Greenlight for Colombo South Port by September
Dispelling earlier rumours that Aitken Spence Holdings was out of the Rs.50bn Colombo Port Expansion Project (CPEP) deal, a source close to the deal said that according to amendments submitted last week, tender hopeful- Aitken Spence-China Merchant consortium had agreed to increase the Net Present Value (NPV) of the project from Rs.14,375mn (US $ 125) to Rs.17,250mn (US$150mn). Read More
Indian hospital chains to re-look at Sri Lanka?
With two of the top hospital chains in India eying overseas expansion, local analysts are excited about the possibility of either one or both of them investing in the healthcare business in Sri Lanka. According to Indian media, Apollo Hospitals, India’s industry leader is looking for contracts to manage hospitals abroad, while Fortis Healthcare is aggressively looking for acquisitions as an expansion strategy. Further, Fortis is evidently preparing for other opportunities beyond India to become Asia’s healthcare leader after their battle to acquire... Read More
Nisol up for sale following insolvency
Restructure and corporate recovery firm, SJMS Associates have recently put the properties of their liquidated client, Nisol Corrugated Cartons Ltd (NCC) on sale to retire the debts of the insolvent company. According to a recent newspaper advertisement, NCC is to dispose its corrugated cartons manufacturing plant which is a 9 acre factory land at Ekala – Ja Ela, buildings of approximately 100,000 square feet, plant and machinery... Read More
Pelwatte Sugar performance far from sweet
Pelwatte Dairy Industries (Pvt.) Limited, a subsidiary of the sugar producing firm, Pelwatte Sugar Industries Plc (SUGA), is likely to go for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) soon despite a very poor showing by its parent firm in the recent quarter financials.
SUGA has recorded a substantial net loss of Rs. 197.7 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2010, up by a drastic 5266% compared to a meagre loss of Rs. 3.7 million suffered in the same period of the previous year. Read More
Lanka to lose US $300-500 mn annually without GSP+
Sri Lanka is at risk of losing an approximate USD 300 to 500 million annually from tomorrow, as she loses the Generalised System of Preference Plus (GSP+) trade concession from the European Union (EU), which the country had enjoyed since 2005 following the tsunami havoc. According to Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) Secretary General, Rohan Masakorale one-third of Sri Lanka’s current total exports are presently supported by GSP+, which would no longer be the case from tomorrow. Read More
BlackBerry fuss to arrive here?
After the fuss made by the Saudi Arabian authorities about the encrypted email services offered by BlackBerry smart phones, India last week said that they might impose a temporary ban on BlackBerry phones and services on the grounds of some of the phone’s features posing security concerns. In the midst of this, several Sri Lankan mobile operators including Dialog Axiata and Etisalat have been actively promoting BlackBerry smart phones in Sri Lanka, which have long become the darling of CEOs and politicians throughout the world. Read More
WEIRD OFFICIAL
You know what’s funny. A few years back we telephoned a top official who was in-charge of monitoring and disclosure in the Colombo Live-Stock market about a company which had not disclosed material information to the Live-Stock market that could have affected its share price. When we queried about the matter from this official which is under his purview, he responded as if he had just awakened from a long slumber.“Has something of that nature happened? Strange I didn’t know ne’, he remarked. Read More
Janashakthi Directors’ late disclosures under hammer
In recent developments from earlier state owned, but now partly state held Janashakthi Insurance PLC, the investor’s questionable eyes have caught the large shedding and buyback strategy of Schaffter family owned stakes in the company which disclosed later to Colombo Stock Exchange going without meeting the immediate requirement to inform as per rules. “As per the Section 200 of Companies Act No. 7 of 2007 and our new listing rule 7.8 Directors are compelled to immediately disclose their dealings to the Colombo Stock Exchange... Read More
30 reasons for Great Depression ii by 2011
By 2011? No recovery? No new bull? “Hey Paul, why do you keep talking about a bigger crash coming by 2011?” Readers ask that often. So here’s a sequel to my predictions of 2000 and 2004, with a look three years ahead. Read More
Facets Sri Lanka in September
FACETS SRI LANKA 2010 will offer new opportunities for the gem and jewellery industry this year as frontrunners in the global gem trade confirm participation at Sri Lanka’s only international gem and jewellery exhibition. This year’s FACETS SRI LANKA 2010 will serve as a platform for leading gemstone traders in emerging economies such as India, Russia and China to start sourcing from Sri Lanka, as well as to explore market opportunities in Hong Kong, Burma and Iraq as they arrive in anticipation of sealing trade links with the Sri Lanka industry. Read More
Lankem Agro celebrates ‘Decade of Supremacy’
The Agrochemical Division of Lankem Ceylon PLC organised its annual Dealer Convention at the Cinnamon Grand Colombo recently. Celebrating the undisputed market leadership over the past decade, the grandeur event was held under the theme ‘Decades of Supremacy”. Lankem Agro has introduced a range of 35 agrochemical products in the reaching out, to the hearts of Sri Lankan farmers. Read More
Philips lighting at Vidulka exhibition
Hayleys Lighting partnering with Philips a world renowned name in the lighting industry joined the Vidulka exhibition organised by the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority to showcase to the public their range of ‘green’ lighting. This eco friendly range of Philips lighting focuses on energy efficiency that combines design for purpose driven specialty needs of a wide range of industries. On display were luminaries for commercial, industrial and architectural applications. Read More
LOLC powers green energy
LOLC, a premier Total Financial Solutions Provider in Sri Lanka, made a sustainable commitment to green energy by completing a mammoth 48KW Solar System installation in its Head Office situated in Rajagiriya. The Grid connected Solar System, the largest installation in a financial institution in Sri Lanka, was commissioned in July 2010. Containing solar cells made up of 8 arrays with 8 inverters each having the capacity of 6KW, the Solar system can generate electricity leading to saving 15% of current consumption from the national grid per month. Read More
Hirdaramani awarded Gold Flame
Hirdaramani Group was awarded the “Gold Flame” at the recently concluded “Sri Lanka National Energy Efficiency Awards”. The awards were part of the National Energy Week Exhibition organised by the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA) and were presented by President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the BMICH on August 3, 2010.
The award recognises the group’s success in reducing its carbon footprint via a series of measures to reduce energy consumption. Read More
Shop & Hop - Free shopping in Asia
What could be better than to win a free shopping trip to Asia’s popular shopping capitals and receive up to Rs 50,000 in spending money to top it all off. That is what HSBC is offering all its loyal credit cardholders during the month of August, with the newly launched ‘Shopper-Hopper’ promotion. The promotion which is open to all HSBC Premier, Platinum, Advance, Gold and Classic credit cardholders, will offer a fabulous shopping extravaganza to customers until August 30, 2010. Read More
Lankarama Dharma Shala opens
Parallel to the religious and social activities planned in view of the 49th anniversary celebrations of People’s Bank, the Lankarama Vihara Dharma Shala Mandiraya in Anuradhapura, renovated in remembrance of founding chairman of People’s Bank Winston Subasinghe, was opened amidst grand celebrations recently. The auspicious ceremony was led by the Anuradhapura Atamasthanadhipathi Ven. Professor Pallegama Siri Nivasa Dharmarakkitha Thera whilst the Chief Priest of the Lankarama, Ralapanawe Dhammajothi and... Read More
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Dr Dayaratna Silva SL Ambassador to WTO
On July 30. Dr Dayaratna Silva presented to Director General of the World Trade Organisation, Pascal Lamy the letter of appointment as Ambassador and the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Silva, who completed his primary education at Waskaduwa Sri Subuthi Vidyalaya and Horana Taxila Central College, is a holder of Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Peradeniya securing... Read More
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Grameen Micro Credit Company Ltd to march ahead by its acronym
Grameen Micro Credit Company Ltd which was earlier known as Ceylinco Grameen has been in the forefront of extending its expertise to eradicating poverty in Sri Lanka by providing small scale loans to the poor to uplift their standard of living through self-employment projects for over 10 years. It will continue to render it services as a strong financial institution as GMCL with effect from August 13. Read More -
Renuka Holdings Q1 net profit 148 mn
Renuka Holdings PLC today announced noteworthy turnover and profit growth for the three months ending June 30, 2010. Group turnover increased to Rs 373.6 million and total assets of the group increased to Rs 2.9 billion. Group profit after tax was Rs 148.2 million compared to Rs 61 million for the corresponding quarter, of which Rs 119 million was attributable to shareholders, up 279% versus Rs. 31.4 million in the comparable quarter. Read More
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Saga of Ceylon Tea
Ms. Yoshikawa Noriko and Ms Takeda Asako from Japan met the Minister of Education to discuss development of Schools in the rural areas. The minister also distributed certificates and Medals to the participants of the Workshop “Saga of Ceylon Tea” Organised by Fortune Lanka Tours and Travels