PP has Pokhara office

KATHMANDU: Pashupati Paints (PP), the first Nepali paints industry, has opened it branch office in Pokhara, aiming to serve customers in Gandaki and Dhaulagiri. The director duo Abhishek Murarka, Aditya Murarka and GM Ajit Sharma jointly inaugurated the officer on Wednesday. Established in 2039 BS in Sunsari, Pashupati Paints manufactures 250 metric tonnes of decorative and adhesive paints every month. — HNS

State-enterprise tax

BEIJING: China will kick-off in October a new plan to tax state enterprises to cool the pace of investment activity and boost government coffers. The government will start to take 10 per cent of the after-tax profits earned by the oil, coal, power, chemicals, telecommunications and tobacco industries. Other state enterprises will hand over five per cent of their after-tax profits. — AFP

Inflation rises in HK

HONG KONG: Inflation in Hong Kong hit 1.6 per cent in August from 1.5 per cent a month earlier, due to increases in food prices and the cost of dining out. Hong Kong’s inflation remained moderate despite its strong economic growth, and was helped by some tax concessions. Barring the concessions, August figure would have been 2.7 per cent. — AFP

British retail sales up

LONDON: Retail sales in Britain rose strongly in August, helped by strong sales of food. Retail sales rose by 0.6 per cent in August from July, when they had advanced by 0.7 per cent. The growth came mostly in sales of food, which rose by 1.3 per cent in August, the biggest gain since June 2006. — AFP