Author: lbostgadmin
Margin Gains
May 16, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank of Ceylon said group profits grew 24 percent in the March 2010 quarter to 1,107 million rupees from a year earlier as interest margins improved and loan loss provisions fell. Amid low loan growth the group’s government securities held-to-maturity portfolio rose to 106 billion rupees from […]
Sri Lanka appoints heads to state entities
May 14, 2010 (LBO) – The chairman of Sri Lanka’s largest bank, state-run Bank of Ceylon Gamini Wickramasinghe has been re-appointed amid a series of changes made to boards of state institutions following general elections in April. Wickramasinghe is head of Informatics, an information technology group and has a masters degree in systems analysis from […]
Sri Lanka offers US55mn for Emirates stake in national carrier: report
May 15, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has offered 55 million US dollars to buy back a 43. 6 percent stake in national carrier SriLankan from Dubai-based Emirates airlines, a media report said. SriLankan itself was set up under the name of Air Lanka after another state airlines, Air Ceylon went under. Despite the bitter […]
Jail Term
VANCOUVER, May 14, 2010 (AFP) – A judge sentenced a Tamil Tiger fundraiser to six months in jail here Friday after the man pleaded guilty to raising money in Canada to help support the Tamil rebels in Sri Lanka. Powers reviewed Thambithurai’s story, from his move to Canada in 1988 as a young refugee following […]
‘re to blame, says Sangakkara after Sri Lanka T20 exit
GROS ISLET, May 13, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara said the team had no-one else to blame but themselves after a seven-wicket World Twenty20 semi-final loss to England here on Thursday. Last year’s losing finalists were all but out of the game after being restricted to 128 for six, having lost their […]
Offshore Opportunity
May 14, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hemas group and Colombo Dockyard have teamed up with Singapore’s Toll Offshore Petroleum Services to bid for Cairn India’s contract for offshore oil field support services, officials said. “Hemas Holdings, Colombo Dockyard and Toll Offshore Petroleum Services have jointly placed a bid for the offshore supply base for […]
‘s Maoist heartland
RAIPUR, May 14, 2010 (AFP) – When Samir Xalxo has a story to tell he makes a phone call and within hours people across one of India’s least developed and most violent states will be able to catch up on the news. The system, developed by Microsoft Research India, allows trained amateur journalists in Chhattisgarh […]
India plans 11 billion dollar infrastructure fund: report
NEW DELHI, May 14, 2010 (AFP) – India aims to create an 11-billion-dollar fund to overhaul its creaking infrastructure, with 40 percent of the money sourced from abroad, a report said Friday. The government wants to raise 4.4 billion dollars from foreign pension, insurance and sovereign wealth funds and the rest from domestic institutions, the […]
Top Down
May 14, 2010 (LBO) – Unethical practices from the top find its way to the bottom of organizations, and picking the right talent was also important since human decisions can always override regulations, a senior business executive said. However in some cases employees sometimes bend rules when being pressurized by the top management to make […]
Sri Lanka tea prices fall as crops increase
May 14, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea prices fell at this week’s Colombo auctions owing to bigger quantities and lower quality and are likely to fall further in line with seasonal trends, brokers said. Prices of most teas from both the main low grown sector, which accounts for the bulk of the crop, and […]
Other Income
May 14, 2010 (LBO) – HSBC’s Sri Lankan unit’s March quarter profits rose 103 percent to 1.41 billion rupees from higher foreign exchange and fee-based incomes despite lower net interest margins and higher operating expenses, the accounts showed. Gross assets rose 7.1 to 174 billion rupees, HSBC Sri Lanka’s March accounts showed. HSBC Sri Lanka’s […]
Bank Numbers
May 14, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s NDB Bank’s group net profit for the March 2010 quarter fell 34 percent to 299 million rupees from a year ago with interest income down but non-interest income increasing, latest accounts showed. Total income fell 13 percent to 3.1 billion rupees in the quarter, according to a stock […]