Category: Industry
Monopoly Class
A new agreement between Emirates and the government to lift catering and ground-handling monopolies at the airport has come under fire, forcing officials to rethink concessions.The state has been lobbying with the Dubai based airline and parent company of national carrier SriLankan Airlines, to renegotiate a ten year monopoly ending in 2008. rn rnThe new […]
Backdoor Withdrawal
Members of the Employees Provident Fund are using the State Mortgage Investment Bank as a conduit for premature withdrawal of their EPF balances.SMIB has the statutory authority to give housing loans against member balances of the EPF and collect defaulted instalments from the EPF.rn rnNearly 17,925 or a massive 32.65% SMIB borrowers had defaulted by […]
Export Plus
The Sri Lanka Export Credit Insurance Corporations is looking to raise its liability exposure to Rs. 40 bn with the expansion of its product portfolio.Current liability exposure has reached Rs.13 bn, up from around Rs. 4 billion in April this year. rn rnTo support its portfolio expansion, SLECIC Chairman Hemaka de Alwis says a plan […]
Weight Watching
The Airport and Aviation Services, is coming out with a financial package to shed around 1000 excess staff.The voluntary retirement scheme is being firmed and will be capped at Rs.750,000.rn rnThe offer is limited to drivers, labourers and clerical grades. rn rnAASL, which manages the countrys airports, is estimated to have over 1000 labourers and […]
Green Paper
The government has rolled out its first draft of a national eco-tourism policy, mapping out development guidelines for mushrooming, unregulated eco-tourism outfits. A Norwegian sponsored study begun early this year developed the blueprint for eco-tourism development, identifying also, five pilot projects in the Southern region.rn rnPublic debate has already begun, with the Tourism Ministry calling […]
Good Start
DFCC Bank said Wednesday its net profits grew by 14 percent to Rs. 305 mn during the first quarter of this year.The bank said benefited from low cost deposits and cheaper long-term credit lines, which in turn helped narrow the gap with lower lending rates.rn rnIncome during the period rose marginally to Rs. 975 mn, […]
Picking Up
Standard Chartered Bank said Wednesday that credit demand had picked up marginally, despite an upturn in economic growth this year.The bank said total loans and advances had grown by 20 percent during the first six months of this year.rn rnGrowth largely came from big-ticket deals like a US$ 70 mn loan for Mobitel and working […]
Code Share
The telecom watchdog is working on a set of emergency short codes and value added service codes that will work on any network. Fire, police, ambulance, directory assistance and fault reporting are among the services that will be available on short code and will be in place after the ongoing ten digit number change due […]
Cost Cutting
Tritel Services is talking to regional telecom players to sell a low cost payphone system designed for thinly populated areas. The card phone system, designed and built in-house will cost 50 percent less than the lowest priced alternative available in the market today costing around US$ 1,500.rn rnTritel CEO, Robert Schuster told Lanka Business Online […]
Rural Clean Up
The Treasury is to sell off a 47 percent stake it holds in each of the six rural development banks and offer it up to private management.Under the new structure, the Central Bank, which controls around 67 percent of the rural development banks (RDBs), will continue to hold 20 percent. The Central Bank had earlier […]
Goodbye
The government has announced a massive voluntary retirement package to its employees in more than 50 institutions already identified for closure, merger or restructuring.The institutions themselves will have to find the required funding to pay off those that are willing to take up early retirement.rn rnA Treasury circular says that identified government institutions can offer […]
Minor Tremor
A minority stake in Sri Lanka Telecom is unlikely to make it to the market this year, as authorities feel the time is not ripe.The telecom giant has also offered a voluntary retirement scheme to shed excess staff, as part of an overall restructuring exercise.rn rnThe government had earlier told the IMF they were planning […]