ADVERTORIAL

Ramco consolidating presence in Sri Lanka

‘Ramco’ laid the foundation stone for the fiber cement sheet plant of the newly formed company Sri Ramco Roofings Lanka (Pvt) Ltd recently. The foundation stone was laid by the chief guest Minister Kumara Welgama, and guests of honour, Ministers Anura Priyadarshana Yapa and Rishad Bathiudeen, at the invitation of the Ramco Group Chairman P R Ramasubrahmaneya Rajha. The Vice Chairman, Director, Senior Vice President-Marketing, members of the production and marketing teams of Ramco, including Government and Pradeshiya Sabha officials, dealers and Mathugama residents attended the ceremony.

The existing plant at the Makandura industrial estate of Sri Ramco Lanka (Pvt) Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of the India based conglomerate Ramco Industries, is steadily consolidating its presence in the fiber cement roofing market in Sri Lanka. With the foundation stone laid for the new plant in the Mathugama Industrial Estate this consolidation will be further strengthened.

Sri Ramco Roofings Lanka (Pvt) Ltd., will incorporate state-of-the-art computer integrated production machinery. It will have modern pollution control devices and automated material handling equipment. All suppliers and dealers will be linked to the facility through an advanced enterprise resource planning software system to provide easy and on time availability of materials. The plant will have the capacity to produce 120,000 Mts of fiber cement products per annum. The plant will also employ about 200 people directly and another 300 people indirectly.

Ramco Chairman said “We will ensure that the community in Mathugama benefits when this plant is up and running. Ramco today is a household name, which services customers with a wide network of over 200 dealers throughout the country. The Ramco Group has always been known for its social and charitable activities.”

Sri Ramco Lanka has also been active in giving back to the community in Sri Lanka, donating 10 million rupees towards housing projects and helping displaced communities in areas affected by the 26 year old war. The Chairman personally donated this sum to President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Apart from business interests, one of the main focus areas for the company is its ongoing corporate social responsibility program conducted islandwide. Ramco works very closely with local carpenters giving them opportunities to better themselves professionally and personally. One of its main programs consists of workshops to train carpenters and give recognition and dignity to the trade. Ramco also supports the efforts of the Chamber of Construction Industry of Sri Lanka by sponsoring and participating at its seminars and conducting training programs at their vocational training centres.

The Ramco Group also has business interests in cement, cotton yarn, software systems, bio technology and wind energy.

The company implements stringent and rigorous quality control systems which resulted in the award of the ISO 14001 certification for their plant at the Makandura Industrial Estate.

PCH introduces new Karbonn mobile phones

Having achieved success with the recent introduction of the K25 Karbonn mobile phone, PCH is now offering two new models of the popular Karbonn brand- K406 and K316. The Karbonn mobile phone is one of India’s fastest growing brands selling over half a million handsets per month across India.

The Karbonn K406 is a dual SIM music phone equipped with an array of stylish and attractive features. The phone promises to be a treat for music lovers, with its hi-fi audio output for both FM as well as MP3 playback and crystal clear loudspeaker feature. The phone supports MP3 and MIDI formats of music (Midi, MP3, MP2, AAC, AMR-NB, Melody, AMR-WB, AAC+, eAAC).

The dual SIM Karbonn K316 mobile phone comes with a lot of features including 1.77 inches, TFT 65K colour display screen with 120 x 160 pixel of screen resolution and FM radio with recording facility. The phone allows up to 2GB of external memory along with micro SD/T-Flash memory card slots.

Mobile Handset division PCH COO Failan Saleem said, “The Karbonn K406 and K316 are for today’s music lovers who like to carry their music with them. These phones are powered by hi-fi sound output and a high quality audio experience and is sure to appeal to music enthusiasts as well as a generation of mobile users who depend on quality and product appeal. With dual SIM phones are gaining popularity in the rural market, Failan foresees a huge opportunity for these new phones.

“This is considered the new frontier for mobile telephony as it offers better connectivity at an affordable price. Apart from the benefit of having different numbers for different purposes, especially where a local SIM can take care of outgoing calls and the roaming capability of the other SIM could be used for receiving calls, the phones are backed by a proper warranty,” he said.

The entire Karbonn mobile phone range is available at all PC House regional branches, Unity Plaza showrooms, 9 to 9 showroom and dealers islandwide.

SriLankan awards scholarships

SriLankan Airlines awarded scholarships to children of employees for the 11th successive year, strengthening its support for the education of children throughout the country.

The scholarships, which were awarded by the SriLankan Airlines Welfare Society, will provide financial support for the children throughout the rest of the school careers, and even through university.

The national carrier also celebrated the performances of a total of 34 children of staff, - 17 girls and 17 boys - who passed the exam by presenting them with gift packs. They hailed from eight different districts - Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Kegalle, Kandy, Ratnapura, Puttalam and Kurunegala.

SriLankan’s Engineering Head Priyantha Rose, the chief guest at the ceremony in Katunayake, said: “SriLankan Airlines places great value on the education of our own children, and children everywhere, since ours is an industry in which we ourselves never stop learning. There is nothing more delightful to us than to witness our children shaping bright futures for themselves, and to provide them a helping hand to do so.”

The three scholarships were awarded to Nileesha Theshan Assella of Bandaranayake Kanishta Vidyalaya, Savin Nethmal Gunawardena of Mahanama College, and Chamika Malshan Seneviratne of Anura Model Junior Model School, Yakkala. All three distinguished themselves at the recent Year five Scholarship Examination and have now entered Royal College, Colombo.

The scholarship program, which began back in the year 2000, is one of the numerous efforts of the national carrier in support of education.

A similar program rewards children of employees who excel at the Ordinary Level Examination. The Airline also provides continuous support for four schools in the vicinity of the Bandaranaike International Airport.

SriLankan Cares, the Airline’s community upliftment arm, has up to now completed three massive school development projects in the Sabaragamuwa, Southern and Eastern Provinces. The first upgraded Meepagama Jayanthi Maha Vidyalaya at Kalawana in the Ratnapura District in 2003, enabling the school to expand and cater to over 1,000 students after floods destroyed several other schools in the area. The second project was the rebuilding of Al Bahriyah Maha Vidyalaya at Kalmunai in the Batticaloa District, after the school for 1,500 children was destroyed by the Tsunami of 2004.

The third major project, which is nearing completion, is the expansion of Janadhipathi Prathamika Vidyalaya at Debarawewa in the Hambantota District in a Rs 24 million project to provide buildings and classrooms to expand education to the O-level and A-level years. The school earlier had facilities only up to year eight.

The national carrier also has a long-running program which has provided valuable internships to hundreds of undergraduates from the Colombo, Ruhuna and Sri Jayawardenapura universities.

HDFC wins at ACCA awards

HDFC Bank won the prestigious award for sustainability reporting at the seventh annual presentation of the ACCA Sri Lanka award for sustainability reporting for 2010. The award ceremony was held on February 24 at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo.

In a statement through the special supplementary messages issued in this regard, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) said that ACCA rewards Sri Lankan companies who report and disclose environmental, social or full sustainability information accountably and transparently.

The awards held in over 30 countries, is based upon judging guidelines established by ACCA worldwide. The awards are open to any type of organization encompassing all business sizes.

With this prestigious award, HDFC is benchmarked against global best practices and criteria aligned to Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) guidelines and also joins the ranks of companies around the world who all work on a common mission of increasing accountability of responsiveness to stakeholders.

OMA Emirates LLC ties up with Epic Lanka

OMA Emirates LLC, a leading provider of software solutions to the global payment card industry tied up with Sri Lanka’s premier software solutions provider Epic Lanka under an exclusive agreement. This strategic partnership will enable the two companies to share expertise, co-develop solutions and also to benefit from marketing opportunities in the new territories.

OMA Emirates LLC, a well established technology centric organization offers an array of products to the global payment card industry that covers terminal management, EFT POS applications, EMV card personalization and Central Issuance Systems. In partnership with several global brands of equipment suppliers they dominate the Middle East market where the majority of the banks in the Gulf are their regular clients.

“This partnership will enable us to assist the migration process to EMV where personalization would be done locally. This will certainly help the local banking industry with a faster and reliable service at a low cost. The products adhere to highest international standards in payment cards industry. With a proven track record of 13 years serving the domestic banking industry, the in-house expertise of Epic in Secure Payments and Information Security domains will make our offers very appealing said Nayana Dehigama Epic Lanka Chairman and MD.

Established in 1998, Epic now operates in Malaysia and Australia as well.

Winning the National Business Excellence Award in ICT Sector for the past three consecutive years the company has collected an unprecedented number of 38 national and international accolades from 2008 to 2010. Epic plans to move to an ultra modern software development and R and D centre named Epic Technology Village located in the capital city, shortly.

Sampath opens in Mattegoda

Sampath Bank opened their 176th Branch recently at No 102/40 Salgas Junction, Mattegoda. Away from the hustle and bustle of Colombo, yet within close proximity

to the capital, Mattegoda has become a favoured residential locality amongst the young, upwardly mobile families.

Keeping this in mind Sampath’s stepping into this town is going to serve as a great boon to its people with a service ‘par excellence’ being provided by the bank. These include current accounts, foreign currency services, leasing facilities, pawning, personal, home and trade loans, and fixed deposit schemes. A bank with commitment towards its customers, Sampath is ready to serve this township with what it has made a name for, “dedicated service to its customers.”

Many of Sampath’s products are offered with unique features that set them apart from the other products or services in the market. With the opening of this modern branch, the bank aims to contribute to the development of the area by providing much needed banking solutions with a greater quality of service. In this respect Sampath has reached the zenith when it comes to “service to the people.”

Sampath has made bold strides in setting the highest standards, and the Branch at Mattegoda will be focusing on providing one of the most efficient customer services found today.

The people of Mattegoda can be rest assured of having the opportunity of receiving excellent banking facilities with a view of being provided a service where Sampath never forgets that the “Customer Comes First” in every sense.

With Cricket World Cup tickets:

ComBank rewards customers

Customers of Commercial Bank had a chance to win free tickets to watch the Cricket World Cup matches due to a promotion conducted by the bank together with MoneyGram International. The bank rewarded 60 customers with 30 pairs of tickets to watch the matches played in Sri Lanka.

The promotion was conducted through 11 branches of the bank. Customers who transacted at these branches during the Commercial Bank ‘Customer Week’ were eligible to participate in the draws to receive these free tickets.

Young Drums 2011:

ISIC to hold band festival

The International Student Identity Card (ISIC) is inviting marching bands from Western Province national schools to participate in ‘Young Drums 2011’ - one of the first ever opportunities for school bands to showcase their talent and rise to fame and fortune. Go Holidays (representative for ISIC in Sri Lanka) will officially launch the international Student Identity Card to the public, on April 3.

‘Young Drums 2011’ comprises two categories - Eastern and Western. Schools can enter themselves only into one category. The eminent panel of judges will focus on creativity, discipline, teamwork and showmanship and the winning band from each category will earn Rs 100,000 in cash. In addition to the marching band festival the audience can treat themselves to various food stalls and exciting outdoor activities.

Further information could be obtained from www.isic.lk or www.isic.org

Ceylinco Diabetes Centre launches senior citizens package

A special concessionary-priced package to promote proper management of diabetes among the senior citizens in Sri Lanka has been launched by the Ceylinco Diabetes Centre in recognition of the fact that advancing age is a major risk factor in the development of most diseases.

The package comprises a complete physical examination with check for height, weight, BMI, blood pressure and visual acuity, complete diabetes risk assessment and fasting blood sugar (FBS) test, HbA1C, lipid profile, ECG and tests for kidney function.

A free eye and ear assessment is included in the package. The eyes will be tested for Retinopathy, Glaucoma and Cataract by an eye surgeon. Ear screening includes an audiogram, tymphanogram, and autoscopic examination.

Reports of the tests conducted will be given to the clients on the same day. They may thereafter have a consultation session with an in-house doctor.

The package will be available to persons of age 50 or more, the Centre said.

They will also receive special discounts from the pharmacy as well as on spectacles purchased at the new Vision Care branch at the Centre.

This special package is priced at Rs 4,000 per person and appointments can be obtained by telephone.

The Ceylinco Diabetes Centre Senior Medical Officer Dr Charuky Weerasuriya said, “Visiting our Centre is convenient for patients as they can receive many services including tests, treatments and diabetic related products under one roof.”

“Many elderly people are either unaware that they are afflicted with diabetes or they neglect treating the disease. Proper management of diabetes can prevent serious health complications such as blindness, heart diseases, strokes, kidney failure and foot amputation,” she explained.

The Ceylinco Diabetes Centre meets the three principal requirements of managing diabetes - detection, screening for diabetic complications and proper treatments for the disease. The Centre also conducts clinics in diabetology, cardiology, ophthalmology, radiology, vascular and general surgery, diet and nutrition. In addition, the Centre has its own specialized Wound Care Clinic, Medical Laboratory, inward facilities for admissions and Diabetes shop which provides diabetic medications and other diabetes related products including diabetic footwear and accessories.

People’s Merchant Finance on expansion drive

Sanjeevi Jayasuriya

The People’s Merchant Finance Company formerly known as Silvering Finance has been in business for 30 years. The company was taken over by the People’s Merchant Bank in 2009 which is an associate company of the People’s Bank.

The former company, Silvering Finance Limited was set up in Kandy and after the take over by the People’s Merchant Bank decided to re-position and expand the People’s Merchant Finance Company’s operations. The first branch was recently opened in Colombo extending its operations to the western province.

The company has the advantage of having the backing of a state bank and thereby it is in a position to attract more customers, People’s Merchant Finance Company Assistant General Manager Mahen Navaratne told Daily News Business. The portfolio of the company at present includes fixed deposits, lending, leasing, hire purchase and mortgage loans. We are planning to enter pawning and micro financing in the near future, he said.

Though the company was small in size, its strength is having better profitability and maintaining a very healthy capital adequacy ratio. The company has never failed in honouring deposit refunds even during the crisis period triggered by collapse of major registered and unregistered financial institutions in 2009. Therefore customer confidence is very high as the company earns their respect as “Trust in Finance”.

The profitability kept on increasing since the company was taken over by Peoples Merchant Bank PLC. The Peoples Merchant Finance has the capacity to expand its operation by ten times, he said.

During this financial year, more branches will be set up in strategically important locations. These locations are decided upon the requirement of financial services of the customers with a special attention for the areas under banked and under-financed. “People’s Merchant Finance Co Ltd has relocated its head office in Kandy in a modern premises at No.145/1, Kotugodella Street, Kandy for better service and convenience of its customers with effect from January 2011. We will take measures to improve productivity and efficiency through the use of information technology solutions. There will be a recruitment drive to facilitate the expansion plans, too,” he said.

“Our target market is the SME sector and we focus to develop this sector by providing necessary credit facilities. We also plan to set up branches in the northern and the eastern regions to widen our reach. We consider these regions to be fast developing areas where more financial services are needed, Navaratne said.

In a cluttered higher education market:

Can your MBA deliver results?

The field of higher education in Sri Lanka is today very competitive and cluttered. In the pursuit to obtain qualifications fast, students can often make the mistake of picking a higher education institution without finding out more about the institution and the foreign universities it represents. The result is a qualification which will not enable the aspirations intended to be achieved.

Since the national universities can only absorb around 25,000 students from over 140,000 who qualify for higher education every year, the market for reliable and globally acceptable higher education qualifications is high.

At the same time, students who do not do their ‘homework’ on the institutions and degrees available from established foreign universities, here in Sri Lanka, run the risk of being duped by less-than-valuable qualifications marketed by profit maximizing companies.

Whether it is a graduate or a post graduate qualification, today’s students must be able to discern the genuine degrees from those that do not live up to the expectations, said Oxela Fernando, who is studying for her BSc at the Imperial Institute of Higher Education (IIHE).

A past pupil of Asian International School, Oxela says that she selected IIHE as it is one such Institution that, for the last 15 years, has been directly associated with the University of Wales (UOW), recognized globally as a prestigious University in the UK. IIHE has consistently been recognized by employers for the world class education it offers at their campus, located at Tower Building, Station Road, Bambalapitiya.

Oxela further said that one of the initial steps a student can do is to evaluate the relationship the local institution maintains with the parent university.

It is vital to examine whether the relationship is legal and if the local institute conforms to the academic standards required by the parent university and to find out if the parent university conducts periodic and continuous review.

Oxela and other students stress on the panel of lecturers who conduct the classes as vital to ensuring that the degree meets global standards.

“Hands-on assignments, real life case studies using local examples are important criteria that build confidence and enables the students to acquire knowledge through participation,” she said.

In addition to the BSc degrees, IIHE also offers MBAs from the University of Wales which essentially empowers managers with expertise required for strategic level decision-making.

“IIHE’s authentic post graduate qualification from Britain combines excellent learning processes with case studies based on local and global scenarios to provide experiential learning,” said Acquity Partners CEO Ray Abeywardena.

“It equips me, as a CEO, to be able to successfully combine theory with a practical approach and apply it strategically to everything I do, he said.

Aimed at turning specialists into empowered generalists, a world class MBA includes a compulsory dissertation that seeks to upgrade the candidate to strategic management level. The dissertation plays a vital role in harnessing the knowledge learnt, he said.

The MBA at IIHE awarded by the University of Wales offers the flexibility which is important to ensure that the studies can fit in with existing work schedules.

The shortest period to complete the MBA at IIHE is 18 months.

Students say that IIHE provides a program which is globally recognized by ensuring that the standards enforced by the University of Wales are maintained. They say that a team from the University of Wales visit IIHE twice a year to ensure that systems, protocols and teaching and learning methods are maintained to assure UK and global standards.

Now in its 15th year of operations, IIHE stands as the only local institution offering legally valid degrees directly from the University of Wales. IIHE is currently enrolling students for its graduate and post graduate studies.