The Sri Lankan mobile operator Dialog Axiata made a net profit of 1.69 billion rupees in the September 2010 quarter compared with a loss of 439 million rupees a year ago, Lanka Business Online reported.  While this was partially due to cost cutting, the main driver was a huge increase in sales (16.2% or 10.56 billion rupees) and the main area in which sales have increased is mobile – both phones and broadband, according to the report.

Sri Lanka’s fees for UK public relations firm Bell Pottinger (£3m) is greater than the amount pledged for development in Jaffna (£2.85m), the Sri Lanka Guardian reported today. The amount pledged for Jaffna, moreover, is uncertain to be followed through.

Whilst Sri Lanka makes much of Colombo’s soaring stock market, trading figures show foreign investors are systematically exiting the island's market. Foreign investors have so far this year sold a net 23 billion rupees' ($200m) worth of shares, Reuters reported Monday.

Moreover, the main stock index (CSE) is being pushed up by state-owned funds.

A year and a half since declaring victory over the Liberation Tigers, Sri Lanka’s proposed military expenditure for next year (almost $2bn) is an increase of 20% over 2009's and will dwarf the proposed budget for resettlement ($16m).

Meanwhile, the development budget is $680m, according to figures reported in the state media.

The Sri Lankan government is  apparently abandoning the garment sector if press reports over the weekend are to be believed. Given that the EU has withdrawn its GSP+ concession and the US is investigating its version of GSP, this is perhaps just the government accepting that garments are going to be hard to sell if the country's human rights record is not improved.