Category: Industry
Sri Lanka Jan 2009 exports, imports fall sharply
March 18, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s trade deficit contracted by 66.5 percent in January 2009 from a year ago to 208 million US dollars as exports and imports fell sharply, the central bank said.Private remittances also fell, largely owing to the strength of the dollar, it said, but exports of apparel, a key industry, […]
State Support
Mar 17, 2009 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan state-run bank that has lent money to a controversial state airline will get a 400 million rupee injection from the Treasury which will strengthen its balance sheet, an official said. In 1993 the government injected 24.088 billion rupees into two state banks and in 1996 another 23.873 […]
Managed Finance
Mar 16, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s The Finance Company, a member of the troubled Ceylinco group, will be run by a former senior state bank executive who has been appointed as ‘managing agent’, officials said. Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said Guy de Silva, a former deputy general manager of state-run Bank of Ceylon, […]
Default Window
Mar 16, 2009 (LBO) – Defaulters in Sri Lanka whose leased assets have been seized by financial institutions will be given a one month window to pay a quarter of their outstanding debt and get back assets without penalties, officials said.When the Central Bank presented to the cabinet of ministers a bailout package to stabilize […]
Scandalous Truth
Mar 15, 2009 (LBO) – India’s Satyam collapsed due to the company pouring millions of dollars into undisclosed real estate assets that delivered inflated profits, but crashed soon after the property bubble burst, a visiting financial expert said. On January 09, 2009, the Bombay stocks plunged more than seven percent when Ramalinga Raju, chairman of […]
Sri Lanka senior players want better security
March 15, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s new cricket captain Kumar Sangakkara and star spinner Muttiah Muralitharan say they want security guarantees on future tours after their team survived an attack in Pakistan.The Sri Lankan team bus was ambushed by armed militants in Lahore on March 3 as it drove towards the Gaddafi stadium during […]
Credit Watch
Mar 14, 2009 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has put the ‘BBB-(lka)’ rating of Sri Lanka’s People’s Merchant Bank (PMB) on a negative watch after the firm said it was taking over an unlisted financial firm whose financial profile was uncertain, the rating agency said.PMB, a listed firm which is 39 percent owned by Sri Lanka’s […]
Takeover Track
March 14, 2009 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka has confirmed the ‘A-(lka)’ rating of People’s Leasing Company (PLC) with a stable outlook following its announcement of a possible takeover of a rival leasing firm, Seylan Merchant Leasing (SML). Fitch said it believes the firm’s stronger financial profile should be able to comfortably absorb SML, which […]
ECB to review investor strategy after Stanford fiasco
LONDON, March 13, 2009 (AFP) – The England and Wales Cricket Board are to review the manner in which they assess potential investors following the collapse of their deal with controversial financier Allen Stanford.The ECB came in for heavy criticism after Stanford was implicated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in a multi-billion dollar […]
Sri Lanka HNB Assurance profit up
March 13, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s HNB Assurance said after tax profit rose 33 percent to 164.5 million rupees in 2008 from a year ago in what was a difficult period for business, helped by investment income from government bonds.Premium rates continued to fall in General Insurance, eroding margins to an unacceptable level, managing […]
Tech Ideas
March 13, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s software industry has teamed up with the British Council to promote technology entrepreneurship among university students. The “Graduate Enterprise Challenge 09” is a contest aimed at grooming the next generation of ‘technology entrepreneurs’, the British Council and Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies (SLASSCOM) said in […]
Bucket Pricing
Mar 13, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan fixed access telco, Lanka Bell has started two packages with batches of free outgoing minutes, intensifying competition in the fixed telephony sector, with market oriented pricing strategies, officials said. It has started a 1,000-minutes-free package for 999 rupees branded ‘Infinity Plus’, where the customer can call any time […]