Category: Other
Sri Lanka Hayleys commercial farming project wins recognition
Apr 06, 2010 (LBO) – A project to help farmers in Sri Lanka’s former war zone by Hayleys, a big exporter of gherkins to global food chains, has won an award from its partner, the US Agency for International Development. A USAID statement said the project was chosen from 700 such initiatives around the world […]
Stranded coal carrier threatens Great Barrier Reef
SYDNEY, April 5, 2010 (AFP) – Australian authorities were attempting Monday to stabilise a stranded Chinese coal carrier which is threatening to break up on the Great Barrier Reef and spill more oil into the pristine waters. The Shen Neng 1 ran aground on Saturday when it hit a shoal off the eastern state of […]
Sri Lanka Milk Foods starts new plant
Apr 02, 2010 (LBO) – Lanka Milk Foods (LMF), a milk powder packer which is part of Sri Lanka’s Distilleries group, said it has begun production at a new plant with a capacity of 9.5 million litres of cow milk. LMF acquired them in 2001 when it bought 90 percent of the shares of Ambewela […]
Indian designers go back to their roots as retro-chic rules
NEW DELHI, April 2, 2010 (AFP) – Raw silk, cotton, jute — India’s traditional fabrics are finding favour among top designers raring to break new ground in the highly competitive Indian fashion market. The tendency to ape Western cuts and style in recent years has seen the country’s own rich craftsmanship take a backseat. But […]
Sri Lanka tea estate in iced tea project with US firm
April 01, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s listed Bogowantalawa Tea Estates said it was starting a two million dollar iced tea unit with a US firm in which the firm would take up a 25 percent stake. The joint venture will export packaged iced tea to the United States. The company said it was teaming […]
Sri Lanka tea wage hike erodes Malwatte Plantations profit
Mar 31, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Malwatte Valley Plantations said 2009 annual profits fell 99.3 percent to 2.15 million rupees from a year ago with a big loss in the December quarter on higher wage costs and gratuity provisions. Its financial results filed with the Colombo stock exchange showed December quarter losses shot up […]
Transit Point
KUALA LUMPUR, March 31, 2010 (AFP) – Malaysia on Wednesday launched a national plan against human trafficking as the country moves to quash its image as a transit point for traffickers. Home minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the five-year plan would strengthen anti-trafficking legislation and training and improve border security among measures to tackle the problem. […]
‘s aborted Sri Lanka concert
March 30, 2010 (AFP) – The Maldives stepped in on Tuesday to offer US rap star Akon a replacement concert after his scheduled appearance in Sri Lanka next month was scuttled by protesting Buddhist monks. “We are very happy he is planning to come and perform,” President Mohamed Nasheed’s press secretary Mohamed Zuhair told AFP […]
Now comes tough part for Bharti: making Zain purchase pay
NEW DELHI, March 31, 2010 (AFP) – Indian telecoms tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal has finally achieved his dream of breaking into the African market with a 10.7-billion-dollar deal to buy Kuwait-based Zain’s Africa assets. But now comes the tough part — making the purchase pay off. Mittal’s Bharti Airtel, the top mobile operator in India, […]
” computer growth: official
WASHINGTON, March 31, 2010 (AFP) – India is about to witness an explosion in the spread of personal computers and Internet connectivity, visiting Minister of State for IT and Communications Sachin Pilot said Tuesday. Asked about US computer giant Dell’s reported intention to move its manufacturing facilities from China to India, Pilot only could confirm […]
‘ futures evaporate in China drought
QIXINGCUN, March 29, 2010 (AFP) – Peasant farmer Dong Guicheng wakes up every morning hoping for rain, but each day a crippling drought instead brings more disappointment and desperation. In a scene repeated by millions of people in a vast area of China’s parched southwest, Dong treks daily to a dwindling reservoir to fetch scarce […]
Sri Lanka Watawala Plantations creates new consumer products unit
Mar 26, 2010 9LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Watawala Plantations, which manufactures and sells branded teas, has decided to set up a fully owned subsidiary to sell its locally branded products, a stock exchange filing said. The new unit, named Watawala Marketing, will handle the firm’s fast moving consumer goods from April 1. The firm, a […]