Author: lbostgadmin
Road Finance
Feb 22, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank will provide a 3.2 billion rupee long-term loan to the state to finance the rebuilding of 37.5 kilometres of priority roads in the central part of the island, the state information office said.The loan will be used to re-build road sections of 33.50 to 44.0 […]
Share Limits
Feb 22, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank will look at “the need for raising” shareholder ceilings imposed on banks, a media report said, quoting Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal.Several state entities have also bought stock in private banks, exceeding the limit. Reuters, a news agency quoted Cabraal as saying on the sidelines of […]
Sri Lanka urban index finds prices rising 20-pct over year
Feb 21, 2013 (LBO) – An index that tracks key essential expenses of urban middle class households in Sri Lanka has found that prices rose more than 20 percent over the past year, about double that of a widely watched official index.The Capital Alliance index will maintain a fixed basket using a Laspeyres formula, named […]
Sri Lanka textile mill boosts revenue, profits
Feb 20, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Kuruwita Textiles said boosted revenues 31 percent in the December 2012 quarter from a year earlier and profits rose 20 percent to 15.9 million rupees, despite narrower margins interim accounts showed. He said the company was working on new customers and strengthening existing relationships and was also working […]
Bridge Financing
Feb 21, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank will provide a loan of 6.779 million sterling pounds equivalent in dollars as part financing to construct 210 steel bridges, the state information office said.The cabinet of ministers had given the nod to enter into the loan contract at the rate of 6.0 percent above […]
Difficult Terrain
Feb 21, 2013 (LBO) – United Motors Plc, agents for Mitsubishi in Sri Lanka launched a 1.2 litre engined Mirage car into an auto market that has been dented by a tax-hike, high interest rates and currency depreciation. “We are not very ambitious with the current taxation and where the yen is,” managing director Chanaka […]
Sri Lanka has to catch up on English, IT literacy: UNDP rep
Feb 20, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is losing an advantage it had in basic literacy and the use of English language with other nations catching up fast and information technology literacy becoming increasingly important, a United Nations official said.Sri Lanka had the highest literacy rate in South Asia. “But simply having a literate population […]
Sri Lanka Etisalat creates active market for Android App development
Feb 20, 2013 (LBO) – A marketplace created by Sri Lanka’s Etisalat is helping the development and sale of Apps for smart phones based on the Android operating system, and has been recognized in a United Nations report, officials said.The UN Conference on Trade and Development in its information economy report 2012 said Etisalat’s App […]
Saudi recalls envoy from Sri Lanka
RIYADH, Feb 20, 2013 (AFP) – Saudi Arabia has recalled its ambassador from Colombo in a tit-for-tat move amid tensions after a Sri Lankan nanny convicted of murder was beheaded in the kingdom, the official SPA news agency reported.“Based on the decision by the Sri Lankan government to withdraw its ambassador from the kingdom, the […]
AirAsia to form India budget carrier with Tata
Feb 20, 2013 (LBO) – Malaysia’s AirAsia said has sought approval from authorities in India to form a joint venture budget carrier with Tata group and another investor, Arun Bhatia of Telestra Tradeplace. AirAsia pulled out of Colombo this year. “AirAsia is confident that it can replicate its unprecedented success across Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and […]
Tele Profits
Feb 20, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom group, the island’s only wireline operator which also has a mobile unit has reported profits of 877 million rupees for the December 2012 quarter down 29 percent from a year earlier. SLT Publications had seen revenues grow 25 percent to 516 million rupees and pre-tax profits growth […]
Sri Lanka to start aerial whale watching
Feb 20, 2013 (LBO) – Simplify, a Colombo based aircraft operator said it planned to offer whale watching services using a newly delivered 5-seater amphibian aircraft it was managing for a third party. Simplify also has its own fleet.It operates operates a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter, a GA8 airvan, a Cessna 206 amphibian aircraft and […]