Category: Industry
Sri Lanka, US trade, investment can grow: official
June 15, 2012 (LBO) – Trade and investment between Sri Lanka and the United States can grow after the end of 30-year war, as peace brought new opportunities US Trade Representative to South Asia Micheal Delaney said. “My visit here allowed me to follow up on those discussions and to learn more about what the […]
Sri Lanka gem show draws strong Chinese interest
June 15, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s annual gem and jewellery show, FACETS to be held in September has already signed up more than 300 foreign buyers with the largest group of 50 dealers coming from China, the exhibition’s organizers said. Ziqufi Ismail, secretary to the Sri Lanka Gem and Jewellery Association said buyers from […]
‘s Laugfs shoppers to get insurance cover from Chartis
June 14, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Laugfs Holdings, which has interests in cooking gas distribution and retailing has tied up with US based Chartis Insurance, to offer accident and disability cover to customers who patronise their supermarkets, officials said. Chartis, a leading property-casualty and general insurance firm serving more than 70 million clients around […]
Roaming Multiple
June 14, 2012 (LBO) – South Asians continue to pay more for their international roaming call charges when they travel within the region, despite a pledge in 2008 by regional heads to trim costs, a think-tank said. A Maldivian roaming in Bangladesh will pay 345 times more for a local call, the study showed. Sri […]
Virtual Wallet
June 13, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Dialog Axiata had launched a mobile payment service through which its 7.5 million customers can send and receive money through a ‘virtual wallet’, officials said. The mobile payment service can be used to pay utility bills or to payments at thousands of shops across the island, Fariq Cader, […]
Oil Exemption
June 12, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Korea, South Africa, Turkey and Taiwan has been recognized as countries that have significantly cut oil imports from Iran, US secretary of state Hilary Clinton has said. Financial institutions of countries that traded with Iran faced the possibility of being penalized in international trade settlements by […]
Sri Lanka entertainment resort by Indian gaming firm
June 12, 2012 (LBO) – India’s Delta Corp, a Bombay listed gaming firm said it had acquired 11 acres of land in Sri Lanka to build an entertainment resort complex near the island’s main international airport. Earlier Sri Lankan officials said that Delta Corp was also looking to lease an island in Kalpitiya. Update Delta […]
Sri Lanka May tourist arrivals up 17.5 percent
June 12, 2012 (LBO) – Tourist arrivals to tropical Sri Lanka, surged 17.5 percent in May, over the same month a year earlier, as visitors took advantage of the post-war peace three-years since the ethnic conflict ended. On Monday, the central bank said earnings from tourism arrivals had risen 26.0 percent to 340 million dollars […]
Credit Trends
June 11, 2012 (LBO) – Loans to private borrowers from commercial banks collapsed to just 18. 7 billion rupees in April 2012, from 55 billion rupees a month earlier, the lowest since June 2010, amid heavy state borrowing, official data showed. Loans to private borrowers from banks rose 34 percent from a year earlier to […]
Debt Games
June 11, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has run debts of 65 billion rupees with other state entities by May 31 and talks are on to clear them with a Treasury bond, a minister has said. Petroleum minister Susil Premjayantha has told parliament furnace oil is still being sold to […]
Sri Lankan Airlines to join Oneworld alliance
June 11, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run SriLankan Airlines will join ‘oneworld’ next year with Cathay Pacific taking it through an implementation program as its sponsor, the global alliance of air carriers said. Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo is already served by oneworld members Cathay Pacific and Royal Jordanian, and member designate Malaysia Airlines. SriLankan’s […]
Sri Lanka, Vietnam in move to boost tourism
June 11, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka and Vietnam are planning to boost tourism between the two countries after a visit by Vietnamese travel firms to Colombo which will be followed by a familiarization tour by Sri Lankan travel agents, officials said. Udaya Silva, Sri Lanka’s IATA travel agents association said he expected mutually beneficial […]