ADVERTORIAL

Epic Lanka Group of Companies Chairman Nayana Dehigama who won the Young Entrepreneur 2010 Award organized by the Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industries of Asia Pacific met President Mahinda Rajapaksa recently. Here Epic Lanka Group of Companies Chairman Nayana Dehigama is showing the award to the President. Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka President Kosala Wickramanayake looks on. Picture by Sudath Silva

Cinnamon Lodge holds summer camp

The newly refurbished Cinnamon Lodge Habarana hosted its flagship event for the second consecutive year from August 13 to 15.

Summer Camp Lodge hosted 45 participants, children between seven and 15, that actively took part in the many games, workshops and entertaining events. The children were in two groups which they named “Lankan Lions” and “Golden Eagles”.

The camp activities were begun by Harshana Dassanayake with an ice breaker to enable the kids to familiarise themselves with their team mates.

Thereafter they enjoyed horseback riding in the famed gardens of Cinnamon Lodge.

After dinner teams gathered around the campfire to roast marshmallows while singing camp songs followed by an exciting night of camping out.

Day two began with a wildlife presentation by Chitral Jayatilake with the active participation of the two teams.

The highlight of Summer Camp Lodge 2010 was the “Amazing Race”, a well planned out treasure hunt which sent the two teams on a twisted trail in search of the “king of the hotel” and the chef who insisted that they performed the task of assembling a burger, before they were handed their next clue. There was a quick sprint to the adjoining property Chaaya Village Habarana where teams discovered four remote control cars which were then raced to a designated point and thereafter teams had to draw in water from the Habarana Lake to wash two mud encrusted jeeps.

The final phase of the race was when the children had to burst a balloon strategically placed on top of a tree which contained the key to the jeeps that would transport them back to Cinnamon Lodge. This was the first event to be hosted by Cinnamon Lodge Habarana after its brief closure for refurbishment.

The hotel reopened on July 12, 2010, now equipped with a wider range of offerings to live the Cinnamon promise of indulgence.

WELOVEIT Studio starts online portal

Web design studio WELOVEIT launched Sri Lanka’s first-ever online designer portal - TheFashionCircle at the fashion show Elegance2010 at the Galadari Hotel recently.

The portal offers the facility for registered users to showcase their portfolios online, be it collections of designer ware, portfolios of fashion shoots, images of hair shows/competitions, ramp and glamour shoots. The concept of TheFashionCircle is for fashion professionals to cohesively project their work and capability as Sri Lankans to a global audience. This is done with an easy-to-navigate site structure aesthetics that resonates with vibrancy.

Nestle Lanka empowers Kilinochchi

Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa and Environment Minister Anura P. Yapa inaugurated Nestle Lanka’s 107th chilling centre in Sri Lanka and the first chilling centre in Kilinochchi last week.

This facility will enable dairy farmers in the area to store and chill their milk and will contribute positively to the livelihood and prosperity of the farmers by serving as a catalyst for the future expansion of high quality milk collection in the area.

Present at this occasion was Chairman, Nestle Lanka PLC and Nestle South Asia Region Head Antonio Helio Waszyk, Nestle Lanka Managing Director David Saudan and Managing Director designate for Nestle Lanka Alois Hofbauer.

Nestle Lanka has been engaged in supporting the Sri Lankan dairy sector since the early 1980’s. Today, Nestle Lanka is the country’s single largest private sector collector of fresh milk, procuring an average of 115,000 litres of milk every day from 13,000 local dairy farmers.

The company has invested in 107 chilling centres to date and plans to invest in eight more before the end of this year.

With a capacity of 1,600 litres and testing equipment to ensure the high quality of milk, the Kilinochchi facility will be serviced by six milk collection points established by Nestle Lanka in Kandawalai, Visuwuamadhu, Wattakachchi, Kilinochchi, Uruththirapuram and Iranamadu. Currently collecting milk from 100 farming families in the area, the company expects this number to increase to 500 farming families with the introduction of this new facility.

Watergate launches Ferroli water heaters

Watergate International of Nawala Road, Nugegoda, importers and distributors of bathroom fittings, sanitaryware and related products, launched the latest line of

Ferroli Electric Glasslined Water Heaters from Ferroli Group , the European multinational giant of industrial and domestic heating, conditioning, refrigeration and thermo sanitary, aimed at improving the quality of the daily comfort of Sri Lankans.

Ferroli’s latest line of glasslined water heaters combine advanced technology with an essential yet very versatile design, meaning the appliances can be installed in both existing homes and modern residential structures.

Ferroli water heaters consist of high quality components and are manufactured in their Vietnam Factory on highly automated production lines. An effective computerized control system guarantees the standardization of the high level of quality achieved.

Watergate International is a leading dealer in sanitaryware and bathroom fittings imported from China, India and Italy.

Watergate International Founder and Managing Director Dhammika Wijesiriwardena is in the sanitaryware business for the last 25 years.

He has travelled overseas extensively, mainly Europe and China, successfully liaising with potential exporters visiting their factories analyzing quality, quantity and prices using his expertise, and selecting the products to cater to the local markets in Sri Lanka.

Watergate International is the sole distributor in Sri Lanka for the branded product “Momali” which is highly established in the local market.

Watergate International has a formidable dealer network covering Colombo, the suburbs and outstations and the company’s own showroom with all facilities is at Nugegoda.

Ferroli electric glasslined water heaters comes with a guarantee and quality, timely after sales service from Watergate International.

Union Enterprises launches Super Coffeemix

Super Coffeemix Manufacturing Ltd (‘Super’) is a leading diversified manufacturer of instant beverages and convenient food products that are marketed and distributed globally ,which is now available in Sri Lanka.

Super is a pioneer in the development of the three in one instant coffee concept.

Union Enterprises Pvt Ltd is the sole importers and distributors of these products in Sri Lanka.

Airtel deploys 1000th Base Station

Bharti Airtel Lanka deployed its 1000th Base Station at Dodangaslanda, Kurunegala recently. With the rapid acceptance of its services, the construction of 1000 Base stations took place within a record 750 days since commencement of the company’s network rollout. This is another first by Airtel for the entire telecommunications industry of Sri Lanka.

The opening ceremony was held under the patronage of dignitaries from the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka, the Urban Development Authority, the Central Environmental Authority, the Provincial Environmental Authority, representatives from Airtel’s vendor partners directly responsible for the deployment of its network rollout, as well as Airtel’s comprehensive managed services partner Huawei, who is responsible for the supervision of operations of the network in Sri Lanka.

Bharti Airtel Lanka CEO and MD, Amali Nanayakkara said, “The deployment of Airtel’s 1000th base station manifests our sincere intention to contribute significantly to the country’s growth agenda for telecom by making mobile communication accessible to more Sri Lankans.

Together with a home grown team consisting of local talent assembled from across the construction industry to ably lead the expansion of our network, we have been able to touch well over 70 percent of addressable population throughout the country in record time. We would like to therefore express our deep gratitude to all of them and also thank the members of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka, the Defence Ministry, the Urban Development Authority, the Civil Aviation Authority, the Central and Provincial Environmental Authorities and Huawei for the overwhelming support extended for this landmark event.”

Huawei Technologies Lanka (Pvt) Ltd CEO Austin Wang Xin said, “The partnership entered into with Airtel for the comprehensive management of active infrastructure deployment has been very rewarding for Huawei in commencing the expansion of our footprint in South Asia.

We have benefitted immensely by gaining crucial insight into managing a cutting edge network in an Asian market and gathering rich learning in 3G deployment replicable across the region.

With the opportunity afforded, Huawei has also widened its scale of services by providing expertise to other establishments in the country. All of this has enabled us to contribute significantly towards developing technological competencies and expertise of Sri Lanka’s national talent, which can easily be transferable across the region, in a business where demand is now reaching apex levels globally.”

Sierra Global Network (Pvt) Ltd, Executive Director/CEO Dr. Arosha Fernando said, “We are happy to have partnered Airtel to construct and deploy the passive infrastructure backbone of one of the fastest network rollouts in recent times in Sri Lanka. The initiative, while ably delivering robust service standards for the benefit of telecommunications, has generated a far reaching impact by strengthening the construction industry to enter into projects of considerable scale within optimal timeliness. We are delighted to have supported one of the most significant resource strengthening initiatives that has greatly enhanced the project management skills of local talent across the industry, to develop a locally acclaimed benchmark in line with international best practices.”

Chevron partners Aitken Spence Cargo

Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC, partners with Aitken Spence Cargo (Pvt) Ltd for its entire cargo clearing and forwarding and related transport for imports and exports in Sri Lanka. “We are indeed pleased to be in partnership with Aitken Spence Cargo”, said Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC Managing Director/CEO Kishu Gomes. “We are confident that this tie-up will strengthen our operation through greater process efficiency thereby being able to serve our customers more effectively and leading to superior business results,” he said.

HSBC cardholders get ‘One for

One’ offers with ‘Double Delights’

Building on the successful ‘Cardholder Dines Free’ promotion, HSBC unveiled “Double Delights” to further enhance customer lifestyles, with dining privileges that are second to none.

This novel promotion that is a first in the category of dining has been extended to all HSBC credit cardholders, entitling them to an additional treat when they patronize any Pizza Hut, KFC or Barista outlet in the country.

Pizza lovers can delight in savouring a range of mouth-watering Pizzas to bust their hunger pangs until December 31, 2010, as with every large Pizza ordered they stand to get a free regular Pizza with their preferred topping. Cardholders can also treat themselves to scrumptious chicken, and receive complimentary meals when they buy Zinger meals, Twister meals, Veggie Burger meals and 2pc, 4pc and 8pc meals, till September 30, at any KFC outlet.

They can sip on a variety of hot and cold beverages ranging from Cappuccino, Esperano, Iced Café Mocha, Iced Lattes to Affagattos with the special buy 1 get 1 free, offered at all Baristas until September 15.

HSBC Cards and Consumer Assets Head Nadeesha Senaratne said “Convenience food is a key category that is of interest to our cardholders, hence the offer is designed to provide them with value for money.

Therefore, we invite all cardholders and their family members to enjoy the best dining experience with Double Delights this holiday season.”

HSBC has strongly been associated with the dining category in Sri Lanka to offer its loyal customers rewarding dining privileges.

The Double Delights promotion is in addition to the existing ‘Cardholder Dines Free’ that is offered at the Verandah and Sea Spray Restaurants at Galle Face Hotel, Regina Margarita and Echo and Tao Restaurants at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel.

Nations Corporate Quiz a grand success

The Nations Trust Bank Corporate Quiz took place at the Waters Edge Grand Ballroom on August 25. Forty teams drawn from Sri Lanka’s corporate elite battled it out to gain supremacy with the theme of the event set on the movie phenomenon ‘Star Wars’.

Based on the theme of ‘One World, One Universe, One Team’ the event was complete with galaxical decor, lights and out of space ambiance, where all the participants had to register their barcode number at the entrance to enter the event.

Each team or Starfleet in this case that comprised five members faced a barrage of questions that tested them through five different rounds of questions covering the following topics; Nations Trust Bank, Current Affairs, Financial Markets, Sports and Entertainment. Each Starfleet had also to make a strategic decision on where they could gain advantage and earn ‘bonus points’.

The Galaxical Battle commenced with round one going to Akbar Brothers with second place being tied by John Keells Holdings, KPMG and LOLC. Round two on Current Affairs saw LOLC taking the lead followed by Akbar Brothers and John Keells Holdings. Round three that posed questions on Financial Markets saw the expertise of Aitken Spence, Akbar Brothers, KPMG and Richard Pieris following closely. Round four on Sports Carson Cumberbatch saw going on to lead the round with Chemical Industries joining the other leaders.

By this time the neck and neck race was reaching a crescendo with marginal differences for the top teams on the points table. Round five on Entertainment saw the quiz leaders on this occasion being joined by Express Newspapers who came on strongly in the round.

The final winners Akbar Brothers walked away with a quarter million rupees as the prize money and the runnersup John Keells Holdings received one hundred thousand rupees in cash. Aitken Spence secured the third place.

The event was an overwhelming success and constituted an audio visual treat, dance and entertainment acts, with the participants having an enjoyable evening with a number of prizes and surprises in between rounds that complemented the main prizes, followed by cocktails and fellowship.

NTB Corporate and Institutional Banking DGM Kapila Ariyaratne said, “Nations Trust brings together a unique blend of knowledge, skill and talent through a team whose inspiration and enthusiasm enables us to fashion creative solutions for our corporate clients both at work and otherwise. This event was a manifestation of that willingness and drive to provide our customers with the best.”

Abans goes to Kilinochchi

The people of Kilinochchi now have the opportunity to purchase the world’s best brands of electronics and home appliances. With the opening of Abans new showroom in Kilinochchi, they can now walk into Abans Showroom with the confidence that they will be buying the best genuine energy saving products with the best after-sales-service and guarantee, and walk out with their purchases knowing that they have got the best value for their money at the most affordable terms.

The opening of the Kilinochchi showroom is a part of Abans development drive in the North and the East where they have opened 21 new showrooms in Pothuwil, Akkarai-pathu, Sammanthurai, Kalmunai, Kalawanchikudi, Kattankudi, Batticaloa, Ottamawadi, Trincomalee, Mannar, Vavuniya, Chavakkach-cheri, Jaffna, Chunnakam, Changanai, Nelliyadi, Kilino-chchi, Achchuweli, Thirunelweli, Kodikamam and Manipai.

One of the most salient features about shopping at Abans is that customers can get everything they need for their home under one roof. Energy saving and eco-friendly appliances from refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, televisions, cooker ovens and cooker hoods, hob tops, microwave ovens, floor polishers, vacuum cleaners and dish washers to a range of pyrexware, tableware, glassware, intricate ornaments to beautify their home and a range of gift items for every occasion.

HNB Pathum Vimana ‘Hyundai Santa Fe’ goes to Kahawatta

The winner of the Pathum Vimana 2010 Mid Year Grand Draw, B H A Peiris of HNB Kahawatta Customer Centre won the brand new Hyundai Santa Fe Jeep offered from the HNB Pathum Vimana 2010 Mid Year Draw.

HNB Pathum Vimana is one of the largest deposit draws introduced by a private commercial bank operating in Sri Lanka which gifts account holders more than Rs 100 M in Prizes. The prizes include, four tractors from the October Harvest Draw, 135 Yamaha Gladiator Motorcycles, 135 DVD players, 135 Fridges, 135 TVs from the December Bonus Draw, four Suzuki Swift cars from the December Special Car Draw, a luxury house worth Rs 10 M or cash from the Year End Grand Draw and a luxury Mercedes Benz car from the Year End Premium Draw and air tickets to Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong or Thailand from the weekly draws.