Category:
Bank Trade
May 26, 2009 (LBO) – Profits of HSBC’s Sri Lanka unit grew 40 percent to 628.1 million rupees in the March 2009 quarter on strong foreign exchange income, despite rising interest expenses, its published accounts showed. The bank’s gross assets from December to March had grown by 8.2 percent to 161,544.4 million rupees, while net […]
Mobile Growth
May 26, 2009 (LBO) – Mobitel, a unit of Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), has increased subscribers by 73 percent to 2.8 million in the year to March 2009, while revenues climbed 48 percent to 3.6 billion rupees in the first quarter, the group said. In the year to March 2009, Millicom International Cellular said its […]
More than 110 dead after cyclone hits Bangladesh, India
DHAKA, May 26, 2009 (AFP) – Bangladesh and India launched major relief operations Tuesday after a cyclone tore into the northern coast of the Bay of Bengal, killing at least 116 people and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless. Many of the casualties in Bangladesh were reported to be children who drowned when Cyclone Aila triggered […]
Sri Lanka Ceylinco Insurance March profit down 29-pct
May 26, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Ceylinco Insurance Company said March 2009 net profit fell 29 percent to 101 million rupees from a year ago as claims went up, despite a sharp increase in investment income. The firm is part of the Ceylinco group which was thrown into a crisis when an unlisted subsidiary, […]
UN rights council divided over Sri Lanka
GENEVA, May 26, 2009 (AFP) – Asian and Western members of the UN Human Rights Council failed to find a common voice on the situation in Sri Lanka before they were due to hold a special session on the issue Tuesday. Switzerland, with the support of about 30 mainly Western states, has tabled a draft […]
Sri Lanka manpower exporters battle downturn
May 26, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankans working abroad send home nearly three billion dollars a year, and despite a global economic meltdown and stiff competition from regional neighbors, industry officials say they are fighting the downturn. Around 1.8 million people are estimated to be employed abroad, according to Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau data […]
Sri Lanka lifts forex forward curbs
May 25, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank Monday lifted restrictions on foreign exchange forward contracts imposed late last year amid a balance of payments crisis, allowing the market to act freely, a top official said. The IMF loan has been delayed amid political wrangling from the US in particular, but the lenders said […]
Sri Lankan stocks down, rupee steady
May 25, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares Monday shed some of the gains of last week’s bull-run owing to profit taking and concern over poor corporate results, while the rupee remained rock-steady against the dollar, brokers and dealers said.Sri Lanka’s largest privately held bank, Commercial Bank of Ceylon lost 1.50 rupees to close at […]
Safe Harbour
May 25, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is to lobby Lloyd’s of London to remove a war risk tag on the country which kept insurance premiums high, following defeat of Tamil Tigers by the military last week, a media report said. The Island newspaper said Sri Lanka is classified as a ‘region of war’ by […]
Sri Lanka tea output recovers in April
May 25, 2009 (LBO)- Sri Lanka’s total tea production in April 2009 shows an increase compared with the same month a year ago, indicating the crop is recovering from the effects of severe drought earlier this year.The Sri Lanka Tea Board said total tea production in April was 29.2 million kilos, up 4.8 percent from […]
Tele Merger
May 25, 2009 (LBO) – India’s Bharti Airtel said it was talking with MTN group, a firm operating in Africa and the Middle East, to buy 49 percent of its in return for a 36 percent stake in the Indian firm. Bharti Airtel has a unit in Sri Lanka. The Bharti shares would be split […]
Thin Margins
May 25, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom group said profits fell 42 percent to 974 million rupees in the March 2009 quarter with fixed access revenues falling while the mobile sector showed growth. Chairperson Leisha De Silva Chandresena said the firm’s performance came amid adverse economic conditions worldwide. The firm said broadband and data […]