures IIFA Awards held in ideal air conditioning comfort.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 06, Jun 2010 13:11:25 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100606/BusinessTimes/bt17.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Tudawe Engineering Services, a subsidiary of Tudawe Brothers (Pvt) Ltd, made its mark once again as an efficient company by completing the supply and installation of the 600 tonne Air Conditioning System at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium, that was used for IFFA Awards Ceremony.]]></description>
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      <title>Crisis for Tourism in Thailand.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 06, Jun 2010 13:11:25 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100606/BusinessTimes/bt22.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Thailand Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Chapter announced this week that Royal Orchid Holidays (ROH), a division of THAI Airways International has introduced price reductions of 50%, which is described as a self-defeating tourism recovery strategy for Thailand by Chapter Chairman Bert van Walbeek. In a statement, he said ROH expects hotels to sweeten the pot further with free dinners, cash vouchers and room upgrades.]]></description>
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      <title>Lankan entrepreneurs protest against CEPA.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2010 13:21:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100530/BusinessTimes/bt01.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Sri Lanka’s top entrepreneurs and professionals including 15 owners of local firms, lawyers, doctors and engineers got onto the streets on Tuesday protesting against the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), alleging that it will further liberalize trade and services and provide an undue advantage for India.]]></description>
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      <title>BOC will list stockbroking firm.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2010 13:21:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100530/BusinessTimes/bt02.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Bank of Ceylon (BOC), shortlisted by the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) to receive a stockbroking licence, is set to incorporate a trading firm with the intention of publicly listing it on a later date. “We will incorporate the company soon and list it in the CSE at a later date,” its chairman Gamini Wickremesinghe told the Business Times.]]></description>
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      <title>New laws to revive sick companies, Rs 100 billion in assets.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2010 13:21:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100530/BusinessTimes/bt06.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Sri Lankan government is looking into introducing laws into the Companies Act to deal with the revival of ‘sick’ companies. Speaking at the Sunday Times Business Club meeting at the Taj Samudra this week, Central Bank (CB) Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said new laws are being looked at which will give support to companies that are experiencing difficulties.]]></description>
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      <title>Vasu takes on telecom firms over phone tarrifs.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2010 13:21:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100530/BusinessTimes/bt10.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[In a media statement, Mr. Nanayakkara said the public hearing, which the Telecommunications Act has provisions for, is to protect consumers from black marketers who anticipate windfall profits. According to him, the mobile telephone operator revealed the cost per minute of a call is a few cents to the service provider. It is not a surprise to those who are aware that a unit of operating cost to the service provider decreases annually at a rate more than 15%, the statement quoted Mr Nanayakkara as saying.]]></description>
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      <title>Cargills looks at new business opportunities.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 23 May 2010 13:49:01 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100523/BusinessTimes/bt01.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Cargills Group, Sri Lanka’s biggest group in food manufacture and retailing, is looking for new business opportunities in the post-war era but more significantly has undergone a restructure of its management. Ranjit Page, widely credited with driving Cargills’ entry into supermarkets from a staid department store 27 years ago and thus creating a revolution in Sri Lanka’s food retail business, has stepped down from day-to-day operations at the group and will focus on looking at new business opportunities outside the company’s core activity, among other functions.]]></description>
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      <title>Kotelawala pulls out of Ceylinco Insurance re-election bid.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 23 May 2010 13:49:01 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100523/BusinessTimes/bt06.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Disgraced Sri Lankan businessman Lalith Kotelawala on Thursday pulled out of a bid to be re-elected director of Ceylinco Insurance at the company’s AGM on May 26, after a chorus of protests over his plan.
In a statement to the Colombo Stock Exchange, the company said Kotelawala had advised that he was not seeking re-election and would thus cease to be a director after the AGM.]]></description>
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      <title>Global Business Forum in Sri Lanka during IIFA.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 23 May 2010 13:49:01 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100523/BusinessTimes/bt08.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[A Global Business Forum, geared towards making Sri Lanka an investment hub, is set to take place as part of the run up to the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards on 5 June 2010. The 2010 Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) -IIFA Global Business Forum is considered to be the highlight in the scheduled events and will define the economic and intellectual component of the four day long IIFA weekend.]]></description>
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      <title>New beginnings, just like in 1977.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 23 May 2010 13:49:01 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100523/BusinessTimes/bt10.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[As the newcomers to high office in state corporations and government agencies began taking up their appointments this week, it was evidently clear that the big guns of Sri Lanka’s business community have turned pro- United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) from being pro-United National Party (UNP).]]></description>
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      <title>Sunlight still leads the market after 125 years.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 23 May 2010 13:49:01 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100523/BusinessTimes/bt16.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The soap 'Sunlight' introduced to the world by William Hesketh Lever in England in the 1890s, around 125 years, today stands aloft as the market leader in this kind of soap in Sri Lanka with a 75% market share, according to Unilever Sri Lanka.]]></description>
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      <title>Protecting the Ceylon Tea brand.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 23 May 2010 13:49:01 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100523/BusinessTimes/bt39.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[A crisis is brewing in the Ceylon Tea industry over calls for a tea ‘hub’ by some traders who are also appealing for laws to be changed, allowing all tea imports to be permitted in Sri Lanka to package multi-origin teas.]]></description>
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      <title>Private pension funds to be regulated by IBSL.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 16 May 2010 13:16:42 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100516/BusinessTimes/bt01.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The government is planning to bring dozens of superannuation (private and provident) funds, currently registered with the Commissioner of Labour, under the supervision and regulation of the Insurance Board of Sri Lanka (IBSL) in a move that is being supervised by the Central Bank (CB), informed sources said.]]></description>
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      <title>Heads roll, Harry J at CPC.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 16 May 2010 13:16:42 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100516/BusinessTimes/bt02.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Heads rolled while others were shifted to new positions when the government this week approved appointments to the boards of government agencies with the biggest development being the re-entry of controversial businessman Harry Jayawardene.]]></description>
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      <title>Mobile interconnecting rate 50 cents by June 1.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 16 May 2010 13:16:42 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100516/BusinessTimes/bt05.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[June 1 will see the mobile telecommunication industry experience an interconnect rate of 50 cents, Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRC) sources said.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Mobile Number Portability can hit SLT, Dialog profits –Fitch .</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 16 May 2010 13:16:42 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100516/BusinessTimes/bt10.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) proposal for Mobile Number Portability (MNP), can hit profits of larger telecom operators like Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) and Dialog, says Fitch Ratings.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>JKH rejects Tax Dept. allegations against SAGT.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 16 May 2010 13:16:42 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100516/BusinessTimes/bt16.html</link>
      <category>Business Times</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The company made these comments in a letter to the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) in response to the report in the Business Times on Sunday which stated that SAGT had not complied with conditions that would make it eligible to receive tax concessions under its Board of Investment (BOI) agreement. In its letter to the CSE, JKH confirmed, as reported by the Business Times, that SAGT has received an assessment for 2007/2008 from the DIR.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Controversial Chillies Ad awards cancelled.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 09 May 2010 13:23:10 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100509/BusinessTimes/bt01.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Explosive developments this week surrounding the controversial Chillies Ad awards has resulted in the awards show being cancelled following an order handed down by the District Court of Colombo this week in response to a case filed against the Chillies organizing body by advertising agency Phoenix Ogilvy.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Foreign Accounts for sportsmen, writers, hairdressers.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 09 May 2010 13:23:10 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100509/BusinessTimes/bt06.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Artists, writers, researchers, plumbers, athletes, hair dressers and a host of other professionals who provide their services overseas from Sri Lanka are now eligible to open and maintain foreign currency accounts in licensed commercial banks in Sri Lanka.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Let’s not kill the Angels while the banks sleep.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 09 May 2010 13:23:10 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100509/BusinessTimes/bt10.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Banks have tightened lending standards and have for the most part completely shut out the SME sector, with many unable to obtain even working capital. Continuous problems in global bond markets will only make this situation worse.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>Triad to sue Chillies Committee for Rs.100 mln.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 09 May 2010 13:23:10 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100509/BusinessTimes/bt16.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Triad Advertising agency said it was filing a plaint in the District Court of Colombo next week against the members of the Chillies organizing/blueprint committee, claiming damages of Rs.100 million as compensation.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>Luxury serviced apartments now in Jaffna.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 09 May 2010 13:23:10 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100509/BusinessTimes/bt28.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Sri Lanka-based Expo Aviation recently announced that it would be offering a luxury serviced apartment facility located at 873 Hospital Road in Jaffna; less than two minutes on foot from its Expo Pavilion which is located at 40 Kandy Road, Chundikuli, Jaffna.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Free speech, discipline fundamentals for Lanka’s growth.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 02 May 2010 13:01:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100502/BusinessTimes/bt01.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[A well, respected Sri Lankan business leader has listed free speech, statesmanship, education, a disciplined society and a solid industrial policy as the pillars for the country to grow on in the post-war age.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>Aggressive plans by JKH in post-war era.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 02 May 2010 13:01:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100502/BusinessTimes/bt02.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[As the largest market capitalized company on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), blue chip conglomerate John Keells Holdings (JKH) has aggressive plans for all its sectors following the end of the war in May 2009 and the conclusion of the presidential and parliamentary elections earlier this year.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Same mobile number for all networks.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 02 May 2010 13:01:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100502/BusinessTimes/bt05.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Want to change your mobile service provider but still prefer using the old number? That would be a reality very soon with the implementation of the World Bank-aided Mobile Number Portability (MNP) programme.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>TRC to recover lost/stolen phones.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 02 May 2010 13:01:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100502/BusinessTimes/bt06.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The TRC is also implementing a special programme to help people recover their lost or stolen mobile phones. A senior TRC official said they have been receiving a large number of complaints of lost or stolen mobile phones, and this is increasing.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>CSE to increase website band - width again.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 02 May 2010 13:01:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100502/BusinessTimes/bt13.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) is gearing to increase its website bandwidth six months after the initial increase as it has overrun the capacity due to website hits increasing by 300%, officials said. 
“We increased the CSE website bandwidth last November from 1.5 mega bites (MB) to 10 MB.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Hiran Cooray takes over as PATA Chairman.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 02 May 2010 13:01:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100502/BusinessTimes/bt15.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Hiran Cooray, Chairman – Jetwing made history this week being the first Sri Lankan to be inducted as Chairman of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Internet - unheard of, for many Lankans: Study.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 02 May 2010 13:01:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100502/BusinessTimes/bt26.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[While Internet penetration is not very good amongst the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP), those earning less than $2 a day, with many in Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Thailand never even having heard of the Internet; the BOP can still benefit from the enhanced access to information and, as such, opportunity inherent in the so-called Internet economy through mobile 2.0, or more than voice, services.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Officials caught flat-footed over budget.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:15:05 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100425/BusinessTimes/bt01.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Finance Ministry officials were taken completely by surprise with the government’s announcement on Friday of delaying budget 2010 till July and presenting a second vote-on-account, informed sources said. Earlier a budget was expected to be presented in May/June.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>Crude oil prices climb to above $80.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:15:05 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100425/BusinessTimes/bt02.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Rising global crude oil prices over the past few months will increase Sri Lanka’s oil import bill in addition to driving up prices of other imports such as fertilizer and chemicals. Global crude prices reached $83.25 on Thursday this week, dropping slightly from US$85 to US$87 per barrel range a last week but almost doubling from a year ago when the price per barrel in April 2009 was $44.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>Motor trade urges tax removal on new vehicles.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:15:05 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100425/BusinessTimes/bt03.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Sri Lanka’s new vehicles market is crumbling with poor demand owing to high tax levels of 300 to 400% which has seen prices rise sharply in some cases as much as three times of cars sold in Malaysia or Thailand, motor traders said.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>Sri Lanka bends towards China for more funds.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:15:05 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100425/BusinessTimes/bt05.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Sri Lankan government is seeking additional funding facilities of up to $1 billion from China for infrastructure improvements, Finance Ministry sources said. The funding for the current financial year will come in the form of grants, loans and credit, according to a senior Treasury official.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>MillenniumIT deal with Egyptian Exchange.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:15:05 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100425/BusinessTimes/bt12.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Egypt - MillenniumIT (UK), a leading technology solutions provider and part of the London Stock Exchange Group, and the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), on Wednesday announced that they have entered into a partnership agreement.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>Coca-Cola says it’s excited by Sri Lanka’s potential.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:15:05 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100425/BusinessTimes/bt07.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Coca-Cola, the world’s largest carbonated drinks-maker, said on Thursday that it was excited about the growth potential in post-war Sri Lanka and planned to step up investments.]]></description>
    </item>
		<item>
      <title>Veteran entrepreneur urges new MPs to be role models for youngsters.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:15:05 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100425/BusinessTimes/bt36.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Finance Ministry officials were taken completely by surprise with the government’s announcement on Friday of delaying budget 2010 till July and presenting a second vote-on-account, informed sources said. Earlier a budget was expected to be presented in May/June.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Lanka's biggest Botanical Gardens at Hambantota.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100418/BusinessTimes/bt01.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[A veteran entrepreneur, former President of the Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sri Lanka and currently Chairman of Young Entrepreneurs of Sri Lanka (YESL) Patrick Amarasinghe this week urged newly elected parliamentarians to act as role models for the younger generations in the country -- setting an example for youth by conducting themselves in an exemplary manner both in and outside parliament.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Ad agency rejects Chillies criteria.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100418/BusinessTimes/bt02.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Controversy is dogging the Chillies Awards yet again as advertising agencies voice their concerns about decisions taken by the Blueprint committee on the 2010 Awards, specifically about requiring advertising agencies to have membership in either the International Advertising Association (IAA) or the Accredited Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) in order to participate in the Awards.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Hayleys wants more control.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100418/BusinessTimes/bt05.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Hayleys PLC will look for more controlling stakes in entities that it has shareholdings in, failing which the company intends to sell off these stakes, according to officials. “Hayleys’ strategy is to control the key areas it is in. Therefore we will be targeting to control some firms that we own (non-controlling) stakes in the future - otherwise we will divest those stakes,” an official told the Business Times.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Brandix cuts carbon by 7%, plans further 10% in 2010.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100418/BusinessTimes/bt11.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Sri Lankan apparel manufacturer Brandix will be investing Rs. 230 million to cut its carbon dioxide and carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by 10% by the end of 2010. This follows Rs. 460 million in group-wide investments over the past two years across 85 emissions sources, including 27 manufacturing locations and 25,000 employees, which resulted in a reduction of 7% emissions, equalling 6,000 metric tonnes, according to company director A.J. Johnpillai, who was speaking at a media conference held recently to update the public on the group’s track record on cutting emissions and its plans for the future.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Credibility is critical for the Chillies.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100418/BusinessTimes/bt13.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[I was amazed to read in last Sunday’s newspapers, that an agency plans to take legal action against measures taken by the organizers of The Chillies to prevent scam (a euphemism for fraud)! While I have little interest in being embroiled in this controversy, I thought I should, as a senior industry person, reiterate that unless the industry genuinely acts to preserve the credibility of the Awards, the Chillies will be doomed. Few will want to participate in or be associated with an awards contest that is not fair, transparent and credible.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>SLT to stem losses by shedding staff to 3,500.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100418/BusinessTimes/bt21.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) is to reduce staff to 3,500 from around 6,000 through its manpower restructuring’ methods including Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS), and recruitment freezes, in an effort to stem losses, SLT union officials said.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Tough challenges for new government.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100411/BusinessTimes/bt01.htm</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The newly elected UPFA government has a long list of tasks including the rehabilitation of displaced Tamils, reconstruction of the war-ravaged North and East and a political solution to the ethnic conflict, according to the business community.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Triad takes legal action over Chillies.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100411/BusinessTimes/bt02.htm</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Triad Advertising said this week it has instituted legal action against the management of the Chillies Awards following a decision by the Chillies Blueprint committee to introduce a scam penalty, in another twist to a never-ending saga of many years of controversy of this premier advertising industry awards.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>LOLC into insurance.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100411/BusinessTimes/bt06.htm</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Lanka ORIX Leasing Co PLC is getting into the insurance business, the company said on Monday.
In a communication to the Colombo Stock Exchange, it said a subsidiary named LOLC Insurance Co has been incorporated for this purpose as a ‘pre-requisite for applying for the relevant licence’.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>BOI targets US$5 billion FDIs.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100411/BusinessTimes/bt13.htm</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Disclosing the board’s ambitious investment promotion (FDI) plan, BOI Chairman Dhammika Perera told a media conference in Colombo on Tuesday that they plan to generate 80,000 new direct employment opportunities, develop 50,000 new hotel rooms, set up 50 IT/BPO companies, add 5,000 hospital beds and establish 25 higher education institutes for 30,000 students during this period. He said that the BOI received US$5,600 million as FDIs since 1978 and 50% of this amount had been received during the 2006-2009 period.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Webguru International, a Dutch software developer, setting up software unit here.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100411/BusinessTimes/bt16.htm</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Dutch company Webguru’s International (Private) Ltd is setting up a US$ 155,000 software development company aimed at the export market. An agreement for this purpose was signed between company directors Ruben Blanke and Barend Raatt, and Dhammika Perera, Chairman / Director General of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) on behalf of the BOI.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Tourist arrivals keep rising.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100411/BusinessTimes/bt20.htm</link>
      <description><![CDATA[An intensified marketing campaign from Sri Lanka Tourism and the peaceful environment in the country has contributed to large increases in tourist arrivals over the past few months. According to the latest statistics, tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka improved by 57.3% year on year in March 2010 to 52,352 while the first quarter cumulative arrivals for the year are up 50.3% to 160,409 compared to the same period last year.]]></description>
    </item>
	<item>
      <title>Jap aid for 4 major infrastructure projects.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100411/BusinessTimes/bt28.htm</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The projects include a provincial/rural road development in the Central, Sabaragamuwa and Eastern provinces, an Eastern province water supply development project, a Kandy city wastewater management project and additional financing for the Upper Kotmale Hydro Power Project. The loans are offered on highly concessionary terms and administered by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The agreement for the 40th package of ODA loan to Sri Lanka was signed on March 26 in Colombo.]]></description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Lanka’s ceramics could lose European market if GSP is withdrawn</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 04 April 2010 13:30:00 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100404/BusinessTimes/bt01.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Sri Lanka’s ceramic industry is facing a severe threat of losing the European market for its tableware, sanitary ware, hotel and ornamental ware if the EU decides to finally withdraw the GSP + facility, according to Sunil Wijesinha, Chairman of tableware exporter Dankotuwa Porcelain and former head of the Ceramics Council.]]></description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>14 months gone, AG yet to file indictment in Ceylinco cases</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 04 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100404/BusinessTimes/bt02.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Attorney General is yet to file indictment against Ceylinco chief Lalith Kotelawala and other directors of Golden Key (GK) and two other subsidiaries despite the crisis exploding 14 months back in December 2008. Kotelawala and his co-directors are all out on bail after a period in remand.]]></description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>NDB vacant director positions yet to be filled</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 04 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100404/BusinessTimes/bt05.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The three vacant directorships of the NDB Bank were unexpectedly not filled at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on Tuesday.]]></description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Hemaka steps down as Singer CEO</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 04 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100404/BusinessTimes/bt07.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Singer Sri Lanka’s long-standing chairman and CEO, Hemaka Amarasuriya retires on June 30 as CEO, handing over the baton to Asoka Peiris, currently Vice President Finance of Singer Asia.]]></description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>CID raids on software piracy in the private sector</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 04 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100404/BusinessTimes/bt15.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Criminal Investigations Division carried out another corporate end user raid this week when it nabbed a company using pirated software. The company was suspected to be infringing the intellectual property rights of the Business Software Alliance (BSA) -- Adobe, Autodesk and Microsoft by using pirated and unlicensed software in the course of running its business.]]></description>
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