Category: Industry
Banking Reach
Apr 15, 2010 (LBO) – Commercial banks are opening branches in Sri Lanka’s former war zone in the north and east and are also ready to increase lending to the region, the Central Bank said. “Several licensed banks are showing keen interest to facilitate economic activities in the Northern and Eastern provinces,” it said in […]
Bus Loss
Apr 15, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state bus service had lost 5,183 million rupees in 2009 despite getting another 4,135 million rupee handout in peoples’ money from the Treasury for operating ‘uneconomic routes’, the latest official data reveals. SLTB data showed that its workforce had increased to 35,895 in 2009 from 34,074 in 2008. […]
Iran to buy more Sri Lankan tea: government
April 14, 2010 (AFP) – Iran plans nearly to double its purchase of Sri Lankan tea, the island’s main export commodity, Sri Lanka’s government said Wednesday, announcing a move that could boost tea prices. Sri Lanka’s tea promotion board said they expected the Iranian move to further strengthen prices, which have risen by 29. 47 […]
Sri Lanka exporters demand streamlined customs
Apr 13, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan exporters have called for more streamlined customs clearance to help reduce costs and be more competitive in overseas markets. Although clearing facilities are available for airfreight cargo round-the-clock, seven days of the week, “in regard to other cargo only perishable cargo is provided such a facility,” the NCE […]
Sri Lanka state power, petroleum utilities could be listed: Central Bank
Apr 13, 2010 (LBO) – Units of Sri Lanka’s state petroleum and power utilities could be listed in the Colombo Stock exchange to broad base their ownership and make them more transparent and accountable, the Central Bank has said. Last year the state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation had lost 12. 3 billion rupees partly due to […]
‘s tennis star Mirza
HYDERABAD, April 12, 2010 (AFP) – Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik and Indian tennis star Sania Mirza married Monday after a troubled engagement in a union that bridges the two nations’ bitter sporting and political divide. The wedding was the final chapter in a complex and often contradictory saga during which Malik consistently denied claims by […]
Bunker Business
Apr 12, 2010 (LBO) – Indian Oil Corp’s Sri Lankan unit aims to expand bunker sales by selling fuel to ships passing the island, a much bigger market than the vessels which call at Colombo port, officials said. With bunker prices falling and the price difference between Colombo and Singapore narrowing, more ships have begun […]
Re Poll
April 11, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka will rerun voting at 18 polling booths where last week’s parliamentary election was affected by violence, officials said Sunday. The elections department cancelled voting at the booths in two electoral districts after allegations of intimidation and other violence. The final official results have yet to be declared because […]
Sri Lanka March tourist arrivals up 53.7-pct
Apr 08, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s March 2010 tourist arrivals rose 53.7 percent to 52,352 from a year earlier with more visitors from Western Europe, Middle East and South Asia, tourist promotions office data showed. Arrivals from Western Europe was up 52.3 percent to 69,877, Middle East 106 percent to 7,352, South Asia 53.4 […]
Sri Lanka exports down in January as apparel shipments fall
Apr 08, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s exports fell in January 2010 owing to a sharp fall in apparel shipments, the island’s main industrial export, despite higher agricultural export earnings, interrupting a recovery in the export sector, the Central Bank said. The bank said in a statement that exports fell 3. 9 percent to 472 […]
Sri Lankans wireline phones drop with mobile growth
Apr 17, 2010 (LBO) – Use of wireline phones, supplied only by the listed Sri Lanka Telecom, a former state monopoly, is on the decline, with subscribers shifting to mobile phones, the latest official data showed. The number of mobile connections increased by 25.9 percent to 13.9 million in 2009 from the year before, while […]
Sri Lanka plans $230mn waste energy plant
Apr 07, 2010 (LBO) – A Malaysian-Bahraini joint venture, Orizon Renewable Energy, plans to invest 230 million US dollars in Sri Lanka to set up a power plant that will generate energy from solid waste, the investment promotion agency said. “It also will ensure that no more lands are allocated to landfills.” A M C […]