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NDB, Sampath in ATM partnership
NDB Bank joined Sampath Bank to form an enhanced ATM network spread
across the island.
Sampath Bank Executive Director Chief Executive Officer
Harris Premaratne exchanging the partnership agreement with
NDB Bank Chief Executive Officer Russell de Mel. Chief
Operating Officer Aravinda Perera, Information Technology
DGM Vimal Indrasoma, Systems Adminsitartion Manager Ajith
Salgado, NDB Bank Chief Operating Officer Indrajit
Wickramasinghe, Operations Vice President Kumara Wereasuriya,
IT Manager Lalith Fernando and Assistant Vice President
Gehan Dias look on |
This will give NDB Bank customers access to 220 ATMs of Sampath Bank
spread across the island, providing them with access to their savings
and current accounts with more ease.
With this addition Sampath Bank’s clients will be able to access the
NDB Bank’s ATM network, increasing the Sampath Bank ATM network to 916.
NDB Bank’s total ATM network base has now increased to 259; enabling
customers to enjoy greater convenience.
In addition to the ATM network, NDB Bank’s customers can also access
the Banks services through its trilingual website, internet banking and
24 hour call centre.
This new affiliation will provide customers of both banks 24 hour
access to their bank accounts via the wide spread network for quick
banking transactions and on-line banking facilities on any day of the
year making life easier and befitting today’s busy lifestyles.
Sri Lankan of the Year:
LMD selects Murali
LMD announced that its Sri Lankan of the Year for 2010 is the king of
spin, Muttiah Muralitharan. Murali follows President Mahinda Rajapaksa,
who was LMD’s nominee last year for his Commander-in-Chief role in
winning the war against terrorism.
A spokesperson for Media Services, LMD’s publisher, said “We are
making this award to Murali for the unique contribution he has made to
preserving national unity in testing times, in addition to the work he
is doing to uplift rural communities: It goes without saying that his
record-breaking feats on the cricket field over many years have also
been factored in.”
And in an exclusive with LMD on accepting the prestigious award,
Murali said: “What we have in this country today is absolutely wonderful
and the credit must go to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, for achieving
what everyone thought was an impossible feat. He has given us a country
that is devoid of war and where people can go about their business in
peace.”
“As a nation, we must be broadminded and look at the big picture. We
need to be tolerant of each other because otherwise, this problem can
recur. The root causes that affected people must be addressed,” he said.
LMD’s cover story also quotes Murali as saying: “When I look back at
the tsunami, I recall how the entire nation united to help those who
were affected. That’s what I would like to see the citizens of this
country doing today, by joining hands to help each other and uplifting
living standards so there’s equality for all.”
The full-length exclusive interview with Muttiah Muralitharan appears
in the December edition of LMD, which will be released to all major
bookstores and selected supermarkets on December 10.
Furniture Factory opens Colombo store
Sri Lankan interior decor furniture field is growing rapidly and the
demand has created a sense of simplicity on furniture over the past few
years.
Furniture made out of timber is taking a lead in the market rather
than furniture made out of steel, Furniture Factory (Pvt) Ltd., Director
Saeed Ahamed said to the Daily News Business. He said that teak and
timber furniture has a good demand in Sri Lanka and Furniture Factory,
seeing the demand decided to set up a new store in Colombo.
“We have been catering to customers’ demands with customized
furniture of their choice with an investment of Rs 15 million. We have
been in the industry for one year running our gallery at Lily Avenue,”
Ahamed said.
The Furniture Factory (Pvt) Ltd., locally manufactures 50 percent of
their furniture while importing 50 percent of furniture from Indonesia,
Burma and India.
“We are in the process of exporting our products to the Maldives,
India and any other country according to the demand. We have been able
to make ourselves known in the industry by excellent craftsmanship by
qualified craftsmen who graduated from the Moratuwa University,” Ahamed
said.
The Furniture Factory comprises four graduates from the Moratuwa
University and it has 20 employees at the factories at Moratuwa and
Wadduwa.
The company caters to the demand of sofas through the workshop in
Wellawatta.
The company is equipped with the latest digital technology so that a
customer can have a three dimensional representation of their products.
This would allow the clients to view their products in proper scale and
how they interact with their interiors.
The Furniture Factory (Pvt) Ltd., not only caters to the home
interior decor but also to hotel interior decor.
HP
ANC to hold UK study program
A program, ‘Studying and living in the UK’ will be held on Saturday,
December 11 at ANC Education Holdings Ltd, 308-310, R A De Mel Mawatha,
Colombo 3 at 10 am.
This will allow students to find out more about studying in the UK at
the Northern Consortium universities either directly or through the
programs offered at ANC UK.
Presentations, videos and one to one counselling will be available
along with visa advice and students will be allowed to apply to the
eleven NCUK universities on the day as long as they bring their
certificates and transcripts.
The UK is still the number one choice for students looking for
undergraduate studies overseas. Almost 2000 students from Sri Lanka
travel to the UK for first degree studies.
The popular subject choices for Sri Lankans are those relating to the
professions, with many students opting for Management, Engineering,
Computing and Medicine.
Why study in the UK?
As many Sri Lankan parents and grandparents will know from
experience, the UK has been welcoming students from around the world for
generations.
The quality of the education and the student experience in the UK is
reflected in the long list of eminent alumni that have made their mark
on the world including Nobel Prize Winners and countless engineers,
scientists, doctors, Presidents, architects, industrialists, designers
and authors.
Employability
UK graduates are highly sought after in the global marketplace and
this is due to the creativity, problem solving and communication skills
that are developed within each student during their undergraduate
studies producing confident, articulate and capable graduates.
Affordability
In the UK, you can complete an honours degree within three years as
opposed to four years in most other countries making the UK the most
cost effective choice.
Current regulations also allow international students to work for up
to 20 hours per week during term time and 40 hours during vacations. If
examination results are high, there are many scholarship opportunities
too.
UK transfer programs in Sri Lanka
To make a UK degree more accessible to Sri Lankan students, some
universities also offer students the opportunity to complete part of
their studies in Sri Lanka progressing to the UK for the remaining
portion of their degree. This obviously results in a large cost saving
for parents.
ANC UK
A consortium of UK universities known as the Northern Consortium UK (NCUK),
which includes four of the elite Russell Group of UK universities formed
a partnership with ANC in Sri Lanka to offer UK transfer programs in
Colombo. The Northern Consortium has an enviable twenty year history of
delivering highly regarded UK university pathway programs around the
world
The Northern Consortium is owned by the eleven universities in the
consortium which include the Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool, Leeds,
Bradford, Salford, Manchester Metropolitan, Sheffield Hallam, Liverpool
John Moores and Leeds Metropolitan Universities.
Foundation Year Program
The NCUK International Foundation Year (IFY) at ANC also offers O
level students the opportunity to undertake an intensive and focused
program that will be recognized for entry into the first year of degree
studies in the UK by all the NCUK universities. Other UK universities,
as well as some Irish and Australian universities, also recognize the
NCUK IFY program for entry to undergraduate studies.
Students are often seen with fantastic local O level scores
performing very poorly in their local A level exams. If students are
seriously considering studying in the UK, then we would encourage them
to join the IFY program after their O levels. The IFY has been developed
by the NCUK universities and the teaching and learning environment
prepares them perfectly for the transition to the UK university style of
education. Students are also guaranteed progression to one of the NCUK
universities (or to the International Diploma) as long as they pass the
program.
Oman Air launches new route to Milan
Oman Air, the National Carrier of the Sultanate of Oman, is to launch
a new service between Muscat and Milan.
Oman Air’s internationally-acclaimed A330 aircraft touched down at
Milan’s Malpensa Airport for the first time on December 3 and the
airline will operate four flights per week in each direction.
Announcing the new route, Oman Air’s Chief Executive Officer, Peter
Hill, said, “We are delighted to be launching our new service to Milan;
our 41st destination and the ninth we have unveiled this year. As
Italy’s capital of culture, design and fashion, and one of the world’s
great business and financial centres, Milan is sure to be a popular
destination for travellers from Oman and from many other destinations
within our rapidly-expanding network. The new service also offers
travellers from Italy a great opportunity to discover the beauty and
hospitality of Oman.”
HSBC announces weekly winners
HSBC recently announced the weekly winners of its popular ‘free fuel
for one year’ campaign which began in October this year. Winners
included Shamalee A Yapa, D M P Welikala, K Gayani Abeywickrama, D K
Nuwanjith Senadeera and A Wijesinghe who were selected through five
weekly draws for free fuel rebates in 2011. The ongoing promotion that
ends on December, 31 promises to reward weekly winners with four times
of their weekly fuel spend with a maximum rebate of Rs 25,000 per month
for the whole of 2011.
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