Category:
Zooming Up
Eagle Insurance Co.s Risk Management Division has secured international recognition for processes developed to execute products and services.Risk management is a Specialised Management technique that identifies an firms exposure to risk, give solutions for controlling it or put in place a mechanism to pay for losses should the risk escalate to a catastrophic incident.rn rnAn […]
High Note
State-run Bank of Ceylon ended 2003 on a high note of Rs. 1.642 bn in net profits, even as revenues fell 7.5 percent to Rs. 22.034 bn.rnrnrnrn rn Highlights of financial statements as at endrnDec. 31, 2003rn rn rn rn rn Bank rn Group rn rn rn rn rn Dec. 03 Rs. mn rn Dec. […]
Good Show
The advertising industry is riding the spending wave from the last two years of economic growth and the SLIM awards organisers are looking at maintaining momentum despite new food advertising regulations coming in on April 1st.Advertising agencies say that most clients loosened budget strings last year and became more adventurous with advertising messages and methods […]
Phone Bill
Full year 2003 revenues for SLT gained marginally, dispelling industry forecasts for a drop driven by halved IDD billings, but closed with a 16 per cent fall in net profits. Group net profit was at Rs. 2.38 billion, down from Rs. 2.68 billion in 2002 mainly due to a Rs. 710 million voluntary retirement scheme […]
High Jump
Mobile operator Celltel Lanka signed up for a US$ 21 mn syndicated loan to deploy its network islandwide by August.Under the fifth phase, Celltels GSM network will add 85 new coverage sites and increase present coverage by 250 percent.rn rnldblquote We will have coast to coast coverage, with capacity to add a new switching system […]
Buffer Stock
Sri Lankas gross official foreign exchange reserves stood a provisional US$ 2.33 bn, up 37.0 percent from US$ 1.70 bn in December 2002, the Central Bank said Friday. rnrn rn rn rn End Dec. 2003rn US$ bn rn rn End Dec. 2002rn US$ bn rn % Change rn rn rn Gross Official Reserves rn 2.33 […]
Gaping Hole
rnrn Inrnthe 2004 pre-election budget report, the Treasury says handouts for drought costrnRs. 900 mn, transport sector Rs. 1.8 bn, backward wages for the health sectorrnRs.1.7 bn and Rs. 800 mn for a snap poll.rn Inrnaddition to that, a further Rs. 1.5 bn has been doled out since last November,rnto cushion import prices of oil, […]
Yes Prime Minister
Confident of 113 seats in the bag, the Freedom Alliance is now working on strategies to push the number above 120.Winning the April poll is among the remaining chances President Kumaratunga has to extend her term in power, which technically end in 2005 November.rn rnIn theory, if the Executive Presidency is abolished after an Alliance […]
Interim Relief
The fresh decision reversed Central Banks earlier ruling to limit NDBs holding in the commercial banking entity to 25 per cent and is an interim measure until Parliament approves the merger. rn rnThe approval is also on condition that NDB will sell off all shares it buys above the 51 percent limit within a year. […]
Lucky Strike
Technically insolvent Peoples Bank, kept its place in the Billionaires Club for the second year running, after providing a hefty Rs. 2.288 bn for bad debts in 2003.The state-run bank, which had its capital wiped off due to past politically motivated loans, saw its net profits jump 54.7 percent to Rs. 1.555 bn over Rs. […]
It Stinks!
Although once lucky with SARS and twice lucky so far with the Avian Flu the next outbreak of a new infectious disease could push luck beyond its limits – but at this point Sri Lanka has very little but luck to count on.Sri Lanka is a high-risk candidate for foreign infectious diseases but the countrys […]
Lanka Bell stuck in interconnection
The Court of Appeal on Thursday issued an interim order preventing the telecom watchdog from implementing Caller Party Pays (CPP) immediately.A fixed phone subscriber made the petition on the grounds that the regulator had failed to properly evaluate the negative effects of CPP and sufficiently inform the public.rn rnThe petition states that the Telecommunications Regulatory […]