Calling Colombo

HSBC Group is pumping US$ 30 mn to set up its seventh group service centre in Sri Lanka, which will generate employment and put the country on the map as a serious contender in the global call centre business.Situated near the Chandra Silva stadium in Kotte, the call centre and back office unit would be […]

Hot Mix

Plantation companies are keen to push through a long over due productivity pegged wage formula when estate worker wages come up for negotiations in June 2004. The June negotiations will be a deciding factor for the plantations companies survival as they prepare for a tough year ahead. Work on possible productivity pegged alternatives are already […]

Washing Up

Sri Lankas two giant industrial zones, Moratuwa–Ratmalana and Ja-Elaemdash Ekela, are in urgent need of a clean up endash in Ratmalana the ground water quality is so poor it cant even be used in garment washing plants without first being treated and certainly cant be used for cooking or drinking.Finitex – a garment washing and […]

Meeting Of Minds

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon and the Ceylon Bank Employees Union (CBEU) recently entered into a Collective Agreement pertaining to salaries and other perquisites offered to two categories of staff.According to the new agreement effective retrospectively from April 1, 2003, Junior Executive Assistants would receive a 15 per cent salary increase for the first year […]

Business Talk

Business leaders from SAARC countries are calling on the governments to initiate regional cooperation to develop eight identified areas in return for greater intra-regional investment and trade. The private sectors of the SAARC countries – represented by seven leading chambers of commerce – suggest regional cooperation in the areas of trade, services, investment, tourism, agriculture, […]

Greenlight

The Colombo Stock Exchanges debt trading system is likely to take off this month, giving smalltime investors closer access to the government debt market.Seylan Merchant Bank, who became the first of the five members to get a licence, says they plan to roll out operations this month.rn rnThe DEX allows the public to buy and […]

Racing Tips

Sri Lanka Telecom is asking the government to sell the balance 49.5 percent it owns in the firm in small parcels through an international listing.Last October, the government said it hopes to sell a further stake in the telco operator and is presently exploring various exit options.rn rnSLT Chairman Thilanga Sumathipala says an international listing […]

Dont Blame Me

Free incoming calls for cellular phones have been shelved indefinitely due to the ongoing political spat, a top government minister said Monday.Telecommunications Minister Imthiaz Bakeer Markar says all mobile phone operators were ready to roll out the new tariff structure by January 1, but the current political problems have delayed the process.rn rnWhen President Chandrika […]

Welikada Exchange

The Welikada prison and its 7,000 inmates will relocate elsewhere to make room for Sri Lanka Telecoms expansion plans into the business of call centre outsourcing. SLTs Telecom City project that will provide in house technology to outsource call centre operations and various other ICT related services would acquire nearly 60 acres of land currently […]

Cyber Cabbage

The Govi Gnana System (GGS), a pilot project under the e-Sri Lanka initiative will go live at the end of the week at the Meegoda and Dambulla economic centres, offering vendors and buyers an index of wholesale prices for over 143 varieties of vegetables. The price information system is however only the first phase of […]

Easing Leasing

The Treasury has assured the leasing industry to review a proposal in the budget to tax lease assets at market value at the end of the leasing period.Under heavy lobbying from the leasing industry, Finance Ministry officials have decided to review the provision that would have forced leasing companies to pay tax.rn rnLeasing industry doesnt […]

Middle Is Mighty

Central Bank said it is leaving its growth forecast for next year unchanged at 6 percent despite continuing uncertainty in both the political and peace fronts.It however warned that prolonged uncertainty could jeopardize economic growth. rn rnThe wealth creators in the economy, the private sector, that saw higher returns on their investments in the last […]

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