Category:
Bank Sale
June 02, 2010 (LBO) – A 9.8 percent slice of Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank of Ceylon was sold by 30 percent shareholder DFCC Bank to a foreign buyer for 5.8 billion rupees, brokers said. The 9.988 percent stake in Commercial Bank falls short of the 10 percent regulatory limit on bank shareholding set by the […]
Retail Focus
June 02, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Richard Pieris and Company said it plans to expand its network of ‘Arpico’ shopping malls in its retail business which is considered the group’s main engine of growth. Chairman and chief executive Sena Yaddehige said the retail sector has been one of the most “growth-oriented” arms of the […]
India, Indonesia worst for red tape in Asia: survey
SINGAPORE, June 2, 2010 (AFP) – India, Indonesia and the Philippines have Asia’s most inefficient bureaucracies, with red tape a constant blight to citizens and deterrent to foreign investment, a survey said Wednesday. Regional financial centres Singapore and Hong Kong have the most efficient bureaucracies, according to the survey of expatriate business executives by the […]
Sri Lanka power utility to lose Rs40bn in 2010
June 02, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run power utility Ceylon Electricity Board is expected to lose 40 billion rupees (350 million US dollars) in 2010 and short term debt is mounting but there are plans to turn the utility around, officials said. The CEB is expected to earn 120 billion rupees as revenue in […]
Oberoi urges film world not to skip Sri Lanka Bollywood Oscars
June 1, 2010 (AFP) – Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi on Tuesday urged the Indian film fraternity to attend the annual awards festival in Sri Lanka despite protests from pro-Tamil rebel lobbies. “Come to Colombo. I don’t believe in boycotting the awards. Bollywood films are about building bridges, not putting up walls against people,” Oberoi told […]
Sri Lanka motor stocks rise on import duty cut
June 01, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks recovered Tuesday, as investors bought motor and consumer products firms on news of import tax cuts on vehicles and electronic goods, despite some retail profit-taking on selected stocks, brokers said. Shares of Autodrome closed at 570, up 35.25 or seven percent. Singer Sri Lanka closed at 95.25, […]
Tele Share
June 01, 2010 (LBO) – Korean electronics maker Samsung said it was eyeing a 30 percent share in Sri Lanka’s growing flat panel television market with an intensified marketing drive as the overall domestic market is also set for higher growth. Samsung West Asia chief JungSoo Shin said his firm had market leadership status for […]
Hot Seats
June 01, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan public will get 100 seats but VIPs will get 400 seats at a India film awards venue in the island’s capital, officials said, though hundreds of millions of rupees of public money is being spent, including to spruce up the venue. The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards […]
Sri Lanka to test first coal power plant by Sept: minister
June 01, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will start testing its first 300 MegaWatt coal power plant in September with plans to connect it to the national distribution grid by January 2011, power minister Patali Ranawaka said. Coal is expected to reduce the costs of power generation. The CEB is expecting to lose about 40 […]
Sri Lanka to hire cruise liner for World Cup fans
June 1, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka plans to hire a cruise liner to accommodate cricket World Cup fans and spectators at the newly built stadium in the island’s south, an official said on Tuesday. The six-million dollar stadium in Hambantota, President Mahinda Rajapakse’s hometown, lacks hotels to accommodate thousands of fans expected to watch […]
Tamils protest as Bollywood goes to Sri Lanka
MUMBAI, June 1, 2010 (AFP) – Bollywood goes to Sri Lanka later this week for its glitzy annual awards ceremony, but the decision to hold the event in the capital Colombo has sparked a backlash from minority Tamils in India. The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA), which has been held overseas every year since 2000, […]
Sri Lanka slashes vehicles import duty; lifts import surcharge
June 01, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has slashed an import excise duty on vehicles by 50 percent amid a pick up in the economy and demand for vehicles, lifted a general 15 percent surcharge on all imports and slashed duties on electronic items, an official said. In Sri Lanka prices of wearing apparel are […]