Category:
Debt Capital
July 04, 2007 (LBO) – Sampath Bank has completed a debenture issue to raise 250 million rupees, the bank told the Colombo Stock Exchange. The money will strengthen the bank’s tier II capital base. The bank has a double AA- (lka) national long term rating from Fitch Ratings Lanka. Its debentures have previously been rated […]
Crawl Speed
July 04 (LBO) – Lengthy delays in automating Sri Lanka’s cargo clearing system were hurting the island’s chances of becoming a trading hub and making trading inefficient, a top freight forwarder said. “The automation of Sri Lanka’s cargo clearing system has not happened yet although it has been talked about for about five years,” said […]
BOT BPO
July 04, 2007 (LBO) – Aviva, one of the world’s biggest insurance firms, has hired over 300 Sri Lankan accounting and finance professionals into its business process outsourcing unit in Colombo. The professionals were trained on a build and transfer contract between Aviva Global Services (AGS) and Sri Lanka’s WNS, a third-party service provider for […]
High Standards
July 04, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s freight forwarders are seeking new rules to improve standards in the trade after winning a court order that quashed a set of regulations proposed by government. “We did not see much policing in the proposed law,” Kadawatharatchie said. “There’s a need to punish rule breakers.” Niral Kadawatharatchie, chairman […]
Sri Lanka stretches the lead with flourishing strokeplay
July 4, 2007 (AFP) – Kumar Sangakkara hit an unbeaten 170 as Sri Lanka continued to flay Bangladesh on the second day of the second cricket Test against Bangladesh here on Wednesday. The hosts, who bowled out Bangladesh for a meagre 62 on the first day, moved from their lunch score of 267-2 to 385-5 […]
Sri Lanka jets strike Tamil Tiger bases
July 4, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan air force jets on Wednesday carried out a second straight day of bombing raids against Tamil Tiger rebels positioned in jungles in the east of the island, the military said. The raids were part of a months-old effort aimed at dislodging the ethnic rebels from their hideouts in […]
Congressmen want US to do more to end Sri Lanka conflict
WASHINGTON, July 3, 2007 (AFP) – About 50 US lawmakers have written to President George W.Bush asking him to step up American efforts to help resolve the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka.“The United States has the opportunity to serve as a leader” in renewed international efforts to bring about a peaceful resolution to the conflict, […]
Passing Bucks
July 04, 2007 (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s state-run oil firm Ceylon Petroleum Corporation has asked the treasury to pick up a six billion rupee subsidy tab for selling fuel to the Ceylon Electricity Board at a steep discount, officials said Wednesday. The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), currently buys fuel at 55 rupees a litre from […]
Sri Lanka call rates edge up despite cash injections
July 3, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s call rates moved above 35 percent with liquidity disappearing from the banking system despite the monetary authority pumping billions of rupees of new money into the system. Ministers told the media that the government may lose up to ten billion rupees through cuts of value added tax on […]
Big Bucks
July 03, 2007 (LBO) – HSBC Bank in Sri Lanka is looking to finance two large transport sector projects with private sector involvement which will spawn new opportunities for local and international banks, a top official said. Three of Sri Lanka’s largest conglomerates, John Keells, Hayleys and Aitken Spence have put in bids to build […]
Skills Export
July 03, 2007 (LBO) – Aitken Spence, one of Sri Lanka’s conglomerates with interests in several areas of the shipping industry, wants to develop a new business in managing ports abroad. The company already has a deal with South Africa’s Durban Port under which is sent 125 skilled Sri Lankans to provide training and port […]
Cell News
July 3, 2007 (LBO) – Dialog Telecom is offering free breaking news for its customers days after competitor Mobitel launched trials for a text news alert. “We are launching this service with a view to providing information and creating a sense of security for customers,” Nushad Perera, head of sales at Dialog Telekom said in […]