Category:
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Sri Lanka press for win as weather holds key
GALLE, August 21, 2009 (AFP) – Bad weather appeared the main stumbling block in Sri Lanka’s bid to win the first Test after illness-hit New Zealand were boxed into a corner on Friday.The tourists, set an improbable target of 413 following an unbeaten century by Tillakaratne Dilshan, plodded to 30-1 in 13 overs by stumps […]
US fund buys $875 Sri Lanka rupee bonds pushing reserves above $3bn: CB Governor
Aug 20, 2009 (LBO) – An 875 million US dollar inflow from a US-based fund will go into 4 and 6-year rupee bonds, helping push Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves above 3.0 billion dollars by Friday, Central Bank governor Nivard Cabraal said. The inflow will be directly matched with Treasury bonds and the Central Bank’s Treasury […]
Sri Lankan shares close flat, blue chips gain
Aug 20, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed flat Thursday as retail investors eyed undervalued mid-cap stocks to profit from an anticipated month-end technical correction, brokers said. The benchmark Colombo All Share Price Index (ASPI) closed up 0.06 percent (1.58 points) to end at 2,524.62, while the Milanka index of liquid stocks gained 0.12 […]
Reverse Gear
Aug 20, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s United Motors Lanka (UMLL) made a 132 million-rupee loss in the June 2009 quarter as sales almost halved owing to weak orders from government ministries and the private sector. UMLL’s June quarter revenues plummeted 45.1 percent to almost 990 million rupees, while cost of sales dropped 50 percent […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]