Category: Industry
Buckled
Mar. 07 (LBO) — The monetary board of Sri Lanka’s central bank is now short of one member as a procedural snag has held up the appointment of a replacement.The Monetary Board, which guides the country’s economic direction by setting policy interest rates now consists of Chairman (and Central Bank Governor) Sunil Mendis, Treasury Secretary […]
‘s John Keells scouts new Maldivian property
Mar. 06 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s largest hotel operator, John Keells Holdings, is in the process of picking up another Maldivian resort to add to their growing hospitality chain, a top official said Monday. JKH, which is splashing billions of rupees to re-brand key properties, has been scouting for a new Maldivian property to replace […]
High Jump
Mar.06 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank said Monday that it posted a 134 percent growth in post tax profits for the full-year ended December 2005. Group net profit for the full-year was Rs. 1.77 billion over Rs. 755 million reported in 2004 below market expectations of Rs. 2.0 billion. Net profits for the […]
Hedging Risks
Mar. 06 (LBO) – Commercial Bank of Ceylon has sought expertise of a foreign actuarial to structure a pension buyback scheme for employees, officials said Monday. Sri Lanka’s most profitable local commercial bank has taken this option to hedge risks against a future rise in interest rates. “Most pension plans in Sri Lanka are structured […]
Sri Lanka’s John Keells scouts new Maldivian property
Mar. 06 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s largest hotel operator, John Keells Holdings, is in the process of picking up another Maldivian resort to add to their growing hospitality chain, a top official said Monday. JKH, which is splashing billions of rupees to re-brand key properties, has been scouting for a new Maldivian property to replace […]
Slow Take-off
Mar. 05 (LBO) – Two of the three airlines that were given provisional approval to start international services out of Sri Lanka have so far submitted detailed business plans, authorities said. The government gave provisional approval to three out of nine applicants that asked permission to start international commercial passenger services. Expo Aviation, Holiday Air […]
Joint Deal
Mar. 03 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hemas Holdings said Friday it added local courier firm ACX International pte Ltd, to their growing portfolio of business. ACX, Sri Lanka’s pioneering courier operation commands around four percent of the island’s annual 1,000-metric tonne or million kilos courier market. “We roughly estimate the market is worth about two […]
Foreign Flavour
Mar. 03 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is looking at the possibility of getting into a partnership with foreign governments to explore oil off the island’s western coast, a senior official said Friday. Two rounds of seismic surveys conducted by Norway’s TGS-NOPEC have shown that Sri Lanka may have oil and natural gas reserves in the […]
Off Duty
Mar02. (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s second wireless local loop operator says it has lobbied the authorities to scrap a tax on CDMA handset imports.“We have written to the Board on Investment and the regulator.We are expecting a positive response soon,” Lanka Bell Managing Director Suren Goonawardene told LBO. The government last week wrote to the […]
Tourists flock to Sri Lanka in Jan
Mar. 02 (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s tsunami-hit hospitality industry made a comeback in January, as holidaymakers flocked to the island. However, internal battles to revamp marketing efforts and restructure the industry remain. Arrivals to Sri Lanka, famed for its beaches and eco-tourism, in January this year were up 36.8 percent over 2005 to 52,231 travellers. […]
Island Call
Mar. 01 (LBO) — Fixed line giant Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) will add the Maldivian incumbent telco operator to its list of regional clients, commissioning an undersea cable by late 2006. Tenders for the 10 gigabit undersea cable project are now being evaluated, SLT Deputy Chief Operating Office C B R Perera told LBO on […]
Big Bills
Mar. 01 (LBO) — Swedish telco operator Telia AB’s Sri Lankan subsidiary on Wednesday reported a 66 percent drop in six months to December profits, on higher CDMA related administrative, distribution and depreciation costs. The private wireless local loop operator (WLL) has seen its subscriber growth soar to 188,000 customers after securing a license to […]