Category: Industry
Bouncing Banks
Sri Lankas top banks emerged stronger in a year of exceptional performance in 2003.Helped by what the Central Bank calls a lquote heroic attempt at fiscal discipline by the Treasury, SrirnLankas banks have rebounded strongly from the economic crises that hit the country in the laternnineties.rn rnPredictably Commercial Bank led the pack on several key […]
Request to Take Off
Local private airline operators based here say they are getting ready to compete with the national carrierrnnext month when a provision in the MOU betweenrnrnSriLankan and the government expires.rnHowever, the regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority has not completed audits on two of the interestedrncompanies who are keen to fly international routes.rn rnExpo Aviation, Lion Air […]
Crumbling with Age
Old age is catching up with Sri Lanka but taking it slow and easy in comfortable retirement is just not an option available to this islands 19 million people. Sri Lanka needs to post 10 per cent economic growth over the next 15 years to nurse its fast aging population.Sri Lankas lost years of economic […]
Flight Freedom
SriLankan Airlines will use its lquote Fifth Freedom aviation rights to carry passengers from Cochin in India to the Maldives, in July. Fifth Freedom rights allow a registered airline of one state to pick up passengers from another country and put them down in a third state.rn rnIn effect, this means that an airline can […]
Show and Tell
Sri Lanka is drumming up support for an annual regional export sector exhibition, kicking off its campaign with a 4-day local event in November 2004. A regional event is expected to foster greater inter-Asian trade and push down trade barriers, while giving local exporters an opportunity to attract regional investment partners.rn rnThe South Asian Association […]
Sharing Wealth
Hatton National Bank is coming out with an Employee Share Ownership Plan to reward staff and give them a sense of partnership.HNBs Chairman/CEO Rienzie T Wijetilleke says around five percent of its issued share capital will be allocated for the ESOP scheme.rn rnThe banks Rs. 715 mn issued share capital comprises of Rs. 550 mn […]
Flying India
Indias Jet Airways chalked up Colombo as its first international destination on Wednesday, after both governments opened skies recently for bilateral traffic. The airline will initially operate Chennai-Colombo runs, extending this to Bangalore, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram within the next two months.rn rnldblquote We have got approval for these three routes, seven flights a week from […]
Over The Sahara
Indias Sahara Air flew in its first paid-passenger-flight to Colombo on Monday taking Sri Lanka a step closer to the coveted regional tourism hub status.ldblquote Your government has realised that tourism is the main industry for Sri Lanka and has opened the skies, dblquote said CEO Sahara Airlines Ltd, Uttam Kumaar Bose, at a press […]
Travel Allowance
Travel exchange specialist Travelex will scale up operation in Sri Lanka to tap into the potential of the peace fueled growth in tourism.Sri Lanka is part of the firms strategy along with entering the Indian market in Nov.2003, to tap into the US$ 1.5bn travel market in South Asia.rn rnTravelex, a company that caters to […]
Maximum Credit
Standard Chartered will leverage Commercial Banks nationwide branch network to sustain growth in its credit card business. rnrnThe deal will allow Standard Chartered credit card holders to pay into over 117 Commercial Bank branches along with nine of its own branches. rn rnCredit Card holders with Commercial Bank accounts can also use the Comserv internet […]
Socially Accountable
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL) – the countrys auditing standard setting body – is trying to lift the countrys accounting standards a notch higher by embedding Social Responsibility Reporting (SRR) into annual financial reporting.As it is Sri Lanka has one of the strongest legal infrastructure in place when it comes to […]
Overseas Banking
Sri Lanka Export Credit Insurance Corporation (SLECIC) is in talks with a Russian bank, to promote financing of Russian importers of local goods. The company has identified importers of goods from Sri Lanka as an opportunity segment and has started off in that direction with a Russian bank to finance importers of Sri Lankan products […]