Sri Lanka Business News | Online edition of Daily News

Nations Trust Bank CEO Saliya Rajakaruna opening the Nations Trust Bank stall at the BITE 2011 exhibition

The Batticaloa International Trade Exhibition 2011 (BITE 2011) which began on October 7 saw three days of success, bringing together key players in business.

The exhibition was an initiative by the Lanka Exhibitions and Conference Services partnered with the Batticaloa District Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture. The Nations Trust Bank (NTB) stall, 'Nations Express Centre' which offered a range of exciting offers and enticing packages, attracted a large crowd of potential customers.

Nations Leasing was successful in tying up with vehicle importing giants such as AMW, Mitsubishi, DIMO, Browns and Toyota Lanka to add value to the people of Batticaloa by offering unique discounts and offers.

Commenting on the exhibition, NTB CEO Saliya Rajakaruna said, "It was really uplifting to see the level of interest shown by the people of Batticaloa. I have no doubt that Batticaloa and in fact the entire East of Sri Lanka will benefit from this exhibition. It has brought together the necessary parties in an endeavour to trigger the right relationships."


P.H.S. Chamara Silva receiving his lease from Nations Trust Bank Leasing Head Priyantha Wijesekera	Nations Trust Bank CEO Saliya Rajakaruna with the staff of the BITE NTB stall

Sri Group launches TOS

Sri Group of Companies launched The Overseas Services Ceylon Ltd (TOS) to offer professional services of property management, property care and real estate as well as investment opportunities to Sri Lankan expatriates and foreign nationals living in Sri Lanka.

The venture set up as a BOI project targets to reach $ 200 million return at the end of a four year period.

It draws strength from within the group of companies and will be a key contributor in the Group's bottom line, Sri Group founder Jayakody Muhandiram told Daily News Business.

"We are capturing the demand created by the needs of Lankan expatriates as well as foreign expats living in Sri Lanka with the intention of providing professional services.

As there is no organization that effectively serving the identified needs of this segment we expect a healthy demand for our services," he said.

The focus of this service is to provide professional management services according to the needs of the residents and property owners, The Overseas Services Ceylon CEO T.K. Premadasa said.

The host of services includes preparing and disseminating periodic inspection reports of the rented or leased property, rent collection, utility bills payment and home maintenance services.

In addition, TOS also undertakes management of estates, construction, renovation and preparation of valuation reports.

In providing real estate services TOS covers all aspects of the property market and has a wide network of local agents. This enables the customers an effective way to have broad selection of property available in the country.

TOS focuses on providing investment services for prospective foreign investors and to assist them in identifying the best business partners for their ventures.

The spectrum of services includes all additional requisite documentation, facilities and other needs.

The venture will also offer import and export related services by providing advisory services in product development, market research, setting up buyer-seller meetings and assisting in preparing promotional tools and materials.

A special feature of the services offered by TOS would be the customized hospitality service for foreign and local tourists.

This service encapsulates all aspects of the tourism business from ticketing to providing accommodation.

Organising cultural events projecting the national heritage of Sri Lanka for local and international shows is another unique feature of the TOS hospitality service.

The venture has 20 in-house staff at present with plans to add more with the increase in demand and has set up offices in the UK, Australia, Italy and Canada.

CDB triumphs at National Business Excellence Awards 2011

CDB’s Managing Director and CEO Mahesh Nanayakkara receives the award from National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka Past President C Lal de Alwis. Lanka Walltile PLC General Manager M A Jayawickrama looks on.

Citizens Development Business Finance PLC won the 'Specialised Banking and Financial Services Sector' Category at the National Business Excellence Awards 2011 organized by the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka. Adjudged on the eight point criteria; CDB triumphed in the three-stage process of adjudication comprising a Desk Review, Interviews and a Final Judges' Review to win this prestigious accolade.

Managing Director and CEO Mahesh Nanayakkara said, "This, in no uncertain terms, remains yet another endorsement by the citizens of Sri Lanka that we have conducted our performance to the highest principles of performance, ethics, governance and transparency. CDB has, over the years, been a value-driven organization and this is deeply reflected in the manner in which we conduct our business. We're happy that these principles have been recognised and are indeed elated by the honour that has been bestowed upon us".

The National Business Excellence Awards held annually, recognizes those business entities that make a significant contribution to the socio-economic development of the country, infusing exemplary business practices and ensuring that all stakeholder segments are integrated into best business practices. The NCCSL has, since the inception of the NBEA awards, formulated a comprehensive criteria and judging process that encapsulate not only business fundamentals, but also sustainability principles, best practices, governance tenets and overall standing within respective industries and the overall business community.

Nokia launches all-screen smartphone N9

Nokia Emerging Asia Business Development Manager-Sales, Shiblee Shakik Ahmed, Softlogic Communications Director/CEO Samantha Rajapakse and Softlogic Communications General Manager Rajeev Gooneratne presenting the N9 in its three colour variants, cyan, black and magenta.

Nokia, joined with Dialog Axiata to launch its latest smartphone, the N9 in Colombo, recently.

The stylish Nokia N9 is built for people who appreciate a stunning blend of design and the latest in smartphone technology. This exciting new handset offers a unique new design where the home key is replaced by a simple gesture, a swipe.

As part of the partnership with Nokia, Dialog now offers special deals comprising free i250 per minute package valid for six months and a free 1GB data package for 12 months. The Nokia N9 is now available at all Nokia outlets, Softlogic outlets, Softlogic authorized dealers and at selected Dialog Customer Care Centres.

Auston Institute graduation ceremony

The 2011 graduation ceremony of Auston Institute, a BOI approved higher education institute was held recently.

A student receiving the graduation certificate from Coventry University Registrar, Tan Kah Hoe and some graduates.

Forty six students graduated in the first convocation. In the awarding of BEng (Hons) in Electrical and Electronics Engineering there were six recipients for the Honours Second Class Upper and five for Honours Second Class Lower. In the awarding of BEng (Hons) in Computer Networking and Communications Technology there were eight recipients of the Honours Second Class Lower.

In the awarding of the Bachelors degree programmes in Business, there were three graduates with Second Class Upper and ten Second Class Lower degrees.

Auston Institute of Management Singapore, the parent organization of Auston Institute Ceylon, is a leading private education provider in Singapore that offers its students an alternative pathway to achieve success in their education and careers. Since 1996, Auston Institute of Management, Singapore has been providing courses in the areas of Business, Information Technology and Engineering.

With a clear inclination towards innovation, their courses have often merged the Arts with the Science - producing brilliant graduates year after year.

Auston Institute of Management, Singapore has awards of Eu Trust (Provisional), Singapore Quality-Class, Case Trust and ISO 9001:200. They have worked in partnership with Coventry University, UK, for more than 10 years.

Aviva NDB holds fun-packed evening

Aviva NDB Insurance held an evening of entertainment for the children at Sanhinda Home in Homagama recently as a part of the company's 'Street to School' corporate Responsibility endeavour. Global Aviva conducts a CR programme titled 'Street to School' in the countries in which the group operates, to uplift the education and living standards of underprivileged children. Sanhinda Children's Home has 60 children in the age group 6 to 16 years who have once been street children. In a unique step to inculcate and extend the value of sharing, the children of Aviva NDB employees were invited to join with the children in the home and enjoy a fun-filled get-together. The children played games, watched a children's movie and all participants received gifts.

NEXT School of Business student awarded

NEXT School of Business student Dushan Kahandagamage was recently recognized and awarded the distinction of being the 'Top Student of the World in the CIM Post Graduate Diploma (PgD) for 2011. This is awarded to the student who achieves the highest marks for all subjects in the PgD, with all the exams being taken within a year and having passed them the first time. Dushan has earned the distinction of being the first Sri Lankan student to have won this award.

(Seated from left) Reyaz Jeffrey, Thusitha Abeysekara, Dushan Kahandagamage and Dusty Alahakoon.

Speaking of his achievement Dushan said, "I consider it a great honour to receive the Top Student award from CIM for the Post-graduate Diploma in Marketing. To be adjudged number one among students from all over the world is a great achievement for me. I am thankful to the Next School of Business for giving me the necessary experience, guidance, knowledge and confidence to be able to gain an award of this nature."

Dushan praised the CIM delivery process at Next, which he affirmed is both unique and extremely rewarding. Dushan was of the opinion that by studying at NEXT, it enabled him not only to gain an academic knowledge of the subjects but also to get an industry relevant view point and to have an understanding of realistic and practical situations in the work place. Dushan currently works as a QA and Visualization specialist at STAX INC, which is a global strategy consulting firm with offices in Boston, Chicago, New York, and Colombo. Previously he has also been the recipient of the CIM Sri Lankan prize for Marketing Management (2010) under the guidance of Tharanga Gunasekara of NEXT.

Established in 2007, the Next School of Business is an accredited study centre for CIM UK.

Fashion Bug opens largest store in Borella

One of Sri Lanka’s largest fashion stores Fashion Bug with employee strength over 1200 opened their biggest store at Borella last week. Having commenced their operations in 1994 from Bandarawela as a limited liability company today Fashion Bug has 16 outlets and have ambitious plans to expand rapidly in the Southern Province next year. Here customer is making purchases at the new store in Borella. Picture by Saliya Rupasinghe