Category: Industry
Growing Money
Mar 22 (LBO) – Lanka Transformers were given a first subsidy payment on Wednesday for generating electricity from trees, under a new scheme to encourage investment in renewable power. Wood or dendro power producers are being given Rs2.50 a unit, to top up current rates of Rs6.00 that the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) pays independent […]
Legal Muscle
Mar. 21 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Parliament Tuesday passed amendments to several financial bills, including a tax on foreign television programmes and compulsory lending to agriculture sector, that were proposed in the 2006 budget. Under changes to the Banking Act, licensed commercial banks or LCB’s are required to maintain a minimum Rs1 billion in capital. […]
Flagged Off
Mar 21 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Caltex Lanka Lubricants will ship five million litres of lubricant oils into Bangladesh, its first foray into the country and a possible launch pad into other regional markets, top officials said Tuesday. The local arm of US based Chevron Texaco, Caltex dominates the local lube market with about 80 […]
On Hold
Mar. 21 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom, the island’s dominant fixed-line operator, Tuesday said it would stop connecting new subscribers through Code Division Multiplex Access or CDMA technology with immediate effect, following legal advice. The move follows SLT’s decision late Monday to take seek legal redress on a directive issued by the telecom watchdog with […]
Dollar Gush
Mar. 20 (LBO) – Non-governmental organisations operating in Sri Lanka’s tsunami-hit regions has received Rs40.1 billion (US$400 million) in aid for reconstruction work last year, the Central Bank said Monday. According to a bank survey, which tracked 256 non-governmental organisations or NGO’s, 79 percent of the funds received had already been withdrawn. Bulk of the […]
Comfort Letter
Mar. 20 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s telecommunications regulator has upheld two private fixed operators’ claim to import handsets duty free, and blocked the country’s main investment body’s move to tax the instruments, a top official said. Last month, Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) slapped a 33 percent import duty on Code Division Multiple […]
Home Bound
Mar 20 (AFP) – More than 100 US troops who were stranded in Sri Lanka after their aircraft made an emergency landing last week left the island Monday aboard a chartered plane, airport officials said. A Boeing 757-200 aircraft carrying 119 troops and crew was diverted to Colombo’s Bandaranaike International airport on Thursday while travelling […]
‘s a curse
Mar. 19 (LBO) – A prominent parliamentarian representing the minority Tamil community had branded a controversial government decision to tax television programs imported for the entertainment of minority communities as discriminatory.“It is absurd and discriminatory,” said N Raviraj member for the Jaffna district representing the Tamil National Alliance. The government has decided to charge a […]
It’s a curse
Mar. 19 (LBO) – A prominent parliamentarian representing the minority Tamil community had branded a controversial government decision to tax television programs imported for the entertainment of minority communities as discriminatory.“It is absurd and discriminatory,” said N Raviraj member for the Jaffna district representing the Tamil National Alliance. The government has decided to charge a […]
Brand Bible
Mar. 17 (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s top brands, from tea to popular ayurvedic balms could get a listing in a global catalogue of super-brands, by September this year.A global body set up to recognise brands, Superbrands is in over 50 countries, giving selected companies a host of promotional benefits. About 600 local and international brands […]
Sri Lanka splashes US$ 1 mn to lure Indian holidaymakers
Mar 17 (LBO) — Sri Lanka will launch a US$ 1 million ad campaign into India on Saturday, to entice travelers from Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore to come experience the island. -Zainab Ibrahim: zainab@ The country, famed for its beaches, cultural tourism and wildlife holidays, is selling on its diversity and its close proximity off […]
Good Marks
Mar. 17 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Finance Company Ltd., picked up a A+(sri) credit rating from Fitch Ratings Lanka Ltd for their senior unsecured long-term debt, the agency said Friday. While an A (sri) rating indicates low credit risk, Central Finance is still vulnerable to external changes like shifts in macro economic conditions, Fitch […]