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Sri Lanka Newspapers Monday 07/05/2012

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1Sri Lanka Newspapers Monday 07/05/2012 Empty Sri Lanka Newspapers Monday 07/05/2012 Sun May 06, 2012 11:03 pm

CSE.SAS

CSE.SAS
Global Moderator

Lack of funds holds down bourse

The Colombo bourse continued to decline last week and brokers point out that more funds need to come in for the market to break its shackles.

"The market closed this week on a negative note. The All Share Index lost 65 points on a week on week basis to close at 5,375. The Milanka Index closed marginally lower by 8 points over the previous week. Overall the market breadth remained negative throughout the week. The volumes remained on the lower side. Trading remained slightly sluggish in this truncated week as it was a trading holiday on 1st May and investors continued to remain on the sidelines," Bartleet Religare Securities (BRS) said.

"Without a turnaround in the flow of funds the markets may continue to drift sideways to down. Technically the markets have broken its support level of 5,400 and now the next support level comes around 5,350 and then at 5,300. The Index is trading below its 13 and 50 Day Exponential Moving averages. The MACD oscillator has given a negative crossover and is now indicating some bearishness," BRS said.

"This is the lowest weekly close for the Index since March 2012 as the trading was taking place between a range of 5,550 and 5,390 and this time it has closed below that range on a weekly closing basis. Sri Lanka’s annual inflation rate accelerated to a seven month high of 6.1 percent in April from a year earlier. The path from hereon is likely to be sideways. Upside potential still exists but for that we need to break above the levels of 5,500. However a break below 5,300 will open way for further downside and below 5,300 risks should be monitored as drops below the support levels will indicate the potential for further declines."
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=51276

CSE.SAS

CSE.SAS
Global Moderator

By Ravi Ladduwahetty

Tea exports have shown a sharp upward movement in prices since mid March 2012 on account of the depreciated Rupee but is unlikely to sustain for the months of June, Tea Exporters’ Association Chairman and Vanrees ( Ceylon) Ltd Chairman Niraj De Mel told The Island Financial Review yesterday.

He also said that the depreciated rupee may have seen the increase in the prices of the low growns to US$ 3.35-3.40 per kilo and the national sales averages to US$ 3.16 per kilo but was unlikely to sustain for the months of both May and June due to both excess production in the months of April due to rainy weather and also production coming in from Vietnam and North India, which are usually not producing tea for the first three months of the year on account of Winter.

"Tea prices have seen a sharp upward movement in Rupee terms since mid March mainly due to the steep fall of the Sri Lanka Rupee and the intense demand from Iran to get in as much quantity as possible into that destination before US/EU embargoes become stringently effective by June 30 . This is certainly a big sigh of relief for the tea growers and producers of this country who have been facing a severe beating on their income since middle of last year when tea prices began to slide after the highs of 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, the TEA Chief explained.

However, in analyzing the higher tea prices seen since mid March till end April, it must be noted that the increases have been in Rupee terms. In Dollar terms it has not been much of an increase with the total tea average for the auction held soon after the National New Year recording approx USD 3.16, up from around USD 3 at the beginning of this year but below USD 3.30 levels seen in previous years. Achieving these levels were possible mostly due to the strength displayed for Low growns. The ‘thirst’ from Iran and the increase in demand from Iraq and Libya at the lower end of the scale helped low grown teas to move up to USD 3.35 – 3.40 levels by mid April.

Responding to question as to whether these prices were expected to remain in May and June, he said : " With heavy showers experienced during the month of April after extremely dry weather in the first quarter of this year, tea harvest has increased significantly. These increased volumes will be on offer for sale in the months of May and June, majority of which will be of lower quality. This is usually the case for teas produced soon after the New Year. Adding to these large volumes on the global supply line are the orthodox teas from North India and Vietnam which had been out of production in the first quarter on account of Winter.

He also noted that all of these teas come on offer during the summer months of the larger tea drinking regions such as the Middle east and Russia. Further, even if Iran continue to demand more tea, servicing them in the back drop of the forthcoming embargoes can cause payment issues to Sri Lankan exporters leading to a slowing down of cargo movement to this important destination.

"Given these reasons, the chances of tea prices maintaining at the levels seen from the second half of March till now may be remote. Against these facts, the reasons those are likely to keep Sri Lankan Tea growers/producers smiling longer than just two months would be the increase in tea drinking across the globe and shortfall in the Kenyan production," he said.
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=51275

CSE.SAS

CSE.SAS
Global Moderator

*13 Asian nations sign key agreements in ADB meet

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) ended the 45th meeting of its board of governors in Manila over the weekend with key agreements among 13 Asian member-countries to boost their emergency protection against financial shocks as many of the economies in the region are threatened by a prolonged eurozone crisis.

The meeting, which was hosted this year by the Philippines, was attended by more than 5,000 delegates from 67 member countries—the highest number of participants so far in the history of ADB conventions.

"The annual meeting this year attracted the largest number of participants," said ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda.

"We are happy to have had a successful annual meeting. The Philippines, Manila in particular, has showcased its hospitality to international participants," Kuroda added.

Ann Quon, the head of ADB’s communications department, said the Philippines should be credited for its efforts to help make the meeting possible.

"We (the ADB) had a tremendous success in terms of number of participants, and so we credit the Philippine government for the great turnout," Quon said.

The Asean+3 regional grouping agreed to double the size of their emergency liquidity programme, the so-called Chiang Mai Initiative, to US$240 billion and made it more readily available by reducing its compulsory link to the International Monetary Fund’s bailout conditions.

Asean+3 is a forum that functions as a coordinator of cooperation between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and the three East Asian nations of China, Japan and South Korea.

In a further move to protect their financial markets from shocks, the three East Asian economic powers in the Asean+3 agreed to boost cross-investment in government bond markets, worth nearly a combined $15 trillion.

The ADB conference from May 2 to 5 met under a cloud of uncertainty over the eurozone debt crisis and high oil prices cloud the region’s continued economic performance.

Policy discussions

Kuroda said the bank was very pleased with the important agreements made and policy discussions during the annual meeting.

The agreement to double the Asean+3 safety net fund comes as many export-oriented economies in Asia seek ways to avoid a repeat of the 1997/98 Asian financial meltdown after facing recent crises originating outside the region.

"We are fully aware of the potential downside risks to the region’s economic performance in 2012," said the statement of the Asean+3 finance ministers and central bank chiefs who met on the sidelines of the ADB meetings.

"The prolonged sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone could continue to weigh on Asean+3 economies through the trade and financial channels. Inflationary pressures remain, driven, in particular, by rising oil prices," it said.

From $120B to $240B

Under the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM) created in 2000 as a network of bilateral currency swaps, Asean+3 member-countries pool resources that can be tapped by any member suffering from insufficient dollar liquidity.

The agreement drawn up this week calls for boosting the size of the CMIM from $120 billion to $240 billion, while cutting the amount tied to an IMF programme to 70 per cent from 80 per cent and extending the maturity of currency swaps.

Japan, China and South Korea will continue putting up 80 per cent of the fund with Asean countries providing the remainder.

Asean+3 includes the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Myanmar, Brunei, Laos (the 10 members of Asean), and China, Japan and South Korea (the +3 economies).

+3 mutually hold bonds

The region’s three economic powers struck a formal agreement on their mutual bond holdings, a rare one on securities investment, to safeguard their capital markets against possibly massive cross-border fund flows.

"We agreed to promote the investment by the foreign reserve authorities in (each other’s) government bonds, further strengthen our cooperation, including information sharing, and thereby enhance the regional economic relationship among the three countries," China, Japan and South Korea said in a joint statement.

Local currency-denominated government bonds in the three countries amounted to $14.61 trillion at the end of 2011, with Chinese and Japanese bonds accounting for 97 per cent of the total, ADB data showed.

A key theme of the conference was the pressing need to make economic growth "inclusive," meaning growth that actually results in poverty reduction and does not only benefit the rich and the middle class, and the need to develop economies without damaging the environment.

Kuroda said Asia, despite the significant progress achieved by some countries in the region in the past decade, is still faced with a serious problem of poverty. In some Asian countries, economic growth is not translating into poverty reduction, he said.

"There are still hundreds of millions of Asians living on less than $1 a day," Kuroda said.

Cash transfer programmes

Some of the recommendations made to achieve inclusive economic growth is to increase investments in education and other social services, such as cash transfer programmes.

ADB said it is supporting programmes like the Philippines’ conditional cash transfer, believing this to be efficient in achieving inclusive economic growth.

Policy discussions at the meetings also focused on the need for countries to invest, or to seek financing, for projects that will help achieve environmental sustainability.

Kuroda said that growth must also be "green," that is, economic development must not come at the expense of the environment. He said progress in the economic front would be meaningless if countries would eventually succumb to natural disasters resulting from degradation of the environment. He said pursuing "green growth" is important for Asia since many countries in the region are prone to natural calamities.

Middle-income trap

The need to develop Asian countries, like the Philippines, to finally graduate into becoming industrialised economies was also highlighted during the meeting.

Officials of various governments agreed that measures should be implemented for developing Asian countries to escape the "middle-income trap," a phenomenon where a country, after transitioning from low- to middle-income, stagnates and fails to further develop into an advanced economy.

One of the proposals advanced is for governments and the private sector to invest more heavily in science and technology, and research and development to better compete with advanced economies. Innovation is needed so that growth will accelerate, Kuroda said.

Gov’t cited for reforms

Another proposal was to institute reforms in government that would help make the delivery of public services more efficient, and thus make more resources available for funding developmental projects.

"Corruption and bad governance are a major obstacle to eradication of poverty in a much faster pace. [During the meeting] many developing member-governments recognised that corruption must be avoided and that governance must be substantially improved," Kuroda said.

The ADB president cited the Philippines for the Aquino administration’s reform agenda.

"The current [Philippine] government has put anticorruption and governance improvement at the forefront of its poverty-reduction efforts," Kuroda said.

Worth the effort

Philippine government officials said the country’s hosting of the ADB meetings was worth the country’s time and effort.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP or Central Bank of the Philippines) Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said the event helped make the Philippines better known before the world as a country that supports initiatives for economic cooperation and development.

"We, at the BSP, are privileged to have been part of the hosting of this year’s ADB governors’ meeting," Tetangco said. The BSP owns the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) where most of the events and forums were held.

He said the ADB meetings had again "showcased the strength of cooperation among Asian economies, and how far we have come to understand the needs of the region."

"The meetings also reflected how, as a regional grouping, we are working toward concrete measures to ensure that we remain a driver of global economic growth and financial stability," Tetangco said.

Back on int’l radar

"Manila 2012 has put the Philippines back on the radar screen of the international community," said Finance secretary Cesar V. Purisima.

"The success of this event highlights the parallelism of goals of the country and of the ADB, which is to achieve inclusive growth in the region," Purisima said.

The country’s finance chief sat as chair of the bank’s board of governors until Saturday when he was succeeded by Pranab Mukherjee, ADB governor for India, which will host next year’s meeting.

"We have shown that we were able to do things smoothly, efficiently and promptly. This may sound petty, but improvements in these small things are tipping points" that can help make a better impression of the country to foreigners, said Finance Undersecretary Rosalia de Leon, who headed the team that organised the meetings.

Kuroda, in his closing remarks, thanked President Aquino and Purisima for the "excellent arrangements" provided during the meeting.

"Above all, I thank the people of Manila, whose inherent warm hospitality and support have made this a most memorable and successful event," Kuroda said. (ANN)
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=51274

CSE.SAS

CSE.SAS
Global Moderator

February 2012’a exports earnings show our export lull in January to be only temporary. "The February increase in exports by 7.6% shows the positive reversal of our exports from that of January. It also shows that the January lull is a mere passing cloud which has now cleared," said Rishad Bathiudeen, Minister of Industry and Commerce of Sri Lanka.

Bathiudeen announced this last week while acknowledging the latest positive export growth data released by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and also responding to reservations regarding ‘exports slowdown’. The February 2012 export data showed an increase of 7.6% to US dollars 879 Mn in comparison to February 2011, breaking the exports lull in January 2011 and clearly lays any doubts on Sri Lanka export growth, to rest.

"I am also pleased to observe that Industrial exports taking 74.2% of total exports, while also showing an increase during the first two months of 2012. This is a sign that our export growth will continue can in the following months. By contributing a 17.5% increase in comparison to 2011 February, rubber products, among all industrial products, have become the driver of this exports rise," Bathiudeen said. "In fact, in the period of January to February this year alone rubber product exports increased by 19.1% showing their increasing importance in our exports basket."
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=51273

CSE.SAS

CSE.SAS
Global Moderator

Sri Lanka Newspapers Monday 07/05/2012 51280810

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced global traffic results for March showing that total passenger demand rose 7.6% and freight demand climbed 0.3% compared to the same month last year.

Comparisons with March last year are affected by events that depressed passenger demand in 2011, including the Arab Spring, which disrupted travel in the Middle East and North Africa beginning in February 2011 and the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March 2011 that impacted air travel across the Asia-Pacific region. IATA estimates that the year-on-year rise in air travel in March was about two percentage points higher than it would otherwise have been in the absence of these events.

Cargo demand, meanwhile, was affected by the timing of the Chinese New Year, which occurred in January this year—leading to stronger February shipments—but took place in February 2011—leading to stronger March 2011 shipments and weaker year-to-year comparisons. Compared to February 2012, March air cargo demand was significantly stronger by 2.2%.

"If we discount the industry’s growth by two percentage points as a result of the extraordinary events in 2011, airlines still managed an expansion in the range of 5-6%. Given the prevailing economic conditions with some European states returning to recession, passenger demand is holding up well. But this is bringing little relief to the bottom line because yields are not keeping pace with the continued very high price of oil," said Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

Oil prices have remained stubbornly above $100/barrel (Brent crude) for the past 14 months. In 2008, oil prices rose from $90/barrel in January to a peak of $147/barrel in late July. But by November, they had fallen back to less than $50/barrel. "We have not seen such sustained high oil prices previously. Jet fuel prices have risen 8% since January. Considering that fuel now accounts for 34% of average operating costs, it’s an increase that hurts," said Tyler.

Total passenger capacity rose 4.4% compared to March 2011, resulting in a load factor of 78.3%, up 2.4 percentage points over the year-ago period. Freight capacity, however, climbed 1.7% year-on-year, above the rate of demand, placing pressure on load factors.

International Passenger Markets

International air travel rose 9.6% in March compared to the year-ago period, while capacity climbed 5%, resulting in a load factor of 77.7%, up 3.2 percentage points from March 2011.

European airlines recorded the strongest traffic growth among the major regions despite deepening recessions in parts of the continent, with demand up 8.8% year-on-year, on a 4.1% increase in capacity. Load factor rose to 78.5%. This growth is partly the result of expanding European exports to stronger Asian economies and the associated business travel.

Asia-Pacific carriers also experienced healthy growth, with demand up 8.1% on a 4.3% rise in capacity, pushing load factors up to 76.5%. Year-to-year comparisons were impacted by the March 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami, which are estimated to have reduced 2011 demand by 3%, exaggerating year-over-year growth by a like amount.

North American airlines had a 5.3% rise in passenger traffic, a solid performance for the region and concurrent with better economic results from the US, particularly with increasing consumer confidence. Capacity rose at a much slower rate than demand, by 0.9%, pushing load factors up fractionally to 80.3%, the highest of all the regions. Very tight capacity control in this region is allowing airlines to boost asset utilization, helping to offset part of the rise in fuel costs.

Middle East airlines’ demand jumped 20.9% on a 12.4% rise in capacity, propelling load factors to 78.7%. This was the largest rate of growth for any region but mostly reflects the weakness of travel last year following the Arab Spring. IATA estimates this inflated traffic gains by seven percentage points.

Latin American carriers experienced the second-slowest demand growth among the regions, but traffic still rose 7.7% year-over-year on a 6.7% rise in capacity. Passenger load factor was 77.9%. It is among the regions least impacted by the distortions in 2011 and this latest expansion reflects a continuation of the steady growth seen since early 2009.

African airlines reported a 14.3% rise in traffic, of which an estimated 11 percentage points was attributed to traffic suppression in March 2011 owing to the Arab Spring. Capacity rose 10.7%, resulting in a load factor of 64.8%, which although an improvement year-over-year, was by far the lowest among the regions.

Domestic Passenger Markets

Domestic markets grew at less than half the rate of international markets, just 4.5%, in part owing to the timing of Carnival in Brazil but also owing to slower growth in India.

* Japan experienced the strongest traffic growth, up 15.5% year-on-year. This, however, reflects the devastating impact on year-ago traffic of the natural disasters of March 2011. March 2011 traffic was down 27% on March 2010 and the performance would have been worse had the earthquake struck earlier in the month. While the market has significantly recovered, domestic traffic levels remain 10% below those of the pre-crisis period. In fact, since the end of last year, domestic travel has started to retreat. Capacity was 2.6% below previous-year levels and the load factor was 64.8%, the lowest of any domestic market.

* China’s domestic traffic continued on its strong growth path with an expansion of 10.1% but this was exceeded by an 11.8% rise in capacity, with load factors slipping to 80.5%.

* US March domestic traffic rose 1%, but capacity contracted 0.7%, pushing load factors to 84.3%, the highest for any market.

* Airline traffic in Brazil was affected by the timing of Carnival, which occurred in February 2012, a month earlier than in 2011. March 2012 traffic growth of 2.9% is estimated to be about half what it would have been absent the distortion. Capacity rose 9.2%, pushing the load factor down to 65.2%.

* India traffic rose 4% year-over-year, much slower than the last few months, reflecting the wider economic slowdown, while capacity climbed 4.8% and load factor was 72.2%.

Air Freight (Domestic and International)

* Air freight markets are now showing signs of renewed expansion. Freight Tonne Kilometers (FTKs) were over 4% higher in March than they were in the fourth quarter of 2011. However, compared with March last year the size of the market was up just 0.3%. This is because the Chinese New Year occurred in February 2011, resulting in strong March 2011 shipments as factories reopened following the holiday period.

* Asia-Pacific and European airlines saw their freight traffic decline 3.1% and 1.9%, respectively, compared to a year ago.

* Middle Eastern carriers had a 15.1% rise in demand, the healthiest performance among the regions, with about four percentage points of that rise attributable to Arab Spring-related traffic suppression last year. Latin American carriers’ traffic climbed 4.9%, while African carriers saw a 3.9% rise compared to the year-ago period. North American airlines’ demand rose 1.6% year-on-year.

The Bottom Line

Both Spain and the UK have slipped into a double dip recession in recent weeks. From April this year, the UK hiked its Air Passenger Duty (already the most expensive aviation tax in the world) by 8% which is double the inflation rate. Spain, with an economy highly dependent on tourism, is contemplating a 50% increase in charges at its two main airports (Barcelona and Madrid).

"The goose that lays the golden eggs can only take so many knocks before she fails to produce. Even in the best of times, increasing the cost of connectivity dents competitiveness. When the economy is weak it puts at risk aviation’s ability to create jobs and growth. And in a recession it is economic nonsense," said Tyler.

Aviation supports 56.6 million jobs and $2.2 trillion of economic activity according to the latest figures from Oxford Economics.
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=51280

6Sri Lanka Newspapers Monday 07/05/2012 Empty Kalpitiya rich in tourism potential Mon May 07, 2012 2:21 am

sriranga

sriranga
Co-Admin

Shirajiv SIRIMANE in Dubai
The Kalpitiya Tourism zone if properly built and marketed could be a major threat to the Maldivian tourism industry, said Sagara Palihawardane Chairman of Rosen Renaissance.

Speaking to Daily News Business at the Arabian Travel Mart, he said that several operators in France and Germany have said that they would send back to back groups for any type of hotel in Kalpitiya.

“One of the main reasons for Kalpitiya to be a hit among foreign operators is because it is a hideaway location and the calm beaches which are similar to the Maldives. In addition Kalpitiya would be a cheaper destination than the Maldives and tourists could indulge in more activities such as Whale watching, diving, para diving, snorkelling and excursions to archaeological sites and wildlife safaris in the neighbouring Wilpattu Sanctuary,” he said.

He said that among the other advantages, the tsunami threat in Kalpitiya is almost zero since it is geographically shaded by India covering the Indonesian tsunami prone area.

The government should provide the infrastructure and minimize the current red tape for the Kalpitiya region to take off.

Palihawardane said that they would put up 50 rooms in Kalpitiya on a five acre property. “We have done some research and found that this would be a very profitable venture. We hope to invest around Rs. 350 million,” he said.

In addition he said that they are looking at investing in a purpose built hotel for Nuwara Eliya rather than converting a bungalow or refurbishing an existing hotel. “We are looking at a 30 room property for Nuwara Eliya,” he said.

Palihawardane said that they hope to start construction of these two hotels by the end of this year when the necessary approval is received. He said that he would tie up with a German partner to build the two hotels with a total investment of around Rs.500 million.

In addition their first property, Rosen Hotel, the only four star plus property in Kataragama would add 10 rooms by the end of the year increasing its total room strength to 65. Their second property, the boutique hotel in Weligama has 25 rooms and with these investments by end of 2013 the group would have a total room strength of around 175.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/05/07/bus01.as

http://sharemarket-srilanka.blogspot.co.uk/

7Sri Lanka Newspapers Monday 07/05/2012 Empty 60% of problems resolved-MR Mon May 07, 2012 10:08 am

Redbulls

Redbulls
Director - Equity Analytics
Director - Equity Analytics

SATURDAY, 05 MAY 2012 13:18
President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said that more than 60 percent of the problems of the people in the northern and eastern provinces have been resolved.

The President revealed this during a meeting with visiting Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Katsuda Okada, the President’s office said.

Meanwhile, the sluice gate of the main dam of the Upper Kothmale hydro power project was declared open this morning by President Rajapakse and Japanese Deputy PM Okada. The project will add 150 megawatts of power to the national grid.
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Comments


-13+218#jahan2012-05-05 13:57
this is what you say whenever a foreign official visits you....When India visited you said 13 Plus...but once they left there nothing....it's zero....now you say to this Japanese 60% problems sorted...after ??? what about people suffering from sky rocketing prices of essential goods? you and Cabraal made stupid decisions to devalue the rupee and now people are suffering from it.....Clearly i would say you was able to WIN war not Economy....you will never manage this economy...because non of you all have a right vision other than filling your pockets.
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-9+180#Kondebandapucheena2012-05-05 14:04
May be All parliamentarian's problem not General public
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-5+147#upul2012-05-05 14:14
Dear King, You would rather stop resolving problems. keep as it is. !!
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-9+132#Kannan2012-05-05 15:50
Rigtht, only 40% of the tamil population left in SL!
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-8+108#Nodrog2012-05-05 15:55
People of North and East are so lucky as people in the South and West sill have 100% problems...
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-9+69#Prof Hemantha Wickra2012-05-05 16:02
60% of Roads are done?
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-6+73#wicks2012-05-05 16:14
Thats why everyday cost of living going high day by day...suba chintanayak. Peoples haungy= government happy
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-5+138#Kamal2012-05-05 16:21
Mahinda we know you like to tell lies because you are a LIAR. No one believes you. Japan is too smart for you MR. So stop bullshitting please.
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-5+107#Wimal_Madawanda2012-05-05 16:45
And 70% more being created.
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-3+46#Yuri2012-05-05 21:01
Why dont you held another President election , then you do not have to worry until 2022
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-3+42#rooch2012-05-05 21:02
60% problem resolved and 40%price increased
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-3+33#Minister2012-05-05 21:15
Do you mean with Jonta's recent price increase?
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-4+55#DHAMMIKA2012-05-05 21:34
Lieing to 20 million Sri Lankans and foreign delegations as well . what a crime and a karma on a wesak poya day .
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-4+40#faz2012-05-05 22:17
looks like dambulla mosque issue is a set up...to gain and resolve the issue for the next term ...poor monks and my dear sinhala brothers in dambulla
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-3+57#kiribath2012-05-05 22:40
You have come from long line of Liars ( Banda, Sirima, Chandrika) . keep going.
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-2+39#Royalist2012-05-05 23:15
We must learn how to calculate percentage again... back to your arithmetic books folks!
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-2+44#KAPA2012-05-05 23:31
MR introducing his donkey herd to Japs.
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-2+44#Sri Minnal2012-05-05 23:35
Sir, could you please elborate the breakdown of the 60% problems solved.
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-2+39#shantha madawela2012-05-05 23:45
Increase other food price by 40%, then can solve all the problems,
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-1+41#bandulaster2012-05-06 08:34
Can the President show the equation and show how he arrived at this marvelous 60%.
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-2+38#raj2012-05-06 09:23
may be those 60% of the problems are not considered to be a real problems. If that so, the real problems still exist
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-1+21#Ravi Seneviratne2012-05-06 16:27
What , 60% problems solved ? Rata Passata siyata hataai,janathawa passata siyata siyaai
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-1+27#patti2012-05-06 16:58
is that code for 40% of civilians have been either killed or chased out of the country?
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-1+29#lankashantha2012-05-06 17:19
All our politicians are mathematics professors. See how?
Rs.7,500/-
2 Bulath vita
Electricity 40%
Bus fare 15%
And now 60%
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-1+10#Concerned2012-05-06 20:21
Yaaa, definitely. Its yours but not ours!
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-1+11#sanjeew2012-05-06 21:58
ha ha ha.... problems of the entire country have been increased by 600%
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-1+10#rajajaja2012-05-06 23:27
can any mathematician come up with the equation to to prove 60 how this was arrived?
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-0+4#KJ2012-05-07 05:46
Contact Minister Bandula G.. he can prove this claim..!!
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-1+18#Junta2012-05-06 23:51
you are a big liar Mr President. Im sick of your lies. You take lies to the next level.
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-0+6#Amal2012-05-07 07:26
President is bad in his maths! Ganang Fail!!
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-0+6#Anti-Boru2012-05-07 07:29
That's the worst mathematics I've ever seen!
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http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/18419-60-problems-resolved-mr.html

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