Sri Lanka’s business
community on Friday greeted the historic coming-together
between the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and
the main opposition United National Party (UNP) with cautious
optimism and urged both sides to make sure it works.
With current LPG
prices in Sri Lanka based on world market rates that
are nearly a year old, Shell Gas is again preparing
to battle the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) –
with a price hike.
Dialog Telekom Ltd, the leader in mobile
telephony, will go live with a pay TV channel in six months
time, after which it would provide options for mobile
television, company officials said.
The Asian Cotton Mills Ltd (Ascot) is
set to make a 600 million-rupee profit in seven months
with its latest joint venture with Roton Vander (Freighting)
Ltd to develop a commercial property at Darley Road opposite
the HNB towers.
The Board of Investment (BOI) is eating
its words now that adamant corporate raider Harry Jayawardena
has accomplished what he set out to do -- acquire Lanka
Hospitals Corporation Limited (LHCL), the holding company
of Apollo Hospitals. The new owners (Sri Lanka Insurance)
are also said to be negotiating with the Parkway Hospitals
Singapore, owners of the Gleneagles Hospital, to replace
Apollo management. Last week the BOI said that they ‘wish
to confirm that the terms of the BOI agreement would be
continued provided that all terms and conditions as provided
for in the agreement are complied within a period of six
months from the date of transfer of LHCL shares.’
Sri Lankan authorities are planning
a crash programme to churn out skilled construction workers
to feed a construction boom in Doha sparked by this December’s
Asian Games.
