Category: Industry
Niche Focus
Dec 15, 2010 (LBO) – RAM Ratings Lanka has upgraded Co-operative Insurance Company Limited’s (CICL) claims-paying ability rating to BB+ from BB with a stable outlook, a statement said. “The upgrade is reflective of the company’s strengthened capitalisation and improving financial performance,” the rating agency said. “Moreover, the rating is supported by CICL’s niche focus […]
Data Transfer
Dec 14, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), the island’s biggest fixed line operator, has increased broadband speeds for customers after upgrading its international internet capacity and improving links with service providers, a statement said. SLT added more than 80,000 new broadband (ADSL) customers during this year, connecting people from all parts of the […]
Sri Lanka made regional hub by Thai leisure chain
Dec 14, 2010 (LBO) – Thailand-based Six Senses Resorts and Spas is planning a regional headquarters in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo to own and manage up to 200 million dollars in leisure assets in the Indian Ocean, chairman Sonu Shivdasani said. It is also building a 40 million dollar hotel with Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence […]
Asset Quality
Dec 14, 2010 (LBO) – RAM Ratings Lanka has given Citizens Development Business Finance (CDB) a long-term financial institution rating of BBB- with a stable outlook and rated short-term debt at P3, a statement said. “The company’s ratings are upheld by its improving performance and healthy asset quality,” the rating agency said. “Nonetheless, the ratings […]
Tax Break
Dec 14, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has approved tax cuts up to 50 percent of car import prices to senior state sector workers after nearly halving tariffs on motor vehicles a few months ago, a finance ministry circular showed. Until recently ordinary Sri Lankan’s were paying vehicles import taxes of over 300 percent, while […]
Ad Battle
NEW YORK, December 13, 2010 (AFP) – Facebook is challenging Google’s supremacy on the Internet with a radically different approach to how people live, work, play and search online. While Google delivers search results selected by algorithms that take into account a user’s Web history, Facebook boasts a richer level of personalisation based on one’s […]
Joint Effort
Dec 13, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s investment professionals body has tied up with the island’s software trade group to promote finance business process outsourcing, a statement said. SLASSCOM wants to help the IT-BPO industry increase export revenues. The deal aims to exploit growing demand for Sri Lankan financial professionals from BPO and information technology […]
Sri Lanka draws Mövenpick Hotels in management deal
Dec 13, 2010 (LBO) – The Swiss hotel chain Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has won a management agreement to operate the Mövenpick Hotel Colombo, a 180-room property in Sri Lanka, a statement said. Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, a hotel management company with over 12,000 employees, has over 90 hotels existing or under construction in 26 […]
Sub Prime
Dec 13, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s finance companies, the island’s sub-prime lenders, have returned to profits and strengthened capital, but bad loans were still high as the sector recovered from a downturn, a report by the regulator shows. Bad loans at registered finance companies rose to 11. 7 percent of gross loans by June […]
Prime Trend
Dec 13, 2010 (LBO) – Bad loans at Sri Lanka’s commercial banks are falling, and profits are rising and credit growth is picking up as the economy recovers and a leaves behind the effects of a burst bubble, a report by the island’s banking regulator shows. Pre-tax profits had risen to 35 billion rupees at […]
Credit Control
Dec 13, 2010 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka has confirmed Senkadagala Finance Company’s (SFC) national long-term rating at ‘BBB+(lka)’ with a stable outlook, a statement said. The company was established in 1968 by the Balasuriya family, who own 90 percent of SFC’s equity. “SFC’s rating reflects its long operating history and good capital structure, as […]
Boat Business
Dec 13, 2010 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan boat yard taken over and revived by Dubai-based interests delivered a trawler for an African client last week and plans to meet Indian navy requirements for small patrol boats, officials said. Solas Marine Lanka is part of Solas Marine Services group, a Dubai-based multinational providing services to […]