Business Briefs

Thermal power giant to enter Lanka

Marking its foray in the international market, state-run National Thermal Power Corporation said it plans to set up a 900 MW coal or LNG-based power plant in Sri Lanka.

NTPC will submit a proposal to the Sri Lankan government to set up the project either on Build, Own, Operate (BOO) or on Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis, the power major informed The Stock Exchange, Mumbai.

The public sector generation monolith will also set up a joint venture company with Bihar State Electricity Board to operate the 220 MW Muzzaffarpur Thermal Power Station. - Asia Pulse

Lanka stands out in good governance

The report based on the Sri Lanka Investment Climate Survey 2004 carried out by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank has stated that Sri Lanka stands out among developing countries for its good governance, and firms benefit from the low levels of red tape and corruption.

However, it says that despite differences between the urban and rural investment climates, urban manufacturing and rural enterprises alike suffer from poor-quality infrastructure (especially energy and transport) and costly and limited access to finance.

The figures here show the level of constraints experienced by the urban and rural sectors.

MBSL appoints new Chairman

The Board of Directors of Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka (MBSL) have appointed S.N.P. Palihena as the Bank's Chairman / Managing Director and Gamini Karunathileka as Chief Operations Officer with effect from July 01, 2005.

Palihena is at present the Chairman of MBSL and also General Manager of the Bank of Ceylon. He counts over 36 years service at the Bank of Ceylon and also functions as a Director on the Boards of several public and private companies.

He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers UK and a Fellow of the Institute of Bankers Sri Lanka.

He also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Business and Financial Administration.

Karunathileka who was appointed the Bank's Chief Operations Officer counts over 25 years of experience in the banking sector of which 18 years have been at the Bank of Ceylon.

He joined MBSL in 1995 as Manager Trade Finance.

Tri Star housing scheme for employees opens

The first phase of the second housing scheme built for tsunami affected employees by Try Star Apparel Exports (Pvt) Ltd, will be opened by Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. Sarath Amunugama today.

The houses are built at a cost of Rs 3 million for tsunami victims by Tri Star's Balapitiya factory.

Royal Institute of Colombo to inaugurate CDR

The Royal Institute of Colombo, a premier higher educational institution in Sri Lanka will inaugurate its research arm, the Centre for Development Research (CDR) on June 30, at the BMICH. Academics, researchers, planners and policy makers and representatives from the private sector, international agencies, NGOs and other civil society organisations will be percent. Dr. Nimal Sandaratne, one of Sri Lanka's most distinguished economists and Prof. S. Hirashima, a highly respected development expert from Japan will be the chief guest and guest of honour, a sportsman for the institute said.

He said the CDR has been conceived as a centre of excellence in promoting development oriented research of relevance for the social and economic advancement of Sri Lanka. CDR will enhance and enrich its research activities by promoting consultancy and advisory work with national and international development agencies, private sector bodies and local governments and NGOs and will initiate partnership and networking arrangements with leading research institutions in developing and developed countries to foster research collaboration.

The setting up of the CDR is an event of considerable importance in the context of higher education and development research in Sri Lanka for a number of reasons.

Batticaloa lagoon clean up

The livelihoods of more than 3,500 people in the local fishing community of Batticaloa will be restored through a project funded by the United States of America to remove the tsunami rubble and debris which has impeded the revival of the fishing industry.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through its Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) program, has hired heavy equipment and assembled multi-disciplinary teams of engineers and technicians, including divers from the Sri Lankan Navy.

Other partners in the cleanup include local elected government officials and civil servants, Police, Fishing Societies, the multi-ethnic National Youth Services Council, and a large contingent of volunteer youth.

"This project is a real community effort, fostering relationships between local government authorities and civil society," said USAID's Timothy L. Bertotti at the project's launch.