Category:
Fairy Godmother
The Treasury is considering the possibility of taking on the cost of thermal electricity generation to ease the CEBs cash crunch.CEB sources say the Treasury is now considering, among other measures, the feasibility of taking on the cost of thermal electricity generation to ease the CEBs financial difficulties.rn rnldblquote This cost will be treated like […]
Lost Kitty
Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) says it has just plugged in a Rs. 60 mn revenue seepage, which was discovered after its new US$ 20 mn billing system kicked in.The telecom giant says around four million minutes of international inpayment calls were not billed, while nearly 3,000 customers were not sent invoices.rn rnLucky subscribers who got […]
Bonding Together
The EU-Sri Lanka Partenariat 2004 kicked off, paving the way for joint ventures, partnerships, marketing cooperation and the transfer of technologies between local and EU companies. rn rnSpeaking at the opening ceremony of the Partenariat, the Ambassador, Embassy of Ireland, New Delhi, Philip McDonagh, said the EU was solidly behind the governments peace efforts.rn rnMeanwhile […]
Friendly Chat
The meeting came a day after the Tamil insurgents warned of “calamityrnand destruction” unless the killings stop. They accused the military ofrnbeing behind some of the violence.rn rn More than 15 people – including a military intelligence operative andrnrebels – have been killed in recent weeks in eastern Sri Lanka. Both thernsecurity forces and the […]
Boom Times
The Seylan Merchant Bank (SMB) Groups earnings doubled for the first quarter ending March 31, boosted by its booming leasing portfolio.In results released this week, SMB Group reported a consolidated post-tax profit of Rs 10.4 million, up 100.30 per cent from the Rs 5.2 million reported in the first quarter of 2003.rn rnNet Interest Income […]
Mute Voice
Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans fronti’e8res) on Tuesday condemned at the murder of Tamil journalist Aiyathurai Nadesan in Batticaloa (220 km east of Colombo) and voiced concern that dissension within the Tamil separatist movement could lead to an escalation of violation against the news media. “We call on the authorities to keep us informed of […]
Money Makers
The government plans to streamline its revenue collecting units and give legislative powers to new taxes that were proposed in the previous budget, the Treasury Secretary said Tuesday.The previous government initiated a Sri Lanka Revenue Collection Authority, which combined the Inland Revenue, Customs and Excise Departments, in an attempt to reform and strengthen public finances.rn […]
Finding Hope
Mineral sands, ceramics and rubber are in the study list, with the BOI keen to find a handful of key sectors for investment promotion. rn rnA select list of foreign industrial giants will be targeted to invest in the identified areas, BOI Chief Lalith de Mel told LBO.rn rnDe Mel says unless there is a […]
Clear Voice
Sri Lanka stressed on the need for greater government ownership of aid utilization and for capacity building, at an international aid harmonization conference between Colombo and Tokyo, on Tuesday.Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Dr.P.B. Jayasundera, presented Sri Lankas country perspective on the ongoing harmonization work, said press release from the Japan-World Bank Distance Learning Partnership Project.rn […]
Comeback
A draft Companies Act, thrown out by the former Government will be brought back to replace the 1980s piece of legislation governing businesses in Sri Lanka.Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle told Lanka Business Online that plans to draw up a fresh draft was dropped by the Alliance Government.rn rnInstead the Government will move […]
Hello There
Competition just got louder in the local telecom industry with Indian telco giant VSNL stepping up its operations in Sri Lanka. VSNL on Monday formally launched its international data and voice services here for the corporate and retail markets.rn rnHowever, VSNL has been busy behind the scene capturing overseas voice business since last year, when […]
Clean Deal
Commercial Bank of Ceylon will scrap the commission charged on cheques drawn on its outstation branches starting June 1, 2004.This means that recipients of Commercial Banks outstation cheques will henceforth receive the full face value on these cheques.rn rnThis move supplements the existing practice where the commission on outstation cheques of other banks deposited with […]