Category: Industry
Finance License
Oct 31, 2011 (LBO) – Commercial Leasing Company, a unit of Sri Lanka’s LOLC group, said it had received a finance company license from the banking regulator and will seek a public listing. The firm will also increase its small and medium industry and micro finance portfolio. “The company is well positioned to take advantage […]
Wheels Wealth
Oct 31, 2011 (LBO) – A post-war economic boom and lower import taxes helped sharply increase September 2011 quarter profits at two Sri Lankan vehicle importers which are agents for top German, Japanese and Indian brands. Diesel & Motor Engineering Company (DIMO), agents for Mercedes Benz and Tata, said September quarter net profit rose 175 […]
Price Fuss
Oct 31, 2011 (LBO) – Dairy multinational Fonterra’s Sri Lanka unit has stopped supplying dairy products to the Food City supermarket chain after protests from traders they were being undercut by discounts offered by the retailer. Customers said supermarkets operated by the Cargills group had put up notices that Fonterra had withdrawn dairy brands like […]
Sri Lanka Renuka City Sept net eroded by lower investment gains
Oct 31, 2011 (LBO) – Lower profit from share trading owing to a fall in the Sri Lankan stock market has halved Renuka City Hotels’ September 2011 quarter profit, a stock exchange filing showed. Net profit fell 58 percent to 52 million rupees in the September 2011 quarter from a year ago although sales more […]
Sri Lanka Galadari stake bought by Dubai govt
Oct 31, 2011 (LBO) – An investment fund connected to the Dubai government has bought a 16.1 percent stake in Sri Lanka’s Galadari Hotel, in a deal valued at 1. 18 billion rupees. The broking firm TKS Securities said 29.5 million shares were bought at 40 rupees each. Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals have been up […]
Price Balance
Oct 30, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has raised pump prices by around 10 percent with petrol prices going up by 12.00 rupees a litre and diesel by only 8. 00 rupees, widening an already existing gap. The standard 90-Octane petrol will now cost 137 rupees at the pump and the premium 95-Octane 155 rupees. […]
Visa Scam
WASHINGTON, October 30, 2011 (AFP) – A case working its way through a federal court in California has exposed huge student visa scams by “sham” universities cashing in on Indians and other foreigners looking for a quick path to jobs in the United States. Enrollment at Tri-Valley University, an unaccredited self-styled Christian graduate school, surged […]
Sri Lanka airport crunch looming: official
Oct 29, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s sole international airport will face a capacity crunch soon with passenger traffic exceeding its design capacity by year’s end amid a post-war tourism boom, an airline official said. Another plan under consideration is to expand the terminal into the garden area. The Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) handled 5.26 […]
Dutch plane flying to Sri Lanka in bird strike
PANAJI, October 27, 2011 (AFP) – A Dutch charter plane en route to Sri Lanka was forced to abort take-off after a bird flew into one of its engines in the Indian state of Goa, the airline said on Thursday. “The plane hit the bird while it was gathering speed on the runway,” ArkeFly spokeswoman […]
Android Forum
Oct 28, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Etisalat cellular network said it will host a forum on Android, an operating system for mobile devices, with experts from Google, smartphone makers will be taking part. “The goal of the Android Forum is to give the public a chance to see the limitless possibilities that will be […]
Mobile Trend
Oct 28, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lankan mobile phone operator Dialog Axiata’s September 2011 quarter group net profit fell 17. 7 percent to 1.4 billion rupees from a year ago with sharply higher tax costs as well as finance expenses. Sales rose 10.3 percent to 11.7 billion rupees. Diluted earnings per share rose to 26 […]
Central Express
Oct 28, 2011 (LBO) – Eight firms, including from Malaysia and Korea have expressed interest in building a highway to Sri Lanka’s central hill city of Kandy, deputy highways minister Nirmala Kothelawala said. According to the preliminary data on Sri Lanka’s Road Development Authority website, the Kandy Colombo Expressway will be a 98 kilometre road […]