Category: Industry
Free Push
Jan 31, 2007 (LBO) – HSBC in Sri Lanka is hoping to rope in more customers to its phone banking service by offering toll-free services in three languages for the first time in Sri Lanka, officials said. Though Sri Lanka does not have a toll free number system, HSBC has arranged with fixed and mobile […]
Ship Ahoy
Jan 30 (LBO) – Lanka Indian Oil Corporation has called for vessels to supply lubricant base oil for its new blending plant in the East of Sri Lanka, which is to begin production in June this year. Last week, the fuel retailer, a unit of India’s Fortune 500 Indian Oil Corp got a government licence […]
New Vista
LONDON, Jan 30, 2007 (AFP) – Windows Vista takes computing to a “new level,” Microsoft boss Bill Gates trumpeted Tuesday, presenting the latest version of his ubiquitous operating system at the British Library in London.Fresh from an overnight flight to London after launching the product in New York’s Times Square, Gates traced the development of […]
Sri Lanka apparel group Brandix to double thread making capacity in Bangladesh
Jan 30 (LBO) – American & Efird Lanka, part of top Sri Lankan apparel exporter the Brandix Group, hopes to double its thread making capacity in Bangladesh over the next year. A&E Lanka is a joint venture of Brandix Lanka, global thread manufacturer American & Efird, and Brandot International. The company manufactures sewing and embroidery […]
Not so fast
January 30 (LBO) – The central bank is planning to introduce new prudential regulations for credit cards, following their rapid use and growth in lending, an official said. Last year the government slapped a 10 rupee stamp duty on every 1000 rupees of purchases through credit cards.Up to last November Sri Lankan banks have issued […]
i-Switch
Jan 29 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tech firm Interblocks said Monday that they had implemented an ATM Switch and Monitoring system to manage Central Finance’s ATM network. The tie up with Interblocks and implementation of the iSwitch system would facilitate inter-branch settlement and reconciliation, remote monitoring and proactive alerts. The company says it is the […]
Brotherly Ties
Galle, January 29 (LBO) – Bilateral talks starting this week will further broaden economic ties between India and Sri Lanka, while aid volumes to the country was also moving up, an Indian government official told an aid forum here Monday. Sri Lanka was now India’s largest trade partner in South Asia with India being Sri […]
Sold Out
Jan 29 (LBO) – Asian Hotels and Properties, developers of the new Emperor Condominium at Crescat City, says it has found buyers for 80 percent of the apartments. The Singapore Piling and Civil Engineering (PTE) Ltd, has been awarded the construction contract for the new condominium AHPL said. A member of the John Keells Holdings […]
Turning Around
January 29, (LBO) – State Mortgage and Investment Bank has trimmed its non-performing loans sharply, the rating agency Fitch said, affirming the banks’ A (lka) rating with a stable outlook. Gross non-performing loans were cut down to 14.7 percent of gross loans by the third quarter of 2006, from 21 by the end of the […]
Raising Cash
January 29, (LBO) – Seylan Bank is raising cash to boost its capital through a debenture issue, the bank said. The Ceylinco group, owns 19 percent of its voting sahres, while several employee share ownership trusts of Seylan hold 27 percent of its voting equity, according to Fitch Ratings. The bank will issue listed, unsecured […]
Packet Search
January 26, (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom is investing 100 million dollars this year as part of a medium-term strategy to boost revenues from IP based services, migrate rapidly towards a packet-switched network, and drum up international business volumes, a top official said. “We want to increase business from non-traditional business to 70 percent over […]
Get Set
Jan 25, 2007 (LBO) – Mobitel is almost doubling its capacity to sign up 750,000 new subscribers, getting ready to cash in on a booming mobile phone market that saw 60 percent growth last year. Sri Lanka’s mobile market is estimated to have grown by 60 percent to 5.4 million subscribers in 2006. Mobitel, 100 […]