Category: Industry
Pushing North
Mar. 08 (AFP) – Sri Lankan mobile phone company Celltel Wednesday announced plans to invest 100 million dollars to bring services to the island’s embattled northeast, but not in areas controlled by Tamil rebels. -Amal Jayasinghe: win98win@Â Celltel, which launched an analogue network in 1989 to become the first phone company in South Asia to […]
Mighty Atom
Mar. 08 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is pushing for greater access into the Indian banking industry when both countries meet for bilateral trade talks in May, industry sources said. Neighboring India recently streamlined capital requirements for banks entering into the country but there are still limitations on shareholder ownership and the number of branches that […]
Picking Crumbs
Mar 07 (LBO) – The Treasury has settled Rs. 500 million in unpaid subsidy bills due to Lanka Indian Oil Corp., weeks after the company’s accounts took a hit to make provision for the unpaid claims. “We received a part payment of Rs. 500 million on March 01 from the Treasury,” K Ramakrishnan, Managing Director […]
Redial
Sri Lanka Telecom’s mobile subsidiary is vying to double its subscriber base by end 2006, launching a new low tariff prepaid package this week. Mobitel Lanka Private Limited on Monday launched a new prepaid service, which along with its new GSM network, is expected to double its 45,000 customer base by year end. Mobitel chief […]
Smooth Landing
Mar. 07 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Distilleries Group said Tuesday that they have picked up the controlling stake in the island’s pioneering unit trust management company, National Asset Management Ltd or NAMAL from DFCC Bank. The Distilleries Group, controlled by business tycoon Harry Jayawardena currently runs its own fund management unit called Aegis which largely […]
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 […]
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 […]
‘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 […]
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 […]
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 […]