Category: Industry
Profits Mirage
Peoples Bank reported a billion rupee in profits last year, the largest in its history.The bank has managed to now cut in half its negative net worth over the last two years.rn rnBut top management in an exclusive interview warned that profit numbers were not entirely due to an improvement in the banks performance.rn rnldblquote […]
Citibank First
Citibank became the only foreign bank to get a credit rating on the local scale when they made public their AAA rating. The bank says the rating obtained for franchise reasons will also be useful if the government makes it mandatory for commercial banks to make public their credit ratings.rn rnldblquote It is still not […]
Independent Opinion
Commercial Bank plans to tap the market for Rs. 4 bn with the backing of an issue rating from Fitch.The bank already has an AA+ rating for its senior debt.rn rnCommercial Bank says the issue rating which could be a notch lower than its senior debt rating will be made public.rn rnldblquote Whatever the rating, […]
Twisted Pair
Sri Lanka Telecoms (SLT) Japanese stakeholder NTT Communication says the government has violated is shareholders agreement by allowing new players into the international voice market.In a letter to the Mass Communications Ministrys Secretary on Friday, NTT says its fresh agreement with the government signed in November 2002 gave assurances that ldblquote no licences shall be […]
Cash Connect
New interconnection rules came into effect on Friday, setting the ground work for external gateway operators to negotiate network access. rnrnrnrnrnrnrnNew Page 1rn rnrnrnrnrn The Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC) on Monday rnissued the first batch of 21 External Gateway Operator (EGO) licences. rn rn EGOs are required to negotiate interconnection rates, rnpermission to terminate
On The Edge
Peoples Bank is waiting for a fresh lquote letter of comfort from the Treasury to sign off its 2002 financial statements.The Treasury last issued the letter on April 3 2002, but subsequently withdrew it, with the hope of finding fresh investors for Peoples Bank.rn rnThe bank has halved its Rs. 6 bn negative networth, after […]
Final Call
Sri Lanka Telecom is moving towards a two-tier tariff band to encourage people to talk more and pay less.The proposal forms part of its bigger plan for a 15 percent overall tariff increase.rn rnThe telecom giant submitted its fifth and final tariff-rebalancing proposal to the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) last July.rn rnSLT also wants the […]
Moving On
Mobitel will install a 200,000 line island wide GSM network by August, the first stage in its migration from its existing TDMA backbone. The migration could see mobile tapping the local financial market to raise the US $ 50 million it requires for the infrastructure project.rn rn”We are still evaluating sources of funding and raising […]
Last Round
A top IFC official who is on a routine visit to Sri Lanka, signed the deal this evening.rn rnUnder the agreement, IFCs will be represented on Commercial Banks board by a single board seat.rn rnCommercial Bank will also buy back 5 percent of its shares held by SLIC to start an employee share trust.rn rnBoth […]
Riding High
Citibank NA Sri Lanka branch topped the honours list by securing a SL AAA (Triple A) national rating from Fitch Ratings Lank for its implied unsecured senior debt.This is the first time a local bank has secured a Triple A rating from Fitch Ratings Lanka (FRL).rn rnldblquote A Triple A rating means we are resilient […]
High Jump
Commercial Bank of Ceylon Ltd on Wednesday notched a 25 percent profit growth and said it was taking a bold step to move towards triple bottomline reporting.Sri Lankas most profitable private bank said its turnover topped Rs. 8.1 bn, and post tax profits clocked in Rs. 1.3 bn during the period under review.rn rnldblquote We […]
Oil Shock
SriLankan Airlines has sought Civil Aviation Authority approval to raise outbound airfares by US$ 5 per sector.The airline has sought the increase, as fuel prices have shot up by 10 percent to 12 percent over the past three-months due to Middle East tension.rn rnldblquote This is not a decision we took on our own. We […]