Category: Industry
Bank Sale
Dec 27, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Ceylinco group will exit Seylan Bank, a licensed commercial bank, as part of a strategy to raise funds and repay depositors in a troubled group company, chairman Lalith Kotelawala said in a public statement. Golden Key Credit Card Company failed to repay customers who had placed funds in […]
Calming Statement
Dec 27, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank says it is ready to intervene if there is a risk to a registered or licensed financial institution following reported depositor ‘stress’ at some regulated Ceylinco group companies. Earlier on Saturday Ceylinco group chairman Lalith Kotelawala, said in a public advertisement that the group was selling […]
Car Plan
BEIJING, December 27, 2008 (AFP) – China plans to offer incentives for car owners to scrap their old models in favour of new ones, in a bid to lift the auto industry as it enters a period of crisis, state media said Saturday. The measure is part of a new package being prepared in Beijing […]
Petrol Saga
Dec 27, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s main opposition United National Party (UNP) plans to file a contempt-of-court case against the government for its refusal to obey a Supreme Court order to reduce petrol prices, a media report said. The Daily Mirror newspaper said UNP wants to file a contempt-of-court case against the Cabinet, the […]
Sri Lanka gives go-ahead for Pakistan cricket tour
December 26, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has given the green light for the national cricket team to tour Pakistan next month in place of India, who cancelled their five-week series over the Mumbai attacks. The Pakistan Cricket Board said it was set to lose at least 25 million dollars as a result of the […]
Sri Lankan rupee overvaluation hurting apparel orders, jobs
Dec 26, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s apparel exporters could win back 15 percent of orders now lost due to an overvalued rupee caused by high domestic inflation, if there was a realistic exchange rate, an industry official said. The Sri Lanka rupee has fallen against the US dollar in December after the Central Bank […]
China Plan
BEIJING, December 25, 2008 (AFP) – China has started filling tanks at its largest oil reserve, taking advantage of tumbling world crude prices, state media reported Thursday. The aim of the reserves is to guarantee supply in times of need as the nation’s a growing economy demands ever-more energy to fuel the factories that supply […]
Volatile Price
Dec 24, 2008 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka unit of the Indian Oil Corporation, which slashed petrol prices in response to a Supreme Court order, raised the retail prices back to the earlier level of 122 rupees Wednesday. The entire capital budget of the government is also financed out of debt, and the government has […]
Northern Reach
Dec 24, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank said it would offer ‘Saturday banking’ services at its Nelliady branch in the northern Jaffna peninsula, once a hot-bed of Tamil Tiger insurgency. With effect from January 1, 2009, the branch located in MMV Road, Nelliady, will be open on Saturdays from 9.00 a.m. to 1.30. […]
Rate Spike
Dec 24, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s rates spiked, despite excess liquidity and uncertainty heightened amid problems at a Ceylinco group company in a market that was already hurt by unpaid inter bank hedging contracts, dealers said.On Wednesday market excess liquidity rose to 10.6 billion rupees, though the central bank had lent 2.9 billion rupees […]
Harbour Moves
Dec 24, (2008) – The Sri Lankan government is trying to expedite a long-delayed project to call for private investors to build a new terminal in Colombo port, a senior ministry of ports and aviation official said.Ministry secretary Thosapala Hewage the attorney-general, the chief government legal officer, recently gave his opinion on the request for […]
Golden Key
Dec 23, 2008 (LBO) – Thousands of anxious customers of Sri Lanka’s Golden Key Credit Card Company flocked to a conference hall in Colombo to meet Ceylinco group chairman Lalith Kotelawala, and get information on the status of their funds. Golden Key asked customers to come to the BMICH conference hall in Sri Lanka’s capital […]