Category: Banking and Finance

June 14, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s securities watchdog is probing the accounts of forestry management company Touchwood Investments Ltd, to figure out how the firm values its assets, a top official said Wednesday. Touchwood’s shares resumed trading mid-Wednesday after the firm responded with a three page letter to regulators, who asked for the assumptions […]

June 13, 2006 (LBO) – Hatton National Bank, Sri Lanka’s second largest privately owned lender by assets, has stepped up its micro credit programme by offering subsidized insurance policies to customers, officials said Tuesday. By passing on the credit risk to an insurance, HNB also gets a chance to reduce the statutory capital set aside […]

June 13, 2006 (LBO) – State bank employees will get a salary hike of up to 20 percent under a new agreement with trade unions. Bank of Ceylon, People’s Bank, National Savings Bank and State Mortgage and Investment Bank is due to sign the deal next week, sources said. The wage rise has also been […]

June 08 (LBO) – The newly set up, state-sponsored Lanka Puthra Development Bank is to begin operations by the end of this month, but the bank, which has no branch network, has to find a way to reach rural customers. We will provide loans of a million rupees and more, at competitive interest rates for […]

June 7 (Dow Jones) – Sri Lanka’s Richard Pieris & Co. said Wednesday it would make a capital gain of 125 million rupees (1.2 million dollars) from the sale of a 21 percent stake in listed Associated Motorways. The diversified company sold its entire stake of 1.75 million shares in Associated Motorways for around 578 […]

June 6, 2006 (LBO) – Diversified Hemas Holdings Ltd Tuesday posted a 16 percent growth in full-year profits for the year ended March 31, 2006, boosted by strong earnings in power, consumer products and transport. Hemas a family controlled conglomerate core business lies in health and personalcare products, power generation, leisure and transport. HEMAS HOLDINGS […]

The newly re-constituted Strategic Enterprises Management Agency (SEMA) says it is reviewing all state institutions under its management and developing action plans to make them profitable. It’s really a burden to the government, the treasury, and to the people of this country. SEMA will guide these State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to be profitable ventures, says […]

June 1, 2006 (LBO) – John Keells Holdings Ltd., Sri Lanka’s second-largest quoted company, had a 34 percent rise in its full-year profit as gains from transport and property countered losses in tourism. Revenue rose 27 percent to 29.3 billion rupees, while net profits surged 34 percent to 3.05 billion rupees for the financial year […]

May 29, 2006 (LBO) – The International Finance Corp, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group Monday launched a 10 million dollar technical assistant fund to uplift Sri Lanka’s small and medium sector. Dubbed the SouthAsia Enterprise Development Facility or SEDF, the multi-donor assistance programme will cover Sri Lanka and Maldives over a […]

May 29 (LBO) – The Korean government gave Sri Lanka a 20 million dollar loan on Monday for an administrative complex in the South to relocate tsunami hit offices. Most government offices in the Hambantota district are currently located in private houses after tidal waves in December 2004 destroyed large numbers of state buildings. The […]

May 29, 2006 (LBO) – Bank of Ceylon, Sri Lanka’s biggest state owned lender in terms of assets, is confident of making a 4.5 billion profit before taxes for the full year 2006-7, a top official said Monday. Sri Lanka has 10 domestic banks, of which two are state owned Bank of Ceylon and the […]

May 26, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Seylan Bank’s credit outlook could be downgraded if the bank fails to beef up its capital, improves profitability and arrest chronic problems of bad debts, Fitch Ratings Lanka said Friday. Fitch assigned a ‘BBB+(lka)’ rating for Seylan’s upcoming 4-year 1.5 billion rupee subordinated debenture and affirmed the it’s […]