Category: Other
Nokia targets India with low-cost handsets: CEO
NEW DELHI, August 19, 2009 (AFP) – The head of Nokia, the world’s largest maker of mobile phones, said Wednesday that the Finnish company aims to expand in India by offering lower-cost handsets.“India is our second-largest market. We aim to remove the affordability barrier,” chief executive and president Olli-Pekka Kallsvuo told reporters, without specifying the […]
British lawmakers urge review of Sri Lanka arms exports
LONDON, August 18, 2009 (AFP) – Britain should review all arms export licences to Sri Lanka in the wake of the recently-ended war with Tamil Tiger rebels, lawmakers said Wednesday.Ministers should also provide full details of what British arms were used by Sri Lankan forces during the conflict, the Committees on Arms Export Controls said […]
”’s reputation: think tank
MELBOURNE, August 19, 2009 (AFP) – Attacks on overseas students and dodgy education providers risk “poisoning” international attitudes to Australia and souring relations with China and India, a major think tank said Wednesday. The crisis facing Australia’s international education sector could also destroy the country’s third-largest export earner, worth more than 12 billion US dollars […]
Sri Lanka tea marketing hit by govt cash crunch
Aug 19, 2009 – The Sri Lanka government’s failure to give back cess funds collected from tea exports for brand building spells danger to Ceylon tea, as rival origins step up marketing efforts, exporters have warned.Tea Exporters Association chairman Jayantha Keragala said promotional funding to help exporters to build brands in overseas markets, meant to […]
Sri Lanka spices hit by bad weather
Aug 19, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan spice exporters and producers said this year’s production and exports have been affected by bad weather on which the crops are dependent. Karthik Ramachandran, chairman of the Spices & Allied Products Producers™ & Traders™ Association (SAPPTA) said demand for the island’s spices was growing rapidly. “SAPPTA is trying […]
Sri Lanka coconut exporter does well in June
Aug 18, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Coco Lanka said exports of coconut products did well in the June 2009 quarter with group net profit up 982 percent to 34 million rupees from just three million a year ago. The company, part of the Renuka Holdings group, said in a stock exchange filing that sales […]
Sri Lanka Maskeliya Plantations makes profit in June quarter
Aug 17, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Maskeliya Plantations said June 2009 quarter net profit was marginally higher than a year ago despite lower sales and sharply higher finance costs. The company said in a stock exchange filing that net profit for the June quarter went up two percent to 53 million rupees from a […]
India faces drought but economists upbeat
NEW DELHI, August 16, 2009 (AFP) – Crops are shrivelling as India faces the spectre of drought but economists say they are still upbeat about the country’s economic prospects. They are banking that a strong industrial performance will help offset the impact of the worst monsoon in years in Asia’s third largest economy. Analysts have […]
Legal Move
Aug 16, 2009 (LBO) – The directors of two failed property firm in Sri Lanka’s troubled Ceylinco group has been given court nod to have a board meeting in prison to approve the setting up of a trust to repay investors, a media report said. Directors of F & G Property Developer (Pvt) Ltd, and […]
Pakistan moves to bring tribal belt into mainstream
ISLAMABAD, August 14, 2009 (AFP) – Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari unveiled political reforms in the country’s tribal belt Friday in a bid to extricate the lawless region from the grip of Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants.Pakistan’s seven federally administered tribal areas (FATA) have become a stronghold for hundreds of extremists who fled after the US-led […]
Sri Lanka, Maldives trade shifting to services: envoy
Aug 13, 2009 (LBO) – The Maldives is introducing laws to attract foreign investors such as those from Sri Lanka with whom the archipelago’s trade is growing and shifting towards services, the Maldivian envoy to Colombo said. High commissioner Ali Hassen Didi said the two countries have had close trade links for decades and shared […]
Sri Lanka Dilmah says branded tea to Europe hit by strong rupee: Interview
Aug 12, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka™s largest branded tea exporter who was hit by a slump in demand says an upturn may be around the corner but warns that weak balance sheets in large plantations pose a long-term threat to the industry. MJF Group owned Dilmah tea – available in over 90 countries – […]