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BOI takes more industry to provinces

As part of its dynamic effort to bring investment to localities other than the Colombo and Gampaha Districts, the BOI organised an Investors’ Forum for the Kalutara District in partnership with the Kalutara District Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KDCCI).

This forum which was held at Hotel Blue Waters, Wadduwa, brought together a number of key institutions such as over one hundred entrepreneurs and businessmen from the Kalutara district and important State Institutions including Lanka Puthra Development Bank, People’s Bank (Kalutara Region), Inland Revenue Dept, Urban Development Authority, Ceylon Electricity Board, Coast Conservation Dept, Central Environmental Authority and the Bank of Ceylon.

The local entrepreneurs were from Kalutara, Panadura, Beruwala, Bandaragama, Horana and other provincial towns of the district. Their focus is in agriculture, fisheries, tourism, healthcare industry and the Small and Medium Industries Sector (Small and medium Industries).

Also invited were a number of important foreign and local BOI enterprises who are interested in expanding their operations into the Kalutara district.

Chairman/Director General of Board of Investment of Sri Lanka Dhammika Perera, who spoke of the importance of developing business and investment at the grass roots level made the keynote address at the Seminar.

Development at the grass roots level would give an impetus to economic development in the country. A healthy economy depends on a solid base of small and medium scale businesses and industries.

The Chairman of the BOI stressed the importance for State and Private Sector bodies to work hand in hand in developing the local economy.

Perera stated that the BOI’s opportunities are not limited to benefit foreign investors and that all benefits were also available to local investors. Many of the BOI companies were Sri Lankan owned or even joint ventures between Sri Lankan and foreign investors.

Many investors were not aware that if they wished to invest, for example, Rupees 50 million on a building project, the BOI would not insist on these monies being invested upfront, allowing them a time frame of 2-3 years.

For investors in the Kalutara District, there were opportunities such as the construction of buildings, office complexes, small-scale hospitals, deep-sea fishing and value added agriculture projects.

Perera said that it was important for entrepreneurs to know the full range of benefits the BOI offers investors. He said that 15 years back, he himself, in his capacity of private entrepreneur, was not aware of the Board’s comprehensive package of incentives.

Also speaking at the event the BOI Deputy Director General A. M. C. Kulasekera briefed the hundreds of investors from the Kalutara district on the existing regime of incentives and concessions offered by the BOI including the 300 Enterprise Programme.

This programme, which is a part of the Government’s Mahinda Chinthana Programme, has effectively brought investments and employment opportunities to areas outside the Colombo and Gampaha Districts. He also described examples of successful projects opened recently in the island that could be replicated in the Kalutara District.

President of KDCCI Sarath N. Hapuarachchi, spoke at the Forum of the challenges faced by entrepreneurs in the Moderawila Industrial Estate in terms of road access. Chairman/ Director General Dhammika Perera responded by saying that a BOI team will identify these problems and the matter will be taken up by the BOI with a higher institution.

Divisional Secretary for Kalutara, S. Hapuarachchi, spoke of the vast opportunities in District in the sectors of construction fisheries, tourism. He added that should infrastructure be further developed, the development could be accelerated.

The forum was part of an ongoing BOI programme to build up local initiative and strengthen the National Economy. The entrepreneurs who participated expressed their appreciation for this programme, seeing the long-term benefits for investment into the Kalutara District.

Certificate programme in Customer Service

Enhancement of customer service will help Sri Lanka grow as a regional service/knowledge centre at a time when manufacturing is becoming expe

Janaka Kumarasinghe said that customer service is increasingly becoming a vital business practice

nsive for us “Director Kent Ridge and Past President, IPM Sri Lanka Janaka Kumarasinghe said at a briefing for resource persons held at Colombo Club launching a unique programme titled “Kent Ridge Certificate in Customer Service” recently. He said that customer service is increasingly becoming a vital business practice as organisations realise the benefits of customer service management.

As customer service is rapidly becoming professionalised and creating career paths, to be successful in such a field needs specific attitudes, knowledge, skills and attributes”. This programme is a combination of the knowledge and experience of customer service managers, academics and marketing and HR professionals to groom successful customer service executives by imparting specific knowledge and skills and developing the attitudes. A significant advantage of following this programme is that certain leading companies have offered part-time employment for those undergoing this training according to Kumarasinghe.

The programme will commence on October 25 and will end on November 29 and it will be held on Saturdays from 9 am to 4 pm at the National Vocational Training Institute, Elvitgala Mawatha, Colombo 5, covering subjects such as introduction to customer service, importance of a personal vision, communication skills, telephone etiquette, handling tough situations , self grooming for a better service, teamwork and leadership, facing interviews and building yourself image.

LBR-LBO HR Forum 'Strategic HR: Challenges and Opportunities'

In association with LBR and LBO, Vanguard hosts 'C-level' experiences such as LBR LBO CEO Forum, CIO Forum, CFO Forum, CMO Forum targeted at senior corporate executives in the country. The latest addition to their corporate event portfolio is the LBR-LBO HR Forum.

The inaugural LBR-LBO HR Forum in association with Microimage will be held on October 22 at Cinnamon Grand Hotel at 6.30 pm.

The theme of the Forum was 'Strategic HR: Challenges and Opportunities'. The Forum will be in the form of a panel discussion which will be moderated by an eminent industry specialist. The panel will comprise of leading professionals from the Telecommunication, Banking, Information Communication, Manufacturing and FMCG sectors.

The panel for LBR-LBO HR Forum includes Group Senior VP/HR and Facilities Management of Dialog Telekom PLC, Ranjeeva Kulatunga DGM-HR Management of Commercial Bank Ltd, Chitral Amarasiri, Head of HR/Asia Head of HR of Virtusa, Ishan Dantanarayana, Managing Director of MAS Active, Shirendra Lawrence, Director Finance of Unilever Sri Lanka Shrihan Perera.

The session will be moderated by Director Kent Ridge (Pvt) Ltd Janaka Kumarasinghe, who is also the Past President of IPM.

Lanka Business Report and Lanka Business Online popularly known as LBR and LBO respectively are Sri Lanka's pioneering and leading Business Media products on Television and Internet.

Sri Lanka at Delhi Handicrafts Fair

The National Crafts Council has organised "Shilpa Sri Lanka" - Crafts Exhibition and Trade Fair in collaboration with the Office of Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) and Sri Lanka High Commission in India to commemorate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Sri Lanka.

"Shilpa Sri Lanka" will be held from tomorrow (21) to November 03 in the Dilli Haat in New Delhi in India.

Shankasin Vaghela Minister of Textiles India, Minister of Rural Industries and Self-Employment Promotion S. B. Nawinna and Minister of Tourism Milinda Moragoda will be the Chief Guests at the inaugural on October 22. 31 artisans from various fields of crafts will participate in the Shilpa Sri Lanka.

Six Master Artisans, who will participate under the Crafts Exchange Programme of India, will demonstrate their skills in batik, lace, silver, jewellery, reed and rush - ware, wood carving and brassware together with the Indian Master Artisans. They are sponsored by CO HANDS of India.

Brandix Associates win in islandwide poster competition

Two employees of Brandix have won the first and fifth places in the islandwide poster competition conducted as part of the National Safety and Health Week, organised by Ministry of Labour Relations and Manpower.

Compliance and Communications Officer of Brandix Textiles Pannala Rohitha Rajapaksha won the first place while H. L. Manjula of the Technical Services Center at TNS Buttons Lanka (Pvt) Limited, Biyagama won the fifth place in this competition.

Over 400 posters were submitted to this competition from various sectors and industries and the judging was by an independent panel from the Labour Department. Brandix was the Principal Sponsor of this year's National Safety and Health Week campaign themed 'Health & Safety for Happiness of Life'. Among the highlights of the campaign were street dramas that were enacted at the export processing zones in Biyagama, Katunayake and Avissawella.