LEISURE

SriLankan first airline to take off from HIA

Some highlights of the WTM Pictures by Shirajiv Sirimane

SriLankan Airlines has re confirmed it will be the first international carrier to operate from Sri Lanka's second Internation Airport, Hambantota. The airline will operate its European flights to and from this airport from winter 2013 and this announcement was made at the WTM in London.

Hambantota will be the country's second international airport and will be located in the south of Sri Lanka.

SriLankan will initially launchdaily services to Europe and the Middle East, improving accessibility for tourists visiting the surrounding districts of South, Central and Eastern regions of the country. The new airport will specially increase visitors to the Southern and Eastern beach resorts, wildlife safari parks and bird sanctuaries, in addition to supporting the commercial and industrial development projects with business travel.

The airline has invested significantly in the airport's infrastructure and equipment, including hangers, engineering facilities, catering facilities and all ground-handling support facilities within the terminals. Nisantha Wickremasinghe, Chairman of SriLankan Airlines, comments: "We are proud to be part of this exciting new chapter in Sri Lanka's aviation history. We are always looking to improve our offerings to customers and the new airport will enable us to put on more flights per week, therefore providing customers with more choice and flexibility." "With visitor numbers steadily increasing and tipped as a must visit destination for 2013, Sri Lanka is now firmly on the map as a holiday destination and the new airport will only serve to increase the number of tourists visitingour beautiful shores."

The new airport, being built at a cost of US$ 209 million, is expected to expand the local aviation industry, whilst also being the catalyst for the country's economic development,enabling international trade, tourism, vocational training and employment.

SriLankan Airlines also became the first airline in the world to launch Project BLUE print in partnership with Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC).

SriLankan launch Whale Conservation project

The airline and wildlife charity will work together to jointly develop a community-based responsible whale and dolphin watching industry off the coast of Sri Lanka and encourage responsible behaviour amongst local boat tour operators.

The initial focus of the project will be in Mirissa, in the south west of the island, currently the most popular whale watching destination inSri Lanka. The government has also declared the area as a marine sanctuary. “The Government of Sri Lanka has presented the legislation to Parliament under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance to enforce strict guidelines,” Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardane said.

Chairman of SriLankan said, “We are proud to be associated with the WDC initiative and look forward to embarking upon this projecttogether. Raising awareness and educating the local community about responsible whale watching is of utmost importance in ensuring sustainable tourism.”

WTM successful

The 33rd edition of the WTM brought in good returns for Sri Lanka with participants happy on the outcome. “The stand and arrangements were very praiseworthy,” was the feeling expressed by them.

John Keells remains strong

Stocks opened on a strong note led by diversified and banking sector counters. John Keells remained strong throughout the day but most banking counters lost steam towards the latter part of trading. Taprobane Holdings and Environmental Resource Holdings entered into share purchase and sale agreement to exchange stakes in Browns Investments and in Environmental Resource Holdings. The latter will see its parent Lionhart selling down. Turnover levels continue to remain low although retail activity was evident in Browns Investments and Environmental Resource Holdings.

ASI edged up 10.45 points (0.19%) to close at 5,599.88, MPI gained 23.21 points (0.45%) to close at 5,176.19 and the S&P SL20 index gained 3.34 points (0.11%) to close at 3,037.94. Turnover was Rs. 244.8Mn. Top contributors to turnover were Browns Investments with Rs. 44.0Mn, Environmental Resource Holdings with Rs. 27.3Mn and John Keells Holdings with Rs. 26.6Mn. Most active counters for the day were Browns Investments, Environmental Resource Holdings and Environmental Resource Holdings- warrant 6.

Notable gainers for the day were Browns Investments up 13.5% to close at Rs. 4.20, C.W. Mackie up by 11.8% to close at Rs. 76.00 and Free Lanka Capital Holdings up by 8.0% to close at Rs. 2.70. Notable losers for the day were Citizens Development Bank down by 7.9% to close at Rs. 29.00, Regnis down by 4.9% to close at Rs. 64.10 and Royal Ceramics down by 4.5% to close at Rs. 96.00.

Cash map for previous day was 48.14%. Foreign participation was 17% of total market turnover and net foreign buying was Rs. 43.6Mn.

Lanka Securities Research

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