Category: Industry
Tricky Position
Nov 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s supreme court said petroleum minister A H M Fowzie should be removed, in a case where controversial oil hedges by a state-run petro firm were challenged in a public interest petition. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 The […]
Oil Bets
Nov 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s supreme court has ordered the state-owned oil refiner, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), to suspend controversial hedge payments to banks until a central bank probe into the matter is over. CPC chairman Ashantha de Mel has maintained that the deals were done on cabinet instructions which had not allowed […]
Tele Performance
Nov 28, 2008 (LBO) – Profits of Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) group, the island’s largest fixed access carrier, fell 31 percent to 1,235 million rupees with revenues growing 4 percent to 11,691 million in the quarter ended September 2008. The stand alone fixed access unit, which excludes the cellular subsidiary Mobitel, saw profits fall 45 […]
Sri Lanka hoteliers brace for tough winter
Nov 28, 2008 Sri Lanka’s hoteliers are bracing for a tough winter season with occupancy levels being hit by cancellations amid global turmoil while the industry was already struggling with weak arrivals, officials said. Though hotels are pressured to bring down room rates, officials say they are hoping to give value added services and improve […]
Steady State
Nov 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s National Development Bank’s net profits for the September 2008 quarter rose 18 percent to 351 million rupees, interim accounts showed, while revenues climbed 20 percent to 3,169 million rupees. During the 9-months to September, performing loans and advances had growth 15 percent to 57.2 billion rupees. Total deposits […]
Hatton Profits
Nov 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank group profits were up 6 percent to 807.3 million rupees with revenues up 16 percent to 9,665.3 million rupees in the 9-months to September, accounts filed with the Colombo Stock Exchange showed. Group gross assets were 256.5 billion rupees, up 6 percent from December 2007 […]
Hedge Probe
Nov 27, 2008 (LBO) – A team of Sri Lankan ministers is probing an oil hedge that could lose hundreds of millions of dollars to a state-run oil retailer amidst claims that the oil retailer had not informed the cabinet clearly about risks of derivatives trading. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog […]
James Bond
Nov 26, 2008 (LBO) – An Aston Martin car, believed to be one of few such vehicles in Sri Lanka has been seized following action filed by HSBC Bank, lawyers said. Sri Lanka’s banking sector has seen a spike in non-performing loans, after interest rates rose. The car had been seized Wednesday under an order […]
Zimbabwe batsmen recover but Sri Lanka take series
HARARE, November 24, 2008 (AFP) – A transformation in Zimbabwe’s batting almost earned them a shock victory over Sri Lanka here Monday in the third of five internationals. They followed the Sri Lanka score of 171 for seven in the allocated 28 overs following morning rain with 166 for seven to lose by only five […]
Sri Lanka Cricket hunts for new sponsors
Nov 25, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Cricket has sought new commercial deals to sponsor the national team during their local and foreign tours, which include a visit to India. SLC’s main source of revenue comes from selling television rights.
Banking Profits
Nov 25, 2008 (LBO) – Profits at HSBC Sri Lanka has increased 94 percent to 1,664 million rupees in the first 9-months of 2008 despite large loan write-offs and rising interest expenses, published interim accounts showed. Interest income grew 22 percent to 14.1 billion rupees, interest expenses grew 31 percent to 6,450 million rupees while […]
Hub Threats
Nov 25, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Colombo harbour needs to reduce dependence on the Indian sub-continent and expand its coverage to get cargo from elsewhere in order to emerge as a true global hub port, a senior port professional says. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send […]