India and Sri Lanka on Wednesday inked seven agreements, including key pacts on security and power, as Colombo reassured New Delhi about its plans to quickly resettle displaced Tamils and to seek a political solution to the ethnic issue

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Plans are underway to the amend the country’s ‘Finance Act’ in order to bestow more power to the Central Bank to take tough action against rouge institutions which are taking advantage of unsuspecting depositors

Cairn (India) will drill three wells in block M2 in the Mannar Basin between January – March next year, while Sri Lanka will call international tenders for the rest five blocks within this year, Petroleum Minister Susil Premjayantha said.

Sri Lanka received a boost in its efforts to regain the GSP plus trade benefits with the European Union noting significant improvements in the island following the end of the war and indicating it will continue negotiations on the GSP plus issue.

The South Asian region is not ready to consider the single currency model for its member states, said a senior official of the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

Cairn India which is exploring for oil in Sri Lankan waters is to start gathering meteorological data and monitor ocean currents next month ahead of a test drilling programme, an official said.

HSBC opened its flagship branch in Jaffna today becoming the first foreign bank to open its operation in the north.

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Sri Lanka's HSBC bank said it has been appointed as a settlement bank by the Colombo Stock Exchange's central depository system, and has started settling deals from January 12.

Sri Lanka's finance company profits would pick up in 2010 as deposit rates falls, helping offset some credit losses, but asset quality may remain until the economy strengthens, Fitch Ratings has said.