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Sri Lanka picks up Rs. 19.4 billion cheque from Japan
Mar. 02 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Thursday signed up for Rs. 19.4 billion loans from Japan to develop three key infrastructure projects, the finance ministry said. The concessionary finance package will be split between the Galle port development project (Rs. 13.75 billion), pro-poor eastern infrastructure development project (Rs. 3.95 billion) and the tourism resources improvement […]
Big Bills
Mar. 01 (LBO) — Swedish telco operator Telia AB’s Sri Lankan subsidiary on Wednesday reported a 66 percent drop in six months to December profits, on higher CDMA related administrative, distribution and depreciation costs. The private wireless local loop operator (WLL) has seen its subscriber growth soar to 188,000 customers after securing a license to […]
Island Call
Mar. 01 (LBO) — Fixed line giant Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) will add the Maldivian incumbent telco operator to its list of regional clients, commissioning an undersea cable by late 2006. Tenders for the 10 gigabit undersea cable project are now being evaluated, SLT Deputy Chief Operating Office C B R Perera told LBO on […]
Rising costs of electricity, firewood and milk tea fail to push Sri Lanka’s inflation
Feb. 18 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s annual inflation rate for February slipped to 10.3 percent from 11.1 percent in January, despite high costs of firewood, electricity and milk tea, the Census & Statistics Department said Tuesday. The government uses the 12-month moving average – as measured by the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) – to […]
Illiteracy, no jobs, high risk activities among South Asia’s young could stifle progress
Illiteracy, no jobs and high risk behaviour among South Asia’s young people could affect the region’s progress and development, the World Bank says. About 20 percent of South Asia’s population is between 15 and 24, 30 percent are illiterate and they account for half of the unemployed in the region. The World Bank is meeting […]
Piggy Bank
Feb. 28 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is set to launch a new development bank in April to promote future reconstruction and development work, a top official said Tuesday. Known as the ‘Lanka Putra’, the government-owned specialised bank plans to raise deposits locally and overseas to fund small and medium scale entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka. “The […]
Looking Abroad
Feb. 28 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Sanasa Development Bank is looking for foreign money to bring its capital up to the new Central Bank core capital requirements. Corrected: accounting period -LBO Newsdesk: LBOEmail@ General Manager T A Gajaba says they are hoping to raise around Rs700 million from a consortium of foreign investors. Sanasa, a […]
E-mail Service
Feb 28. (LBO) — Sri Lanka™s state run Postal Department is scouting for Rs.25 million in private investment to launch a dedicated business mail service The planned business mail service will allow commercial establishments to purchase postage over the internet and use digital encoding or barcodes instead of stamps and even addresses on their mail. […]
Line Extension
Feb 28. (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s cellular service pioneer Celltel picked up a ten year license extension to 2018, a company statement said on Tuesday. The Millicom International Cellular S.A subsidiary paid approximately US$ 5 million for the ten year extension, the statement said. The license extension is also tied to a spectrum swap, where […]
Short Leash
Feb. 28 (LBO) – Swedish owned telecom operator Suntel, plans to tap local banks this year to raise US$80 million, despite a government directive to slap import duties on handsets with immediate effect, a top official said Tuesday. The private wireless local loop operator (WLL) has seen its subscriber growth soar to 188,000 customers after […]