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Colonial Motors turns 100

Charumini DE SILVA

Mohan Ratnayake

Colonial Motors PLC celebrates its centenary anniversary today. The principal activity of the company is import and sale of motor vehicles, sale of spare parts and providing maintenance business. Colonial Motors PLC is a public quoted company listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange and a longstanding member of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

Carplan Limited, KIA Motors and Union Investments Limited are fully owned subsidiaries of Colonial Motors PLC. The company is engaged with the agencies of Land Rover, Fiat, Nash, Lambretta and Citreon. Colonial Motors PLC has engaged in the field of Motor Engineering from inception and has over 50 years' experience particularly with Land Rover, as it was the sole agent for over 50 years.

"We held the Land Rover franchise from 1948, in fact we were the oldest franchise holder in South East Asia.

Colonial Motors PLC is a leading provider of Land Rover spare parts and services in Sri Lanka in addition to its imports of motor spares for other commercial vehicles", said CEO, Colonial Motors PLC, Mohan Ratnayake.

"Our fully-owned subsidiary KIA Motors also imports a range of vehicles such as Jeeps-Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs), motor cars- small, medium, large and seven seaters for VIP Travel", he said.

Ratnayake said, "We also undertake repairs/restoration of Defenders, hard tops and Soft tops under the supervision of Land Rover experts with a staff of over 80. Round the clock breakdown facility for vehicles immobilized is offered in any emergency and we also have breakdown service available for our customers".

Colonial Motors PLC popularized Land Rover amongst Sri Lanka's four-wheel drive market. "We maintained the agency during some difficult and turbulent years amidst threats from terrorist groups, for the trade and service links with the Sri Lanka defense forces", he said.

Colonial Motors Pic by Saliya Rupasinghe

"During the war, the demand for the Defenders was remarkable and as a company that has always worked to contribute their best to the country we gave priority in repairs/restorations of all the forces vehicles and VIP vehicles. There is a big demand for the Defenders from the young generation mainly due to the reasons of economical durability and easy maintenance", Ratnayake said.

"Due to the global downturn, the import of motor vehicles has slowed down, while the imports of spare parts has increased. The current trend is to re-use their vehicles before purchasing a new vehicle. The secret behind the business for 100 years was the longstanding relationship with the customers for the quality and timely delivery", he said.

Colonial Motors PLC is engaged with the National Apprenticeship Board (NAB). Ratnayake said, "We offer employment for the younger generation in the motor mechanism industry.

The duration of the course is four years and most people join Colonial Motors. The response from the youth today is negative and as a reputed company we welcome all the youngsters who are keen on motor mechanism".

People have more choices in banking

Anuradha KODAGODA

The banking industry has evolved into a more customer oriented industry in a challenging and highly competitive market. Unlike in the past, today people have more choices in the banking industry due to the highly differentiated and attractive banking solutions on offer from local and international banks.

Therefore, it is of paramount importance that a culture of learning and adapting to change is inherent in the Bank to ensure better customer service whilst sustaining the business, said the Deputy General Manager - Human Resources and Administration, of Hatton National Bank PLC (HNB) J.R.P.M. Paiva.

J.R.P.M. Paiva

Creating a learning culture that is built on a firm foundation of knowledge, skills and attitude is what we strive for at HNB. Training and Development in the Bank is a predominant and influential factor. The annual Training Needs Analysis and Annual Training Plan form the basis of continuous development of the workforce in terms of technical, managerial and specialized areas of knowledge and skills development.

Our training plan is designed in accordance with the training needs analysis and information is gathered based on information gathered from performance appraisals, questionnaires and recommendations from heads of departments.

When developing the Training Plan we consider the need to train and develop a team aligned to the Bank's mission and objectives, strategic focus given to business growth, cost management, productivity, compliance and regulatory requirements with special emphasis on building and retaining lasting customer relationships, continuous training on service quality and achieving customer service excellence, understanding the importance of self management in realizing individual and bank objectives, the need to develop managerial competencies and pursuing multi-skilling to support succession planning and job rotations.

To further emphasise on creating a knowledge building culture within the Bank we have developed a system of Continuous Professional Development whereby HNBers can acquire further knowledge on an ongoing basis. Efficiency Bar examinations are held periodically to provide opportunities for the HNB team to continuously update their knowledge, sit for in-house examinations thereby acquiring CPD Points which are linked to promotions to higher grades.

In addition to our investment in a fully fledged Training Centre with modern equipment we also invest in outside training for our staff locally as well as overseas.

Our award winning E Learning System is continuously updated and upgraded and HNBers can access the learning modules from the comfort of their homes as well.

Special emphasis is placed on training on technical skills especially bank lending in addition to focused management development programs for our managers. At HNB we firmly believe that our biggest strength is and always will be our Human Resource and as a policy never compromise on investment in training and development.

Lanka Orix Securities rebrands as Capital TRUST Securities

Lanka Orix Securities has rebranded with a new name "Capital TRUST Securities" and a new logo with new Shareholders and a new Board of Directors approved by the Colombo Stock Exchange and Securities and Exchange Commission, However. the same legal entity, infrastructure and staff continue.

The new Chairman of the company Moksevi Prelis, said "Capital TRUST" signifies the trust placed by its clients not only in the capability of the company to nurture and grow their capital but also in its corporate values of professionalism and integrity.

Although, our company name and branding have changed, our clients including all other stakeholders can be assured of an even more professional and better service.

We will continue to build on the innovation and support that they have always associated with the company over the years.

He also said that with the rapid economic growth expected after the end of the long civil war he expects the Capital TRUST Group to expand in the future into synergistic areas such as Debt Securities, Fund Management and Investment Banking.

The stock broking firm which commenced operations in 1990 has undergone several changes of names, shareholders and boards of directors in the past.

However, from 2003 it expanded its operations rapidly spearheaded by the dynamic management team lead by its Managing Director/CEO Tushan Wickramasinghe.

The combined track record, international links and the operational networks in the key financial markets in the World, of the new Shareholders and Directors as well as their commitment is expected to greatly enhance the company's foreign business.

Innovative Capital TRUST-IT solutions would enable clients to instantaneously monitor and access directly the Colombo Stock Exchange as well as access the comprehensive data related to their accounts in the back office system of the company, from any part of the world.

Capital TRUST-Research has a finger on the pulse of any changes in stock movements through real time use of Fundamental Analysis and Technical Analysis systems to inform and evaluate purchase and sale decisions of stocks.

Moksevi Prelis, the was the CEO/Director of DFCC Bank and Nations Trust Bank, Chairman of Ceylon Electricity Board and Chairman of Association of Development Finance Institutions of Asia Pacific.

He has also been a Director of several financial sector companies including BNP-Paribas South Asia Asset Management Co., NAMAL, HDF Securities and Lanka Ventures.