Category: Industry
Chamber Award
June 10, 2009 (LBO) – A regional Sri Lankan business chamber has won a top global award for its work after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, in a competition which had entries from 33 countries, the organization said. The member services of the Hambantota chamber, job placement and information technology had also been improved. The […]
‘s Sangakkara eyes bigger wins after taming Aussies
NOTTINGHAM, June 9, 2009 (AFP) – Kumar Sangakkara celebrated his first stint as Sri Lanka’s captain by dumping mighty Australia from the World Twenty20, then warned rivals he was hungry for more scalps.“I can’t ask for more, but this is just the start. We want to continue in the same vein,” he said after the […]
Sri Lanka May tourist arrivals slump
June 09, 2009 (LBO) – Tourist arrivals in to Sri Lanka slumped 20.6 percent in May 2009 to 24,739 from a year ago as a global travel slowdown and fierce fighting that ended the Tamil Tiger insurgency deterred visitors. According to figures put out by Sri Lanka’s tourism office, arrivals from south Asia, the main […]
Losing Quarter
June 08, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s The Finance Company, a unit of the troubled Ceylinco group said it lost 1.3 billion rupees in the March 2009 quarter, as net interest income turned negative and loan loss provisions increased. Investment in real estate was shown as 5,256 million rupees, investments in housing projects 1,140 million […]
Tight Quarter
June 8, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Seylan Bank group said profits fell 99.8 percent to 135,279 rupees in the March 2009 quarter, non performing loans grew steeply and net-interest income fell as its balance sheet contracted. Group net assets were up 1.6 percent to 9,519 million rupees. Gross assets shrank 7.5 percent to 151.7 […]
Box Trade
June 08, 2009 (LBO) – A container terminal in Colombo port in which Sri Lanka’s John Keells Holdings (JKH) group has a big stake said volumes have recovered after five consecutive months of falls.South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT), a key source of profit for JKH which has a 42.2 percent stake in the facility, handled […]
Safety Net
June 06, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank of Ceylon (CBC) has inked a deal with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to underwrite 50 percent of the investment risk in the volatile renewable energy business, a senior bank official said. IFC is sharing the risk in renewable energy projects with us, said Amitha Gooneratne, […]
Below Par
June 06, 2009 (LBO) – Ships calling at Colombo port are still experiencing delays owing to problems in a new computerised terminal management system, shipping agents said. Colombo is south Asia’s transhipment hub port with better cranes than other ports in the region but its computer systems had not been updated for some time. The […]
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June 5, 2009 (LBO) – RAM Ratings Lanka has lifted the outlook on Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation’s (SLIC) ‘AA-‘ claims paying ability to ‘positive’ from ‘stable’, following its return to state hands. “The positive outlook reflects the stronger level of financial flexibility that SLIC is expected to enjoy in the form of Government support,” RAM […]
One Horse
June 5, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Lanka Orix Leasing Company (LOLC) is the sole bidder for a 33 percent stake in Seylan Bank offered by the Central Bank to a strategic partner that can inject equity to the firm, market sources said. “In response to the invitation for fresh bids by the Central Bank […]
Search King
WASHINGTON, June 3, 2009 (AFP) – Google, already the king of Internet search, rolled out an experimental new search product on Wednesday called “Google Squared.” Google Squared does not provide a list of links to Web pages, like with a traditional Google search, but presents information derived from a query in a spreadsheet-like grid called […]
Sri Lanka gets $25mn Indian hotel investment
June 04, 2009 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government said it had approved a proposal by an Indian company to set up a four-star hotel and convention centre with an investment of 25 million US dollars.Media minister Anura Yapa said the unsolicited proposal had been received from Suchirindia Hotel and Resorts in Hyderabad, India. The […]