Category: Industry
Competition
Sept 09, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka incumbent mobile operators say the industry has healthy competition and are denying claims by new rival, India’s Airtel that anti-competitive practices in interconnection are keeping prices high.Sri Lanka’s Dialog, Hutch, Mobitel and Tigo says the country’s mobile penetration reached 38 percent at the end of 2007, which was […]
Digital President
Sept 09, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has a ‘digital president’ who is strongly backing the spread of information communications technology (ICT) in the country, International Telecommunications Union (ITU) chief Toure Hamadoun said.Sri Lanka now had 44 percent mobile penetration, which was double that of India. It was the first country in South Asia to […]
Sri Lanka to build premium tourism zone; offers 14 islands
Sept 09, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is to offer a new tourism zone for development in Kalpitiya in the country’s north western coast, which has 14 islands in which to build eco-friendly resorts, officials said. Tourism secretary George Michael says the area with 14 islands contains 4,000 acres for development. Galhena said requests for […]
Bunker Deadline
Sept 08, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has given the bunkering unit of John Keells Holdings (JKH) till September 12 to vacate a tank farm, and the company has been ordered to pay compensation to workers, lawyers said. LMS earlier sought and received time till September 10 to take away its oil stocks […]
Broad Backbone
Sept 08, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is planning an optical fibre backbone to take broadband internet access to rural areas of the island, with the infrastructure to be built as a public private partnership, an official said.Sri Lanka Telecom, the island’s largest fixed access firm has been laying fibre optic ring around the capital […]
Best Prices
Sept 08, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka cellco Mobitel, a unit of fixed access carrier Sri Lanka Telecom is readying to call proposals to buy international bandwidth from cheaper suppliers, because its parent was too expensive, an official said.“We are not happy with the prices they extend to us,” Mobitel chief executive Suren Amarasekera told […]
Pathbreakers II
Sept 07, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s educational reality series, Pathbreakers by ETV has planned its second season named ‘Aspirations Conquest’ with a tie up with Aspirations Education centre, the organizers said. The show will consist of 11 episodes that will telecast over the months of October, November and December in the year 2008. In […]
Lending Trends
Sept 07, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Union Bank has reported strong loan growth in the six months ending June 30, bucking the industry trend, although net profit fell marginally, according to published results and a bank statement. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 Performing […]
Tele Tower
Sept 05, 2008 (LBO) – An iconic telecom tower to be built in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo may cost about 10 billion rupees (92 million US dollars) and the government wants to make it a private-public partnership, an official said.The government has said the tower could be used by television, radio and telecom firms to […]
Closer Links
Sept 05, 2008 (LBO) – Trade experts have proposed reviving sea and rail links between Sri Lanka and the Indian sub-continent as part of greater regional connectivity moves required to improve trade in the region. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 Transport costs outweigh trade […]
Bigger Chunk
Sept 05, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s John Keells Holdings has raised its stake in South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT) to 37.97 percent by acquiring a 4.22 percent tranche from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). JKH said it had paid 4.41 million US dollars (475 million Sri Lanka rupees) when ADB exercised a put option […]
Upgrade Plan
Sept 05, 2008 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Ports Authority plans to upgrade an aging bunker fuel storage facility it is taking over from a private firm, senior officials said. The SLPA’s approach will be to have cost-based tariff to encourage the facility’s use by suppliers and ensure greater competition in the supply of ship […]