Category: Industry
Online Payment
Jan 26, 2012 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Ports Authority is to start trials of an electronic cargo payment system at Colombo port in a tie-up with state-owned Bank of Ceylon next week, officials said. Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Chairman Priyath Wickrama said a lot of port activities were being converted to semi-automated systems […]
Sailor Boys
Jan 26, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will sign an agreement with Italy authorities allowing Sri Lankan certified seafarers to work on Italian flagged vessels, information minister Keheliya Rambukwelle said. A memorandum of understanding to be signed with the Italy’s maritime administration will recognize certificates of competency issued by Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s cabinet of […]
Asset Base
Jan 25, 2012 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has confirmed Sri Lanka’s Vallibel Finance’s (VFL) national long-term rating at ‘BB-(lka)’ with a stable outlook. “VFL’s rating factors in its small but growing asset base, healthy profitability and modest asset quality,” the rating agency said in a statement. “The rating is constrained by VFL’s modest capitalisation which […]
Sri Lanka Nov 2011 exports up 12-pct
Jan 25, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s export earnings in November 2011 rose 11.6 percent to 879.3 million US dollars from a year ago, driven mainly by industrial and machinery exports, the central bank said. Imports in the import-dependent island shot up 78 percent in November 2011 to 1,980.5 million dollars from the previous year […]
Tablet Rise
TAIPEI, Jan 25 (AsiaPulse) – Tablet computers will contribute enormously to the worldwide semiconductor market by 2015 as different platforms compete to interest consumers, according to market intelligence firm Gartner Inc. Gartner forecasted that tablet semiconductor revenue will amount to US$20 billion (NT$604.5 billion) in 2015, compared with US$6 billion in 2011, ranking fourth behind […]
Sri Lanka high rise to be managed by Hyatt: minister
Jan 25, 2012 (LBO) – State-run Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation will lead a consortium to invest and finish a half built high rise which the leisure group Hyatt has agreed to manage, economic development minister Basil Rajapaksa said. State-run Bank of Ceylon, People’s Bank and the state managed Employees Provident Fund and Employees Trust Fund […]
Asset Quality
Jan 25, 2012 (LBO) – RAM Ratings Lanka has upgraded the long- and short-term financial institution ratings of Citizens Development Business Finance (CDB) to BBB and P2 from BBB- and P3 with a stable outlook on the long-term rating. The rating agency has also upgraded the long-term rating of CDB’s 250 million rupee unsubordinated unsecured […]
Sri Lanka ExpoAir resumes Jaffna flights
Jan 24, 2012 (LBO) – ExpoAir, a domestic aviation company in Sri Lanka, has decided to resume regular flights from the capital Colombo to the former northern war zone of Jaffna, targeting mainly business travellers. The company will operate twice daily flights using a new Cessna Grand Caravan 12-seater aircraft covering the distance in one […]
Tech Leader
Jan 24, 2012 (LBO) – MillenniumIT, a securities trading technology provider said it is expanding a software development complex in Sri Lanka with business volumes growing after it became part of the London Stock Exchange group. MillenniumIT was bought by the London Stock Exchange in 2009 now has a staff of 600 in Sri Lanka. […]
Sri Lanka city hotel deep in red
Jan 24, 2012 (LBO) – Galadari Hotels (Lanka) Plc, a hotel in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo said it lost 199.6 million rupees in the December 2011 quarter against a profit of 35. 4 million rupees a year earlier, hit by an exchange loss. Galadari has 9.1 billion rupees in accumulated losses and 1.3 billion rupees […]
Crude Options
Jan 23, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will be able to import crude from Iran for at least six months before US sanctions make it impossible for payments to be made to that country, a media report said. Sri Lanka’s The Sunday Times newspaper quoted petroleum minister Susil Premajayantha as saying that talks would be […]
Bacteria Battle
Jan 23, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has completed the first phase of a four-year project to study microbial resistance to antibiotics, which is a serious problem worldwide and puts a strain on healthcare systems. The first report of the surveillance of microbial sensitivity to antibiotics, initiated by the Sri Lanka College of Microbiologists (SLCM) […]