Category: Industry
Good Money
August 7, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has picked up 12 million rupees to date from taxing foreign movies, dramas and sitcoms aired on local television stations, President Mahinda Rajapakse said. Rajapakse, who is also the island’s finance minister, introduced the tax late July, to raise funds to boost the ailing local film industry. “We […]
Friendship Bridge
August 7, 2006 (LBO) – The United States government Monday kicked off a project to build a 10.6 million dollar high-tech bridge at Arugam Bay, to replace the original one that was damaged during the tsunami. Dispensed through the U.S. Agency for International Development or USAID, the bridge is the single largest infrastructure project in […]
Mouse Trail
LAS VEGAS, Nevada, Aug 6, 2006 (AFP) – High-tech passports touted as advances in national security can be spied on remotely and their identifying radio signals cloned, computers hackers were shown at a conference ending Sunday. Radio frequency identification technology, referred to as RFID, used in cash cards and passports, can be copied, blocked or […]
Google Powered
Aug 04 (LBO) – Popular Internet search engine Google has given the Lanka Software Foundation 25,000 dollars to drive open source software projects locally. Much of the funds will go towards new research and development projects, including work with open source database MySQL, the foundation said in a statement on Friday. œTo date the Lanka […]
Mutual Ties
August 4, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka and India have agreed to recognise product certificates issued in both countries, cutting down red tape and transaction time when goods are traded. Sri Lanka’s Cabinet of Ministers has approved the bilateral agreement between Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) and the Bureau of Indian Standards, Cabinet spokesperson, Anura […]
John Keells picks up new Maldivian resort for US$12.5 mn
August 04, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s largest hotel operator, John Keells Holdings Friday said they have picked up their fifth Maldivian resort for 12.5 million dollars. Some of the best diving sites in the Maldives are found in the vicinity of Ellaidhoo such as Fish Head, Maya Thila, Halaveli Wreck and Fesdhoo Wreck. Maldivian […]
Recovery Time
August 04, 2006 (LBO) – Feeder vessels operating in Colombo said they would remove a cost recovery surcharge imposed on ships calling on the island, from August 10. Following a recent strike at the Colombo port that crippled work for eleven days, feeder vessels slapped a 40 dollar levy per Twenty foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) […]
Hidden Surprise
August 3, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom is expecting a 75 percent rise in full-year net profits as its cellular subsidiary makes a quick turnaround, which helps off-set sudden costs to trim its workforce, officials said Thursday. Mobitel, the firm’s cellular subsidiary, is turning the corner, after narrowing down six month losses to 190 […]
Tie-breaker
August 03, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka and India made a breakthrough in crisis talks held this week to resume duty free exports of vanaspati oil to India. The new terms will have to be approved by Sri Lanka™s Cabinet, but the commerce ministry is in agreement, Ratnayake says, adding that the terms are reasonable. […]
Winning Round
Aug 03 (LBO) – Sealed cable television company CBNSat said Thursday that they had won a court order for a two week test transmission and to service its broadcast equipment. At a court hearing held on August 3, the Chief Justice ordered the relevant authorities to take necessary measures to remove the seals from equipment […]
Corporate Chase
August 3, 2006 (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s Bank of Ceylon, a state-owned bank which is heavily involved in financing the government, is targeting corporate clients with its computerisation plan nearing completion.Unlike the private commercial banks which went on-line much earlier, the state owned giant with a large branch network spread into the far corners of […]
Cricket proves welcome distraction from bloodshed in Sri Lanka
Aug 2, 2006 (AFP) – As the bloody ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka escalates, people in the island nation are turning to their top-flight cricket team to provide a balm for the misery.When Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels were locked in the bloodiest ground battle since 2002 on Monday, the nation’s cricketers were […]