Sri Lanka stocks down 1.5-pct

May 28, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stock prices continued to tumble, with the main indice breaching the psychological 5,000 barrier, brokers said. On Monday, the broader All Share Price Index shed 1.49 percent or 74.66 points to close at 4,935.01m while the liquid Milanka Price Index fell 1. 86 percent or 84.57 points to […]

Farm Lending

May 28, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Treasury secretary P B Jayasundera said banks should lend more to agriculture and slammed lenders for financing too much trade and consumption activities. He said only about 3.0 percent of total credit is given to the tea sector, about 0.5 percent to fisheries. “Instead money goes to consumption […]

Financial Stability

May 28, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank said, The Finance Company, a firm that is being bailed out under regulatory supervision is stable and expressed confidence that it will return to profits. The Central Bank said The Finance has increased its deposits by 5.36 percent and its lending portfolio by 11 percent in […]

Japan funds Sri Lankan civil servants Masters studies

May 28, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has struck a deal that allows 15 state employees a chance to pursue their Masters studies in Japan, a statement said. Under the Japan International Cooperation Agency or JICA, some 211 million yen or 340 million rupees will be spent on this scholarship programme, JICA said Monday. The […]

‘s tallest tower for US$250mn by India property group

May 28, 2012 (LBO) – Indocean Developers (Pvt) Ltd, a company backed by India’s South City Projects (Kolkata) Ltd, will begin work in September on a 400-apartment tower that will have a project value of 250 million US dollars, officials said. Director, Jugal Khetawat said the tower will have 69 stories with two basements, making […]

Cloud Computing

May 27, 2012 (LBO) – Adopting ‘cloud’ technology where computers are knitted together to process and deliver services as demand fluctuates, can help Sri Lankan business and the state to serve customers faster and more cheaply, officials said. Sri Lanka’s government is also pushing the use of information communications technology to provide services to the […]

Fast Growth

May 26, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka DFCC Vardhana Bank’s profits in the March 2012 quarter rose 161 percent to 150 million rupees from a year earlier, helped by higher business volumes and provision reversals, interim accounts showed. The bank’s gross non-performing loan ratio grew to 4.54 percent by end March from 4.35 percent in […]

Sri Lanka clears over 90-pct of mined area

May 25, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has cleared over 90 percent of the area where land mines believed to have been laid during a 30-year civil war which ended in 2009, the island’s finance ministry said. The finance ministry additional human and financial resources are needed to make Sri Lanka mine free by 2020. […]

Boat Park

May 25, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is seeking foreign investors to build its first marina on the south coast as boating enthusiasts are drawn to the island amid a post-war tourism boom, officials said. Sarath Kumara De Silva, chairman of the Cey-Nor Foundation, a state-owned boat building outfit, said a marina is planned in […]

Sri Lanka state carrier adds A320 to fleet

May 25, 2012 (LBO) – State-run SriLankan Airlines said it had taken delivery of an Airbus A320 increasing the type to eight aircraft and the fleet to 21 and two floatplanes for domestic services. The airline has seven A330s and six A340s, and two De Havilland Twin Otters. The new A320 will set 20 business […]

Malaysia budget carrier Air Asia profits up 4-pct, demand strong

May 25, 2012 (LBO) – Makaysia’s AirAsia, a low cost carrier said profits for the March 2012 rose 4 percent to 167.97 million Ringgit, with revenues growing 11 percent to 1.17 billion rigging. “We have defied industry trends again by achieving a 4 percent growth in net operating profit,” chief executive Tony Fernandes said in […]

Sri Lanka textile maker eyes acquisition, new energy sources

May 25, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Textured Jersey Plc, said it wants aquire another plant in South Asia to expand production and is looking to move away from furnace oil after a tariff increase, though operating profits increased with falling cotton prices. “Acquisition of operational facilities, which may now be available at a reasonable […]

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