Category: Other
Maldives to stop money printing under IMF deal
Aug 21, 2009 (LBO) – The Indian Ocean tourist paradise of Maldives will stop printing money to finance its budget deficit and cut state sector wages to stabilize its economy, International Monetary Fund has said. “Maldives is facing a difficult economic and fiscal situation,” IMF mission chief to the archipelago said in a statement. “The […]
India to tackle drought shortfalls with imports: minister
NEW DELHI, August 21, 2009 (AFP) – India will import lentils, edible oil and other staples to cope with any shortfalls caused by a widespread drought that has badly hurt crops, the finance minister said Friday.The statement by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee came as the country of nearly 1.2 billion people faces its weakest monsoon […]
India should brace for swine flu pandemic: minister
NEW DELHI, August 21, 2009 (AFP) – India’s health minister warned Friday that the country of nearly 1.2 billion people must brace for a “large-scale” swine flu pandemic.Given the South Asian nation’s size “we shall have to be prepared much more than any other country in the world”, Ghulam Nabi Azad told a gathering of […]
Indian drought threatens rice, sugar output
NEW DELHI, August 19, 2009 (AFP) – India said Wednesday it would step up its food distribution programme for the poor as a widening drought threatened to cut rice production by 10 percent and sharply reduce sugar supplies.Agriculture and Food Minister Sharad Pawar also said the government would consider releasing wheat and rice from its […]
VW targets sales of 100,000 cars in India by 2014
NEW DELHI, August 19, 2009 (AFP) – German automobile giant Volkswagen AG, seeking to tap into India’s fast-growing vehicle market, said Wednesday it hopes to sell 100,000 cars by 2014 in the country.Europe’s largest car manufacturer said it would accelerate its sales in India using the planned launch next year of its popular mass-market Polo […]
Sri Lanka plantations companies enticed by spice
Aug 20, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s listed plantations companies are getting into spice cultivation, drawn by the opportunities offered by their vast land holdings and the reputation for the island’s crops, officials said. As many as 12 of the 18 plantation companies listed on the Colombo bourse have diversified and gone into the production […]
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 […]