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Kohler products enter Lanka

Lumbini EDIRISINGHE

Global kitchen and bath room fittings leader, Kohler announced its entry into Sri Lanka with the assistance of Abans.

Kohler is a new brand to Sri-Lanka. "We are happy to bring the finest showrooms to Sri Lanka of the world.

"We don't have any threat from low or cheap products, as Kohler is a high quality brand. Customers who select high quality products they buy products for the whole lifetime of the house." Director, Abans Group Tito Pestonjee said.

Kohler has a stylish and innovative range of bath products including toilets, lavatories, faucets, bathtubs, whirlpools and showers.

"It has been a Kohler tradition for more than a century to produce all products and services at a single high level of quality. To be competitive in today's plumbing business requires skilled and proud craft people that use advanced technologies and design to create products that are beyond the accepted and accepted.

"This 'single level of quality, as we call it, is ingrained in our company, and in the, more than 33,000 associates who this company on six continents" Managing Director Kohler, India Sharad Mathur said.

The product, currently imported from Kohler's production facilities in Europe and the United States, will be marketed in Sri Lanka at competitive prices.

The products include some of the latest of Kohler's award-winning products like the sok overflowing bath, the Purist, Hatbox toilets, Watertile, Shower sprays and Escale suite.

Located at Bauddhaloka Mawatha, the Kohler exclusive showroom showcases the innovative range of bathroom products including toilets, lavatories, faucets, bathtubs, whirlpools and showers. Originating from Kohler's globally acclaimed design centers in the United States and Europe, Kohler product range offers sophisticated and innovative bathroom products in Sri Lanka at par with the designs and trends prevalent internationally.

Kingston Service Centre concept now in Sri Lanka

There has been a crying need here in Sri Lanka for a Kingston Service Centre to cater to the needs of customers using the world's favourite memory brand - Kingston.

Although for the past decade, Memory Technologies, which is the leading agent in Sri Lanka for the brand, has been assisting customers to identify and use only genuine Kingston products, the market has been flooded by duplicates and look-alikes which have been marketed as Kingston products.

Even companies and individuals who bring down genuine Kingston Memory products sell them to customers without backing it up with a proper after sales service.

This service centre will fill that void too.

With the setting up of the one and only Kingston Service Centre, at 14, Palmyrah Avenue (road adjacent to the Ceramics Corporation), customers now can experience a range of services extended globally, from such service centres.

"The Kingston Service Centre is a global concept used in markets all over the world to service customers who use Kingston memory products. India has 25 such centres", said a spokesperson for Memory Technologies.

Now not only local customers, but even Kingston users who are visiting Sri Lanka can always get the same service they experience globally, at this new service centre.

Baker Tilly International expands coverage

Baker Tilly Lanka (Pvt) Ltd Business Consultants, the consulting arm of Baker Tilly Merali's Chartered Accountants, was launched on Tuesday.

Baker Tilly Merali's is an independent member of Baker Tilly International, the world's eighth largest accounting and business advisory network by combined fee income, represented by 138 firms in 104 countries and over 24,000 people worldwide.

Baker Tilly International member firms are united by a commitment to provide exceptional client service by sharing experiences and ideas to help clients meet challenges and proactively respond to opportunities.

Each member firm is committed to the highest standards in performing quality audits and is dedicated to delivering a high quality professional service.

Technical Director at Baker Tilly International Paul Ginman, said: "In addition to serving capital markets, Baker Tilly International member firms aim to be the providers of 'choice' for entrepreneurial growing businesses that want advisors that will work with them to realise their long-term goals. Besides adhering to internationally accepted standards, our independent member firms always strive to maintain the quality of their work in the interest of clients.

These two elements are priorities in the selection and admission of member firms."
 

SLID Breakfast Meeting on audit committees

The Colombo Stock Exchange Listing Rules now requires a minimum number of independent non-executive directors to be members of the audit committees of listed companies. The new Companies Act No.7 of 2007 also increases accountability and responsibility of directors.

The Sri Lanka Institute of Directors (SLID) and KPMG having identified that there is an evolving role and commitment of audit committee members and board members to implement effective audit committee processes have organized a breakfast meeting on "Exploring expectations of audit committee effectiveness" from 7.30 am to 9.30 am on November 19, 2008, at the Ballroom of the Hilton Colombo Residencies (formerly JAIC Hilton).

The responsibility assigned to or assumed by the board and audit committees for the oversight of significant business risks facing the company and the coordination of risk oversight activities will be one area that will be reviewed and discussed at this breakfast meeting. The keynote speaker will be Sammy Medora. Medora is a founding partner of KPMG, India and chairman of KPMG's Audit Committee Institute - a forum whose objective is to provide independent directors with an avenue for exchanging ideas and debate; enhancing awareness and commitment; and the ability to implement effective audit committee processes. The panelists will be Nihal Fonseka, (Chairman, Colombo Stock Exchange), Ronnie Peiris, (Group Finance Director, John Keells Holdings PLC), Channa de Silva, (Director General, Securities & Exchange Commission), and Reyaz Mihular, (Partner, KPMG).

The breakfast meeting will be highly interactive and panel driven and bring together audit committee members, directors, regulators, senior executives, CFOs and luminaries in corporate governance to discuss challenges, emerging trends, and leading practices affecting the oversight of financial reporting and related risks.

Smart freedom launches one hour M2M free for Rs. 25

Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel recently announced the launch of SMART Freedom Hourly Option in response to the huge popularity it has experienced for its forerunners - namely SMART Freedom Weekly and Daily options, which were launched in June this year.

This is an extension of the popular SMART Freedom suite of features which introduced for the first time in Sri Lanka the concept of calling free within the network for Pre Paid subscribers.

The launch is set to create a stir in the local mobile telecommunications arena at a time the market is moving towards smaller units of measurements - from per minute to per second billing. Mobitel is determined to focus on a single dimension in the competition by providing subscribers with the lowest call charges rather than smaller units of measurements.

The option will be made available to all SMART pre paid users and they can activate this feature by simply dialing 141 and keying in 9 and then following the prompts.

The option is only available as immediate activation. Upon activation, the subscribers will be able to enjoy upto 60 minutes of voice calls, up to 60 minutes of video calls and upto 60 SMSs all within Mobitel network for an hour (60 minutes) immediately following activation irrespective of the time of activation.

HSBC educates students on environmental conservation

HSBC CEO Nick A Nicolaou together with senior management and staff, joined students of Thirivanaketiya Vidyalaya, Ratnapura recently in a special clean up and tree planting project, as part of the Bank sponsored Environment programme, conducted by Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka. (FOGSL) at the School.

The programme was aimed at educating students

on the importance of environmental conservation through planting of trees and keeping their surroundings clean, to build a sustainable future.

Plants were selected with the intention of reducing erosion and surface run off, and were scientifically named to help students refer to them correctly.

These plants included Sera (Lemon grass), Savandara, Idda, Jasmine, Narang, Brinjals and long beans.

Ratthi launches mega promotion

Ratthi is giving consumers the chance to win every day for the next 90 days with a new mega-promotion called the RatthiKiriSarai Sarusarai 2008 that is offering up to Rs. 3,000,000 in prizes.

Starting from October 1, 2008, consumers can win daily prizes of up to Rs. 40,000 and be in with a chance to win Rs. 300,000 of household items following this simple entry criteria:

Weekly draws will be held every Wednesday and winners will be notified through advertisements. The draws will also be broadcast on the Rupavahini programme - Nugasevana.

Fonterra Brands Lanka Managing Director Achyut Reddy said RATTHI had a loyal following among consumers and he urged people to enter as many times as possible. "Ratthi appreciates the support we get, and we want to ensure our loyal consumers have a chance to be rewarded for their support," Reddy said.

The promotion runs until December 31, 2008.

Tokyo Cement sponsors international conference in Peradeniya

As an industry leader, Tokyo Cement (Lanka) PLC has always been keenly interested in the development of University-Industry collaborations to further the future of the Sri Lankan construction industry.

The company took a momentous and landmark step towards achieving this by joining hands with the University of Peradeniya late last year to "cement a better future" by actively supporting and empowering the research and development activities of the civil undergraduate programme by funding final year research projects and incorporating the construction industry's R&D requirements into the department's research programme.

As a mark of their continuing and unswerving support for the university, Tokyo Cement was the main sponsor of a two day international conference held on September 26 and 27, 2008 at the University of Peradeniya and attended by over 150 eminent academics, scientists and practicing engineers from all over the world. The conference on 'Advances in continuum mechanics, materials science, nanoscience and nanotechnology' was held in honour of Professor M.P. Ranaweera, one of the finest and outstanding products of the Faculty of Engineering from the University, on the occasion of his retirement following forty years of distinguished service.

Joint Managing Director, of Tokyo Cement Group S.R. Gnanam, said: "Tokyo Cement has a proud history of recognizing the potential for innovation, be it in terms of business expansion or product or industry development.

In keeping with our vision to leverage the construction sector, we partnered the Civil Engineering Undergraduate Programme at the University of Peradeniya, in order to advance the inherently symbiotic relationship between research and development and forward business momentum.

Our sponsorship of this conference is an acknowledgement and appreciation of the great contribution made by Professor Ranaweera to the field of Engineering and we wish him the very best."