Sri Lanka Business News | Online edition of Daily News

Janashakthi Insurance PLC clinched triple honours at the SLIM Awards 2010, thus becoming the only insurance company in Sri Lanka to win the highest number of awards in the Service Category at this event.

It won the Silver for ‘Turnaround Brand of the Year’, and two Bronzes each for ‘Local Brand of the Year’ and ‘Service Brand of the Year’.

The Janashakthi team at the SLIM Awards - From left - Marketing Activations Senor Assistant Manager Kelum Weerasinghe, Motor Brand Manager Chatura Udawatta, Non Motor Brand Manager Rajitha Samaranayake, Life Assistant Brand Manager Jude Silva and Marketing Head Paddy Weerasekara.

Janashakhti Insurance Marketing Head Paddy Weerasekera hailed this as an unequivocal endorsement of Janashakthi’s efforts in brand building and brand management efforts. “We’re proud to be the only insurance company in Sri Lanka to have won as many as three awards this year. We attribute this to our underpinning brand propositions; the unmatched quality of our service and the creation of greater value via constant investment in brand building. The Janashakthi team is both delighted and extremely honoured with this national recognition where our customer-centric approach in developing brand and related activation have been appreciated,” Weerasekera said.

“Janashakthi prides itself in the quality of its service excellence to the nation and the many firsts it has given the industry. Last month we created yet another revolution in Sri Lanka’s insurance industry with the launch of “Full Option Vehicle Emergency Policy”. With its wide ranging facilities and services, this Full Option Vehicle Emergency Policy blazes a trail and emerges as one of the best-ever products Sri Lanka’s insurance industry has seen in recent times,” Weerasekera, said.

Its innovative ‘My Car, My Home, My Life’ product coupled home and life and made headlines as an industry first. It is also the only insurance company in Sri Lanka to have its own repair service. The Full Option Auto Centre recently completed five successful years with a record nearly 6000 vehicles repaired and brought back to mint condition during this period. Added to this are 130+ authorized garages which offer premium service to Janashakthi customers.

Janashakthi Life Unlimited is a unique and revolutionary insurance product which provides free lifetime hospitalization, life and accident protection to the policyholder entirely free of charge even after the policy matures. Janashakthi is the first ever insurance company in Sri Lanka to be awarded the ISO 9001: 2000 international quality accreditation for its Life and General insurance operations. It also holds the distinction of clinching the highest number of awards by any service organisation at the SLIM Brand Excellence Awards 2006 with a Gold as the No.1 Service Brand of the Year

With an islandwide network of over 100 branches, it offers 24/7 customer care service and has also been actively involved in road side assistance at major events such as the Kataragama and Kandy Perahera, Hikkaduwa Beach Fest, Anuradhapura Poson Festival etc

Janashakthi also exercises its social responsibility as a corporate entity by becoming involved in several social projects. Among them was a program for the safety of people at pedestrian crossings and other social responsibility projects such as Tsunami aid programs in collaboration with the UN Habitat, cycle reflector project, safe bottle lamp, street name boards, signage at historical locations, medical camps in rural areas, sports sponsorship including sports such as Cricket, Hockey, Sailing, Golf, Squash etc.

Good corporate governance has established the image of the company as a socially responsible entity, delivering greater and consistent value to customers, employees, shareholders and the country at large during the 16 years of its service to the nation.

NIKE appoints Softlogic

Softlogic, one of the leading and dynamic organizations in Sri Lanka today, has been appointed the distributor of NIKE, the world’s leading designer, marketeer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities.

As part of Softlogic’s new partnership with NIKE, Softlogic will now manage the NIKE brand’s presence in the Sri Lankan market and will look to establishing several NIKE Premium stores in key cities. While these stores would function as Exclusive NIKE stores, Softlogic would also look to enhance the visibility of Nike in the market by focusing on having a strong presence in Multi-Brand Outlets. This strategic partnership will allow both parties to seek out and identify new opportunities in the apparel and lifestyle space, and will accelerate the coming of age of the Sri Lanka apparel & lifestyle industry bringing in significant value to the retail apparel industry.

Softlogic Holdings Ltd, Chairman and Managing Director Ashok Pathirage said, “Softlogic is delighted to join forces today with an iconic brand such as NIKE to establish a strong presence in the apparel sportswear market in Sri Lanka. While we have been operating in the apparel market for some time now, we are immensely excited about this period of time, where we see a growing vibrancy in the retail landscape, with increased consumer demand, and consumers being more quality and brand conscious - key drivers towards introducing brands of the genre of NIKE.

I feel very encouraged that we being a strong and dynamic group of Companies with many global heavyweight brands within our portfolio can provide an equally dynamic and bold presence for NIKE in the market by bringing to bear the vigour, excitement, innovation, passion, all key attributes of the NIKE brand and translate the brand promise to the local consumer. We will be planning on making NIKE very accessible to the sports loving and fashion conscious consumer by opening signature NIKE premium stores in key locations carrying the full line-up of products at very affordable prices.

This new partnership is a significant moment for the branded sportswear apparel industry in Sri Lanka, and promises to open a new chapter in the story of the coming of age of the trendy sportswear scene in this country.

ComBank Internet Payment Gateway offers new functionality

Enhancements made by the Commercial Bank of Ceylon to its Internet Payment Gateway provide new functionality for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to offer seamless and secure e-Commerce and m-Commerce solutions to their customers.

The People’s Bank ATM at the People’s Bank Service Centre at the Colombo Courts Complex was opened by High Court Judge Deepali Wijesundara recently. High Court Judge B. K. Atapattu, Trade Finance AGM Jayantha Newunhella, Colombo North Regional Manager R. Ranatunga, Mid City Branch Manager L. V. A. Eratne and Courts Complex Service Centre Manager S. A. Ananda look on

The only Sri Lankan bank operating an Internet Payment Gateway hosted by MiGS (MasterCard Internet Gateway System), the Commercial Bank said the ComBank Payment Gateway (CPG) now offers many features that facilitate SME type transactions, without the complexity and costs of existing e-commerce structures. Sophisticated anti-fraud features make it possible for customers to view products, place their orders, generate invoices and pay online in a secure environment that meets the highest global standards, with both ‘MasterCard Secure Code’ and ‘Verified by Visa’ authentication, the Bank said.

Transactions are Payment Card Industry - Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) compliant, thereby providing maximum protection of card holder information, the bank said. Processing of refunds is also possible while maintaining the integrity of the system and protecting sensitive information.

“Our enhanced payment gateway offers users many exciting opportunities for growth by augmenting access to their products and services and making payment for them extraordinarily convenient and safe,” said Commercial Bank’s Deputy General Manager Operations Sanath Bandaranayake.

MiGS hosts the payment gateways of 60 banks in Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, South East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and Europe, and also offers a fully remote disaster recovery site.

Ceylinco Insurance restructures Board

Ceylinco Insurance has restructured of its Board. Senior marketing professional, J. Godwin Perera has been invited to take over as its Chairman, with the livewires behind the company’s outstanding success, Ajith Gunewardena takes over as Managing Director and CEO of Ceylinco Insurance General and R Renganathan as Managing Director and CEO of Ceylinco Insurance Life. Both Ajith Gunewardena and R Renganathan will hold executive authority and responsibility for steering Ceylinco Insurance towards a new chapter in its history. The position of Deputy Chairman is no longer applicable following the re-structuring.

Unitary Marketing Services Director/Chief Consultant and former Bank of Ceylon Marketing Head Godwin Perera has also been the Aitken Spence Group Marketing Consultant for over a decade where he was actively involved in the Aitken Spence Group, with special emphasis on the Group’s leisure sector.

He has also served as Director Corporate Panning at Lanka Milk Foods. Ajith Gunawardena entered the Ceylinco Group through The Finance Company, where he was able to pioneer the first ever leasing and project financing division in Sri Lanka. He is also credited with the setting up of hire purchase scheme for consumer durables and import financing, a first for finance companies in Sri Lanka. He also pioneered the first ever venture capital company to be set up in Sri Lanka. Having taken over as Director in Charge of the General Division of Ceylinco Insurance in 1987, Ajith Gunewardena introduced the visionary concept of a direct sales force for the insurance industry in Sri Lanka. His idea that transformed the insurance industry for good was the incredibly successful.

“On the Spot claim settlement” which gave the customer unprecedented benefit never before given in the industry. A global first to have been embraced by many other insurers the world over, Ajith Gunewardena’s unique concept won the coveted “Innovation of the year” award at the “Asia Insurance Industry Awards” in 2003.

A chartered accountant by profession, Rajkumar Renganathan joined Ceylinco consolidated in 1983. He was entrusted with setting up the Life Division of Ceylinco Insurance when the doors of the insurance industry were opened to the private sector.

Saberion launches Online Reservation Technology

With the end of the civil war and tourism expected to grow by over 40 percent, the question is no longer whether to visit Sri Lanka or which travel agent to approach but rather which resorts are the most accessible, and in today’s market, online is the key to accessibility. Having the most visually appealing online presence and the most efficient and secure online reservation and payment technology makes all the difference. With their proprietary online reservation system, developed in conjunction with leading hoteliers, Saberion (Pvt) Limited offers the ideal solution for hotels both large and small. Being a Sri Lankan owned and based company, Saberion (Pvt) Limited also offers cost efficiencies, flexibility and ready access to support and services.

The solution incorporates a range of features developed to meet the needs of the hotel industry. Key amongst these is the user friendly Single Page Booking Window which enables clients to select rooms, enter details and finalize payments all at one go. This ensures convenience for customers while enabling hotels to retain customer focus and register increased numbers of completed online transactions. The integrity of the core technology allows complete customizability and scalability according to specific client requirements, without compromising on security and functionality. Unlike most other booking engines that continue to charge commissions on transactions, the solution offers clients a one time fixed product cost and a hotel owned model allowing a more quantifiable return on investment.

Saberion (Pvt) Limited offers the complete suite of online solutions for the travel and hospitality trade and counts some of the most prestigious establishments amongst its growing regional clientele including Paradise Road Hotel Properties (The Villa Bentota and Tintagel Colombo), the Amaya Group, Aditya Resorts, the Weir House, Kahanda Kanda and the Island Hideaway (Maldives).

“The global travel landscape changes everyday, which is why we are always researching, innovating and introducing solutions to ensure our clientele are able to compete against the best around the world. Our expanding range of solutions for the travel and hospitality industry includes dedicated search engine optimisation and online marketing, iPhone and iPad solutions, digital signage and interactive web and mobile solutions. Over the last few years we have been fine tuning our online payment and reservation systems and are in a position to facilitate the end-to-end integration of most backend reservation systems to our software preventing the unnecessary double entry of information,” said Saberion (Pvt) Limited CEO Mufaddal Lukmanjee.

From its inception as an interactive agency, Saberion has grown and diversified continuously with a variety of products that keep pace with a rapidly evolving online marketplace. With the online booking engine poised to be the market leader in this space, Saberion (Pvt) Limited continues to provide real solutions to drive online businesses forward.

Chief Postal Superintendent Pavlos S Pavlides with his team, Regional Director Doxopoulou Marietta, Marketing Manager Chatzisavva Silia, MoneyGram International Regional Manager Gautum Kalro, Ellinas Finance Public Company Ltd Manager Constantinos Servos, Ellinas Finance Public Company Ltd Sales and Marketing Officer Petros Sirivianos and Correspondent Banking and International Operations Hatton National Bank Assistant General Manager Reshanka Abayasekara.

HNB, MoneyGram team up in Cyprus

Sri Lankan migrants in Cyprus have silently faced a fluctuating exchange rate scenario consequent to Cyprus changing from Cyprus pounds to euro and the recent temporary decline in the exchange rate between euro currency and Sri Lanka rupees ( 1 Euro= Rs 160- declined to 1 Euro = Rs 143-) added to their woes.

To support the Sri Lankan community in Cyprus MoneyGram sponsored a musical day recently to launch a two pronged offer for the benefit of remittances to Sri Lanka from Cyprus along with their Super Agent in Sri Lanka HNB.

During the period MoneyGram reduced its charges on a remittance from Euro 8 to Euro 5. Not only the benefit of a lower tariff but a very attractive exchange rate second to none was also offered to remitters to Sri Lanka.

CIS wins at SLMUN

The third annual Sri Lanka Model United Nations (SLMUN) Conference was held at the Water’s Edge Colombo, for the third time. SLMUN is a realistic simulation of the UN which gives students both around the world and in all regions of Sri Lanka the opportunity to experience first hand the challenges faced by actual UN delegates. This year’s conference set new records by being deemed the biggest student MUN conference ever held in Asia with over 1,500 students from a multitude of Sri Lankan and international schools participating.

At SLMUN, students are chosen to take on the roles of either delegates of various nations, administrative staff or executive committee members.

The Colombo International School (CIS) had three students, namely Sung Won Yun, Megumi Yamamoto and Kithmina Hewage chosen to fulfil the roles of the UNEP President, the Security Council President and Secretary General of the entire conference respectively.

CIS students represented the nations of Venezuela, Israel and Barbados, as well as the United States of America.

At this conference, CIS delegates exhibited the highest calibre of heated debate and impassioned speech in projecting their beliefs and goals of the nations they represented and also collected documentation and research material to propose pragmatic solutions to a number of large issues currently plaguing the global community at large. CIS had the honour of winning a plethora of the individual awards offered. These included the most prestigious Best Delegate/ Delegation Award, as well as Higher Commendations and Honorary Mentions in Committees such as the Security Council, the Internal Court of Justice, the Committee on Disarmament and the United Nations Environmental Programme. The culmination of these accomplishments was winning the Best School Award, which CIS has successfully captured consecutively over the past two years.

SLMUN is taken very seriously at CIS with staff, in particular the Principal, the Secondary Head and the Sixth Form Head providing invaluable support.