Category: Industry
Brand Building
Aug 16, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka known as a manufacturing hub for leading international brands and a commodity producer should develop a strategy to build its own brands to earn more and cope with rising costs, a marketing expert said. According to Business Week magazine, in 2008Coco-Cola’s brand value was 66 billion dollars, while […]
Sri Lanka Insurance Corp upgraded by Fitch on taxpayer support
Aug 15, 2009 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings said it has upgraded the rating of Sri Lanka’s largest insurer following its nationalisation on a court order, saying it implied state support if required. Fitch said in a statement that Sri Lanka Insurance Corp’s (SLIC) National Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) has been upgraded to ‘AA-(lka)’ from […]
Fibre Backbone
Aug 15, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka telecom regulator is evaluating expression of interest from seven investors who responded to a call to build a fibre optic backbone for Sri Lanka in partnership with state rail and power utilities, a top official said. Pre-qualified parties would be expected to submit applications by the end of […]
Transport Costs
Aug 15, 2009 (LBO) – Asian shippers meeting in Colombo said they would lobby governments in the region to reform laws to prevent price fixing by shipping lines acting like cartels which they said hurts export-based economies.Sri Lanka Shippers’ Council chairman Randolph Perera said the island lacked the laws to prevent anti-competitive practices by shipping […]
Fuel Loss
Aug 14, 2009 (LBO) – Lanka IOC, a unit of Indian Oil Corporation, said it lost 856.7 million rupees in the June 2009 quarter, down from a profit of 1.0 billion rupees a year earlier, as it was squeezed between high taxes and government mandated prices.The import price of diesel and also kerosene is higher […]
Sri Lanka Allianz unit June net up 219-pct
Aug 14, 2009 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka unit of Allianz Insurance, a German insurer, said net profit for the June 2009 quarter shot up 218.6 percent to 58.6 million rupees from a year ago. Allianz has expanded its branch network to the provinces and now has a presence in Kurunegala, Galle and Negombo. The […]
Sri Lanka July tourism arrivals up 28-pct
Aug 14, 2009 (LBO) – Foreign visitors to Sri Lanka increased 28 percent in July from a year earlier, with Western Europe and South Asia generating markets showing steep increases, the island’s tourism promotion office said. A 30-year internal conflict ended in May with the leadership of Tamil Tiger separatists being wiped out by the […]
Strong Showing
Aug 14, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s NDB Bank group profits grew 45.7 percent to 529.7 million rupees in the June 2009 quarter from a year earlier, on revenues that grew 22.5 percent to 3.79 billion rupees, the company said.Deposits grew 24 percent to 38.5 billion rupees from 31.0 billion in December. NDB group gross […]
Shipping Talks
Aug 14, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shippers said they hope a meeting of Asian shippers in Colombo would strengthen efforts to combat anti-competitive practices of shipping lines and called for government reforms to prevent unfair trade.Randolph Perera, chairman of the Sri Lanka Shippers’ Council (SLSC), said the Asian Shippers’ Council will campaign for eliminating […]
Write Down
Aug 13, 2009 (LBO) – Dialog Telekom, a unit of Malaysia’s Axiata and the island’s top celco said it lost 7.6 billion rupees in the June 2009 quarter on a 6.0 billion rupee one-off write-down of older network equipment. Dialog Broadbband, a fixed and broadband unit had shown revenues of 556 million rupees.Group revenues fell […]
Migrant Impact
Aug 13, 2009 (LBO) – Migrants are left out of current stimulus packages and HIV/AIDS programmes are under threat, according to a new United Nations study.The paper, released at the ninth International Congress on AIDS in Asia and Pacific in Bali this week, said the adverse impact of the financial crisis on health and migration […]
Bank Numbers
Aug 13, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank said group profits rose 2.7 percent to 1,122.1 million rupees in the June 2009 quarter from a year earlier, while revenues rose 2.0 percent to 11.0 billion. Interest income fell 1.3 percent to 8.96 billion, interest expenses rose 1.8 percent to 6.12 billion rupees, causing interest […]