Category: Industry
Red Ink
Feb 17, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s The Finance Company slipped back into the red in the December quarter having broken even the previous quarter although losses were much less than a year ago. The troubled finance firm, which was re-structured under regulatory guidance, made a December 2011 quarter loss of 17.5 million rupees compared […]
Taking Logistics
Feb 17, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s plans to become a logistics hub stand to gain from the shift in Asian manufacturing from China to countries like Vietnam that could yield more cargo for ports like Colombo, a logistics expert said. “Logistics is like an orchestra in which the container terminal operator plays a key […]
Sri Lanka urges removal of non-tariff barriers to South Asia trade
Feb 16, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has called for the removal of non-tariff barriers to trade in South Asia, saying reducing or elimination of tariffs alone is not enough to increase intra regional trade. The volume of trade among South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation member states has still not reached anywhere near the […]
Sri Lanka Aviva December net down 21-pct
Feb 16, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Aviva NDB Insurance said December 2011 quarter net profit fell 21 percent to 482 million rupees from a year ago with sales down 34 percent to 2.9 billion rupees. Gross written premium from life and general businesses fell 26 percent to 2.3 billion rupees in the December 2011 […]
Electronic Books
Feb 16, 2012 (LBO) – Etisalat’s Sri Lankan unit has teamed up with booksellers and a software firm to launch an electronic book store for local publishers and authors, officials said. The online e-book store, called ‘Book Hub’ to be commercially launched by end of March, will be in all three languages and available on […]
Orix Net
Feb 16, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s LOLC group which has interest in financial services, plantations, trading and leisure said net profits for the December 2011 quarter fell 6 percent to 673 million rupees. The group reported earnings of 1.42 rupees for the quarter. For the nine months ended December 2011 the group reported earnings […]
Sri Lanka raises power prices
Feb 14, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s power regulator has approved surcharges of between 15 to 40 percent on the bills of power users to recover a part of the cost of a steep fuel price increase, an official said. State run Ceylon Electricity Board still received some fuels below market price, PUCSL officials said. […]
Sri Lanka draws Indian clothing retailer
Feb 15, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lankan clothing retailer Hameedia has tied up with India’s Madura Fashion & Lifestyle to sell its clothing brands and also open retail stores in the island. We’re going a step further and will make these brands available at several national apparel retail chains in major cities.” Madura Fashion & […]
Auto Outcome
Feb 14, 2012 (LBO) – December 2011 quarter net profit at Sri Lankan auto importer and distributor Diesel and Motor Engineering Company (Dimo) fell 27 percent to 713 million rupees from a year ago as sales slowed. A stock exchange filing said Dimo’s sales fell 12 percent to 10. 6 billion rupees in the quarter […]
Provision Pattern
Feb 14, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Seylan Bank December 2011 quarter net profit rose 72 percent to 664 million rupees from a year ago, helped by lower loan loss provisioning. Interest income rose 12 percent to 4.2 billion rupees while interest expenses rose at a faster 15 percent resulting in net interest income going […]
Managing Wealth
Feb 14, 2012 (LBO) – NDB Aviva Wealth Management, a Sri Lankan asset management firm, has chosen Advent Software to provide a wealth management system for portfolio, client relationship and trade order management. NDB Aviva wanted to improve operational efficiency and achieve industry best practices to develop its institutional investor client base and improve service […]
Asset Quality
Feb 14, 2012 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka has confirmed Pan Asia Banking Corporation’s (PABC) proposed subordinated debentures of up to 2.0 billion rupees at ‘BBB-(lka)’. The issue is rated one notch below PABC’s national long-term rating of ‘BBB(lka)’ with a stable outlook reflecting its debt-like features, a statement said. “PABC’s ratings reflect continued improvements […]