Category: Industry
Asset Quality
Apr 01, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s two largest state banks have taken a 20 billion rupee hit on credit losses in 2013 and had slashed their troubled gold-backed loan portfolios as the precious metal’s price slumped, interim accounts show.State-run People’s Bank set aside 11.7 billion rupees as general provisions in 2013 up from 3.2 […]
Bank Chief
Apr 01, 2014 (LBO) – Krishan Balendra, has been appointed chairman of Sri Lanka’s Nations Trust Bank.NTB said in a stock exchange filing that Arjuna Gunaratne, who had been on the board of the bank from 2005 is stepping down to comply with a regulatory direction limiting a director’s tenure to nine years.Balendra will take-over […]
Sri Lanka power utility making large losses: report
Mar 31, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run Ceylon Electricity Board has lost over 24 billion rupees in the past quarter with low rainfall hitting hydro power, a media report said, raising concerns over credit expansion and exchange rate stability.The Sunday Times newspaper quoting a letter written by CEB General Manager Shavi Fernando said CEB […]
‘s HNB Assurance separates general insurance
Mar 29, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s HNB Assurance Plc said it will set up a separate unit to take over its general insurance business under a regulatory decision to split all composite insurers.HNB Assurance is a unit of listed Hatton National Bank. The firm’s shareholders had approved a resolution to transfer assets and liabilities […]
Sri Lanka 700-room hotel chain planned by Best Western
Mar 28, 2014 (LBO) – US based Best Western, is planning a 700-room strong chain partnering with Sri Lanka’s Elyon Hotels as the island draws more visitors after the end of a 30-year civil war, officials said. The firm is expecting regional travellers to make bulk of its bookings in Sri Lanka. “After the war […]
Forex Cover
Mar 28, 2014 (LBO) – BRAC Lanka Finance Plc, said it had hedged the foreign exchange risk of a two million US dollar loan from its parent by creating a forex deposit and borrowing rupees against it.BRAC International Holdings BV has given 3-year 2 million US dollar loan to BRAC Lanka at 7.0 percent a […]
Cable Centre
Mar 27, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom said it is forming a venture with Indian Ocean Cableship (Pvt) Ltd, a Singapore based firm, to set up an undersea cable maintenance base at Hambantota port in the island’s south.The SEA-ME-WE-05 cable, the latest in a series of cables running from South East Asia to Europe […]
Higher Learning
Mar 27, 2014 (LBO) – Indunil Liyanage, Chief Marketing Officer of state-run Bank of Ceylon has conferred a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) by Colombo University.His doctoral thesis, on ‘Role Stressors and the Impact of Coping styles on Perceived Job Performance’ was based on 5-years of research. Liyanage already holds a Masters degree in management from […]
Top Rating
Mar 27, 2014 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has confirmed an ‘AAA(lka)’ rating of HSBC’s Sri Lanka branch with a stable outlook. HSBC has seen loans growing 6.1 percent in the nine months to September 2013. Large corporate customers made up 64 percent of its rupee loans. Of the retail loan book, 43 percent was from […]
” rating confirmed
Mar 26, 2014 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has confirmed a ‘BB” issuer financial strength rating of Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation with a stable outlook. Fitch said it had a franchise built up since 1961 and an asset base of over 140 billion rupees. It was the market leader in non-life insurance taking 23 percent of […]
‘s Janashakthi Insurance ready for splitting, RBC regime
Mar 26, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Janashakthi Insurance was ready to split its life and general businesses, later list the second unit and also move to a risk based capital regime (RBC), an official said.Managing Director Prakash Schaffter said the businesses will be split later this year. The existing listed Janashakthi Insurance will be […]
Mobile Money
Mar 25, 2014 (LBO) – Payments through mobile phones have topped 700 million rupees a month, Sri Lanka’s Dialog Axiata said as Etisalat, a competitor tied up to use the service, in what officials said was the world first such partnership.Dialog group chief executive Hans Wijayasuriya said all operators in Sri Lanka had been invited […]