Category: Industry
Card Push
Dec 10, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Sampath Bank is pushing strongly into credit cards and is already on the third slot and is on track to top 100,000 cards early in 2011, with overall credit conditions also picking up, a top official said. At the moment Standard Chartered and HSBC are the two biggest […]
Fuel Switch
Dec 09, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is looking closely at using liquefied natural gas (LNG) for power generation and transport, according to a note by the island’s petroleum and power ministries. LNG is cheaper than diesel and LPG and also cleaner, producing less harmful emissions, and its high purity results in higher thermal efficiency […]
Sri Lanka CPC gets refuelling facility at new airport
Dec 09, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-owned oil refiner has been given the go-ahead to fund the construction of an aircraft refuelling facility at a new international airport being built in the south, a statement said. It currently operates a refuelling facility at the island’s sole international airport at Katunayake, north of Colombo. The […]
Call Competition
Dec 09, 2010 (LBO) – The removal of a tariff floor by Sri Lanka’s telecommunications regulator could see the resumption of a price war that led to loss among mobile phone operators, Fitch Ratings has warned in a report. “Dialog also benefited from reduced tariff pressure within the mobile industry and its strong market share […]
Convenient Card
Dec 09, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank has begun issuing chip-integrated credit and shopping debit cards under the Visa brand, a statement said. The service of Oberthur Technologies was obtained for the provision of chip cards and chip card personalisation software while equipment provided by Datacard was used for card personalisation. The chip […]
Risky Voyage
NAIROBI, December 9, 2010 (AFP) – Somali pirates have released a Saudi oil tanker along with its 14-member crew which they seized nine months ago after a ransom was paid, a maritime watchdog said on Thursday. One act of piracy out of every two worldwide is carried out off the coasts of Somalia or in […]
Rain Effect
Dec 09, 2010 (LBO) – The scheduled opening of an expressway linking Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo with the south next year will be delayed as heavy rain has impeded construction work on low-lying sections, an official said. The expressway is expected to result in greater economic development of the long-neglected southern region. The first phase […]
Opening Shot
Dec 08, 2010 (LBO) – Shares of Sri Lankan liquid petroleum gas supplier Laugfs Gas, sold at 23 rupees in a public offer, opened higher but came under selling pressure, brokers said. The firm offered 75 million ordinary shares at 23 rupees to raise 1,725 million rupees, and 52 million non-voting shares at 15 rupees […]
Open Door
SAN FRANCISCO, December 8, 2010 (AFP) – Amazon will make its Kindle electronic books available for reading on Web browsers beginning early next year, with people’s digital collections saved in the Internet “cloud.” Amazon executives on Tuesday showed off “Kindle for the Web” at a Google press event introducing a new, swifter version of the […]
Getting Choosy
Dec 08, 2010 (LBO) – Britain intends to restrict entry of foreigners for study with tougher criteria for adult students and stricter accreditation procedures for private sector education providers, a statement said. They aim to ensure students return overseas after their course, limit entitlements to work and to sponsor dependants and simplify procedures for checking […]
Sri Lanka in US cruise call for 2011
Dec 08, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has been included in South Asian cruises run by Zegrahm, a US based cruise company, with calls at three key ports in the island in 2011, according to the travel calendar released by the firm. Sri Lanka ended a 30-year war in May 2009 and the country has […]
Paradise Road
Dec 08, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is considering having “concessionary” bus fares at peak hours to help “private and public workers” one of the country’s transport ministers have told parliament, a media report said The minister for ‘private transport services’ C B Ratnayake was quoted as saying in the Daily Mirror newspaper that a […]