Category: Industry
Sri Lanka tourist industry draws Russian interest
Feb 11, 2010 (LBO) – Russian investors are keen to invest in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, which is recovering after the end of a 30-year war, a senior official said. Export Development and International Trade Minister Gamini Peiris said Sri Lanka gets a large number of Russian tourists and that Russian companies were keen to […]
Retail Network
Feb 11, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s LB Finance said December quarter net profit rose 47 percent to 123 million rupees from a year ago and that it was expanding its branch network. The company said in a stock exchange filing that total income rose three percent to 1.05 billion rupees in the quarter. Interest […]
Weak Spots
Feb 11, 2010 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings said it has downgraded Sri Lanka’s Abans’ (ABL) National Long-term rating to ‘A-(lka)’ from ‘A(lka)’ with a stable outlook. The downgrade reflects weaknesses in its management information system (MIS), coupled with concerns regarding the quality and timeliness of information provided by the company to Fitch, the rating agency […]
Box Trends
Feb 11, 2010 (LBO) – Cargo volumes at a Colombo port private container terminal in which John Keells Holdings has a big stake rose sharply in January, albeit from a low base the year before as trade recovers from recession. South Asia Gateway Terminals handled 162,890 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent container Units) in January 2010, data […]
’ 30-pct: expert
Feb 10, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s loss-making state power utility, whose rates have been held below cost by successive governments for political reasons, is running a ˜tariff deficit’ of 30 percent, an expert said. Breakeven is not the end of the story but another stage in the process of a more comprehensive tariff reform […]
Sri Lanka rural businesswomen helped by Gap
Feb 10, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan women entrepreneurs in two rural districts are getting soft loans and technical help under a program support by an international apparel firm, the island’s largest business chamber said. The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce through its ‘Youth Business Sri Lanka’ program offers a concessionary credit facility for business start-ups […]
Easy Financials
Feb 10, 2010 (LBO) – An accounting control software which only needs a web browser to access and operate an organization’s financial system has been developed jointly by UK-based Proteus Software and Kingslake of Sri Lanka. Kingslake Sri Lanka in partnership with IBM and a leading local telecommunications company would provide the software for a […]
Bank Health
Feb 10, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s banks have been hit by bad loans in 2009, but have maintained required capital levels and asset quality is improving with the help of low inflation and interest rates, a report by the regulator said. Sri Lanka’s licensed commercial banks have maintained Tier one capital at 11.4 percent […]
Sri Lanka Hemas Power Dec net up 71-pct
Feb 09, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hemas Power said December quarter net profit rose 71 percent to 142 million rupees from a year ago as thermal power generation costs fell and hydro power hit peak output during the rainy period. Sales of the firm, which supplies power to state-run Ceylon Electricity Board and is […]
Chipset
SAN FRANCISCO, February 9, 2010 (AFP) – US technology titans IBM and Intel on Monday rolled out powerful new computer chips designed for businesses continually demanding more from networks and data centers. Intel introduced an Itanium processor 9300 series developed under the code name “Tukwila” that it touts as delivering twice the performance of prior […]
Oil Target
Feb 09, 2010 (LBO) – Gazprom, a Russian oil firm, has held discussions with visiting Sri Lanka president Mahinda Rajapaksa on exploring for oil off the coast of the Indian Ocean island. Cairn has incorporated a local firm to begin oil exploration. Cairn India said the 3D seismic surveys by its local unit, Cairn Lanka, […]
Sri Lanka Eagle renamed Aviva NDB Insurance
Jan 08, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Eagle Insurance, a unit of Aviva, said it plans to change its name to Aviva NDB Insurance to better face anticipated competition from rival global brands in future. The company said in a stock exchange filing its board has sought shareholder approval for the name change to reflect […]