Category: Industry
Shrinking Wallets
Sept 08, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka™s clothing trade, which employs about a million workers, is opposing trade union efforts to jack up minimum monthly wages to 10,000 rupees, due to spiraling costs and tight margins. Trade unions have asked the government to raise wages for all industries to a minimum of 10,000 rupees a […]
Better Mix
Sept 08, 2006 (LBO) – Local businessmen have been asked to diversify exports to Pakistan outside of a few traditional commodities, and fast, to fully exploit bilateral trade between both countries.Top exports to Pakistan Sri Lanka’s second largest trading partner in South Asia after India are largely confined to coconut products, rubber, tea, vegetable products, […]
Rural Reach
September 8, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom said Friday they were in talks with payphone operator Tritel Services (Pvt) Ltd to buy an equity stake. Malaysian owned Tritel, the island’s biggest payphone operator, currently piggybacks on wireless, wireline, mobile and CDMA (code division multiple access) technology to connect over 3,000 booths scattered islandwide. Being […]
Snug Fit
SHANGHAI, Sept 8, 2006 (AFP) – Already known as the world’s factory floor, China now wants to turn into an international outsourcing powerhouse, a report said Friday, a move which could challenge India’s prominence in the industry.Outsourcing will become a new area of foreign investment for the country and China will encourage multinationals to outsource […]
Madugalle to conduct Pakistan ball tampering hearing
MUMBAI, Sept 7, 2006 (AFP) – The International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Thursday that Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq’s hearing in the ball-tampering controversy will be held on September 27 and 28.including Test captains Brian Lara of the West Indies and Rahul Dravid of India. The much-awaited hearing will be conducted by chief match-referee Ranjan Madugulle […]
Clean Records
Sep 7, 2006 (LBO) – The credit information has started to clear the credit records of former defaulters who have repaid their loans, a top official said. General Manager of the Sri Lanka Credit Information Bureau N P H Amarasena says about 67,000 names have been taken off the list of defaulters. The credit information […]
Sea Rescue
Bangladeshi crew rescued from sinking ship COLOMBO, Sept 7, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s navy rescued 34 Bangladeshi nationals Thursday who were aboard a crippled merchant vessel that sank off the island’s southern coast, officials said. The cargo carrier, MV Amnet Sha, was being towed by a tugboat when it sank in rough weather off […]
John Keells in early talks to take over Confifi Hotels
Sept 06 (LBO) – Diversified Sri Lankan conglomerate John Keells Holdings is in early talks to buy into the Confifi Hotel group, a top official said. As part of our business strategy we look at various opportunities when they arise.In that context we have looked at this possibility of buying into the Confifi Group as […]
Trade Breaks
Sept 05 (LBO) – India is drawing up a more favourable package for Sri Lankan garment exports to the country under the Indo-Lanka trade deal. Quotas on apparel and tea have been poorly utilised and has not really taken off, Sunjay Sudhir, Counsellor, Economic and Commercial at the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka, told […]
Oil Brokering
Sept 06 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has approved new terms to limit exports of vanaspathi vegetable oil to India, with the government hopeful that local factories will re-open in a month. The two countries clocked up just under two billion dollars in bilateral trade last year a four fold increase since the free trade deal […]
’s Serendib Hotels to sell 20% stake to Thai resort operator, Minor International
Sept 05 (LBO) – Serendib Hotels said Tuesday it would go in for a private placement to sell a 19.90 percent stake in the company to Minor International Public Company Limited, a large Thai resort operator. The company, which owns a chain of three hotels Hotel Serendib, Club Hotel Dolphin and Sigiriya Hotel, plans to […]
Hasty Exit
Sept 04 (LBO) – The government has shelved a bidding round for oil exploration until it sorts out a battle with Norwegian company TGS Nopec to buy up three years worth of seismic data. TGS Nopec conducted seismic surveys in the Mannar Basin since 2002, with the government trying to buy back the data for […]