Category: Industry
Sri Lanka-Japan free trade deal possible: statement
July 30, 2010 (LBO) – Japan is willing to consider a request by Sri Lanka for a free trade deal between the two countries, a foreign affairs ministry statement said. Japan has also been one of Sri Lanka’s biggest donors and lenders, helping to fund infrastructure like ports and highways. “The government of Japan will […]
Sri Lanka decides against more coal power
July 30, 2010 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government has decided to change its coal-based power generation plan and not go for more coal plants and instead shift towards renewable energy, power minister Patali Ranawaka said. The previous generation plan envisaged adding about 200 megawatts a year of coal based power plants, he said. A […]
LBO-LBR CEO Forum
July 30, 2010 (LB0) – Recently imposed floor prices on mobile users by the regulator can be removed within two years, while celco operators have themselves to blame for pushing the sector deep into the red, a senior executive said. “None of us are saying that having an anti-market instrument like floor prices is a […]
Lower Profits
July 30, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s PABC Bank’s net profit for the June 2010 quarter fell 60 percent to 83 million rupees from a year earlier, despite lower loan loss provisions, as fee income fell steeply. Interest income fell 17 percent to 704 million rupees amid a falling rate environment and interest expenses fell […]
Sri Lanka to reduce high costs of thermal power plants
July 29, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is giving top priority to cutting high costs of running thermal power plants, encouraging energy conservation measures and shifting to renewable energy sources, minister of power and energy Champika Ranawaka said. “Our short-term plan is to convert high-cost thermal power plants using diesel and heavy fuels into low-cost […]
Sri Lanka Hemas power profits up on hydro gains
July 29, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hemas Power said net profit for the June 2010 quarter shot up 967 percent to 80 million rupees from a year ago on a sharp increase in earnings from hydropower. Sales of the company, a unit of the Hemas Holdings group, fell five percent to 729 million rupees […]
Portable Numbers
July 29, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is ready for mobile number portability, where the subscribers who switch telecom operators can take their personal number with them to the new provider, but the rule should also apply to fixed networks, an industry official said. But Sri Lanka’s fixed access sector is stagnant or shrinking. In […]
Northern Reach
July 29, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank has opened two more branches in the former northern war zone of the Jaffna peninsula where economic activity is reviving, a statement said. “Residents of the Northern Province are now served by 11 Commercial Bank branches and service points with the simultaneous opening of two new […]
Compliance Call
July 29, 2010 (LBO) – Informal entities that have been operating as Islamic financiers in Sri Lanka will have to get their houses in order and become fully compliant with supervisory regulations ahead of a new law on deposit taking, an industry official said. “Some IFIs (Islamic financial institutions), because the owner is a well […]
Tech Ventures
July 28, 2010 (LBO) – Two companies plan to set electronic commerce ventures in Sri Lanka which is promoting itself as a site for business process outsourcing, the Board of Investment said in a statement. The investment promotion agency said it has given investment approval to Senit Technologies and Vingrows Business Solutions to start operations […]
Regional Role
July 28, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka could issue Islamic finance sovereign bonds or ‘Sukuks’ and take the lead in becoming a regional centre for Islamic financial services which other countries with less experience are aiming for, an official said. “Australia and Mauritius have said they want to be hubs for Islamic finance,” says Rushdi […]
Relief Appeal
July 28, 2010 (LBO) – Depositors of a failed Sri Lankan finance company desperate to get their money back want to petition the United Nations human rights council saying their fundamental rights have been violated, a spokeswoman said. Only a few depositors had benefitted from a government repayment scheme for those who had money in […]