The National Telecommunications Provider, Sri Lanka Telecom and the National Mobile Service Provider, Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitelhave once again collaborated to open a state of the art teleshop at the Liberty Plaza shopping mall in the heart of Colombo. Opened today, this modern store has been designed with a different, device-oriented, experience-based approach in mind.
Managing Director of Fonterra Brands Lanka Leon Clement said today all New Zealand dairy products are 100 per cent safe and at the same time welcomed the Sri Lankan Government’s decision to re-test their samples of imported milk powder.
“While DCD has never been a food safety issue, there has been a lot of speculation and misinformation about milk powder products in Sri Lanka.
Composite insurer Amãna Takaful PLC (ATPLC) posted modest growth in all aspects of the business in Q1 2013. Releasing their interim results, the company reported that consolidated Revenue of Rs 463.4Mn grew by 15% over Q1/2012 with profit before tax of Rs. 22.9Mn, an increase of 55% in the same comparison.
Odel, Sri Lanka’s leading fashion and lifestyle brand, has announced the arrival of the new Spring Summer handbag collection of the hugely popular Spanish brand ‘Desigual’ which is already a hit with shoppers at its Alexandra Place store.
Once again the Institute of Hairdressers & Beauticians (IHB) sponsors a series of programs on the latest world trends in hairdressing, the Prestige Club collection and the Organization Mondiale Coiffure (OMC) Academy, the first of which was held on 5th May 2013, offering all manner of focused information for the hairdressing profession. Spearheading the programmes is Joakim Roos, Director of OMC who will be assisted by the dynamic Emma Ekman, Silver Medal winner at World Championships 2013.
Sri Lanka’s leading menswear specialist, Hameedia pampers Sri Lankan bridegrooms with an international experience this year, with its distinguished and elegant European themed collection 2013. ‘European style, on your dream day’ is the theme, as Hameedia proposes a wide range of European fabrics, styles and fashions from its Envoy and FH brands.
Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of Emirates, reinforced its position as an industry leader by claiming a top prize at the annual Supply Chain and Transport Awards (SCATA).
Organized by ITP, publisher of arabiansupplychain.com and Logistics Middle East, Emirates SkyCargo was named ‘Cargo Operator of the Year’ in recognition of its continued leadership and innovations in global air logistics. Further, the award recognized the benefits that Emirates SkyCargo brings to customers utilizing e-freight technology and providing a variety of quality solutions, with a relentless focus on improving service.
Amãna Takaful, the flag bearer of the Takaful way of insurance in Sri Lanka recently hosted their Insurance Brokers in a friendly bowling tournament filled with fun and entertainment. The event held in Colombo, saw over a hundred participants from fifteen companies come together in spirited camaraderie with Amãna Takaful Staff to send skittles rolling down the aisles
Mr. Mohan Pandithage, Chairman and Chief Executive of the Hayleys Group received the Lifetime Achievement award at the Seatrade - Sri Lanka Ports, Trade & Logistics (SLPTL) Awards ceremony held recently. The award is in recognition of Mr.Pandithage’s contributions to the transportation and logistics industry during his career spanningfourdecades. The event also saw the Group’s Transportation and Logistics arm, Hayleys Advantis Limited, bagging the Shipping Agent of the Year award.
Seven hotels offering diverse experiences have joined Commercial Bank’s ‘Easy Vacation’ scheme, enabling the Bank’s credit card holders to enjoy substantial discounts in May and June this year. Encompassing beach, hill country, heritage, rejuvenation or wildlife experiences, these hotels will offer Commercial Bank credit card holders between 30% and 35% off their total bills for stays on full or half board basis.
Sri Lanka, which lured many early travellers with its breath-taking attractions, is today, emerging as one of the most exciting MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Conferences and Exhibitions) destinations in Asia. SriLankan Airlines in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau is implementing a long term plan to enhance Sri Lanka’s profile as a MICE destination to achieve the ultimate goal of becoming a premier conference location in the Indian Ocean.
Renown and award winning wildlife and nature photographer Surgeon Rear Admiral Lalith Ekanayake USP, MBBS, MD, FCCP, DDHM (Aus) is having his second wildlife book launch and exhibition from 16-19 May 2013 at the Harold Peiris gallery, Lionel Wendt Memorial Art Centre Colombo 7. Lalith had his first book titled “the untamed road” launched and the exhibition in 2010.
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has been adjudged the Most Productive Network in South Asia in 2012 for MoneyGram, the global funds transfer company. This is the second successive year that the Bank received this award, which was presented at MoneyGram’s Regional Conference in Jodhpur, India.
Colombo District UPFA MP Hon. Thilanga Sumathipala recently received the honour of being the first Sri Lankan to be elected as a Board Member to the Executive Committee of the Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), an international non –profit, non –partisan organization with a worldwide network of over 1,000 MPlegislators in approximately 130 elected parliaments. Headed by Hon. H.V. Ross Robertson – Member of Parliament from New Zealand, the PGA Executive Committee decides on the programmes to be implemented globally by the organisation,
Brandix Lanka Limited has announced the appointment of Priyan Fernando, currently a non-executive Director, as Chairman effective 3rd May 2013. Mr. Fernando, who is the Executive Vice President of Global Business Services at American Express, New York, succeeds Deshamanya Ken Balendra upon the latter’s retirement after 10 years as Chairman of Sri Lanka’s single largest apparel exporter.
SriLankan Cargo, the cargo arm of SriLankan Airlines recorded the highest revenue of Rs. 12.8 Billion earned in a single financial year in the history of the Airline. It also handled the highest tonnage of 101,000 metric tonnes this year. SriLankan cargo has recorded an increase of 21 per cent on its revenue and also a 15 per cent increase on the tonnage.
Sunshine Holdings Group’s new Healthguard pharmacy in Thalawathugoda was recently declared open by VishGovindasamy, Group Managing Director of Sunshine Holdings PLC. The newly established Healthguard pharmaceutical outlet is the 16th of the well- known chain of pharmacies which focuses on pharmaceutical wellness, beauty and personal care products.
Elephant House Cream Soda which was chosen as the country’s most popular beverage for the seventh consecutive time, this year too provided thousands of fans unlimited refreshment and entertainment opportunities centred around island-wide Sinhala and Tamil New Year celebrations by sponsoring multiple, diverse events at several locations during the month of April.
Commercial Credit recently gifted a brand new Suzuki Maruti 800 CC car as the first prize in the “Anniversary Walk” conducted by the Aquinas University College. Nearly 2000 people took part in this walk and among them were several past and present students of the Aquinas University College, together with friends and well wishers from all over the country. The brand new Suzuki Maruti 800 CC car was won by Ms. A. Inthumathy of Colombo 15.
For the first time in Sri Lanka, the National Mobile Service Provider, Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel along with the country’s national carrier – SriLankan Airlines offers customers the opportunity to reserve airline tickets via mobile phone. Expanding on Mobitel’s mTicketing platform, this collaboration breaks new ground, and makes it the only entity to offer this facility in the country.
ToyWatch, the Italian designer watch brand favoured by celebrities around the world, has debuted in Sri Lanka exclusively with ODEL, the country’s top fashion and lifestyle retailer. Described as a brand that interprets luxury, ToyWatch was founded in 2006 to create contemporary wrist fashion that uses ongoing research into new materials, shapes and colours, to produce collections that are updated on a yearly basis to dictate fashions and trends.
Contrary to what its name may suggest, the prospect of owning the all-new Mitsubishi Mirage will become a solid reality for leasing customers of the Commercial Bank, following a partnership between the Commercial Bank and United Motors to promote this highly efficient subcompact hatchback from the Japanese automaker.
Prakash Schaffter Managing Director Janashakthi Insurance PLC was elected as President of the Insurance Association of Sri Lanka (IASL) along with the new office bearers at the recently held Insurance Association of Sri Lanka Annual General Meeting held on 20th March 2013.
ODEL’s popular in-store magazine, which bears the same name, is now in ‘smart phone space’ following the launch of a free app for iPhone and Android-powered mobile phones. The magazine’s second issue for 2013 came out in print for the April shopping season featuring the latest products available at ODEL, and can now be downloaded from iTunes or the Google apps store. The on-line version of the magazine is also available on www.odel.lk
Piramal Glass Ceylon PLC has concluded yet another successful year and declared its results for the year ended 31st March 2013.
The record of continuous growth was established with the turnover being at Rs. 5.5 billion and the highest ever PAT being recorded at Rs.724 million.
The revenue, as well as the Profit after Tax grew by 6% over that of last year. The Board of Directors have declared a first and final dividend of 38% for the year ended 31st March 2013 as against that of 36% the previous year. The earnings per share too have increased by 6% to Rs 0.76 per share for the FY 13.
Amana Bank opened its 20thbranch inNegombo on 29 April 2013 at No. 97, Colombo Road, Negombo.The opening ceremony of the new branch was held under the patronage of Amana Bank’s Managing Director/CEO Mr. Faizal Salieh, Chief Operating Officer Mr. Mohamed Azmeer, together with members of the Bank’s Corporate Management, customers and other invitees.
For the second year in a row, BBDO won the title of ‘Network of the Year’ at the Asian Marketing Effectiveness Awards. The coveted awards ceremony was the climax of the two day ‘Festival of Asian Marketing Effectiveness’ (FAME) held in Shanghai with BBDO walking away with a total of 18 awards – twice as many as its nearest competitor. The Asian Marketing Awards 2013 drew 881 entries in 28 categories, including 12 product and service categories and 16 specialist categories including ‘Most Effective Use of Social Media Marketing’, ‘Most Effective Use of Digital Media’ and Best Non-traditional Thinking / Non-advertising Idea’. Fifty-five winners were awarded, including 16 Gold, 19 Silver and 20 Bronze awards – of which the most awarded country was Australia, taking home 15 trophies.
Thomas Cook (India) Limited, the largest integrated travel and travel related financial services company in India, Sri Lanka & Mauritius, has launched European tours, specially designed for the Sri Lanka market, offering adelightful diversity of productsand at great value prices. The Thomas Cook tours range between 7-9 days, and will commence from August 2013, to fascinating destinations like Paris, Switzerland and Italy.
Dipped Products PLC, the Hayleys Group subsidiary that accounts for 5% of the global non-medical rubber glove market, posted strong financial performance for 2012/2013. In a filing to the Colombo Stock Exchange, Dipped Products reported a growth in turnover of 20% equating to Rs. 23.7 Bn and a profit before tax of Rs. 2.2 Bn in the 12 months ending 31st March 2013.
Sri Lanka’s leading tyre maker CEAT Kelani Sri Lanka is now casting its tread across cyberspace, following the launch of a new website with a fresh, user-friendly approach that goes beyond providing information about the company and its products. The new website at www.ceatsrilanka.com offers visitors a comprehensive look at not just the company, but the whole business of manufacturing, selling and even using tyres, providing an information resource that can be useful to consumers interested in the subject.
DFCC Vardhana Bank (DVB), one of Sri Lanka’s leading retail banks recently expanded its network across the country by opening two more new fully fledged branches in the East. Adding to the development of the area, DVB opened branches in Oddamawadi and Akkareipattu enabling the local community with better access to quick and efficient commercial banking facilities.
Procter & Gamble (P&G) serves approximately 4.6 billion people around the world with its brands; this year in celebration of mother’s day in Sri Lanka keeping in line with Sri Lanka ‘’Winning Mums’’ campaign P&G brings together the youth of the nation with an island wide initiative, the ‘‘Anthem for Mothers ’’. P&G, a company which is in the business of recognising mothers all around the world aims to create the first ever ‘‘ Anthem for Mothers’’ to commemorate all Sri Lankan moms.
Blue Chip Technical Services (Pvt) Ltd., a total IT solutions provider announces its expanded partnership with Infor (Software principal for Blue Chip) to sell Infor M3 in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Blue Chip boasts a decade-long partnership with Infor to sell, implement and provide support services for Infor System21 ERP. Blue Chip is a fully-owned subsidiary of the Blue Chip Group UK, with international branches in Scotland, Sweden and Portugal. Blue Chip is one of the leading IBM® partners in Sri Lanka as well.
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC has posted profit before tax of Rs 3.23 billion on gross income of Rs 16.77 billion for the three months ended 31st March 2013, despite the challenges of reduced foreign exchange income and narrowing margins in the reporting period. Releasing its first quarterly statement based on new Sri Lanka Accounting Standards (SLFRS) which are based on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for interim accounts, the Bank said foreign exchange income had declined by Rs 1.47 billion or 65% over the corresponding quarter of the previous year, due to the appreciation of the Sri Lanka Rupee against the US Dollar during the reporting period as against a depreciation during the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
Sri Lanka’s biggest Fashion chain NOLIMIT added a state-of-the-art store to its chain, this time in the heart of Panadura with the view of providing a friendly and comfortable shopping experience to the area. With a floor space of 20,000 square feet, NOLIMIT Panadura is one of the largest and most spacious fashion stores of the clothing chain opened to date to facilitate convenient shopping ‘Under One Roof’. The design of the outlet has been created with an ambience on par with international standards to offer a unique, one-of-a-kind shopping experience to Sri Lanka’s fashion conscious public.
Hutch enabled its bill payments and recharging facilities for their customers to over 350 Singer outlets island-wide. The company recently signed the contract at the Singer Head Office, redefining its longstanding partnership with the nation’s leading consumer goods retailer, to facilitate an enhanced customer experience. Hutch postpaid customers will have access to bill payment facilities whilst prepaid users can top up their accounts similar to that offered at standard retail outlets. This facility will be available at all Singer Showrooms, Singer Mega Shops, Singer Home Shops and Sisil World Shops Island wide.
McAfee and South Asian Technologies recently hosted its successful Intelligent Security Event in Colombo with the participation of over one hundred CIOs, CSOs and IT managers from Sri Lanka. This event was aimed at educating audiences on utilising situational awareness technologies to get real time actionable insight out of their security systems, thereby enabling organisations to make proactive and intelligent security decisions.
McLarens Lubricants Ltd., the authorized distributor of ExxonMobil in Sri Lanka recently introduced one of the latest lubricants for Diesel vehicles “Mobil Delvac MX ESP 15W-40”. This is the latest addition to their diesel range paving the way for local diesel vehicle users to purchase the environmental friendly products. Remarked as extra high performance engine oil, Mobil Delvac MX ESP 15W-40 is the ideal lubricant for modern, high-output, low-emission engines including those with Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) and After treatment Systems with Diesel Particulate Filters (DPFs) and Diesel Oxidation Catalysts (DOCs). Whilst delivering cutting-edge performance in the modern engines, this lubricant gives superior performance in older conventional engines as well.
Hayleys Advantis Limited, the Transportation and Logistics arm of diversified blue-chip conglomerate Hayleys Group, won the Shipping Agent of the Year award at the Seatrade-Sri Lanka Ports, Trade & Logistics Awards held recently. “It is indeed an honour for us to be recognized as the Ship Agent of the Year at such a distinguished forum,” said Managing Director of Hayleys Advantis, Mr. Ruwan Waidyaratne speaking after the event.
CAL Finance offers free air tickets for its deposit holders for this season Any person who makes a deposit under this scheme gets this exclusive opportunity whilst earning a higher interest rate. This is not a common raffle draw where gifts could be limited to few people. Capitol Alliance Finance PLC gives this opportunity to every Sri Lankan who will deposit money under this scheme.
As the Manager Deposits explained the scheme works under three categories where you deposit Rs.500,000 you will be entitled for a free return air ticket to India / Micro DVD Stereo setup or one night stay in a luxury hotel in Sri Lanka.
eCybersec, a leading web application/network penetration testing company, tied hands with Resolvo Systems Singapore in order to introduce yet another groundbreaking service to the IT Security market in Sri Lanka. This cost effective, hassle-free remote monitoring service – ‘iCrawler’, is an early and prompt detection of information leakage of defaced and infectious compromised pages of corporate websites. It is expected to increase organization’s public web server security and would be an ideally managed security platform for organizations seeking to overcome website defacements.
Kelani Cables PLC, Sri Lanka’s number one electrical cable manufacturer initiated another ground-breaking project under their CSR initiatives focusing on the technical officers attached to the government sector of the country. The first program of this initiative took place in Hambanthota under the patronage of District Engineer of Hambanthota Eng. Mr. Sameera Indunil Wickramasinghe & Mr. W. A. Ariyasena, Chief Accountant of District Secretariat Office at the District Secretariat auditorium Hambanthota recently.
Haycarb PLC, the world class coconut shell based activated carbon manufacturer and exporter, posted a record performance in the financial year 2012/13. Outpacing growing challenges in traditional markets and rising costs of production, the Hayleys Group’s multinational activated carbon business noted significant achievement of several key performance milestones in an interim statement filed with the Colombo Stock Exchange.
Lucky consumers had much more than their thirst quenched recently as drinkers of Elephant House Ginger Beer (EGB), Elephant House Cream Soda, Elephant House Necto, Elephant House Orange Barley, Elephant House Orange Crush and KIK Cola won some valuable prizes with the climax of the 'Under the Moodiya' consumer promotion. Grand prize winners walked away with a Suzuki Dzire sedan and a Maruti 800cc car, as well as three Yamaha FZ-S motorbikes, plus a number of valuable instant prizes, as part of this promotion which saw over 130,000 entries pouring in from every part of the island over the last few weeks.
Samsung Electronics today announced the launch of the much-anticipated Samsung GALAXY S4, the next generation handset that’s designed to bring people together and enrich everyday life, into the Sri Lankan market. “The GALAXY S4 brings people together, makes everyday living better and sets the standard in mobile innovation” said JK Shin, CEO and Head of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung. Announcing the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S4 in the Sri Lankan market, Mr. H K Chang, Managing Director, Samsung India Electronics Limited, Sri Lanka, stated: “At Samsung, we are committed to innovation and to our consumers. We are always listening to our consumers and innovating to give them products that meet their needs. This has led to the successful introduction of iconic devices like the Galaxy SII, Galaxy SIII, Galaxy Note, Galaxy Note 2 and today, we are proud to announce the launch of our flagship device and the much awaited , Samsung Galaxy S4 .”
The Emirates Group has today announced it 25th consecutive year of profit and company-wide growth ending the year in a strong position despite continuing high fuel prices and a weak global economic environment. The financial year also ended with some very positive newly reached capacity milestones throughout the business. Released today in the Group’s 2012-13 Annual Report, the company posted an AED 3.1 billion (US$ 845 million) net profit, up 34 per cent from last year. Even with external challenges, the Group’s revenue reached AED 77.5 billion (US$ 21.1 billion) an increase of 17 per cent over last year’s results. The Group’s cash balance grew by 53 per cent reaching a solid AED 27.0 billion (US$ 7.3 billion).
All arrangements have now been put in place to hold the 9th Raigam Tele’es with all pomp and pageantry on the 17th of May 2013 at Water’s Edge from 6.30 P.M. onwards.
Five hundred and sixty eight applications have been received from all TV channels competing for 02 awards for excellence in TV Media. This is the highest number of applications Raigam has received for evaluation. The jury panel, led by Professor Patrick Ratnayake, consists of six erudite scholars drawn from different sectors. The responsibility to select the winner for the Special Merit Award, Winner of the Award of Appreciation and to declare the nominations for the 18 awards for excellence in TV Media as well as 20 awards for Excellence in Tele-drama. 57 awards will be presented at Raigam Tele’es this year including 3 awards for Popular Category, 11 Jury Special Merit Awards, 03 Awards of Appreciation and Award for the Best TV Channel of the Year.
Dabur Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of India’s leading consumer goods maker Dabur India Ltd, today announced the inauguration of its state-of-the-art packaged fruit-based beverage manufacturing facility in Sri lanka. The new facility, Dabur’s first in the island nation, was inaugurated by Sri Lanka's Minister of Economic Development Mr. Basil Rajapaksa.
Logiventures, the logistics services subsidiary of the Hayleys Group, has invested in eight acres of land in close proximity to the Magam Ruhunupura Mahinda Rajapaksa Port in Hambantota to build a state-of-the-art logistics hub to support its vehicle transit facility, which opened there in June last year.
Nalco, an Ecolab company with its local agent CIC Holdings PLC, will be conducting the Nalco Power 200 Seminar for on May 09th and 10th for its customer in the local power and energy industry. This international training session conducted by regional experts from Nalco’s Centre of Research & Expert (CoRE), the seminar is being held in Sri Lanka for the first time and will be attended by Mr. Steve Benham, Country Director for Sri Lanka and Maldives for Nalco.
Emirates’ innovation, investment and customer service was further recognised at an international level last night with an array of awards from two prestigious awards ceremonies.
At the Business Traveller Middle East Awards, Emirates was crowned Best Airline Worldwide as the carrier received its 32nd A380, pushing its modern fleet to 200 aircraft.
Emirates was also named Airline with the Best Business Class, Airline with the Best Economy Class and Best Regional Airline Serving the Middle East during the event at The Address Dubai Marina.
As Sri Lanka and the leading economy of the EU, the Federal Republic of Germany, together mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations, the Eurozone leader is looking to enhance its profile in Sri Lanka significantly. And the race for Sri Lanka’s key strategic resource (rare earth elements and mineral sands) has just tightened with Germany too exploring this crucial domestic sector, which is poised for a boom. “I too believe that there is strong unrealised potential for trade and investment cooperation between the two countries as we arrive at the 60th anniversary of our bilateral relations.
Polytex Garments Limited, a part of the global apparel giant the Esquel Group, has been an integral part of Sri Lanka’s apparel industry for the last 36 years, and continues to grow from strength to strength. Specialising in the production of knit shirts, the company boasts of an impressive client portfolio which includes some of the most popular retail brands in the world such as Nike, Marks & Spencer, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, Gap etc., and records over US$ 75million in turnover each year.
Coca-Cola Sri Lanka and Habitat for Humanity Sri Lanka dedicated more than 1700 wells and 4 play schools to the community members and students of Batticaloa today, under a joint community revitalization project. The project was begun in 2011 after the devastating floods in the Eastern Province of the countryrendered 1 million people homeless, with 200,000 acres of paddy fields destroyed and 100,000 wellscontaminated. The two partners have helped in the clearing of1783 wells and therebuilding of 4 playschools, impacting more than 3,800 people in the region.
A groundbreaking project to replant coral in the Hikkaduwa Marine National Park has been launched by the Department of Wildlife Conservation with funding from the Commercial Bank of Ceylon. A first for the Department, the initiative envisages replanting an extent of 1,000 square feet in the Walduwa area of the marine park, using techniques perfected in the Philippines. The original coral in this protected area was damaged in 1998 due to the warming of the ocean due to the ‘El Niño’ southern oscillation and the tsunami of 2004.
Deutsche Post DHL, the world’s leading mail and logistics services company, released its Corporate Responsibility Report 2012 today. The report covers the Group’s core “Living Responsibility” programs – GoGreen, GoHelp, and GoTeach – as well as issues and topics relating to Human Resources and health within the Group. In 2012 the Group improved its carbon efficiency by an additional two index points. In total, the Group has now achieved a 16 percent improvement in its carbon efficiency since the launch of the GoGreen program in 2008. This represents over half of the overall target: a 30 percent CO2-efficiency improvement by 2020 for the Group’s own operations and those of its transportation subcontractors, compared to 2007.
Seylan Bank, which celebrated its 25th year anniversary in March, recorded yet another impressive quarterly performance with Profits before Income Tax reaching Rs. 728 Million for the 3 months ended 31st March 2013. Profits after tax reached 505 Million a 26.7% increase compared to the Rs. 399 Million reported in the corresponding period in 2012. The interim Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with LKAS/SLFRS.
Fems, the sanitary ware brand of Hemas Manufacturing Pvt Ltd, recently rewarded the winners of its “Malaysia Shopping Sriya” promotion with air tickets to Malaysia. Six mothers and daughters were awarded air tickets whilst 55 other winners received gold pendants at a grand ceremony held in Colombo.
As the famous saying goes - shoes, and not diamonds, are a girl’s best friend a visit to ODEL has become a must for girls, as Sri Lanka’s favourite department store has recently expanded its range of ladies footwear.
SAP’s Sri Lanka partner of 10 years, The Capital Maharaja Organization (TCMOL), today announced that it will implement SAP ERP, Business Intelligence (BI), and Business Planning and Consolidation (BPC) solutions across its companies. This implementation comes in parallel with SAP establishing a stronger footprint in the market with The Capital Maharaja Organization Ltd. (TCMOL) becoming its distinctive 50th customer in the island. Accelerating its presence with a rapidly growing customer base, SAP is increasingly seen as the innovative solution provider with diverse offerings for customers anywhere, anytime.
Yet again proving its continuous commitment towards ensuring medical excellence to all customers, Lanka Hospitals recently won the coveted Sri Lanka National Quality Award for healthcare in the Large Scale category. Lanka Hospitals is the only private sector hospital to receive this prestigious award after a span of 15 years.
Wirecard AG, provider of a globally accepted payment gateway with a worldwide customer base, is partnering SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka, to take over its payment services for credit card processing and risk management. SriLankan Airlines has a global flight network of 64 destinations in 34 countries and is to become a full member of the oneworld air travel alliance in 2014.
The Annual General Meeting of the Association of Community Pharmacists’ held recently at the Lady Ridgeway hospital for Children’s’ auditorium with the participation of pharmacists around the country. Markss Healthcare sponsored the event and Medical Director of Markss Healthcare Dr. S. Mahakalanda conducted a lecture on the latest drugs which have been introduced to the market. During the lecture Dr. Mahakalanda also highlighted about the latest medical apparatus, how to issue drugs to patients and issues faced by the pharmacists as well.
The latest World Ranking List released by the German based Interkultur (www.interkultur.com) has Methodist College ranked No 18 in the world among all Youth and Children’s Choirs. It also ranks 67th among the top 1000 choirs in the world. This singular achievement follows on the heels and as a result of its achievements at the Xinhai International Choir Competition held in Guangzhou, China, last November where it became the first-ever Sri Lankan choir to win a Platinum Medal in international competitions.
All arrangements have now been put in place to hold the 9th Raigam Tele’es with all pomp and pageantry on the 17th of May 2013 at Water’s Edge from 6.00 P.M. onwards.
According to Dr. Ravi Liyanage, the Chairman of the Kingdom of Raigam, the idea behind Raigam Tele’es is to be a beacon of light to show direction for the second generation of artists who will inherit the field of television to bring joy and happiness to the Sri Lankan viewers.
DHL, the leading global logistics provider, has shipped the latest generation of the Mercedes S-Class to its international premiere on May 15, 2013 in Hamburg. Transported straight from the Mercedes-Benz plant in Stuttgart to the suburb of Finkenwerder in Hamburg, the cloaked luxury sedan was flown in an A300-600 DHL freight aircraft. In Hamburg, the new vehicle was unveiled for the first time to approximately 700 customers, retailers and journalists.
The National Mobile Service Provider, Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel hosted the live-streaming of the Google I/O Extended Conference in Colombo at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute yesterday. The event, streamed live from San Francisco which commenced at 7pm on the 15th ran throughout the night with an overwhelming participation by Sri Lankan developers.
The purpose of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) is to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can bring to societies and economies, as well as ways to bridge the digital divide around the world. May17th marks the anniversary of the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention and the creation of the International Telecommunication Union. The theme for 2013 is ‘ICTs and improving road safety’.
JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU), New York’s Hometown Airline™, and Emirates, the Dubai-based international carrier and one of the world’s fastest growing airlines, today announced intent to expand their current partnership to include bilateral codesharing, pending FAA and DOT regulatory approval and subject to receipt of foreign government operating authority. Under the expanded agreement, JetBlue will place its “B6” airline code on all flights currently operated by Emirates between the U.S. and Dubai International Airport, as well as between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Milan, Italy.
The Honourable Minister for Economic Development, Basil Rajapaksa, together with the Honourable Minister of Transport, Kumara Welgama, inaugurated the long awaited train services on the Medawachchiya – Madhu road segment of the Northern Railway Track on 14th May. This segment which covers a distance of 43 kms of the 252 km project was completed on schedule by Ircon International, a government of India undertaking.
CIC Holdings PLC recently announced changes in its Board of Directors as well as in the management of one of its main subsidiaries, Chemanex PLC. Mr. Steven Enderby has been appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director to the Board of Directors of the parent company, while Mr. Anura Mapalagama has assumed duties as the Managing Director of Chemanex PLC.
Sri Lanka’spremier manufacturer of cement, The Tokyo Cement Group (TKYO), has reinvigorated their online presence with a fresh, new website that facilitates unprecedented access between consumer and cement manufacturer. The launch of this refreshed website will make Tokyo Cement the nation’s first-ever cement manufacturer to offer a direct-to-consumer online retail environment for cement and similar value added products.
The example set by Sri Lanka’s celebrity entrepreneur and World Animal Day Ambassador Otara Gunewardene by adopting a street dog as a pet has now been followed by many of her staff, who have themselves ‘walked the talk’ of Embark, the community programme she initiated. Demonstrating that charity does begin at home, at least 15 employees of Odel have opened their homes to dogs rescued off the street.
DMS Electronics, (DMSE) a pioneer ICT solutions provider in Sri Lanka, has successfully implemented the end-to-end networking solutions and cabling infrastructure at the People’s Leasing & Finance (PLC) head office building in Borella.
The state of the art solution was deployed with high availability and a 10 Gigabit fibre backbone given the criticality of the network for their operations. A complete power over Ethernet solution that provides both data & voice capabilities covering the entire building is another key highlight of this solution.
Thrills in the water, on land and in the air were the highlight when nearly 2,000 people spent a day at the Leisure World theme park courtesy of Ceylinco Life’s sixth ‘Family Savari’ promotion for policyholders. Comprising of 500 policyholders and their families, the group was treated to the full gamut of rides and slides that Leisure World has to offer, and four families from Teldeniya, Maggona, Walasmulla and Ella, each won a helicopter ride at this event, which is one of four components of the Ceylinco Life Family Savari.
Amana Bank further expanded its branch network on 2 May2013 with the opening of its 21st branch in Badulla, located at No. 22, Lower Kings Street, Badulla. With the opening of the Badulla branch, the Bank marked its initial presence in the Uva Province of Sri Lanka. The opening ceremony was graced by the Mayor of Badulla, Hon UpaliNissankaGunasekara, Amana Bank’s Managing Director/CEO Mr Faizal Salieh, Chief Operating Officer,Mr Mohamed Azmeer, members of the Corporate Management Team, other invitees and residents of the locality.
At the beginning of 2013 (January) P&S introduced its latest competition which encouraged Sri Lankans who have the knack for cooking, to use the ingredients photographed on the P&S 2013 Calendar and prepare a unique dish. The competition was introduced in the view of promoting and enhancing the culinary skills of all Sri Lankans. The Judging criteria was based on the uniqueness of the dish, taste, appearance, originality, personal appearance and hygiene, where the judges saw tough competition with many talented cooks that brought new dishes to the table.
The policy measures adopted by the Central Bank and the authorities in early 2012 have been yielding the desired results. These measures have helped consolidate the achievements in the previous years while improving stability in the macroeconomy. At the same time, the Monetary Board has been somewhat concerned by the slower than expected pick-up in economic activity in the first few months of 2013 and has been of the view that there is now a need to stimulate the domestic economy, particularly in the light of the gradual moderation in headline inflation and subdued demand pressures in the economy.
General Manager, Sri Lanka Railways, Mr. B A P Ariyaratne inspected the recently completed railway track between Medawachchiya and Madhu road on 05-05-2013. Mr Ariyaratne was accompanied by the Project Director of Sri Lanka Railways, Mr M P LN Peiris and Mr. S L Gupta, General Manager, Ircon International Limited, India. A trial run was also conducted successfully on this new track, which covers a distance of 43 kms.
Five lucky shoppers who redeemed accumulated loyalty points for purchases at ODEL’s flagship store at Alexandra Place last month won vouchers of Rs 10,000 each courtesy of Sri Lanka favourite lifestyle store. The five winners were Vishwapali Manchanayake, Anupama Wimalasena, Prashanthi Mallawarachchi, Madushani Kannangara and Chandima Arawwala.
Top Korean car maker Kia has adjudged its sole distributor in Sri Lanka Kia Motors (Lanka) Ltd., as the company’s ‘Distributor of Distinction’ in acknowledgement of ‘Professionalism of the Highest Degree and Outstanding Sales Performance in the Asia Region.’ The award was presented at the annual Asia Distributors Convention of Kia in Manila, Philippines recently.
Minister of Education, Hon. Bandula Gunawardena met with the winners of the Sri Lanka Science and Engineering Fair (SLSEF) 2013, Pasindu Wijesena from Ananda College, Colombo, Subhash Gamage and Rakhitha Malewana from Nalanda College, Colombo, and the runner up, Dinesh Kapuge from Mihintala Maha Vidyalaya, Mihintalaya, prior to their departure to the US to participate in the annual Intel International Science and Engineering Fair from the 12th through 17th of this month.
Nawaloka Hospital, which has been in the forefront of private healthcare in Sri Lanka for over two and a half decades, recently upgraded its Staff Training Unit to plan and implement regular training programmes for staff members engaged in every aspect of customer service within the hospital. In addition, the Nursing Unit conducts regular training courses for the nursing staff keeping them abreast of new advances in medical science and nursing methods.
Expo Freight (EFL) was crowned victorious at the recently concluded Sri Lanka Ports, Trade and Logistics Conference Awards Ceremony in Colombo by being adjudged the Logistics Company of the year.
The prestigious award was received on behalf of EFL by its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mr. Jagath Pathirane.
SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka, revolutionising its world-class customer service, introduces self-service check-in Kiosks at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA).
Specially designed for airlines and air travellers, self-service check-in Kiosk is a self-contained computer terminal which provides self-service check-in for single or multiple airlines. Kiosk has a user-friendly interactive touch screen monitor through which the customers can navigate the panels easily.
Indocean Developers (Pvt) Ltd., the promoter of the 68-story Altair condominium in Colombo, has announced the appointment of Pradeep Moraes as President Sales & Marketing. Mr. Moraes comes to Indocean Developers after 10 years as Head of Sales and Marketing in the Property Group of John Keells Holdings through its subsidiaries Asian Hotels & Properties PLC, John Keells Residential Properties (Pvt) Ltd., and British Overseas (Pvt) Ltd.
DMS Electronics (DMSE), together with Hewlett-Packard hosted a gathering of CXOs to a session on Cloud solutions under the theme ‘Transforming the Datacenter’ recently. The thought-leadership session explored problems with the current approach to cloud computing faced by organizations and highlighted the importance of choosing the best cloud solution.
The new Ground Services Operations Building of SriLankan Airlines at MattalaRajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) was declared open by Minister of Civil Aviation Hon Priyankara Jayaratne on Friday, May 3rd, 2013.
The newly opened two-storey building, which is expected to become the centre-point of SriLankan’s operations at MRIA, will house the engineering, ground handling and flight operations branches of the airline.
Oman Air, the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman, has hailed the success of JOBEX 2013, one of the Gulf region’s leading recruitment and career guidance events. Oman Air was Lead Sponsor of JOBEX 2013, which was held under the auspices of the Oman Ministry of Manpower and took place at the Oman International Exhibition Centre in Muscat from 23rd -25thApril.
Boosting Lanka-Pakistan bilateral trade levels and cooperation and ahead of the next JEC meet, Pakistan has now eased tariffs on three Lankan commodities it directly imports from Sri Lanka. “On behalf of Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa, I thank the government of Pakistan for honouring Minister Basil’s requests and reducing tariff on three Lankan export items. This is a step in the right direction as opportunities under our FTA are not fully utilised and it’s time to do so” said Rishad Bathiudeen, Minister of Industry and Commerce of Sri Lanka on 24 April.
Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of Emirates, has won Cargo Airline of the Year 2013 at Air Cargo News’ awards evening. The airline was also named Best Middle East Cargo Airline for the 25th consecutive year. Emirates SkyCargo received the accolade at the 30th Cargo Airline of the Year awards, which took place at the Lancaster London Hotel. The event recognises excellence in the cargo, freight and logistics business and is known as the ‘Oscars’ of the industry.
“Sancharaka Udawa 2013” Sri Lanka’s most comprehensive exhibition catering to all inbound tourism operations in the country will be held for the 3rd consecutive year on 14th and 15th June, 2013 at the BMICH, Colombo.
With the boom in tourism that the country is currently witnessing, having forecasted a mega growth of potential visitors to the island nation, Sancharaka Udawa provides the ideal platform - a one stop shop to all inbound tourist providers spanning the length and breadth of the country.
Amana Takaful, providing a redefinition in insurance in the island, teamed-up with the Akmeemana Pradeshiya Sabha tostage the Akmeemana “Soorya Mangalya” in Galle. The event was organised by the Akmeemana Pradeshiya Sabha under the auspices of the Galle District, Member of Parliament, Dr. Ramesh Pathirana. Several community leaders and members of the company’s senior management participated in the event.
LKR Exchange Rates
DFCC Vardhana Bank (DVB), one of Sri Lanka’s leading retail banks recently expanded its network across the country by opening two more new fully fledged branches in the East. Adding to the development of the area, DVB opened branches in Oddamawadi and Akkareipattu enabling the local community with better access to quick and efficient commercial banking facilities. 
Sri Lanka’s biggest Fashion chain NOLIMIT added a state-of-the-art store to its chain, this time in the heart of Panadura with the view of providing a friendly and comfortable shopping experience to the area. With a floor space of 20,000 square feet, NOLIMIT Panadura is one of the largest and most spacious fashion stores of the clothing chain opened to date to facilitate convenient shopping ‘Under One Roof’. The design of the outlet has been created with an ambience on par with international standards to offer a unique, one-of-a-kind shopping experience to Sri Lanka’s fashion conscious public.
McAfee and South Asian Technologies recently hosted its successful Intelligent Security Event in Colombo with the participation of over one hundred CIOs, CSOs and IT managers from Sri Lanka. This event was aimed at educating audiences on utilising situational awareness technologies to get real time actionable insight out of their security systems, thereby enabling organisations to make proactive and intelligent security decisions. 
McLarens Lubricants Ltd., the authorized distributor of ExxonMobil in Sri Lanka recently introduced one of the latest lubricants for Diesel vehicles “Mobil Delvac MX ESP 15W-40”. This is the latest addition to their diesel range paving the way for local diesel vehicle users to purchase the environmental friendly products. Remarked as extra high performance engine oil, Mobil Delvac MX ESP 15W-40 is the ideal lubricant for modern, high-output, low-emission engines including those with Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) and After treatment Systems with Diesel Particulate Filters (DPFs) and Diesel Oxidation Catalysts (DOCs). Whilst delivering cutting-edge performance in the modern engines, this lubricant gives superior performance in older conventional engines as well. 
Hayleys Advantis Limited, the Transportation and Logistics arm of diversified blue-chip conglomerate Hayleys Group, won the Shipping Agent of the Year award at the Seatrade-Sri Lanka Ports, Trade & Logistics Awards held recently. “It is indeed an honour for us to be recognized as the Ship Agent of the Year at such a distinguished forum,” said Managing Director of Hayleys Advantis, Mr. Ruwan Waidyaratne speaking after the event. 
CAL Finance offers free air tickets for its deposit holders for this season Any person who makes a deposit under this scheme gets this exclusive opportunity whilst earning a higher interest rate. This is not a common raffle draw where gifts could be limited to few people. Capitol Alliance Finance PLC gives this opportunity to every Sri Lankan who will deposit money under this scheme.
As the Manager Deposits explained the scheme works under three categories where you deposit Rs.500,000 you will be entitled for a free return air ticket to India / Micro DVD Stereo setup or one night stay in a luxury hotel in Sri Lanka. 
eCybersec, a leading web application/network penetration testing company, tied hands with Resolvo Systems Singapore in order to introduce yet another groundbreaking service to the IT Security market in Sri Lanka. This cost effective, hassle-free remote monitoring service – ‘iCrawler’, is an early and prompt detection of information leakage of defaced and infectious compromised pages of corporate websites. It is expected to increase organization’s public web server security and would be an ideally managed security platform for organizations seeking to overcome website defacements. 
Kelani Cables PLC, Sri Lanka’s number one electrical cable manufacturer initiated another ground-breaking project under their CSR initiatives focusing on the technical officers attached to the government sector of the country. The first program of this initiative took place in Hambanthota under the patronage of District Engineer of Hambanthota Eng. Mr. Sameera Indunil Wickramasinghe & Mr. W. A. Ariyasena, Chief Accountant of District Secretariat Office at the District Secretariat auditorium Hambanthota recently. 
Lucky consumers had much more than their thirst quenched recently as drinkers of Elephant House Ginger Beer (EGB), Elephant House Cream Soda, Elephant House Necto, Elephant House Orange Barley, Elephant House Orange Crush and KIK Cola won some valuable prizes with the climax of the 'Under the Moodiya' consumer promotion. Grand prize winners walked away with a Suzuki Dzire sedan and a Maruti 800cc car, as well as three Yamaha FZ-S motorbikes, plus a number of valuable instant prizes, as part of this promotion which saw over 130,000 entries pouring in from every part of the island over the last few weeks.
All arrangements have now been put in place to hold the 9th Raigam Tele’es with all pomp and pageantry on the 17th of May 2013 at Water’s Edge from 6.30 P.M. onwards.
Five hundred and sixty eight applications have been received from all TV channels competing for 02 awards for excellence in TV Media. This is the highest number of applications Raigam has received for evaluation. The jury panel, led by Professor Patrick Ratnayake, consists of six erudite scholars drawn from different sectors. The responsibility to select the winner for the Special Merit Award, Winner of the Award of Appreciation and to declare the nominations for the 18 awards for excellence in TV Media as well as 20 awards for Excellence in Tele-drama. 57 awards will be presented at Raigam Tele’es this year including 3 awards for Popular Category, 11 Jury Special Merit Awards, 03 Awards of Appreciation and Award for the Best TV Channel of the Year.
Nalco, an Ecolab company with its local agent CIC Holdings PLC, will be conducting the Nalco Power 200 Seminar for on May 09th and 10th for its customer in the local power and energy industry. 
Emirates’ innovation, investment and customer service was further recognised at an international level last night with an array of awards from two prestigious awards ceremonies.
At the Business Traveller Middle East Awards, 
Polytex Garments Limited, a part of the global apparel giant the Esquel Group, has been an integral part of Sri Lanka’s apparel industry for the last 36 years, and continues to grow from strength to strength. Specialising in the production of knit shirts, the company boasts of an impressive client portfolio which includes some of the most popular retail brands in the world such as Nike, Marks & Spencer, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, Gap etc., and records over US$ 75million in turnover each year. 
Profit before Income Tax reaches 728Mn in Q1-2013
SAP’s Sri Lanka partner of 10 years, The Capital Maharaja Organization (TCMOL), today announced that it will implement SAP ERP, Business Intelligence (BI), and Business Planning and Consolidation (BPC) solutions across its companies. This implementation comes in parallel with SAP establishing a stronger footprint in the market with The Capital Maharaja Organization Ltd. (TCMOL) becoming its distinctive 50th customer in the island. Accelerating its presence with a rapidly growing customer base, SAP is increasingly seen as the innovative solution provider with diverse offerings for customers anywhere, anytime.
01-May-2013
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