Category: Industry
Bangladesh apparel exports surge as EU buyers shift from Sri Lanka: report
Oct 08, 2010 (LBO) – Bangladesh’s exports of apparel are surging beyond projections as buyers from the European Union shifted orders ahead of Sri Lanka losing preferential duty concessions, a media report said. Sri Lanka has exported 268.1 million US dollars of apparel in July 2010, down 11 percent from 301.3 million US dollars a […]
Sri Lanka to liberalise civil aviation
Oct 08, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is to further liberalise its civil aviation sector and remove flying restrictions with the end of its ethnic war, an official said. The private sector will be given more opportunities to operate hot air balloons, float planes and helicopters, the Civil Aviation Authority director-general H M C Nimalsiri […]
Sri Lanka national carrier to list flight kitchen
Oct 08, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run national carrier SriLankan Airlines is planning to divest a part of its fully owned catering unit through a public listing, Chairman Nishantha Wickramasinghe said. Earlier this week the government said it will divest a 49 percent stake in a gas distributor it planned to buy back from […]
Better Marks
Oct 08, 2010 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has upgraded Sri Lanka’s Dialog Axiata’s (Dialog) national long-term rating to ‘AAA(lka)’ from ‘AA(lka)’, and revised the outlook to stable from negative, a statement said. This is to help mitigate potential currency risk on the scheduled repayments of its US dollar debt, which fall due between 2011 and […]
Sri Lanka tourist arrivals up 24.6-pct in Sept 2010
Oct 08, 2010 (LBO) – Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka rose 24. 6 percent to 47,339 people in September 2010 from a year ago, driven by sharp increases from traditional European markets, tourism office data showed. The island’s peak tourism season coincides with the northern hemisphere winter. In the January-September 2010 period, tourist arrivals were […]
Road Moves
Oct 08, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Road Development Authority has commissioned the Moratuwa University to do a study on the island’s future requirements for expressways and connections with the existing road network, an official said. Road Development Authority chairman Ranjith Premasiri said the survey, being done by transport and logistics experts at the university, […]
Public Issue
Oct 07, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government will sell down a 49 percent stake in a liquid petroleum gas distributor after buying out a controlling stake held by Royal Dutch Shell for 63 million US dollars, a government minister said. Minister Rambukwella said after the state take-over the government will ensure that gas will […]
Gas Status
Oct 07, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Shell Gas unit said operations at the firm would remain unchanged until a sale of its stake is finalized, shortly after the government said it would buy out the oil giant for 63 million US dollars. “We are hopeful a sale purchase agreement will be signed soon,” Shell […]
Sri Lanka, India data exchange mooted to speed up trade
Oct 07, 2010 (LBO) – Trade between India and Sri Lankan could be speeded up and costs reduced by the use of pre-shipment data exchanges driven by security concerns being tested in Western economies, an expert said. The pre-shipment information exchanges are being tried in the West in response to concerns about terrorist infiltration of […]
Marks & Spencer says sales jump in second quarter
LONDON, October 7, 2010 (AFP) – British retailer Marks & Spencer reported a surprisingly big jump in sales during the second quarter of its financial year, driven by clothing and food items, but warned on Thursday about the outlook. Sales on a like-for-like basis, which strips out the effect of new floor space, rose 5.3 […]
Sri Lanka tourist market draws Gulf Air
Oct 07, 2010 (LBO) – Gulf Air, which has resumed flights to Sri Lanka after a war, is aiming for daily frequencies by next summer given the increasing number of Arab tourists visiting the island, officials said. Chief executive Samer Majali said the island’s economic recovery after its 30-year ethnic war is also drawing increasing […]
Gas Buy
Oct 07, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will purchase a 51 percent stake in a liquid petroleum gas distributor in the island from Shell, a Dutch oil firm, for 63 million US dollars the government’s information office said Shell also built a terminal to store gas. See update on this story below with details of […]