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 […]

‘s HNB Assurance June net steady

Aug 09, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s HNB Assurance, a unit of listed Hatton National Bank said profits in the June 2011 quarter rose 2 percent to 24.6 million rupees with strong premium growth despite lower investment income. Managing director Manjula de Silva said revenue growth came from a hike in premiums and stronger sales […]

Sri Lanka to start seaplane flights to Arugam Bay

Aug 09, 2011 (LBO) – State-run SriLankan Airlines said it would start floatplane flights to the Arugam Bay, an internationally popular surfing hotspot in Sri Lanka’s eastern coast while bad weather has curtailed flights to the island’s central hills. SriLankan Airlines’ air taxi service operates scheduled flights to Polgolla in Kandy, Bentota, Koggala and Dikwella […]

Tele Status

Aug 09, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom said 19 labour unions are engaged in trade union action but services to customers are being maintained. Union leaders meanwhile have made statements against SLT Manpower, a new unit, saying that workers recruited through the firm are being paid lower salaries. The firm said in a stock […]

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