Category: Industry
Profit Outlook
LONDON, May 11, 2009 (AFP) – Global banking giant HSBC said on Monday that profits were rising strongly on the basis of first-quarter data and it saw “robust” growth in China and India, while remaining cautious for the year. First-quarter pre-tax profits were “well ahead” of the figure for the same period of last year, […]
Bank Chase
May 9, 2009 (LBO) – Two Sri Lankan financial firms, Lanka Orix Leasing Company and Sampath Bank are most likely to have submitted bids for a one-third stake in Seylan Bank, market sources said. The successful bidder would have to inject at least 5.7 billion rupees to the bank in return for a 33 percent […]
Learning Centre
May 09, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Institute of Technological Studies (ITS) which has formed a partnership with a foreign partnership to start a medical college says its output will be readily absorbed in to healthcare sector.ITS head E M S Edirisinghe, who is also the president of the Oasis, a private hospital says there […]
Sri Lanka gambling on monsoon onset to avoid power cuts
May 8, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has not yet discussed power cuts, a senior government minister said as hydro storage at the country’s state run power utility ran towards a critical level which may trigger compulsory load shedding. CEB now has an installed thermal capacity of 1250MW and 1,100MW of hydro capacity. However the […]
Labour Rights
May 08, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan labour unions have signed co-operation agreements with unions in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait to protect migrant workers™ rights, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said.The agreements, based on an ILO model, are the first of their kind covering Asian migrant workers active in Arab states. The ILO said it […]
Higher Margins
May 08, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Nations Trust Bank (NTB) said group net profit for the March quarter rose 25 percent to 180 million rupees from a year ago.The bottom line was boosted by higher interest income as well as earnings from bond and forex trading although loan growth has slowed. NTB said in […]
Swiss Re back to profitability in first quarter
ZURICH, May 7, 2009 (AFP) – The world’s biggest reinsurer Swiss Re said Thursday it made a profit of 150 million francs in the first quarter, returning to profitability after posting its biggest annual loss in 2008. “We are pleased to report that Swiss Re was able to return to profit in the first quarter […]
Digital Future
WASHINGTON, May 7, 2009 (AFP) – Old Media squared off against New Media on Wednesday as a US Senate panel examined the future of journalism in the digital age. The demise of the newspaper industry took center stage as a Texas newspaper publisher, a former Baltimore Sun reporter, a top executive from Google and the […]
Strong Results
May 07, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Sampath Bank has reported group profits of 397.4 million rupees in the March quarter, up 22 percent over last year, while revenues climbed 18 percent to 6.1 billion rupees on the back of higher state financing. Loan loss provision rose to 423 million rupees but a recovery of […]
Bank Bids
May 07, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank said two short-listed prospective investors have submitted their bids for a controlling stake in Seylan Bank. Seylan is part of the troubled Ceylinco group. Seylan was put under the wings of state-run Bank of Ceylon by the regulator after a run on its deposits triggered by […]
Sri Lanka customs opens cargo inspection facility
May 06, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s customs department opened a new container inspection facility just outside Colombo near the port which senior officials said would help speed up examination of cargo.The facility, at a sprawling warehouse complex of the government food department next to the railway line, was built by a private firm, Rank […]
Sri Lanka cricketers get pay hike
May 05, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has raised salaries of cricketers and doubled the number of players under contract, an official said. Sri Lanka A Squad: Muthumudalige Pushpakumara, Tharanga Paranavithana, Malinga Bandara, Rangana Herath, Dammika Prasad, Chamara Silva, Mahela Udawatte, Gihan Rupasinghe, Suranga Lakmal, Kaushal Silva, Chanaka Welegedara, Isuru Udana, Chaminda Vidanapathirana, Dinesh Deshapriya […]