Sri Lanka registers Ceylon tea intellectual property claim

Dec 22, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has registered a claim locally for intellectual property protection for Ceylon tea under global ‘Geographical Indicators’ rules that would help market its main export product, a senior official said. That allowed the country to market Ceylon tea worldwide as an environmentally friendly and ozone friendly product. The government […]

Foreign firms look to increase solar power presence in India

MORABANDAR, December 22, 2010 (AFP) – The Elephanta Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site off the coast of India’s financial capital Mumbai, draw hundreds of thousands of tourists every year. Local people could sell back surplus energy to the grid, he added, while the government should provide subsidies, as it does to the coal industry […]

India scraps onion tax as prices soar

NEW DELHI, December 22, 2010 (AFP) – The Indian government, facing mounting public anger over soaring onion costs, on Wednesday scrapped tax on imports of the vegetable to try to rein in prices of the ingredient. The government has been feeling the heat over inflation as the opposition BJP has seized on the issue to […]

Sri Lanka October exports up 28-pct

Dec 22, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s export earnings in October 2010 shot up 27. 6 percent to 802 million US dollars from a year ago, the third highest monthly value, spurred by higher apparel and commodity exports, the central bank said. Imports grew at a slower 8.4 percent to 1,131 million dollars during the […]

Sri Lanka to get cheaper World Bank credit for several years

Dec 22, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka would get cheap World Bank credit for at least three years, while the country re-builds infrastructure after a 30-year war and moves toward becoming a borrower at near-commercial rates, managing director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said. “You have the peace dividend. You have ended the conflict. With inclusive growth, where […]

Sri Lanka shares end up 0.28-pct

Dec 21, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks ended slightly higher Tuesday with heavy trading and gains in poultry firms amid rising demand and prices for chicken following an influx of tourists, brokers said. Brokers said non-voting shares of liquid petroleum distributor Laugfs Gas were the most actively traded for the day, closing at 17 […]

Sri Lanka stocks end up 0.28-pct

Dec 21, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks ended slightly higher Tuesday with heavy trading and gains in poultry firms amind rising demand and prices for chicken following an influx of tourists, brokers said. The All Share Price Index closed at 6,378.91, up 0.28 percent (18.07 points) while the more liquid Milanka index fell 0. […]

Cargo Trends

Dec 21, 2010 (LBO) – Colombo port volumes hit a new record of four million containers Tuesday supported by strong growth in both transshipment and import-export cargo, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) said in a statement. The number of twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers handled by the port is up 20 percent so […]

Loan Growth

Dec 21, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s credit to business from commercial banks surged 20. 3 percent in October 2010 from a year earlier, as 50 billion rupees in new loans were made in the month, the highest since a balance of payments crisis two years ago, official data show. Loans to private business rose […]

Sri Lanka tea output crosses 300mn kilo mark

Dec 21, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea production fell in November 2010 from a year ago but crossed 300 million kilos for the year as it appeared headed for a new record annual crop, Tea Board data showed. Tea out put in November fell almost nine percent to 26. 7 million kilos from a […]

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