Category: Industry
Sri Lanka allays private sector fears over trade deals
Mar 30, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government recognises private sector fears of non-tariff barriers in bilateral trade deals and will not open up the economy against its wishes, a senior minister said.The free trade deal with India, for instance, recognised the asymmetric character of the economic ties between the two countries given their differences […]
Sri Lanka airport firm gets new boss
Mar 30, 2009 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government has appointed Prasanna Wickramasuriya as the new chairman of Airport and Aviation Services Ltd., which runs the island’s airports, from Tuesday, an official said.Airport and Aviation Services also provides air traffic control services and manages the Sri Lanka airspace as well as the Colombo flight information […]
Growing Pool
Mar 30, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s software export industry said it is trying to promote the island as a BPO (business process outsourcing) destination for finance and accounting outsourcing (FAO). The Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies (SLASSCOM) and the Information and Communication Technology Agency recently held meetings in London and Barcelona […]
Branching Out
Mar 30, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Nations Trust Bank (NTB), a unit of John Keells Holdings, is growing its personal banking small business segments to maintain above industry average growth rates during the next four years, an official said. Last year, the bank went through a behind-the-scenes transformation introducing a number of products as […]
Rating Cut
Mar 30, 2009 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has downgraded the long-term rating of Singer Finance (Lanka) Limited (SFL) to BBB-(lka) from ‘BBB(lka)’.The outlook is ‘stable’. “SFL’s rating is linked to Singer Sri Lanka PLC’s (Singer), of which it is a fully-owned subsidiary, and takes into account the implied support assumed to be available from Singer, […]
Strategic Investor
March 27, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank has called for proposals from investors to invest 5.7 billion rupees (about 50 million US dollars) to take a 33 percent stake in Seylan Bank, part of the troubled Ceylinco group. Expressions of interest (EOI) have been invited from local or foreign parties interested in becoming […]
Sri Lanka Insurance Corp gets to renew petroleum cover
March 27, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC), part of the Distilleries group controlled by businessman Harry Jayawardena, has renewed its contract for insurance cover of a government fuel terminal for 120 million rupees.The facility consists of tank farms and pipelines to store and distribute petroleum product.The government said in a statement that […]
Sri Lankan Airlines to wet-lease aircraft to Mihin Air
March 27, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s national carrier SriLankan Airlines will lease a short-haul aircraft to Mihin Air, a state-run budget carrier, at a below market rate, after extending the dry lease of one of its own aircraft, an official said. Mihin Air is now operating with a single aircraft after it was resurrected […]
Banking Abroad
March 27, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank has said it plans to expand its business in Bangladesh and is still considering setting up branches in other Asian countries despite obstacles.“Although it was the bank’s intention to establish a presence in the Far East, we have put these plans on hold in view of […]
Breathing Space
Mar 26, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s The Finance Company, a member of the island’s troubled Ceylinco group, is suspending withdrawals of deposits for three months, while the firm is restructured under new management, officials said. State-run Lankaputhra Development Bank which has been appointed as the firm’s ‘managing agent’ by the Central Bank said interest […]
Big Bank
Mar 26, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run Bank of Ceylon profits have increased 19.2 percent to 3.87 billion rupees in 2008, helped by strong fee income despite interest expenses rising. The bank said its foreign branches in London, Maldives and Indian had performed well in 2008. “Our London branch has come into profits after […]
Extended
Mar 25, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Chevron unit said the island’s government has extended the lease on a land where its blending plant was located for a further five years, ending months of uncertainty. The firm was originally the lubricants division of state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) which was privatized. Chevron Lubricants Lanka Ltd […]