Category: General Services

Jan 23, 2012 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka has assigned Abans (Private) Limited’s proposed senior unsecured debenture issue of up to 500 million rupees a national long-term rating of ‘A-(lka)’. The debenture will rank equally with other senior debt of Abans, a statement from the rating agency said. “The rating reflects Abans’ strong market position […]

Jan 10, 2012 (LBO) – RAM Ratings Lanka has assigned long- and short-term corporate credit ratings of A+ and P1 to Lanka Hospitals Corporation with the long-term rating having a stable outlook. “The ratings are upheld by the hospital™s strong financial profile, liquidity, ongoing state support and the positive outlook for the private healthcare industry,” […]

Dec 08, 2011 (LBO) – GroupM, which operates the media investment units of WPP, the world™s largest advertising agency group by sales, has begun operations in Sri Lanka. GroupM will act as the central buying point for WPP media agencies, which are independent global operations in their own right, a statement said. There is no […]

Nov 11, 2011 (LBO) – BRC Partnership, a consultancy based in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland, is to provide management training and coaching for businesses in Sri Lanka, the British high commission said in a statement. Vicky Kell, Invest NI Trade Director said the joint venture deal was “an important success” for a Northern Ireland company specialising […]

Oct 31, 2011 (LBO) – Dairy multinational Fonterra’s Sri Lanka unit has stopped supplying dairy products to the Food City supermarket chain after protests from traders they were being undercut by discounts offered by the retailer. Customers said supermarkets operated by the Cargills group had put up notices that Fonterra had withdrawn dairy brands like […]

WASHINGTON, October 30, 2011 (AFP) – A case working its way through a federal court in California has exposed huge student visa scams by “sham” universities cashing in on Indians and other foreigners looking for a quick path to jobs in the United States. Enrollment at Tri-Valley University, an unaccredited self-styled Christian graduate school, surged […]

Oct 21, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lankan fashion retailer Odel’s group net profit for the six months to September 30, 2011 rose 21 percent to 122 million rupees from a year ago driven by higher sales from existing stores and new ones. A note to the accounts said Otone (Pvt) Ltd, a fully owned subsidiary […]

Oct 08, 2011 (LBO) – UK-based WPP Plc said it had bought full control of Lanka Market Research Bureau, a market research agency in which it only had 49 percent stake earlier. WPP bought the stock through its wholly owned research arm Kantar, the firm said in a London Stock Exchange filing. WPP is a […]

September 30, 2011 (AFP) – Once a location of choice for directors shooting World War II classics and big 1980s adventure films, Sri Lanka is hoping to make a comeback on the movie trail as it emerges from civil war. Since the island’s bloody conflict ended in May 2009, the government has been trying to […]

Sept 17, 2011 (LBO) – A shopping and entertainment complex that Sri Lanka’s Cargills plans to build in the former northern war zone of Jaffna will have three cinemas with seating for a total of 1,200 people. Cargills, which also has interests in food processing, is expanding aggressively, buying a brewer and having just got […]

Sept 15, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Cargills (Ceylon) Plc, which owns the island’s largest retail chain and is part of a group with cinema businesses, plans to build a shopping and entertainment complex in the former northern war zone. “The company is set to invest 500 million rupees in the development of a new […]

Sept 14, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is to get Indian aid to improve training in English language skills in the island, seen as a critical need especially in the corporate sector, under an agreement signed between the two governments. Inadequate English language skills has been cited as a reason for hiring difficulties by the […]