Category: Industry
Online Banking
Oct 21, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka-based Commercial Bank of Ceylon, the island’s largest private lender by assets, said its unit in Bangladesh has launched an internet banking service. Commercial Bank customers in Bangladesh will be able to pay Grameen Phone Company bills and school fees. “Bangladesh has a rapidly growing customer segment that will […]
Sri Lanka exports up 10.7-pct in August, imports down
Oct 21, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s exports rose 10.7 percent to 917.8 million US dollars in August 2013 from a year earlier, and import dropped 7.7 percent to 1.6 billion US dollars, the Central Bank said.Export earnings from tea grew 49.3 percent to 142.8 million US dollars and apparel exports barely grew 2.1 percent […]
Sri Lanka Crown casino resort fields cricket ambassadors
Oct 21, 2013 (LBO) – A proposed casino resort in Sri Lanka by James Packer’s Crown group has appointed as its ambassadors, Australian cricket captain Micheal Clarke and Vivien Greig, whose husband Tony is a household name in the island. Crown group is building what it calls a landmark iconic resort by the side of […]
Housing Debt
Oct 21, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s HDFC Bank, a 51 percent state-owned mortgage lender said it was offering listed yielding as much 15.5 percent a year. HDFC Bank is offering 1.0 billion rupees of debt with an option to sell another 1.0 billion rupees in case the first tranche is oversubscribed. The firm is […]
Sri Lanka hosts nuclear energy workshop
Oct 20, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is hosting a workshop on nuclear energy with the participation of domestic and international specialists, the island’s research and development ministry said. The workshop will create awareness on a safe, long term, nuclear energy program, the ministry said. International participants from Bangladesh, Belarus, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Peru […]
Sri Lanka gaming resorts to tie-up with existing casinos: ministry
Oct 20, 2013 (LBO) – Two planned gaming resorts in Sri Lanka are expected to link up with existing casinos in the city and will require no new licenses to be issued, the investment promotion ministry has said.Australia’s Crown group and Sri Lanka’s John Keells Holdings are to build two ‘integrated resorts’ with luxury hotels, […]
Foreign Finance
Oct 19, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Citizens Development Business Finance, said it had got a 6 million US dollar credit line (780 million rupees) from a Belgian development finance agency.Carole Maman, financial sector director for BIO said CDB offered financial services to rural bottom-of-the-pyramic cystomers. “We appreciate the motivation and quality of CDB’s staff […]
Google Gains
SAN FRANCISCO, October 18, 2013 (AFP) – Google shares surged to a record high, close to $1,000, after quarterly earnings figures showed the Internet giant’s profits are climbing despite a trend toward cheaper advertising on smartphones and tablets. The company on Thursday reported net income of $2.97 billion on revenue that rose to $14.89 billion […]
” in Sri Lanka: Packer
Oct 18, 2013 (LBO) – A 400 million US dollar high end casino resort in Sri Lanka would employ 2,500 people and ‘redefine’ luxury tourism in the island, Australia’s Crown group has said.The opposition has said it will reverse tax holidays if it comes to power, and impose a 40 percent tax on gaming revenues […]
Sri Lanka Mattala airport duty free to open shortly
Oct 17, 2013 (LBO) – Duty free shopping facilities at Sri Lanka’s Mattala airport may open within two weeks, a top official said.Dufry said in August that it signed a master concessionaire agreement to run all airside duty free space in Mattala.It expected to have 1,000 square feet of space divided between arrival and departure […]
Portfolio Expansion
Oct 16, 2013 (LBO) – International Finance Corporation, a unit of World Bank said it had invested 136 million US dollars in private firms in Sri Lanka over the past year, doubling its portfolio to 280 million US dollars. It had also invested in Cargills Bank, a start-up. IFC’s invested 25 million US dollars i […]
Sri Lanka, US look to boost trade ties
Oct 15, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka and the US, the top buyer of island’s exports has further room to grow, officials had said following a visit by business delegation. Though nationalists are trying to bring curbs, US imports of off-shoring services also raises living standards of residents and makes exports more competitive. Exports (and […]