Category: Industry
New Ball
September 30, 2006 (LBO) — Ceylon Petroleum Corp. (CPC) Chairman Jaliya Medagama resigned Saturday citing personal reasons. Medagama will be succeeded by ex-cricketer Asantha de Mel. De Mel, who is currently the chairman of CPCs oil storage and distribution facility, is also believed to have close links with President Mahinda Rajapakse. In July, petroleum trade […]
Small Print
September 29, 2006 (LBO) – Commercial Bank of Ceylon secured a AA(lka) for its upcoming 1.5 billion rupee debenture, with Fitch Ratings asking the bank to match its growth with capital. Sri Lanka’s biggest private bank in terms of assets, Commercial Bank is raising debt with maturities ranging from 5-10 years to meet upcoming expansion […]
Hedge Advice
Sept 28, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka should hedge oil prices to mitigate negative effects on the economy, by entering into contracts with foreign banks, the country’s central bank said in a statement. The Central Bank said it had made a presentation in early September to the President and Cabinet of Ministers to explain schemes […]
Streaming Fast
September 28 2006 (LBO) – India’s Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited Thursday officially kicked off a 1.8 billion rupee undersea cable unit with Sri Lanka Telecom, which will bring down call rates between South Asian countries. The optical fibre cable, which run between Mt Lavinia (Sri Lanka) and Tuticorin in India, will enable SLT customers to […]
Mutual Benefits
Sept 28 (LBO) – Japan™s Asia Pacific University (APU) tied up with Sri Lanka™s Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and the ICT Agency this week, offering training for small and medium businesses and state institutions. The Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University is the only university in Japan to offer an entire curriculum in English from undergraduate […]
Family Ties
September 28, 2006 (LBO) — The Strategic Enterprise Management Agency (SEMA) and top state bank officials are due to present a comprehensive proposal to the President to make state banks more competitive. According to the SEMA, the Peoples’ Bank pension fund is short of 8.3 billion rupees, Bank of Ceylon 2.5 billion rupees and NSB […]
Higher Bar
Sept 28 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government said Thursday that it would amend the country’s Finance Companies Act, to allow minimum capital requirements of finance companies to be raised. The government said earlier it would raise minimum capital requirements of finance companies from 100 million rupees to 200 million rupees, with companies given until […]
Precious Data
Sept 27, 2006 (LBO) – India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp and British Gas have bought up seismic data on potential oil deposits off Sri Lanka’s west coast, for two million dollars. Investors interested in potential oil reserves in the Mannar Basin could buy data from the Sri Lankan government, ahead of a bidding round […]
Pricing Wars
Sept 27 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state oil giant Ceypetco dropped fuel prices on Wednesday to appease trade unions, but has been helped by falling world prices of crude oil. Sri Lanka is expected to pay over 2.0 billion dollars this year, up from 1.6 billion last year for oil imports. (corrected) Sri Lanka’s minister […]
Sri Lankan boxers disappear in Germany
Sept 27, 2006 (AFP) – Two Sri Lankan boxers taking part in the world military championships in Germany have fled their hotel after eluding security, officials said here on Wednesday.The duo identified as W.R.G.G. Weligalla and P.W.R.D. Fernando of the Sri Lanka army were part of a seven-member squad at the World Military Boxing Championships […]
Pending News
September 26, 2006 (LBO) – Lanka IOCs share prices perked up Tuesday after the Indian fuel retailer announced plans to ink a deal next week, which settles billions of rupees due from the Sri Lankan government. “Our ‘settlement agreement’ with the government of Sri Lanka on resolving the long pending subsidy issue is planned to […]
Wide Choice
Sept 26, 2006 (LBO) – Japanese telco NEC Tuesday inked a deal with Sri Lanka’s Steuartel (Pvt) Ltd to sell its cellular handsets in the local market. “We hope to cater to the medium and the high end market with phone units made in Japan. Phones at entry level will be priced at 11,900 rupees […]