Regional Chief

July 10, 2014 (LBO) – Sharhan Muhseen a Sri Lanka born investment banker, has been appointed Head of Financial Institutions for Southeast Asia at Credit Suisse, a Zurich-based financial group. “We are delighted to have Sharhan joining us at Credit Suisse,” Michael Tan, Head of Financial Institutions Group (FIG) Coverage for Asia Pacific said in […]

Football: History hangs heavy as Dutch, Argentina clash

SAO PAULO, July 8, 2014 (AFP) – Fuelled by decades of hurt, Lionel Messi’s Argentina and Arjen Robben’s Holland will carry competing motivations into Wednesday’s tantalising World Cup semi-final showdown at Sao Paulo’s Corinthians Arena. Argentina, who last reached the final in 1990, will be determined to pay appropriate homage to former great Alfredo Di […]

Babel

July 8, 2014 (LBO) – Google has added Sinhalese, spoken by a majority of residents in Sri Lanka to its Gmail webmail service along with 13 other languages. The display language can be changed by going to settings and choosing from a dropdown menu. Gmail is already available in 58 languages, and today we’re bringing […]

Football: Brazil players ready to cope in Neymar absence

TERESÓPOLIS, July 7, 2014 (AFP) – Willian and Bernard, the two leading contenders to replace Neymar in Brazil’s World Cup semi-final line-up against Germany insisted on Sunday that the team can still win the competition without their star player. “Neymar sets the standard for us.He is capable of deciding any game, so playing without him […]

Sri Lanka tourist boom boosts beer sales

July 7, 2014 (LBO) – Strong tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka have boosted beer sales, with demand brimming over during the high season in popular tourist spots, the island’s top beer maker said. Sri Lanka has seen a strong increase in budget tourists who interact directly with the small businesses and enterprises. “Unlike in the […]

Cricket: South Africa bat against Sri Lanka in first ODI

COLOMBO, July 6, 2014 (AFP) – South Africa captain AB de Villiers won the toss and chose to bat in the first of the three-match one-day international series against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Sunday.Star all-rounder Jacques Kallis was ruled fit to play after overcoming a neck injury that he picked during one of the […]

Football: Krul saves Netherlands as Costa Rica downed

BRASILIA, July 6, 2014 (AFP) – Dutch goalkeeper Tim Krul was the hero as the Netherlands beat Costa Rica to seal a showdown with Argentina in a heavyweight World Cup semi-final lineup Saturday.Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal stunned onlookers at Salvador’s Fonte Nova Arena by bringing on Krul to replace Jasper Cillessen in the final […]

Debt Sale

July 04 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run Bank of Ceylon is planning to 8.0 billion rupees of debt which has been given an expected rating ‘AA(lka) (EXP)’ Fitch Ratings said.The Colombo-listed debentures will have tenors of 5 and 8 years and will have fixed and floating coupons. It will be used for Tier II […]

Sri Lanka tourist arrivals up 14-pct in June

July 03, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals rose 14.3 percent to 103,195 in June 2014 from a year earlier, driven by China and India, data from the state tourism promotion office showed.In the first half of 2014 arrivals were up 24.6 percent to 727,353. South Asian visitors were up 13.3 percent to 30,950 […]

Bank Trend

July 03, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s bank credit is estimated to grow 14 percent in 2014 and outlook for the sector is ‘stable’ with bad loans to also stabilize this year, Moody’s, a rating agency said.“¦[A] pipeline of infrastructure projects is expected to boost economic growth, together with an accommodative monetary policy,” Srikanth Vadlamani, […]

‘s CEB loses Rs18.6bn up to April

July 01, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run Ceylon Electricity Board has lost 18. 9 billion rupees in the first four months of 2014, amid higher thermal generation, a finance ministry report said. CEB started operating a second coal plant and a third 300 MegaWatt generator is expected to begin testing later this year. The […]

Merger Plans

July 01, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank said ‘almost all’ banks and finance companies have submitted plans to merge or acquire others in a regulatory driven push to consolidate and reduce the number of financial institutions in the country.“These plans will now be reviewed by the Central Bank with a view to facilitating […]

Page 439 of 1355