ADVERTORIAL

Completes 35 years in business:

Five star status for Lagodan

Shirajiv SIRIMANE

The Foreign Employment Ministry is looking at categorising foreign recruitment agencies and one of the oldest agencies in Sri Lanka, Lagodan is to be named as a five star agency.

Foreign Employment Minister Dilan Perera, who was the chief guest at the 35 year celebrations, said Lagodans had done yeomen service to the nation.

"At a time when foreign employment was an 'alien' word to Sri Lanka, founder of the Company L. A. B. Perera set up Lagodan in 1976," he said.

The Minister said that unlike most of the other agencies, Lagodan does not take a fee from employees but obtains a service charge from the employer."

The Present Chairman and Managing Director of Lagodan, L. A. Ranjith Perera said they are doing this business as a social service and making money is not their priority.

He recalled that when the recruitment business started they faced tremendous hardship due to the lack of knowledge on the part of 'would be expat workers' high charges in international communication and most importantly lack of embassies or consulates in Sri Lanka.

"We must thank President Mahinda Rajapaksa who was the then Labour Minister who took several meaningful steps to initiate foreign missions to be opened in Sri Lanka."

He said one of the biggest advantages Sri Lankan skilled workers have is their skills which is in high demand in the Asian employment market.

"This is the reason one could see a sharp increase of Sri Lankan workers to Korea."

In 2009, 1237 were employed in Korea and this number increased to 4153 the following year.

"Sri Lanka has so far sent 3054 for employment in Korea in the first half of this year." He said they could provide an even better service if the government offers them duty free vehicle permits since they need high end vehicles to take their foreign principles when they visit Sri Lanka.

He also expressed disappointment in the manner in which some Sri Lankan missions operate overseas. "They are not doing enough to woo more employment opportunities to Sri Lankans," he said.

Lagodan services has also not gone unnoticed as they were awarded the 2001 silver award for the recruitment of highest number of skilled employees and this was followed by a Bronze award for the best marketing efforts.

The company received a national award for licensed foreign employment by the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment. Since its founding in 1976 Lagodan has built up a high reputation worldwide in the international manpower business.

This has been achieved by providing quality service at realistic cost and by attaching as much importance to "after sales service" as to the "sale" itself. More importantly it is our absolutely clean, transparent and high professionalism that has earned Lagodan a pre-eminent place in the recruitment business both in Sri Lanka and many countries abroad. Lagodan is a Private Limited Liability Company.

Lagodan (Pvt) Ltd., is one of the very few pioneering Foreign Employment Agencies in Sri Lanka, having started business operations way back in 1976, long before the establishment of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment.

Singer Finance brings Trusted Excellence to vavuniya

Singer Finance (Lanka) PLC opened its Customer Service Centre in Vavuniya recently. Backed by the strength of the Singer Group (Sri Lanka), one of the country's most powerful, customer-friendly conglomerates and the "Brand of the Year" for the past six years, Singer Finance will leverage its parent company's 160 years of trusted excellence to give Sri Lankans the life they want.

Singer Finance is registered by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and has been given a BBB+ Fitch rating. Winning customers' hearts for its superior service standards, Singer Finance has gone beyond traditional financing facilities, such as vehicle leasing and hire purchase, to cater to the finance requirements of farmers and other members of the business community.

It offers financing facilities for tractors and other agricultural equipment, and also helps customers meet working capital requirements. The company also offers attractive rates for fixed deposits, while maintaining an unrivalled record of public trust.

Committed to making life easier for its fellow Sri Lankans, Singer Finance also provides consumer financing for electronic appliances and other products available at Singer Mega, Singer Plus, Singer Homes, and Sisil World retail outlets. Singer Finance also has the industry's bet online real-time repayment channel, giving customers the freedom to pay monthly rentals at any Singer Plus, Sisil World, Singer Mega, and Singer Homes showroom island-wide, as well as through the company's own fully-fledged branches in Union Place, Kurunegala, Wattala, Wennapuwa, Anuradhapura, Kandy, and Matara.

BSc degree in Transport and Logistics Management:

Moratuwa University gets CILT accreditation

The Moratuwa University has produced yet another world class degree programme. The BSc Honours Degree in Transport and Logistics Management has been accredited by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) as fulfilling all the academic requirements for the Charter Membership of the Institute. The Institute founded in 1919, and which received its Royal Charter in 1926 has recognized only a handful of degrees as being fully fulfilling all the academic requirements.

A programme to mark this occasion was held at the Continental Hotel, Colombo on August 9 with Prof Malik Ranasinghe as the Chief Guest. The event was also attended by the CILT Sri Lanka Chairman Professor Amal S Kumarage, Engineering Faculty Dean Prof Anuruddha Puswewela and CILT International Vice-President Saliya Senanayake.

The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) is a uniquely established global professional body associated with logistics and transport with over 33,000 members in over 30 countries worldwide, The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in Sri Lanka was established in 1985 by an Act of Parliament.

The BSc degree programme in Transport and Logistics Management at the University of Moratuwa began in 2006 at the request of the industry. It has had an annual intake of 50 students from the Mathematics stream of the GCE Advanced Level examinations. Entry to this programme is highly competitive and is currently one of the top four courses in the Mathematics Stream for most districts. The study programme is offered under the Engineering Faculty and through a separate department of Transport and Logistics Management. It is a four year course conducted in the English Medium. As a modern curriculum it contains many learning oriented components including leadership training, mentoring, community development, full time internship with industry, presentation and communication skills development etc.

The subjects range from technical content in aviation, shipping, transport, supply chain, roads and railways areas to the full range of management subjects. It has 150 credits and can be considered as a double degree in Management and Transport. It also has a heavy component of mathematics subjects underlying the analytical orientation of the course.

Amana Global ties up with IBFIM

Amana Global, a fully owned subsidiary of Amana Takaful PLC has signed an MoU with the Islamic Banking and Finance Institute of Malaysia (IBFIM) in a bid to build capacity in the Islamic Finance industry.

The signing event took place in Colombo recently in the presence of educationists and human resource professionals from the industry.

The move to launch such a programme was driven by the emerging need for industry specific knowledge in the field of Islamic Finance in Sri Lanka. At present there is a dearth of professional services available to satisfy the demand.

"As the pioneers of the subject (Islamic Finance) in Sri Lanka we thought it was apt to leverage our links with Malaysia to bring the best in education and coaching to the island for the benefit of all parties.

Malaysia has been in the forefront of the development of Islamic Finance and is known to be a hub for industry best practices and knowledge on the topic," Amana Global Limited General Manager Fawas Farook said. "We have also sought a facilitator to make this partnership work and thus brought in First International Consultancy (Malaysia), which possesses a wealth of experience in propagating Islamic Finance learning," he said.

Amana Global, together with IBFIM, will offer short term courses for public audiences and corporate entities. Customised programmes or modules will be the distinct advantage of the initial stage.

"We believe this approach will best suit the present need for learning and application due to higher levels of interaction and dealing with issues that are client specific," Farook said.

Islamic Finance is gaining momentum in the Island since Amana Investment first began operations in 1995.

Today, many conventional Banking and Finance companies have boldly moved into offer Shari'ah based solutions, highlighting the growing acceptance of Islamic Finance as a viable option for businesses and individuals alike in the long-term.

Mobitel boosts National Conference of Chartered Accountants

In a groundbreaking partnership, Mobitel, the country's national mobile service provider, will power the National Conference of Chartered Accountants with a gold sponsorship. This year's conference, to be held under the thought provoking theme 'Quest for Balance' from October 20 to 22, 2011 at Waters Edge, Battaramulla.

Mobitel's Finance and Procurement Senior General Manager Nishantha Weerakoon expressing his view on this partnership said, "It is indeed a great pleasure to be associated as the Gold Sponsor of the 32nd ICASL conference organized by Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka. ICASL's continuous commitment towards developing human capital in Sri Lanka should be highly applauded and I am confident that the renowned panel of speakers will broaden the knowledge and provide inspiration to the participants."

ICASL President, Sujeewa Mudalige, welcoming Mobitel on board stressed that this sponsorship by the country's national mobile service provider is in testament to the reputation the conference has built over the years and would strengthen the ICASL's quest for fostering professionalism. ICASL has been the pioneers of introducing the concept of national conference to Sri Lanka. Since its inception in 1979, the conference has built a reputation as one of the most looked forward to and most attended conferences in the country. This year's conference will have an interesting line up of technical sessions, which will feature an eminent panel of foreign and local experts.

Arpico donates water storage solution to Madhu Church

Richard Pieris & Company PLC (Arpico) one for the premier conglomerates in the country donated a complete water storage solution to the Madhu Church in Mannar District under the company's CSR initiative, with the objective to install water storage solutions for frequently visited pilgrimage and worship sites around the country.

The water storage solution was assembled utilizing Arpico Water Tanks, pipes and fittings and is estimated to benefit more than 700,000 Catholic worshippers and devotees who visit the Madhu festival each year.

Derrick Perera, Marketing Manager - RPC Polymers commented, "The post war era has resulted in an upsurge of worshippers to the Madhu festival, we understood the need for a cleaner, refreshing environment as well as the increasing need of water during this pilgrimage period in this area. We are honoured about the support extended by Rev. Fr Emil Fernando, who facilitated the completion of this initiative on time. The Arpico Water Storage solution in Madhu is the foundation to our islandwide Corporate Social Responsibility program installing water storage solutions for mass gathering".

RPC Polymers was the first to introduce a plastic water tank in the country 19 years ago.

The Arpico plastishells Water Tank is the only tank to be ISO 9001:2008 certified. The company also markets triple layer tanks, sump tanks, septic tanks, garbage bins and compost bins.

LG new 3D Home Theatre System at Abans

Abans have just unveiled LG's first ever 3D Sound Blu-ray Home Theatre System. The HX 996TS LG Home Theatre System uses innovative new approaches to deliver sound and provides the perfect soundtrack for watching 3D Movies.

"Home entertainment enthusiasts are increasingly getting opportunities to experience TV and movies in 3D, but until now, sound has remained firmly in 2D. With the HX 996TS Home Theatre System we have made a bug leap forward with audio, so that viewers can now get as immersed in sound, every bit as life-like as the best 3D movies," said LG Electronic's Home Entertainment Company President and CEO Havis Kwon.

LG's new 3D Home Theatre System comes with outstanding sound quality via three key innovations. Firstly, the Vertical 3D Sound Channels, emit sound through the tops of the systems four Tallboy Speakers to expand the sound field up to the ceiling. The resulting audio waves fill the space above viewers heads, for a strikingly realistic sound that makes viewers feel like they are right in the middle of the movie. Secondly, its 3D sound comes via its Dual Subwoofers. Instead of the conventional single subwoofer, two subwoofers are placed on the opposite sides of the television, delivering a powerful sound that greatly enriches the overall audio quality. The Dual Subwoofers add a room-filling, 'low attack' undercurrent for a strikingly realistic soundtrack. Finally, to complete the 3D sound experience is the Cinema Dome Effect, which perfects 3D sound via LG's unique DSP algorithm. The algorithm analyzes individual audio channels in real time to guarantee seamless sound tracking and a truly immersive sound. The combined effect is an upwards and backwards expansion of the sound field, putting viewers right at the heart of the audio.

Union Bank principal sponsor for Nineteenth annual NCE Awards

The National Chamber of Exporters (NCE) will hold its 19th annual NCE Awards tomorrow, recognizing the excellence and unwavering efforts of entrepreneurs in taking Sri Lankan products and services to global markets.

As a preferred bank for SME, the Union Bank of Colombo PLC (UBC), for the third consecutive year will support this important initiative as the principal sponsor for the Professional Services category. The award recognizes the excellence of service providers to exporters. Union Bank's focus on the SME sector provides the bank an edge in a competitive market as a bank, small enough to be flexible to the growing needs of SME customers and large enough to fuel their success to greater heights and offers a comprehensive product portfolio to support the growth of the sector.

Thishani Dissanayake, Senior Manager Marketing of Union Bank handed over the sponsorship to Sarath De Silva, President NCE and Rasa Weerasingham, Executive Director NCE, at the media briefing held on 10th August 2011 at the Colombo Hilton.