Category: Industry
Slow Down
May 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Seylan Bank March quarter profits fell 36 percent to 135 million rupees amid flat loan growth as high interest rates made it difficult for companies and individuals to borrow. The bank’s interest income grew 31 percent to almost five billion rupees but interest costs rose 48 percent to […]
Engineering Row
May 27, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-enterprise engineers are starting industrial action after the government denied them tax-slashed cars, with a warning of tougher measures if no notice is taken of their demands within the next two weeks. Other officers in state-enterprises and statutory bodies have also been denied the privilege. But engineers say […]
On Track
May 27, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka railways will almost double rail fares to reduce losses and its dependence on government handouts as fuel prices continue to move up, officials said. From Monday fares of privately owned buses were raised by 27.2 percent and state-run buses by 17.0 percent. Rail fares were last raised in […]
Gas Conversion
May 27, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s will give state assistance to convert petrol driven three-wheeler taxis to liquefied petroleum gas which can slash running costs by 40 percent and clear up pollution, officials said. Minister Alahapperuma says the government is looking at a soft loan scheme to cover at least half of the cost. […]
Unilateral
May 27, 2008 (LBO) – Lanka IOC, the Sri Lanka unit of the Indian Oil Corporation is raising diesel prices by 20 rupees a litre from midnight Tuesday, the company said. Wheat prices peaked in February, gold in March and rice in April. Oil however is still buoyant hitting a new high of 135 dollars […]
Targeting Exercise
May 26, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is developing a scheme to pay fuel subsidies to bus operators that may cost the exchequer 7.0 billion rupees a year, officials said, after a steep rise in diesel pushed up fares. Sri Lanka has a practice of under-pricing diesel because authorities believe that inflation is a petroleum […]
Sri Lanka apparel exporter, UNESCO educate kids on sustainable development
May 26, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s MAS Holdings, a big apparel exporter, has partnered with UNESCO Bangkok to educate school children on sustainable development, a company statement said. The MAS ‘Eco Go Beyond’ programme, started in May 2006, provides 11,260 Sri Lankan students theoretical and practical knowledge of sustainable development. According to MAS, students […]
Tele Trends
May 26, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom, the island’s top fixed line-operator, March quarter group net profit fell 16 percent to 1,663 million rupees from a year ago as a tariff cut and rising costs took their toll.Sri Lanka Telecom’s full-year group profits for 2007 were up four percent at 5.6 billion rupees. According […]
Bus Fares
May 25, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s bus fares will go up by an average 27.2 percent from Monday following a 37 percent rise in diesel prices on Saturday, an official said. The island has a formula under a national pricing policy agreed with bus operators and the government. The fares were finalized following discussions […]
Steep Rise
May 24, 2008 (LBO) – After dragging their feet for months Sri Lanka’s state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) jacked up diesel prices by an unprecedented 37 percent and petrol by 23 percent, while a unit of Indian Oil Corporation said it would follow suit. An International Monetary Fund study said this week that commodity markets […]
Leasing Rating
May 24, 2008 (LBO) – Fitch Sri Lanka has confirmed a ‘BBB-(lka)’ rating of Ceylease Financial Services (CFSL), a unit of state-run Bank of Ceylon, with a ‘stable’ outlook but said interest costs and bad loans were rising. Fitch says the comparatively high net NPL to equity ratios are partly due to the company’s relatively […]
” threat to Beijing Olympics: IAEA
VIENNA, May 23, 2008 (AFP) – The UN atomic watchdog said Friday that it had seen no concrete intelligence regarding a possible dirty bomb threat to this summer’s Olympic games in Beijing.Talking to journalists, Anita Nilsson, head of nuclear security at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was asked is she could confirm that the […]