Category: Industry
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 […]
SriLankan Airlines wins Singapore award for growth
July 28, 2010 (LBO) – SriLankan Airlines has won an award from Singapore’s Changi airport for having the highest growth in traffic to the city state from the region last year, a statement said. The award was for ˜Top Airline by Growth in Passenger Carriage (South Asia)’. Travel between Singapore and Sri Lanka has grown […]
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 […]
Logistical Skills
July 28, 2010 (LBO) – Several batches of transport professionals will graduate from Sri Lankan universities and academies this year, easing a skills shortfall as the island seeks to become a hub for the region, an official said. “This program which is offered through the Faculty of Engineering will produce graduates especially skilled in professional […]
Road Cash
July 27, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has asked for 500 million US dollars from the Asian Development Bank to build a new highway from the island’s capital Colombo which will speed up traffic to the north, officials said. “We are having discussions with the government,” ADB’s country director Richard Vokes told LBO. “We have […]
Paranavitana, Sangakkara torment India with tons
July 26, 2010 (AFP) – Tharanga Paranavitana and Kumar Sangakkara flayed India’s bowlers for centuries in consecutive matches as Sri Lanka dominated the opening day of the second Test on Monday. The left-handed duo, who made hundreds in their victorious first Test in Galle, put on 174 for the second wicket to help the hosts […]