Category: Other
Indian firms look for cost savings as rupee falls
NEW DELHI, Nov 24 (AsiaPulse) – Indian FMCG firms are turning to efficient cost management and local procurement of raw materials to offset increasing pressure on margins due to the weakening of the rupee that has spiked input costs. Having already taken a series of price hikes this year, the firms have little room to […]
Sri Lanka sugar plantation takeover seen “illegal”
Nov 23, 2011 (LBO) – A listed Sri Lankan sugar plantation that is among businesses taken over by government under a new expropriation law has said the seizure was illegal as it does not fall within the ambit of the new regulation. The statement said action by the officers of the state to enter the […]
India power ministry drops Ernst & Young for evaluation errors
NEW DELHI, Nov 23 (AsiaPulse) – India’s Power Ministry has banned international consulting firm Ernst & Young (E&Y) from taking up any further assignments in the sector after anomalies in the evaluation of bids for the Sasan project were highlighted in a report by power sector expert P.S Bami. “We issued a show-cause notice to […]
Sri Lanka to distribute unused plantation land among small farmers
Nov 21, 2011 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government is to take back 37,000 acres of unused land from regional plantations companies and distribute it to small farmers, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said. The lands to be re-distributed will be given small holder families for 30 years. The small farmers will also be given low cost […]
India to privatize oil firm
NEW DELHI, Nov 21 (AsiaPulse) – India’s Disinvestment Ministry says it has received in-principle clearance from the Petroleum Ministry to proceed with the sale of government equity in Oil India Ltd. “Correspondence was going on for last six months… We got Petroleum Ministry in-principle approval yesterday for disinvestment in OIL. We have to work out […]
Sri Lanka to give incentives for rice export, aquaculture
Nov 21, 2011 (LBO) – The state will give incentives to process rice for export, aquaculture in especially in former war torn areas in the east of the island, president Mahinda Rajapaksa said presenting a budget for 2012. Rajapaksa said funding for improved seed production and agriculture extension services for paddy will be increased. Rice […]
Legal Basis
Nov 20, 2011 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan activist who had petitioned courts to review an expropriation law says recent interpretations given by state spokesmen may mislead citizens whose property was seized. Sri Ameresekere, an accountant who has been involved in several public interest petitions said statements by Sri Lanka’s central bank and information minister […]
Indian govt, to moot South Asian postal union
NEW DELHI, (AsiaPulse) – The Indian government is likely to discuss the proposal to form South Asian Postal Union, a move that will enhance regional cooperation and can lead to reduction of postal tariffs among SAARC member states. “The proposal to set up South Asian Postal Union (SAPU) is scheduled for discussion in the Cabinet […]
Malaysia sovereign fund to invest in India
MUMBAI, (Asia Pulse) – Khazanah Nasional, the sovereign wealth fund of the Malaysian government, plans to invest in sectors like financial services, infrastructure and energy in India in the near future. “We are looking at sectors like financial services, infrastructure and energy for investment in the near future,” Khazanah Nasional executive director Michael Jude Fernandes […]
Naughty lemmings upset global warming beliefs
PARIS, November 18, 2011 (AFP) – Really, it’s enough to drive a climate scientist over the edge. In past years, satellite images have shown a perceptible growth in grasses and shrubs in parts of the Arctic, a phenomenon pinned on global warming. But part of the greening could come from lemmings, surprised researchers have found. […]
Sri Lanka based seed bank under SAARC common standard
Nov 18, 2011 (LBO) – A seed bank to be set up in Sri Lanka will operate under common standards to be developed by countries in the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC). Information minister Keheliya Rambukwella said the cabinet of ministers had given approval for the seed bank to be established in Sri […]
Indian airline Kingfisher posts widening losses
MUMBAI, November 15, 2011 (AFP) – Kingfisher Airlines said Tuesday it had doubled its losses in the July-September quarter, as its billionaire chief Vijay Mallya was set to announce plans to keep the Indian company afloat. The country’s second-largest airline by market share showed a net loss of 4. 69 billion rupees ($93 million) for […]