Category: Industry
Home Loans
August 28, 2007 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka has confirmed the AA (lka) rating on HDFC Bank Series A mortgage backed securities, the rating agency said. The rating relates to the timely payment of interest and the ultimate payment of principal on Series-A certificates issued by the Home Loan Securitisation Trust 2005 (HLST), a special […]
Better Defence
August 28, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankan security authorities plan to re-open Colombo port’s northern entrance for navigation once underwater defence systems being tested are installed and activated. The planned re-opening will remove a key constraint that has caused lengthy delays for cargo ships and raised costs for both shipping lines and port terminals. The […]
Holy Film
MUMBAI, Aug 27, 2007 (AFP) – An historical epic is to be filmed about the life and teachings of the Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, a South Asian production team said Monday. “The message of the movie gives answers to global crises of conflict and environmental problems,” Navin Gooneratne, the chairman of the Light […]
Ouch!
Aug 27, 2007 (AFP) – A colony of wasps attacked over 250 tourists on Monday at a fifth-century rock fortress in Sri Lanka causing a stampede, police said. At least 85 people were hospitalised while others were given first aid following the incident at the foot of the 180-metre (600-foot) fortress of Sigiriya. The Sigiriya […]
Normal Light
August 27, 2007 (LBO) – The powerful engineers union of Sri Lanka’s state-owned electricity utility has temporarily suspended industrial action started last week, following talks with senior government officials. Secretaries to the President, the treasury and energy and the CEB chairman met the Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers Union (CEBEU) Sunday after a work-to-rule campaign began […]
SriLankan Airlines takes Etihad passengers in codeshare deal
Aug 27, 2007 (LBO) – Despite canceling flights to Sri Lanka, Abu Dhabi based carrier Etihad plans to stay back through a services agreement with SriLankan Airlines, officials said Monday. The Dubai based airline more than doubled its network during the last two years making Etihad one of the fastest growing airlines. The open-ended ‘codeshare’ […]
Banking Revolution
August 25, 2007 (LBO) – Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank has reached out to 124 million poorest families globally during its 31 years of existence, its founder, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus says. The Grameen Bank reaches into ‘risky market segments that formal banking sectors in poor countries dare not reach, touching the lives of millions of people. […]
Finance Rating
August 23, 2007 (LBO) – Lanka Ratings Agency (LRA) has confirmed an A2 long-term institutional rating of Mercantile Investments with a stable outlook. LRA is a 100 percent-owned subsidiary of RAM Holdings Berhad of Malaysia. RAM is also an affiliate of Standard & Poor’s, the world’s largest rating agency. Corrected Mercantile Investment is the third […]
Good Intentions
August 24, 2007 (LBO) – Sanasa Development Bank (SDB), a Sri Lankan bank that promotes micro finance hopes to expand its network to northern and eastern province an official said. The micro finance institution has increased its branches up to 30 throughout the island during the firm’s first catering to an increasing number of account […]
Black Line
August 23, 2007 (LBO) – Lanka IOC, a unit of the Indian Oil Corporation, has returned to profitability in the June quarter, posting 490 million rupees in profits, interim results filed with the Colombo Stock Exchange showed. . The firm reversed a loss of 584 million in the same quarter last year. Part of the […]
Sub Prime
August 23, 2007 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka has downgraded the rating outlook on Commercial Leasing Company (CLC) to ‘negative’ from ‘stable’ but said it was confirming the firm’s A- lka investment grade rating due to implied support from key shareholders. CLC’s major shareholders are Commercial Bank of Ceylon rated ‘AA+ (lka)’ and Singer (Sri […]
Good Cover
August 23, 2007 (LBO) – Allianz Lanka Insurance Company, a unit of German insurance giant Allianz SE said premium income grew 34 percent to 246 million rupees in the six months to June. Its pre-tax profits for the period shot up 275 percent to 17.4 million rupees from 4.6 million in 2006, the firm said […]