Category: Industry
Derived Rating
Aug 18 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka said it has confirmed Standard Chartered Bank, Sri Lanka Branch’s (SCBSL) National Long-term rating at ‘AAA(lka)’ with a stable outlook. “SCBSL’s rating reflects Standard Chartered Bank’s (SCB) financial strength, of which SCBSL is a branch and part of the same legal entity,” Fitch said in a statement. SCB […]
Equities Foray
Aug 18, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank said a pension fund it manages would increase exposure to equities as government paper, in which it has invested the bulk of money, become less attractive with falling interest rates. The bank said the Employees’ Provident Fund, the biggest fund in the country, has authority to […]
Laying Tracks
Aug 18, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has given another deal to an Indian company to rebuild part of the northern rail track destroyed by war using a soft loan from the Indian government, officials said. The Indian government-owned IRCON International signed the contract with the island’s transport ministry, Tuesday, to rebuild the Medawachchiya-Madhu Road […]
European Link
Aug 17, 2010 (LBO) – Logistics firm DHL has launched a direct Less-than-Container Load (LCL) service from Colombo and Singapore to Koper, Slovenia, improving connectivity with Eastern Europe, a statement said. The direct service, operated by Danmar Lines, DHL Global Forwarding’s in-house carrier, will shorten transit time between Sri Lanka and Singapore with Slovenia. “Small […]
Keel Laying
Aug 17, 2010 (LBO) – Colombo Dockyard has laid the keel for construction of the second vessel of a series of two 130 Ton Bollard Pull Anchor Handling Tug Supply Vessels (AHTSV) Tuesday, a statement said. “The keel laying ceremony signifies the commencement of construction work of the AHTSV, which is one of the biggest […]
Sri Lanka LOLC buys beach resort for Rs310mn
Aug 17, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s LOLC group has bought control of a beach resort on the west coast for 310 million rupees and is in talks with international chains to manage the property, a stock exchange filing said. LOLC said it is holding talks with a “few world-renowned hotel chains” that have shown […]
Bank Numbers
Aug 17, 2010 (LBO) – Hatton National Bank (HNB) group June quarter profits rose 22 percent to 1.22 billion rupees from high interest margins and higher fee based income, while loan loss provision costs had also come down, a stock exchange filing showed. In June quarter 2010, interest income was down 16 percent to 7.57 […]
Electronic Snooping
SAN FRANCISCO, August 16, 2010 (AFP) – Clashes between the maker of Blackberry smart phones and India, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are the latest rounds in a cat-and-mouse game pitting authorities against technologies racing beyond their grasp. “Governments can go to the extreme of simply banning such technologies, but the economic ramifications […]
Supermarket Sweep
Aug 16, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s largest supermarket chain Cargills (Ceylon) group June quarter profits rose 92.3 percent to 312 million rupees from higher sales, better margins and lower finance costs, a stock exchange filing said. Group revenues rose 20.6 percent to 8.94 billion rupees from a year ago while sales cost rose at […]
Sri Lanka KumbukRiver named among top 20 spectacular hotels
Aug 16, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s KumbukRiver has been included in a list of the world’s top 20 most unusual hotels, just announced by an international portal dedicated to the unusual and the audacious, a statement said. The list includes Dubai’s landmark Burj al Arab and the Galactic, the first-ever hotel in space, the […]
Housing Profits
Aug 16, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Bank group June 2010 quarter profits fell 96 percent to 5.3 million rupees from a year ago owing to lower revenues and higher finance costs, interim results showed. HDFC group’s gross assets rose 6.7 percent to 15.1 billion rupees. The state-owned HDFC Bank […]
Combined Entity
Aug 16, 2010 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has withdrawn the ratings of six Sri Lankan Regional Development Banks (RDBs) upon their merger and upgraded those of two which it said reflects its views on the rating of the merged bank. The merged entity with an asset base of 42 billion rupees as at end-June 2010 […]