Category: Industry
Sri Lanka in bid to push up hotel room rates
Aug 04, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka plans to impose minimum room rates for hotels in and around the capital Colombo to push up prices following the end of a war which has made the country safer for tourists, government officials said. Bernard Goonetilleke, chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism, the tourism promotion agency, said the […]
Good Quarter
Aug 04, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Pan Asia Banking Corporation (PABC) June quarter profits shot up 346 percent on strong net interest income and higher fee income despite rising bad loans, interim results showed. In the first six months of 2009, the banks performing loan book was up 12.2 percent to 10.66 billion rupees, […]
Bank Trends
Aug 04, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank (HNB) said group net profit shot up 76 percent to 996 million rupees in the June 2009 quarter from a year ago as interest margins improved but loan growth slowed. The balance sheet showed a steep 330 percent increase in holdings of government securities to […]
Repair Job
Aug 04, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Colombo Dockyard said it is getting more business in repairing offshore support vessels for the oil industry and has dedicated two docks for the work.Company officials said profit margins are higher on ship repairs as it involves more value addition and less material than in building new vessels. […]
Freight Move
Aug 04, 2009 (LBO) – A plan to move containers by rail in Sri Lanka and reduce congestion on roads has finally got moving with the state-owned railay making it a priority, a senior official said.“It is our number one priority in future plans,” said P P Wijesekera, General Manager of the Railways Department. “The […]
‘s ton
DAMBULLA, August 3, 2009 (AFP) – Mahela Jayawardene hit his first one-day century in two years as Sri Lanka thumped Pakistan by six wickets on Monday to grab a winning 3-0 lead in the five-match series. The former captain made 123 and shared an opening stand of 202 with Upul Tharanga (76) as the hosts […]
Top Marks
Aug 03, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s low costs has helped it to be ranked among the top 20 global outsourcing destinations for information technology and business process outsourcing (IT/BPO), an industry body said in a statement. The A T Kearney report points out that Sri Lanka has advantages considering its proximity to India, and […]
Slow Quarter
Aug 03, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s DFCC Bank group said June 2009 quarter net profit fell 6.38 percent to 507.1 million rupees from a year ago owing to lower fee-based income, foreign exchange losses and weak returns from strategic investments. DFCC Group’s provisions for bad and doubtful debts had gone up 8.25 percent to […]
Fresh Capital
Aug 03, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Seylan Bank said it plans to issue 86 million ordinary shares at 35 rupees each in a one-for-two public offering to existing shareholders and a private placement with two state-run financial institutions.The current stated capital of Seylan Bank is 2.5 billion rupees comprising of 43.56 million ordinary shares, […]
Trade Links
Aug 03, 2009 (LBO) – A professional body representing Sri Lanka’s transport and logistics sector said it plans to get industry professionals together to lobby for better connectivity and less red tape. “With the end of 30 years of turmoil we’re now in a position to contribute significantly to develop many areas affected by war.” […]
Wider Spread
Aug 02, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Sampath Bank is expanding to the island’s north and the east helping boost an economic revival in the areas after the end of war three decade war, an official said. Sampath sees more potential in area as already business volumes are moving up. “In the eastern region pawning […]
Port View
Aug 02, 2009 (LBO) – The recession that triggered a steep slump in shipping may throw up opportunities for Sri Lanka’s Colombo port, a senior official of a company that has bid for a terminal in the harbour said. Dr Parakrama Dissanayake, chairman, Aitken Spence Maritime, part of the Aitken Spence conglomerate, said the recession […]