lbostgadmin – Page 2632 – Lanka Business Online

Fortune Hunters

Mar. 03 (LBO) — About 35 percent of local trademark applications are thrown out, as fortune hunters try to strike gold by piggybacking on an already famous name, top officials said Friday.“At least 35 percent of the trademarks that come to our office for protection should not have reached our office at all.These are all […]

Joint Deal

Mar. 03 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hemas Holdings said Friday it added local courier firm ACX International pte Ltd, to their growing portfolio of business. ACX, Sri Lanka’s pioneering courier operation commands around four percent of the island’s annual 1,000-metric tonne or million kilos courier market. “We roughly estimate the market is worth about two […]

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 […]

Off Duty

Mar02. (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s second wireless local loop operator says it has lobbied the authorities to scrap a tax on CDMA handset imports.“We have written to the Board on Investment and the regulator.We are expecting a positive response soon,” Lanka Bell Managing Director Suren Goonawardene told LBO. The government last week wrote to the […]

Excessive rain curbs Sri Lankan tea production

Mar. 02 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea production for January dipped to 24.7 million kilos from 26.0 million kilos a year earlier due to excessive rain, a commodity broker said Thursday. January production shows a slight increase over December figure of 23.3 million kilos, but Sri Lanka’s crop has been on the downward slope since October […]

Tourists flock to Sri Lanka in Jan

Mar. 02 (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s tsunami-hit hospitality industry made a comeback in January, as holidaymakers flocked to the island. However, internal battles to revamp marketing efforts and restructure the industry remain. Arrivals to Sri Lanka, famed for its beaches and eco-tourism, in January this year were up 36.8 percent over 2005 to 52,231 travellers. […]

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 […]

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 […]

’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 […]

‘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 […]

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 […]

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 […]