Category:
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 […]
Sri Lanka to step up mine clearing: army
August 20, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military is to send more troops to clear land mines in areas recently wrested from Tamil rebel control so that civilians can return to their homes, the top army officer said Thursday. Jayasuriya said his aim was to support a massive reconstruction effort in areas once held by […]
Sri Lanka Janashakthi Insurance six-month net up 223-pct
Aug 20, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Janashakthi Insurance said net profit in the six-months to June 2009 rose 223 percent to 265.6 million rupees from a year ago mainly on better cost control, lower claims and higher investment income. Janashakthi Insurance paid out 1.14 billion rupees in claims to customers during the first half […]
Sri Lanka apparel firm to make fleece fabric
Aug 20, 2009 (LBO) – Textured Jersey Lanka (TJL), a joint venture between Pacific Textiles and Sri Lankan apparel export group Brandix, said it plans to produce fleece fabric for Victoria’s Secret Pink loungewear brand. The firm also has wide-ranging finishing capabilities such as encapsulation, moisture management, seeding and other customized finishes, the statement said. […]
New Zealand save follow-on against Sri Lanka
GALLE, August 20, 2009 (AFP) – Resolute batting by New Zealand’s eighth-wicket pair of Jesse Ryder and Daniel Vettori denied Sri Lanka a follow-on in the first Test here on Thursday.The duo, who came together with the Black Caps still needing 30 runs to avoid the follow-on in the rain-hit Test, put on a defiant […]
US warns of conditions in Sri Lanka camps
WASHINGTON, August 19, 2009 (AFP) – The United States on Wednesday renewed its call for Sri Lanka to release more than 250,000 Tamil war refugees from their camps, warning of the potential for disease.Heavy rains this week flooded nearly 2,000 makeshift shelters in the camps, where people displaced by war have been detained since the […]
Bunker Share
Aug 20, 2009 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka unit of Indian Oil Corporation has about a third of the bunkering market barely 10 months after starting ship fuel sales at Colombo port, a top official said.“We started last November and we have about 35 percent market shares,” Lanka IOC managing director Suresh Kumar said. “Bunkering […]
Sri Lankan stocks close down 0.37-pct, rupee stable
Aug 19, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed down Wednesday as retail investors took profits on the last few day’s gains, while the rupee stabilized against the greenback, brokers and dealers said. The benchmark Colombo All Share Price Index (ASPI) closed down 0.37 percent (9.44 points) to end at 2,521.24, while the Milanka index […]
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 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 […]
Retail Plan
Aug 19, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s supermarket chain Cargills (Ceylon) said it plans to invest in the former northern war zone as its retail and consumer goods businesses lifted June 2009 quarter profits.The company said in a stock exchange filing that group net profit grew 36.6 percent to 162 million rupees in the June […]
Mobile Google
Aug 19, 2009 (LBO) – Mobitel, a unit of fixed access provider Sri Lanka Telecom, is offering Google’s mobile email, calendar and document reading services to its mobile subscribers in a partnership launched in Colombo Wednesday. Leisha de Silva Chandrasena, head of Sri Lanka Telecom, said the Google service would help Sri Lanka on the […]