Category: Industry
Mahela Jayawardene rules out Sri Lankan political career
June 12, 2010 (LBO) Sri Lanka’s former cricket captain Mahela Jayawardene has ruled out a political career, opting instead to help people through his various charity projects. “Politics is out,” the stylish right-hand batsman told a group of Colombo-based businessmen at a fund raiser for cancer, Colours of Courage. “My wife has threatened to divorce […]
China signs trade deals with Sri Lanka
June 12, 2010 (AFP) – Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Dejiang held talks with Sri Lanka’s president Saturday after signing six trade and economic deals, the president’s office said in a statement. Zhang had a breakfast meeting with President Mahinda Rajapakse and the two reviewed ongoing Chinese-assisted infrastructure projects. “Today’s meeting followed the signing of agreements between […]
Sri Lanka warns private power producers
June 12, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has warned private power producers that it could go against deals signed to sell power to a state-run power distributor with the government getting into a new drive to cut the utilities losses. Though the plants are governed by tight and complex agreements minister Ranawaka says the government […]
Direct Links
June 11, 2010 (LBO) – Mobile phone applications have the potential to reduce the gap between rich and poor in developing countries like Sri Lanka, the island’s minister of technology and research said. The mobile phone is joining the personal computer and television in empowering people and giving them access to information to make their […]
Maritime Ventures
June 11, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence group said its maritime transportation business division is considering setting up a maritime campus overseas as part of efforts to develop its ports and shipping business abroad. The firm won a ship planning contract for the African ports of Durban, Cape Town and Ngqura during the […]
Risk Rating
June 11, 2010 (LBO) – London underwriters have removed Sri Lanka from the area listed for war risk insurance following lobbying by the island’s government that risks have been eliminated with the end of the ethnic war. A statement from the Joint War Committee in London said it recently reviewed the Listed Areas for Hull […]
Sri Lanka plans new tariffs to smoothen power peaks
June 10, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka state-run Ceylon Electricity Board is devising new tariffs with low off peak rates and penal peak rates to smoothen the daily peak load and push some industrial activities to low demand hours, officials said. At the moment industries get subsidized tariffs, while commercial and large households pay higher […]
Health Hopes
June 10, 2010 (LBO) – A new hospital in Sri Lanka’s Asiri healthcare group is set to break-even and generate positive cashflows despite overshooting its construction budget by 20 percent, an official said. The Central hospital, which started operations two months ago and cost 5.5 billion to build, is generating enough cash flows to be […]
Education Promises
June 10, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s newly appointed higher education ministry has promised better syllabuses, elimination of ‘ragging’ of freshmen and stronger English language skills to boost the employability of graduates from state universities. Dissanayake who is also a state university graduate and former activist, said the current academic syllabus taught at universities will […]
Steady Steps
June 10, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Citizens Development Business Finance says it has maintained profitability and managed non performing loans last year in a tough operating environment and is now looking to expand. The firm has changed its financial year from December to March and posted revenues of 1.9 billion rupees for the 15 […]
Sri Lanka businesses say Vietnam embassy needed to boost trade
June 09, 2010 (LBO) – Trade and economic links with Vietnam could grow fast if Hanoi sets up an embassy in Colombo to grease official clearances and visas, Sri Lankan businessmen told a visiting Vietnamese minister. The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce formed a Sri Lanka – Vietnam Business Council Tuesday in the presence of visiting […]
Sri Lankan state airline appoints two directors
June 09, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan Airlines had appointed two new directors from private sector firms to its board, and has re-appointed existing directors, the airlines said, with the government on track to buy back a minority stake from Emirates. The airline said it was about to launch a new service to Shanghai, and […]