Category: Industry
Cook says being No 1 just the start for England
BIRMINGHAM, August 14, 2011 (AFP) – Alastair Cook said England were at the start of a journey, rather than the end of it, after becoming the world’s number one Test side. “I think we’re on the way to doing something special,” said Cook. “But I think we’re still at the start of a journey, rather […]
Hatton Profits
Aug 13, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank group’s net profit for the June 2011 quarter rose 6 percent to 1.29 billion rupees from a year earlier, amid tighter net interest growth, while revenues grew 6 percent to 10.1 billion rupees. Group loan loss provisions were a 73 million write back for the […]
Exit Plan
Aug 13, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank said it will exit from Delma Exchange, a remittance house in the United Arab Emirates which expatriate workers use to send money home. In the five months to May remittances rose 28 percent to 2.1 billion US dollars. “[The] Board of Directors have decided to […]
Sri Lanka Softlogic buys insurer
Aug 12, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Softlogic Holdings group today brought a 73.5 percent stake in Asian Alliance Insurance, a listed insurer for 3,308 million rupees, at 120 rupees per share. Softlogic Holdings said in an earlier filing that it wanted buy 53. 16 percent of Asian Alliance held by Asia Capital PLC and […]
Tablet Wars
SAN FRANCISCO, August 12, 2011 (AFP) – US technology giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) on Thursday cut the price of its freshly-launched TouchPad tablet computers in a bid to gain traction in a market dominated by Apple’s iPad. TouchPads with 16 gigabytes of memory were offered on the HP website for $400 and models with 32 gigabytes […]
Health Expansion
Aug 12, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hemas group is expanding its healthcare business with land bought in Battaramulla to build a new hospital near the island’s capital, group chief executive Husein Esufally said. “An expansion plan to add two more hospitals to the chain is well underway and we have been successful in securing […]
Combank
Aug 12, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank of Ceylon’s net profits in the June 2011 quarter rose 63.8 percent to 1.97 billion rupees, amid strong credit growth and containment of interest expenses, interim accounts show. The group reported earnings of 5. 17 rupees per share for the quarter. For the six months it […]
Pole Position
Aug 11, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s brand new automobile market is dominated by India’s Maruti and Toyota is leading the re-conditioned or imported used car segment, an analysis by J B Securities, a stock brokering firm, shows. Maruti/Suzuki sold 1,373 cars in July 2011, and on average sold more than 1,100 units each month […]
Sri Lanka tourist arrivals up 32-pct in July
Aug 11, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals rose 32 percent to 63,339 in July 2011 with visitors in the first seven months rising 36 percent to 465,324 data from the tourist promotions office showed. Pakistani arrivals surged 130 percent to 2,040 and visitors from the Maldives rose 38 percent to 3,336. Western European […]
Auto Profits
Aug 10, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Diesel and Motor Engineering Company, an auto importer and distributor said net profits in the June 2011 quarter rose 321 percent to 636 million rupees with revenues growing 112 percent to 7.2 billion rupees. Sri Lanka’s vehicle imports are seeing a boom after taxes were cut on cars […]
Oil Status
VIENNA, August 9, 2011 (AFP) – The OPEC group of petroleum exporting countries slightly lowered its forecast Tuesday for 2011 and 2012 crude oil demand, citing concerns for the economic health of developed countries. “Should the situation see further deterioration in the US, then aggregate oil demand will see a further decline this year,” said […]
Sri Lanka Aviva returns to profit in June
Aug 09, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Aviva NDB Insurance earned profits of 34 million rupees in the June 2011 quarter returning from a loss of 46 million rupees a year earlier, with revenues growing from unit linked products, interim accounts show. The profits came despite lower investment income. Gross written premium from life and […]