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Long Shot
Development bank DFCC, is counting on its subsidiary Commercial Banks Bangladesh operations to give its bottomline a major boost.Thanks to its Bangladesh unit, Commercial Bank is expected to contribute Rs.539 mn towards DFCCs earnings, pushing its bottomline up by 10.3 percent to Rs. 1.2 bn for the 2004 financial year, says HNB Stockbrokers.rn rnIn the […]
Double Edge
The State is losing an estimated average of Rs. 450 million in revenue each month in its effort to subdue a rise in the cost of living due to higher world market prices.Finance Ministry officials say the current tax and import duty concessions could be met with higher duties for non-essential commodities that do not […]
Forward March
John Keells Holdings is expected to notch a Rs. 1.69 bn net profit for 2004, after undergoing a restructuring exercise to improve its margins.The diversified conglomerate, has just finished a restructuring study by the Boston Consultancy Group, which has highlighted areas to exploit greater synergies and improve operating margins.rn rnFollowing the intense lquote inward looking […]
Quick Leap
Cellular operator Dialog GSM said Monday it has become the first in Sri Lanka to commercially offer high-speed data service, starting with customers in the Colombo South area.Dialog users have to own an EDGE (enhance data rates for GSM evolution) handset to make use of quicker data download time while on the move.rn rnldblquote Dialog […]
Moral Support
Finance Minister K N Choksy has pledged his support to the current efforts to restructure Pramuka Bank. The minister sent a handwritten letter to a depositors meeting on Sunday, where Commerce Minister Ravi Karunanayake was also present.rn rnA consortium led by Asia Capital and Richard Pieris is now conducting a due diligence exercise on the […]
Be Good
Central Bank, Governor A. S. Jayawardena said foreign exchange market should take a longer-term view of the rupee and avoid aberrant behavior.The governor said recent political uncertainty has not changed the economic fundamentals yet and the foreign exchange market should be a lot more resilient than it has been. rn rnLarge capital and aid flows […]
Back to the Front
It is past 9 in the evening. Most people would be kicking up their heels in front of the TV after a long days work.rnBut for a group of young employees at the call center Hello Corp. the days (nights!) work is just starting.rnThey work the night shift because their customers are on the other […]
Budget Blues
Sri Lanka has 216 state owned enterprises and fiscal transfers to these in 2001 amounted to a whopping US$ 446 million-about 3% of the islands GDP.Transfers to public corporations totaled US$ 43 million while statutory boards gobbled up US$ 244 million. rn rnWorld Bank says the problem is that these state enterprises are not held […]
Still to Come
World Bank says its poverty reduction funds can still be drawn on schedule if the IMF review is completed soon.The December tranche of the PRGF has been held back pending the settlement of political uncertainty and the government completing some key reforms.rn rnWorld Bank has to submit its review to the board by May, allowing […]
Warm Blessings
The Central Bank has agreed to let the Colombo Stock Exchange link up with its depository system to allow gilt-edge securities to be settled realtime.The historic move comes following a Monetary Board meeting late Friday to allow two additional members endash the Employees Provident Fund and the CSE endash to be given a special access […]