Cooling Ardour

Aug 27, 2010 (LBO) – PC House, a Sri Lankan information technology company which debuted on the stock exchange this week, closed below its issue price of 11 rupees Friday, the second day of trading, brokers said. The share opened the day’s trading at 10. 90 rupees, went down to 9.90 and closed at 10.00 […]

Biomed Skills

Aug 27, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is laying the foundation to build a biomedical sector by offering courses in the subject based on British standards to train much needed human resources, educators said. “The development of the human capital base of the country is an important factor for that country to attain a sustainable […]

Arabian Fright

August 27, 2010 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan housemaid who had 24 nails embedded in her body — allegedly by her Saudi employer — was recovering in hospital Friday after doctors removed 18 of them during a three-hour surgery. L.T. Ariyawathi, 49, said her employer in Saudi Arabia had inflicted the injuries on her as […]

Sri Lanka hotel group exits loss-making Maldives resort

Aug 27, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s John Keells Holdings (JKH) group said it had exited from an island further away from the capital of the Indian Ocean archipelago of Maldives, and extended its lease at a more profitable resort. But the Alidhoo island was making losses, and Dhonveli was more profitable the firm said. […]

Sri Lanka to withdraw visa on arrival: public notice

Aug 27, 2010 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government has decided to withdraw the on-arrival visa facility to tourists from September 30, 2010, a public notice said. The Department of Immigration & Emigration website said on-arrival visas will be given only to visitors from countries that reciprocate. No reason was given for the change and […]

Mindset Change

Aug 27, 2010 (LBO) – A top Sri Lankan banker has urged a shift to loans based on cash-flows, not assets, and more lending to people in the north-east of money mopped up by new branches in the former war zone. Rajendra Theagarajah, chief executive of the private listed Hatton National Bank, said banks should […]

No Access

August 26, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has blocked over 100 porn websites that allegedly feature local men and women, the government said Thursday, in its biggest yet Internet censorship move. The Sri Lankan Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) has been asked to prevent users in the country accessing some 107 adult websites, the government information […]

Bank Numbers

Aug 26, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Union Bank said net profits rose 54 percent to 50 million rupees in the half year to June 2010 from a year ago as margins improved and that it plans to have more branches. Interest income fell 10 percent to 858 million rupees while interest expenses fell at […]

Small Lender

Aug 25, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Sanasa Development Bank (SDB), a small lender from the co-operative movement, has retained its ‘BBB’ local long term rating with a stable outlook, RAM Ratings Lanka said. “Despite its high-risk target market, SDB has been able to maintain its better-than-industry asset quality, supported by its stringent credit evaluation […]

Lifting Boost

Aug 24, 2010 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Ports Authority is to borrow 62. 5 million US dollars from the state-owned Bank of Ceylon to fund the acquisition of new cargo handling cranes from China, a statement said. The SLPA statement said it will buy one crane of 50 tonne capacity, two cranes of 41 […]

New Entrant

Aug 23, 2010 (LBO) – PC House, a tech company which completed an Initial Public Offering earlier this month, is to start trading on August 26, 2010, a stock exchange filing said. PC House will be listed under the main board of the Colombo Stock Exchange and will be classified under the IT (information technology) […]

Gainful Moves

Aug 23, 2010 (LBO) – A planned expressway between Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo and Kandy in the central hills will significantly reduce transport costs and connect under-developed regions with developed ones, a new World Bank study said. “Islandwide expenditure on transport will decline from 155 million rupees a day to 127 million rupees, a reduction […]

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