Category: Industry
Oil Bids
Dec 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is ready to calls for bids for oil exploration in more blocks in the island’s north-west as well as the south, Petroleum Resources Minister A H M Fowzie said.Fowzie said oil and gas discoveries on the Indian side of the Mannar Basin meant there was a better chance […]
Knowledge Drive
Dec 11, 2009 (LBO) – Asia’s drive towards a knowledge economy is being helped by expanding and cheaper telecoms but fresh evidence-based policy interventions could speed this up, regulators and academics said at a policy forum in Colombo. Avoiding Miss-steps “The biggest contribution from research is not what is adopted, but what is not adopted,” […]
Offshore Edge
Dec 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan, which is trying to attract more information technology outsource business, said a recent survey shows an increasing number of British small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are considering outsourcing work. One in five British SMEs are considering offshoring in 2010 as they seek to reduce labour costs to enable […]
Rate Rap
Dec 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank has asked banks to sharply reduce interest rates charged on credit cards, saying they had enough room to do so as interest rates in general had fallen.The Central Bank said in November that Treasury bill yields have fallen 947 to 950 basis points at primary auctions […]
Box Move
Dec 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Colombo port stands to gain more container transhipment business with Maersk, the world biggest container shipping line by volume, deciding to stop direct calls at Chennai, officials said.Maersk Lines’ parent A P Moller-Maersk has reported a loss of 778 million dollars for the first nine months of the […]
Sangakkara powers Sri Lanka to win
NAGPUR, December 9, 2009 (AFP) – Kumar Sangakkara smashed a career-best 78 off just 37 balls to set up Sri Lanka’s 29-run win in the first Twenty20 international against India here on Wednesday. India paid the price for some sloppy fielding with Yuvraj Singh dropping a sitter at point when Jayasuriya (26) was on two, […]
Sri Lanka alcohol producer to enter insurance business
Dec 10, 2009 (LBO) – Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka said it is seeking regulator clearance to launch an insurance company with a startup capital of 500 million rupees after losing control of a former state-owned insurance company. Distilleries shares opened Thursday trading at 96.00 rupees, after closing the previous day down 75 cents. Distilleries […]
Sri Lanka Distilleries in bid re-enter insurance
Dec 10, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Distilleries group said it had applied to the regulator for a license to start an insurance company, after it lost the country’s largest insurer by assets on a court reversal of a privatization deal. The group controlled Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation until last year, when Sri Lanka’s Supreme […]
Expansion
Dec 10, 2009 (LBO) – Mphasis, an Indian outsourcing firm, is opening a centre in Colombo which will offer legal, finance and accounting services starting with 600 people in the first stage, as a downturn is ending, officials said.“We have a fairly well established global footprint and with the Colombo office we are expanding it […]
Retail Chain
Dec 10, 2009 (LBO) – Cargills (Ceylon) group, which runs Sri Lanka’s largest retail chain, said it plans to open 100 more supermarkets in all the island’s 25 districts in the next few years.The company said last month that net profits in the September 2009 quarter rose 35 percent to 139 million rupees from a […]
Sri Lanka begins groundwork for wind power
Dec 09, 2009 (LBO) – Groundwork for Sri Lanka’s largest wind power project has begun ahead of its launch in May next year, with the contract for logistics services given to global firm, Agility Project Logistics. The company has handled over 210 major projects in the past five years and has operations in 120 countries. […]
Sri Lanka war risk insurance costly, says cruise line
Dec 09, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s continued listing for war risk insurance is costly for shipping lines calling at Colombo port, a cruise line official said.Khosa said Louis Cruises is offering cruises starting from an all-inclusive rate of 100 dollars a night per passenger accommodated in a basic cabin, and going up to 250 […]