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Dialog Merit Scholarships for O/L top scorers

Dialog Telekom PLC in collaboration with Ministry of Education has once again come forward to reward Sri Lanka's top scorers at the GCE O/L exam with Dialog Merit Scholarships.

Students from all 25 districts of the island, would benefit through this scholar initiative which provides support to pursue their studies at Advanced Level. The award ceremony was held under the patronage of Minister of Education, Susil Premajayantha on November 28 at the Auditorium of the Ministry of Education.

Thirty students who excelled at the O/L Examination held last year and opt to study mathematics stream at their A/Ls were awarded on this day. Twenty five of these students have been selected on district basis and the remaining five students were top all- Island rankers. Five additional scholarships will be awarded to differently abled students on academic excellence at O/L examination.

Emphasising the importance of such scholarships, the Minister of Education Susil Premajayantha stated "Many Sri Lankans have attended prestigious international universities through scholarships. Late minister Lalith Athulathmudali who went to study at Oxford university through a scholarship is a classic example. Having recognised the importance of such a scholarship, he initiated Mahapola Scholarship Fund for the students of Sri Lanka.

Thousands of students have been reaping the benefit of Mahapola scholarships over the past two decades.

I reckon this Dialog Merit scholarship programme would be like that. Having gained nearly 60 percent of the market share within a short period of time, Dialog Telekom is providing a novel service to their customers with latest technology. Not only that but also they have always come forward to support the community of Sri Lanka through their Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. CSR projects have an important part to play in the development of the country and the efforts Dialog has taken in supporting the education of Sri Lanka through this type of initiatives is to be applauded."

"We have been doing this programme since 2003 and as a corporate body we are happy to be associated with the Ministry of Education to give a helping hand to the students who have emerged as the best of the best.

As the private sector we have recognised the fact that the importance of joining with the government to serve the community apart from our daily business goals.

Dialog Telekom annually spends around 150 million rupees on this kind of programmes, stated CEO of Dialog Broadband Network Kavan Rathnayake.

US 43 billion investments brought in by BoI

The Board of Investment of Sri Lanka granted investment approval for eight new projects representing a total worth of USD 43.71 million.

Peoples Leasing Property Development limited signed an agreement to set up a mixed development project located in Colombo 8. Their initial investment is US $ 5 million.

The 12-storied building will house the Head Office of the group and also a Peoples Bank Branch with two ATM machines will be established in the Ground Floor. F & G Realtors International (Private) Limited signed an agreement to set up a mixed development project at Ratnapura. The mixed development project is a joint venture between F & G Property Developers (Pvt) Limited, The Finance & Guarantee Co Limited and F & G Real Estate Co Limited. The development project worth an investment of US $ 36 million will include the construction of 14 Residential Apartments, 20 Individual Houses and a 20 Room Luxury Hotel.

Golden Dragon Agri Export (Private) Limited signed an agreement to set up a US $ 150,000 agriculture farm to grow fruits including noni fruits, dragon fruits, vegetables and flowers for export. The export oriented horticulture venture will be located in the Sabaragamuwa Province.

An agreement set up a software development venture for foreign clients was signed with CAM Management Solutions (Private) Limited. The venture develops product-based software for Strategic Planning and Management Solutions for local governments in Australia, New Zealand and UK. C A Technology, Australia, sponsors the investment of US $ 150,000.

The software Development Company is expected to generate employment for 20 professionals. Omar Fareed, Chairman of CAM Management Solutions (Private) Limited signed the agreement on behalf of the Company. Brian Walter, Country Manager was also present at the occasion.

H Y Vital Export (Private) Limited signed an agreement to manufacture pallets out of fabric off cuts for export. The joint venture between Malaysian and Sri Lankan investors is an investment of US $ 600,000. The venture will collect fabric off cuts from various garment factories.

The BOI also signed agreements for two new Business Process Outsourcing ventures. Acumen Services (Private) Limited signed an agreement to set up a BPO centre to provide Financial Services.

The venture is an investment of US $ 150,000 sponsored by Acumen Limited, Bermuda. The US $ 150,000 venture will provide employment for 20 professionals in the accounting sector.