Maldives repositions with new tourism slogan, logo
The Maldives Marketing and PR Corporation (MMPRC) last week revealed the country’s new tourism slogan and logo, after over a year-long consultation and design process, involving industry and government.
The new slogan is ‘Maldives – Always Natural,’ which is accompanied by a logo highlighting the country’s unique natural characteristics.
“The slogan and logo are designed to underscore the outstanding natural beauty of the Maldives, which tourists from all segments of the market consistently rate as one of their main reasons for visiting the country,” said MMPRC Chairperson Thoyyib Mohamed.
Cargo slump threatens more pain for Boeing 747-8
Reuters: Boeing Co is battling to prevent teething problems on its 747-8 freighter from turning into a wider customer revolt as jittery airlines seize on a chance to curb their exposure to a slump in the global freight market, industry sources said.
The largest plane ever built by Boeing, a stretched version of its instantly recognisable jumbo, has already been hit by a three-week-long dispute over engine performance that delayed delivery to Cargolux Airlines International, the airplane’s first customer. Another buyer slashed its order by 25 per cent.
Australia to host international talks to tackle piracy next year
PERTH: Australia is to host international talks next year to tackle piracy, hoping to stop a crime that has seen hundreds of people taken hostage in this year, Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said last week.
Rudd made the announcement at a forum on Indian Ocean Piracy held on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in the West Australian city of Perth.
‘Lankapack 2012’ geared to showcase best local packaging solutions
By Cheranka Mendis
The latest packaging solutions, equipment and development models will be on show next May at the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Hall with the launch of ‘Lankapack 2012,’ organised by the Sri Lanka Institute of Packaging and the Packaging Development Centre.
Packaging, known as a multifunctional service which adds value to a product and enhances its competitiveness in the market, is a US$ 1.5 billion industry, Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishard Bathiudeen said earlier this year. The industry, which has been in existence for the past three decades or more, operates successfully as an export product as well.
Market in heavy need of a new direction – Asia Wealth
Asia Wealth Management last week headlined its weekly report saying the market is in heavy need of a new direction and questioned whether the Bourse is in mayhem with no guidance.
“The bourse completed the trading week on a dull note apparently with neither domestic nor foreign interest. We believe that the lack of interest by both domestic and foreign parties towards the market could be as a result of the uncertainty. Trading levels were highly unsatisfactory with many investors remaining on a hold and watch stance.
“Albeit with all this negativity, we still expect the market to posture itself as attractive with a combination of growth and value stocks that would be ideal to both the retailers, the high end individuals and the corporates for their investments,” Asia Wealth Management said.
Strong corporate results failed to lift market – Arrenga Capital
Arrenga Capital in its weekly report lamented that the strong corporate performance too seem to have failed to lift market momentum as activity levels continued to lighten to touch the lowest so far in 2011 whilst turnover figures continue to plummet to the bottom.
“Indices took a tussle ride today as it closed in the green but with fewer changes to prices. Investors have been gripped by fear with the big players missing from the market picture as the question whether the market has reached the bottom remains unanswered. No one wants to catch a falling knife but all investors should be aware of market timing. Thus, we opine our investors to turn this short term fear to long term profits by continuing to accumulate on the fundamentally led counters as re-balancing in the depths of a bear market would enhance long term returns,” Arrenga said.
In its Weekly Thought, Arrenga said the current market conditions can be best described as unpredictable and volatile with investor sentiments remaining pretty low. “Any buy recommendation is thought twice by investors. Market is currently suited for investors with a long-term investment horizon of a minimum of two years or more. In spite of short-term risky rallies and associated volatility, we advise our not so aggressive investors to take refuge in high dividend paying counters. Based on our analysis of a two year time horizon, we foresee Nestle (DY–4.1%) and Ceylon Tobacco (DY–6.9%) to come up with a dividend announcement over the next one-month period.”
Retail sentiment to be subdued – Acuity Stockbrokers
Acuity Stockbrokers opined that although the upcoming Q3 earnings are likely to be strong amid robust economic fundamentals, it expects subdued retail sentiment in the week ahead as investors remain on the sidelines. It said last week markets reverted a downward trend once again with the ASPI ending two successive days of declines to close up on Friday. Gainers outweighed losers by 98 to 68 on Friday but turnover remained thin, declining 48% over the four day week to hit a year-to-date low. “Q3 Corporate earnings have thus far been positive with this week’s results – primarily from the Banks, Finance & Insurance and Motors sectors – mirroring strong company fundamentals,” Acuity added.
Counterfeit Victoria’s Secret ‘Pink’ raided
By S.S. Selvanayagam
On a complaint made by Victoria’s Secret Stores Brand Management Inc, a team of officers from the Criminal Investigation Department recently raided a large stock of counterfeit Victoria’s Secret ‘Pink’ garments from a location in Kelaniya.
At the time of the raid, it is reported that the counterfeiters were arranging the fake garments for export. The Complainant Victoria’s Secret Stores Brand Management Inc is a company globally famous in the fashion industry and a leading specialty retailer of lingerie and beauty products.
Having its headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, the company operates in more than 2,900 specialty stores across the US and has a large clientele worldwide who rely on the quality of their products.
Misbah praises professional Pakistan
Captain Misbah-ul Haq praised a “thorough professional performance” by the Pakistan team that enabled them to beat Sri Lanka by nine wickets in the second Test on Saturday.
Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, man of the match for his 5-68, led an impressive bowling display to help Pakistan dismiss Sri Lanka for 257 in their second innings.
US study tracks huge state role in China economy
- State sector controls economy despite major reforms
- China has detailed blueprint for state dominance
- Chinese state behavior seen behind trade friction
WASHINGTON (Reuters): China’s state-guided capitalism guarantees state sector dominance of the country’s economy — a recipe for further friction with key trade partners, said a U.S. research report published last week.
New era dawns with Kaspersky Lab’s latest Endpoint Protection Solution
Avian Technologies (Pvt) Ltd., the official Sole Distributor for Kaspersky Lab Anti Virus software products for Sri Lanka and Maldives, announced the release of Kaspersky Endpoint Security 8 for Windows and Kaspersky Security Centre.
The new endpoint protection solution and comprehensive management console are designed to keep businesses ahead of emerging threats with intelligent security solutions from the leading anti-malware experts at Kaspersky Lab.
DP World volume up 10% to 14.4 m TEUs in 3Q
DP World’s global portfolio of container terminals said last week it delivered another solid quarter handling gross volumes of 14.4 million TEU in the third quarter of 2011, 10% ahead of the third quarter last year.
Gross volumes for the first nine months of the year were 40.6 million TEU or 11% ahead of the prior year. This performance was driven by strong growth in the Asia Pacific, UAE, Africa and Americas regions, as well as new volumes from recently acquired Suriname and additional capacity in Callao, Peru and Qingdao, China. Like for like gross volume growth was 9%1.
• 
