Dell empowers customers with innovative technology solutions

Dell this week announced its capacity to offer more innovative technology solutions and services...

Shares fall to near 3-week closing low

Sri Lankan shares fell for a third straight session yesterday to their lowest close in nearly three weeks, as investors booked profits in blue-chip companies like John Keells Holdings and Commercial Bank of Ceylon in an overbought market.

Access Engineering to expand overseas

Access Engineering PLC, the leading infrastructure developer in Sri Lanka currently sees opportunities in the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions for expansion, according to a top company official.

Lanka Hospitals to set up high-tech laboratory

The Lanka Hospitals Corporation PLC (LHCL) is to set up a state-of-the-art laboratory service, that will facilitate a range of diagnostics tests that are currently unavailable in the country, a top official stated.

Doing business in Sri Lanka: Is it a Red Ocean?

Sri Lanka’s rank on the World Bank’s well respected Ease of Doing Business Index (covering 185 economies) improved considerably over the last year. Vaulting from 96th in the world to 81st, an improvement of 15 places, is no mean feat.

Sri Lanka – China bilateral relations building on robust and durable foundation

Sri Lanka and China have had historical links that can be traced back several centuries. The Rubber-Rice Pact (1952) was a major watershed in forging close, cordial and durable relations in the post-independence era.

JKH chief welcomes tourism initiatives

A sustainable, focused marketing strategy with the full involvement of all stakeholders is required to ensure targeted visitor segments are attracted, a top official of a leading Sri Lankan leisure operator stated.

Arpico mulls automotive component manufacturing

The diversified conglomerate and the leading planter in the country, Richard Pieris and Company PLC is considering venturing in to automotive component manufacturing, under the corporate brand ‘Arpico’, according to top company official.

Shares slip from 1-week high; foreigners buy

Shares slipped yesterday from their one-week high hit on Friday in thin trading, as retail investors booked profits in banking and hotel shares, but foreign buying in blue-chip companies helped an overbought market resist further fall.

From crisis to sustenance : Responding together - Enabling others to act

Bill Gates was once asked to describe his personal best. After a few moments, Bill said he couldn’t do it. He said, “It wasn’t my personal best. It was our personal best. It wasn’t me.

Dos and don’ts in stock market

The stable and growing stock market in Sri Lanka has attracted new investors while existing investors continue to invest. The current momentum in the market would prevail only if all types of risk a market is vulnerable to is kept under manageable limits.

Higher power tariffs push May inflation to 7.3%

Though the recent electricity tariff hike impact on the country’s overall inflation was taken too lightly by the government, it appears to have played a major role in pushing up the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) by 7.3 percent in May from 6.4 percent in April on a Year-on-Year (YoY) basis.

Expolanka posts Rs.1 bn net profit for FY12/13; revenue tops Rs.50bn

Expolanka Holdings PLC posted a net profit of Rs.1.06 billion for the year ended March 31, 2013 as against Rs.1.03 billion during the previous year, largely due to the growth in revenue witnessed during the year, interim financials released to the Colombo Stock Exchange revealed.

Sri Lanka aims to reduce foreign and short-term debts

Sri Lanka aims to cut its foreign currency debts and short-term domestic borrowing under a medium-term debt management plan, the central bank said on Friday, after it failed to achieve its debt-to-GDP target last year.

Uniting empowered women: First-ever Forbes Women’s Summit

There are many ways the world could be changed – at least if not the world, then maybe one individual...

Fonterra confident of meeting govt’s DCD standard

Fonterra Brands Sri Lanka said in a statement that it is confident that all of its dairy products meet the DCD free standard to be introduced by the Government from 1st June 2013

J.L. Morison shares change hands

Large block sales of J.L. Morison Son & Jones (Ceylon) PLC (MORI) have taken place in the Colombo Stock Exchange a while ago.

Sri Lanka to reduce investment threshold to attract more FDIs

The Economic Development Ministry is in discussion with the Board of Investment (BoI) to reduce the minimum initial investment threshold for BoI ventures expecting to set up operations in Sri Lanka, in a bid to attract small and medium scale foreign direct investments (FDIs) to the investment hungry nation.

Hemas reports robust results for FY12/13

Hemas Holdings PLC’s profits grew by a significant 42.3 percent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs.1.66 billion during the year ended March 31, 2013.

CB to issue Rs.2bn, 30-year bond

The Central Bank (CB) will issue a Rs.2 billion Treasury bond with a 30-year tenure at an auction today. The bond will carry a 9.0 percent coupon with a maturity date of June 01, 2043.

Export expansion: Key to sustain accelerated growth

Sri Lanka’s exports have declined from 33 percent of GDP in 2000 to 16 percent in 2012. In addition, Sri Lanka’s share of global exports have also declined (this reflects clearly a decline in competitiveness).

Browns MD announces resignation

Brown & Company PLC Group Managing Director/CEO, Murali Prakash has tendered his resignation enabling him to attend to certain urgent personal matters outside the country, a stock market filing stated

Sri Lanka missing world’s biggest trade party and it’s in her backyard

Once upon a time, Sri Lanka was at the forefront of South Asian trade liberalisation. Beginning in 1989, Sri Lanka made large reductions in import duties and by 2001, Sri Lanka’s average applied import duty was down to 9.1 percent compared to India’s 32 percent and Pakistan’s 20 percent.

Onshore potential for oil and gas in Sri Lanka

The island of Sri Lanka is underlain with Precambrian rocks of Achaean age about 3500 – 1500 million years (MY) old with a few granites of Cambrian age - about 540 MY old.

Gold faces more pressure as inflation stays tame

Gold prices are looking even more vulnerable after April’s price crash, as rampant inflation expected from successive rounds of monetary easing fails to materialize. The idea that record-low interest rates would damage paper currencies and boost inflation was a key factor pushing gold to record highs

Wijeya Newspapers and TELiBrahma add excitement to print publishing

Colombo, 22 May 2013: TELiBrahma, India’s leading mobile advertising solutions company specializing in augmenting real world context with digital engagements; announced its partnership with Wijeya Newspapers Ltd - to bring interactive print content LIVE on readers’ mobile/tab.

JKH FY 2012/13 net up 24% to Rs.13.6bn

Sri Lanka’s John Keells Holdings PLC, the conglomerate with the largest market capitalization posted a net profit of Rs.13.6 billion, up 24 percent for the financial year ended March 2013.

US $ 75-100mn cement venture on track

Binod Chaudhary-controlled Cinnovation Group has already obtained the preliminary approvals from the Board of Investment (BoI) of Sri Lanka and licence to carry out tests from the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) for the US $ 75-100 million cement factory the group is planning to set up in Sri Lanka’s northern peninsular.

Billionaire Binod Chaudhary bullish on Sri Lanka

The 1,342nd Forbes US dollar billionaire in the world, Binod Chaudhary, yesterday said that he has ‘full confidence in the Sri Lankan system’ to make investments and set up businesses in the island nation and stressed fast tracking of official procedures will further enhance the business-friendly environment.

MTD Walkers records Rs.275.5mn net profit for FY12/13

MTD Walkers PLC, a company which has interests in construction and power generation, has reported a net profit of Rs.275.5 million for the financial year ended March 31, 2013, up by Rs.129 million the firm reported in the previous year.