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Former Sri Lanka leader protests security
May 10, 2007 (AFP) – Former Sri Lanka president Chandrika Kumaratunga has protested the withdrawal of commandos assigned to protect her, saying she was still a target for assassination.She retained a staff of 198 and used 36 vehicles after stepping down. The constitution allows a former president to use two cars and a staff of […]
Total Failure
May 10, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s national power utility has started to restore power to the capital Colombo following an island-wide power failure, officials said. A failure in the transmission line from the Kelanitissa power generation complex to Biyagama, in the outskirts of Colombo, is believed to have set off a chain reaction, causing […]
New mobile operator enters booming Bangladesh market
DHAKA, May 10, 2007 (AFP) – Bangladesh’s sixth mobile phone operator, Warid Telecom, launched operations Thursday aiming to grab a slice of one of the world’s fastest growing markets, an official said. Owned by the Gulf-based Abu Dhabi Group, Warid Telecom, is counting on five million subscribers in the first year of its operation, company […]
Travel Delays
COLOMBO, May 9, 2007 (AFP) – Thousands of passengers face travel delays and disruptions starting Thursday, when Sri Lanka’s only international airport closes to night traffic after a series of daring air raids by guerrilla rebels. Travel agents said several major airlines had yet to finalise their new schedules, leaving many travellers scrambling for flights […]
Corrupt Stories
May 09, 2007 (LBO) – The quality of corporate financial analysis in Sri Lanka is poor and the financial media is believed to be corrupt, a top business executive said Tuesday. Jayaratne said that it was a change in values and attitudes that was required, more than mere compliance with rules. Chandra Jayaratne, a former […]
Splitting Hairs
May 9, 2007 (LBO) – Firms that declared a ‘bonus’ issue but have not yet ratified it with a shareholder vote will have to go through a process under the new company law and ‘split’ the shares, officials and legal experts said. A new company law came into effect in Sri Lanka on May 03, […]
Still Trying
May 09, 2007 (LBO) — Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, Japan’s largest phone company, said Wednesday it has still not sold its flagship investment in Sri Lanka to the owner of Malaysia’s biggest mobile operator.SLT also controls 16 percent of the country’s cellular market through its mobile phone subsidiary. “It is not a fact that we […]
Tele Numbers II
May 9, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom, the country’s largest fixed access operator saw after tax profits growing by 53 percent to 1.98 billion in the March quarter, on the eve of a possible shareholder and management change. Revenue grew 14 percent to 10.9 billion rupees in the quarter, according to accounts filed with […]
Sri Lanka three month t-bill rates ease amidst excess liquidity
May 09, 2007 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Treasury bill auction rates eased with the key three month weighed average slipping 4 basis points to 16.52 percent at Wednesday’s auction. The six month weighted average yield slipped 3 basis points to 16.33 percent while the one year fell 4 basis points to 16.15. Meanwhile the […]
Billion Mark
May 08, 2007 (LBO) – Commercial Bank has reported group net profit growth of 37 percent to 1,028.8 million rupees for the first quarter ended March, with revenue rising 41 percent to 7,461.1 million rupees. In results released to the Colombo Stock Exchange, the bank said the profit gain was helped by a deferred taxation […]