Category: Industry
Sri Lanka to light up remaining pockets: minister
June 03, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is to light up the entire island by expanding the national distribution network at a cost of 250 million US dollars over the next two years and providing off-grid solutions to the remotest areas, officials said. The CEB had lined up about 250 million US dollars in local […]
Sri Lanka Kuruwita Textiles back in profit
June 03, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Kuruwita Textile Mills said it returned to profit in the 2010 financial year from losses the year before although a sharp increase in raw material prices caused a loss in the fourth quarter. The firm, which supplies treated fabric to garment manufacturers, made a net profit of 15.6 […]
Film Awards
June 3, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s cricket captain Thursday applauded the “courage” of stars attending the annual Bollywood film awards being held this year in Sri Lanka despite a boycott call by the Tamil cinema industry. Kumar Sangakkara said the Bollywood celebrities who have already arrived in Colombo for Saturday’s glitzy Indian International Film […]
Credit Enhancement
NEW YORK, June 3, 2010 (AFP) – Credit rating agencies came under fire for their role in the global financial crisis Wednesday, as US investigators grilled senior industry figures, including mega-investor Warren Buffett. Answering allegations that rating firms helped propel the sale of risky investments that poisoned the global financial system, senior officials from Moody’s […]
Sri Lanka power utility to lose Rs40bn in 2010
June 02, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run power utility Ceylon Electricity Board is expected to lose 40 billion rupees (350 million US dollars) in 2010 and short term debt is mounting but there are plans to turn the utility around, officials said. The CEB is expected to earn 120 billion rupees as revenue in […]
Retail Focus
June 02, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Richard Pieris and Company said it plans to expand its network of ‘Arpico’ shopping malls in its retail business which is considered the group’s main engine of growth. Chairman and chief executive Sena Yaddehige said the retail sector has been one of the most “growth-oriented” arms of the […]
Bank Sale
June 02, 2010 (LBO) – A 9.8 percent slice of Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank of Ceylon was sold by 30 percent shareholder DFCC Bank to a foreign buyer for 5.8 billion rupees, brokers said. The 9.988 percent stake in Commercial Bank falls short of the 10 percent regulatory limit on bank shareholding set by the […]
Cash Flow
June 02, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s The Finance Company (TFC) cash flows have turned positive after a run on deposits in early 2009 and its real estate business has returned to profitability on higher sales, a senior official “The company has returned to normal and has a positive cash flow now,” Kamal Yatawara, chief […]
Sri Lanka to test first coal power plant by Sept: minister
June 01, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will start testing its first 300 MegaWatt coal power plant in September with plans to connect it to the national distribution grid by January 2011, power minister Patali Ranawaka said. Coal is expected to reduce the costs of power generation. The CEB is expecting to lose about 40 […]
Hot Seats
June 01, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan public will get 100 seats but VIPs will get 400 seats at a India film awards venue in the island’s capital, officials said, though hundreds of millions of rupees of public money is being spent, including to spruce up the venue. The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards […]
Tele Share
June 01, 2010 (LBO) – Korean electronics maker Samsung said it was eyeing a 30 percent share in Sri Lanka’s growing flat panel television market with an intensified marketing drive as the overall domestic market is also set for higher growth. Samsung West Asia chief JungSoo Shin said his firm had market leadership status for […]
Sri Lanka to hire cruise liner for World Cup fans
June 1, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka plans to hire a cruise liner to accommodate cricket World Cup fans and spectators at the newly built stadium in the island’s south, an official said on Tuesday. The six-million dollar stadium in Hambantota, President Mahinda Rajapakse’s hometown, lacks hotels to accommodate thousands of fans expected to watch […]