BIZ BRIEFS

Korean PM to visit Sri Lanka

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, Chung Hong-Won, is due to arrive in Sri Lanka on Wednesday on a three-day official visit. This is the first official visit of a Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries in 1977.

The Prime Minister will call on President Mahinda Rajapaksa and hold discussions with Prime Minister D M Jayaratne on further strengthening bilateral relations in various fields.

Indian rupee falls to new low

The Indian rupee fell to a new low against the dollar on Wednesday and stocks declined after a Central Bank promise to inject liquidity into the country's financial markets provided only temporary relief from a deepening sense of crisis. Bank shares and bond prices had jumped after the Reserve Bank of India's latest intervention, but the euphoria quickly evaporated.

On Tuesday night the RBI stated that it would purchase Rs 80 billion ($1.2 billion) of long-dated government bonds and take other steps to ease pressure on Indian banks, whose valuations have been badly hit by a series of measures introduced to protect the rupee over the past month.

Singer launches inverter air- conditioner

Singer introduced the Y split inverter air-conditioner to the market recently.

"It has been built to save 50% more energy than conventional air conditioners. Years of research and technological expertise have gone in to Singer's latest offering. It has a built-in super ionizer that absorbs and sterilises bacteria in the air, thereby releasing cool air that is free of dust, smoke, odour and pollen particles," a company spokesman said.

"The Singer Y split inverter air- conditioner has been developed with the customer's convenience and health in mind," he said.