Monday, 10 May 2010

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Sri Lanka Business News | Online edition of Daily News - Lakehouse Newspapers <%dim dbpath, pageTle, Section, Section1 %>

ADVERTORIAL

Brand Finance PLC valuation:

Union Assurance one of the most valuable brands in Sri Lanka

Union Assurance was valued as one of the most valuable brands by Brand Finance PLC. The rationale behind the valuation is that the UA brand has the power to influence customer demand, trade distribution, staff loyalty, supplier terms, investor sentiment,transforming business performance and business returns, and was endorsed by Brand Finance PLC by awarding Union Assurance with a “AA” brand rating.


General Manager Marketing and Distribution Rukman Weeraratne receiving the AA Brand Rating Certification.

General Manager Marketing and Distribution, Rukman Weerarathne said that the Union Assurance brand has a rich history for more than 20 years.

The brand has been able to win the hearts of its consumers, and the employees of the company have been its brand ambassadors. Union Assurance today is one of the most trusted insurance companies in Sri Lanka.

“Our new brand promise was created to deliver an unparalleled level of trust. Trust is the most important factor in our business since insurance is a long term agreement and the consumer looks for a trusted partner to work with, said Weerarathne.

“At Union Assurance, we have two lines of business. Our extensive internal and external research showed that in general insurance, the people primarily look for convenience, while in the life insurance sector, they look for transparency. We combined the values of transparency and convenience with respectfulness from the corporate level, which meant that the customer wanted policies that can be bought and claimed easily, along with those that were easy to understand. For life insurance, transparency was key, with customers needing the assurance that what they saw is what they got,” said Weeraratne.

Clarity is vital in life insurance, he said, as it was a long term agreement with the firm so the customer needed to know what he would end up with clearly, in the end. “Along with a respectful approach for all parties including our customers and shareholders, the three values within the core value of trust is what makes our new promise powerful and relevant. This will undoubtedly make the UA brand stronger and more customer appealing said Weeraratne.


Ceylinco Life to reward 10,000 plus policyholders


Three cash bonus recipients with the senior management of Ceylinco Life. (From left): Deputy Chairman, R Renganathan M M K Wijayapala, Priyani Jayawardena and A M M Awn, Deputy Chief Executive Director Thushara Ranasinghe and Director Palitha Jayawardena

Members of Ceylinco Life’s 5000 strong sales team will home deliver Rs. 32 million cash bonuses to over 10,000 policyholders. The bonuses will be in the form of immediately encashable cheques, the company said. A feature this year is that a new segment of policyholders — those who have completed 20 years with the company — will be among the recipients of cash bonuses. In previous years beneficiaries were those who had completed 10 or 15 years.

“The fact that these bonuses are paid in respect of a year that was one of the most challenging ever, demonstrates the strength of the company,” Ceylinco Life Deputy Chairman R. Renganathan said, pointing out that these loyalty-based cash bonuses are in addition to the Rs 1.39 billion in annual bonus already paid out by Ceylinco Life this year.

 

 

 


Donates computers to the Centre for Children with Special Needs :

Standard Chartered supports ‘SERRIC’ project

Standard Chartered Bank, earlier this month, donated computers and a printer to the Sri Lanka Army’s Senehasa Education, Resource, Research and Information Centre (SERRIC) as part of the bank’s Diversity and Inclusion (D and I) program.

The centre, with capacity to accommodate 150 children will provide in-house accommodation to 40 and aims to offer specialized programs and education to children with special needs. ‘This is another initiative by the bank which forms a part of its wider Corporate Responsibility agenda. ‘This is particularly notable contribution as it is aimed at supporting children with special needs, an area that needs urgent attention’, said Country Technology Manager Lucian Devotta.

The centre’s curriculum will include a wide range of therapies, such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, hydrotherapy, speech therapy and multi-sensory approach and courses and workshops on music and movement, and library services that are expected to improve special needs children’s skills.

The bank’s donation will go toward the centre’s setting up of a new IT section through which SERRIC plans to introduce IT training to their portfolio.


Sampath Bank opens in Peliyagoda and Hanwella


Executive Director/ CEO, Sampath Bank Harris Premaratne speaking at the Peliyagoda Branch opening. Executive Director/ COO Aravinda Perera and Manager of the Branch Nalin Lokuge look on

Sampath Bank expanded their branch network to 137 this week, with the opening of Peliyagoda and Hanwella branches. The Peliyagoda Branch located on Negombo Road, Peliyagoda and the Hanwella Branch located at Pahala Hanwella, Hanwella are the 136th and the 137th branches of the Sampath Bank. Electronically linked to the island-wide network, the fully fledged branches are set up with up-to-date technologies.

 

 

 


PC House initiates ‘Health over Wealth’ campaign

The management of PC House has introduced a novel health maintenance program to help employees maintain a high standard of health awareness and healthier living practices.


S. H. M Rishan

PC House Pvt Ltd Chairman S.H.M. Rishan said, “We have always maintained that our greatest strength is our dedicated and motivated workforce. It is their hard work that has propelled us to such great heights and this has taken a lot of long working hours and dedication.

Around the world, employees of big companies have shown a tendency to ‘burn out’ or simply put - run out of steam - due to health issues aggravated or caused by focusing too much on careers and less on health. It is this situation that we hope to avoid.

By educating our employees on various aspects of health awareness we believe that we are giving them the power to control their lives and contribute their knowledge to their friends and families, which will begin a chain reaction that will spread throughout the community”.

The program will educate employees on unhealthy dietary habits, obesity, low exercise level and conditions such as Diabetes, Hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. The program will use recognized health parameters such as body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and HBA1c value to evaluate the health level of employees and ascertain what risk they face. By identifying potential risks or developing conditions, employees will be better able to control these conditions and avoid complications in the future.

PC House Director Human Resources, Iude Fernando said, “Healthy individuals are better motivated, more able to perform and generally more content.

Health is far more important than wealth, and we believe that our stakeholders deserve the very best we can provide them with, starting with the empowerment to better their lives and avoid unpleasant and dangerous health complications.

Our employees and stakeholders have gone a long way toward helping us maintain out edge over the competition, this is one way in which we can give back and make a long-term impact on the lives of those who have made this company what it is”.


FITIS donates computers to Jaffna Wembady Girls’ High School

The Federation of Information Technology Industry Sri Lanka (FITIS) donated computers and necessary software to the Jaffna Wembady Girls’ High School recently. FITIS Chief Executive Officer Damith Hettihewa said that the recent holding of the Mini Infotel Jaffna organized by FITIS on the school premises prompted this donation. Here, Hettihewa donating computers and software to the Jaffna Wembady Girls’ High School Principal K. Ponnambalam.

 

 

 


Grameenphone selects Intec solution

Grameenphone, the largest network operator in Bangladesh, has deployed Intec’s market-leading InterconnecT software to assist in regulatory compliance while driving operational efficiencies.

Grameenphone, whose network offers coverage for nearly 98 per cent of Bangladesh’s population, is widely acknowledged as one of the most innovative operators in the region; the first operator to introduce pre-paid services, its entire network is EDGE/GPRS enabled, allowing access to high-speed Internet and data services from anywhere in the coverage area.

There are currently nearly three million EDGE/GPRS users on the Grameenphone network. Following deregulation of the Bangladesh wholesale telecoms market, interconnect traffic levels continue to rise significantly. By implementing Intec’s market-leading InterconnecT software

Grameenphone will significantly increase efficiency of settlement for domestic, inter-operator and international traffic, essential for a dynamic operator such as Grameenphone dealing with both traditional and next-generation IP based products and services, on a single system.

This includes multi-party settlement with a variety of third party service providers, for services such as content downloads and multi-media messaging.

“With changing regulatory requirements accurate and prompt intercarrier reports are vital”, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer and Acting CFO, Grameenphone Raihan Shamsi said.

“Not only is Intec’s expert technology among the best in class and gives us improved operational efficiencies, but we also enjoy relations that are core to our own values”, he said.

“Grameenphone is an operator of great integrity, operating in an increasingly competitive market. It is an honour to continue to work with the team, using our expertise and powerful, world-class solutions that make a tangible difference to operational efficiency”, Intec VP for Asia Pacific Graeme Paynter said.


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