Broad Expansion

Sept 06, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom, the island’s largest telecom operator, said it will raise 75 million US dollars from a syndicated loan to upgrade and expand its network including Mobitel, the group mobile unit. “We are still in the process of finalizing the syndicated loan,” chief executive Gregg Young said. “The syndicated […]

Sri Lanka new tourism strategy to increase earnings, jobs

Sep 06, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka aims to make tourism a key component of post-war economic growth with a new strategy aimed at luring more high-spenders and increasing earnings and employment, an official said. Nalaka Godahewa, chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism, said the government was also working to make it easier for the private […]

Sri Lanka seeks to upgrade skills as tourism booms

Sep 06, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tourism industry intends to ramp up training to meet a critical and growing skills gap amid a tourism boom after the end of the island’s ethnic war, officials said. “As the annual output of about 1,500 graduates is the industry requirement, incentives will be provided to promote skills […]

Speed Bump

Sep 05, 2011 (LBO) – The long-delayed opening of Sri Lanka’s first expressway will be delayed further although construction of the road is over because toll booths and fuel stations are still being built, an official said. The opening of the first section of the southern expressway that was to have been in September has […]

Harris stars as Sri Lanka lose first Test

GALLE, September 3, 2011 (AFP) – Fast bowler Ryan Harris claimed five wickets as Australia beat a valiant Sri Lanka by 125 runs in the first Test on Saturday to take the lead in the three-match series. Sri Lanka, who resumed the fourth day at 120-5 chasing an improbable victory target of 379, were dismissed […]

Port Premium

Sep 02, 2011 (LBO) – The state-run Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) is to provide medical insurance for its employees with the cost borne by the authority which is hugely overstaffed and lost money last year. The SLPA has signed a deal with the National Insurance Trust Fund (NITF) to provide a “comprehensive Medical Insurance […]

Hactivism

Sep 01, 2011 (LBO) – A group of hackers said to be from Sri Lanka are claiming to have ‘DNS poisoned’ a series of internet servers related to domestic and foreign entities, where viewers are misdirected, using a recently exposed flaw, reports said. A patch for the flaw in DNS servers, discovered by Dan Kaminsky, […]

Brand Builder

Sept 01, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Cargills group, which has interests in foods and retailing said it will launch a new biscuit brand after buying a confectionery firm that earlier had a regional market. The firm also has an ice cream brand, Cargills Magic, which it says is now the top dairy ice cream […]

Sri Lanka Hayleys buys control of Amaya Leisure

Sep 01, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hayleys conglomerate has spent 2. 6 billion rupees to buy a 51 percent stake in hotel firm Amaya Leisure owned by Hayleys deputy chairman Dhammika Perera, a stock exchange filing said. The transactions of 24,497,461 Amaya Leisure shares were done in five crossings or off-market private deals by […]

Sri Lanka JKH in joint venture to build Rs2.90bn business hotel

Sep 01, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s John Keells Holdings (JKH) group plans to build a 25 storey, 240-room business hotel in Colombo with an investment of 2. 90 billion rupees in a joint venture with Sanken Lanka. JKH aims to have up to 1,000 business hotel rooms to cater to growing numbers of business […]

Investment Funds

Sep 01, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank has begun concessionary long term lending from an investment fund created with savings made from tax cuts under a proposal made in the government’s 2011 budget. The statement said state institutions can now borrow direct from local banks instead of being dependent on Treasury borrowings from […]

Ferry Orders

Aug 31, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Colombo Dockyard said it has won an order to build two passenger ferries for India’s Laskshadweep island administration, on the wake of an earlier delivery to the same customer. The contract comes a year after delivery of two passenger vessels, Arabian Sea and Lakshadweep Sea, for the Administration […]

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