Category: Industry
Pay Back
April 17, 2009 (LBO) – The pay TV business of Sri Lanka’s Dialog Telekom group will take time to become profitable, with break even estimated at around 250,000 customers, its chief executive Hans Wijayasuriya said. Losses in the pay TV business of the company, a unit of Telekom Malaysia, contributed to an annual group loss […]
Hurting Sri Lankans happy to be back in action
April 16, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan cricketers will be wary, changed men when they line-up at the IPL, their first foreign assignment since they were caught up in the bloodbath of Lahore. On March 3, gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan team bus en route for the third day of the second Test against Pakistan […]
SIA says passenger numbers dived in March
SINGAPORE, April 16, 2009 (AFP) – Singapore Airlines (SIA) said on Thursday that passenger numbers plummeted in March as the global downturn continues to weigh on travel demand. The carrier, majority owned by Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings, reported a 42.8 percent fall in net profit in the third quarter to December, to 337 […]
Medical Mediator
April 16, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s insurance ombudsman has advocated the creation of a similar office to cover the island’s rapidly growing private hospital sector and settle complaints by patients. Wickrama Weerasooriya said the concept of ombudsman is now proving to bring quick relief while legal delays could be attributed to lawyers and litigation […]
Port Proposals
April 16, 2009 (LBO) – Fourteen potential investors have collected bid documents to build and operate a container terminal in a new port coming up next to Colombo harbour, Sri Lankan government officials said. A notable absence is Dubai Ports World, another big global port operator, which is heavily involved in operating container terminals in […]
Sri Lanka gets ADB funds for power projects
April 15, 2009 (LBO) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it will provide 160 million US dollars in loans to Sri Lanka to expand and improve electricity services, especially to the poor and those living in conflict-affected areas. The funds will be used to support energy efficiency improvements, to develop the use of renewable […]
Bank Bid
April 15, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Sampath Bank said it has submitted an Expression of Interest to the Central Bank to buy a stake in Seylan Bank, part of the troubled Ceylinco group. The Sampath Bank announcement was in a stock exchange filing that gave no other details. The bank was responding to an […]
Higher Costs
April 15, 2009 (LBO) – A Chinese contractor building a part of an expressway to Sri Lanka’s south has more than doubled the original contract value following cost escalations and a decision to widen the road.The cost of building the section of road from Kottawa in the suburbs of Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo to Dodangoda, […]
‘ Burden
April 15, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s over-staffed and inefficient state-owned bus and railway services made heavy losses in 2008 despite higher revenues after fare increases, the central bank said. Still, despite the average railway fare increase of 42 percent in 2008, it was not enough to generate a profit. “However, the fare revision in […]
Australian parliament examines sports news row
CANBERRA, April 14, 2009 (AFP) – Australia’s Senate will this week examine a critical dispute between sports administrators and global media over the use of digital technology to cover sporting events. The issue has become increasingly controversial, sparking media boycotts of major events as sports bodies seek to impose strict conditions on how games are […]
Sri Lanka Eagle Insurance says competition eroding profitability
Apr 14, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Eagle Insurance, whose 2008 profits fell 12.0 percent to 463.7 million rupees, says it faces tough competition in motor insurance, higher claims and increasing lapse rates. Eagle Insurance Group’s holdings of government securities have increased by 17.1 percent or 1.65 billion rupees, to 11.6 billion. Interest income from […]
Steady Numbers
Apr 13, 2009 (LBO) – Profits at Sri Lanka’s Pan Asia Bank has grown 3.5 percent to 223 million rupees in the full-year 2008, through strong net interest margins were eroded by high taxes, the bank’s annual report shows. Interest income shot up 45.5 percent to 2.86 billion rupees, interest expenses increased 46.9 percent to […]