BANKING

HNB Assurance holds Int’l Sales Convention in Thailand

HNB Assurance (HNBA) held its first ever International Sales Convention in Thailand. The event experienced a participation of over 150 professional Sales Advisors who were the winners of the Annual New Business Competition along with the Zonal and Regional Distribution Management and the Field Management of the company.

Lalith Fernando, General Manager Marketing and Distribution of HNB Assurance with Award Winners and Zonal and Regional Distribution Management members

Marketing and Distribution General Manager of HNB Assurance,Lalith Fernando, the chief guest of the event opened the session with the future plans which will forge the company for its road to success. He stated the importance of the sales force and awarded the best sales people as a token of appreciation of their hard work, commitment and achievement. The success of the company lies in the trust that they have embedded in the minds of their customers.

It is not an easy task to convince someone to buy an Insurance product in difficult market condition and it is undoubtedly not an easy task as the sales force are dedicated to go and sell these products by going door to door, we must value their hard work and commitment as it is because of them that we have maintained to be one of the leading insurance company. The members of the Sales force of HNB Assurance who rendered their services for more than five years and achieved over and above the performance targets in their new business were recognized at this glamorous event. G.A.B. Senaratne who completed ten years of Service at HNB Assurance and other 35 members were awarded as five year service award winners, The Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), The Premier Association of Financial Professionals, is an international, independent association of nearly 38,000 of the world's leading life insurance and financial services professionals from more than 450 companies in 79 countries. HNB Assurance is proud to have two members of HNB assurance Sales force who were selected for this prestigious association namely U. K. K. C. Silva and Gayan Lokukodikara for their high standard of sales excellence in the life insurance and financial services business. The performance by the sales force in the year 2011, in all aspects of Insurance business were well above the benchmarks; new business production and growth, customer service and retention and average policy value.

Etisalat bags Silver at SLIM Brand Excellence

Displaying exemplary performance at the recently concluded SLIM Brand Excellence Awards 2012, Etisalat bagged silver for the ‘Best New Entrant’ award through its hallmark product, ‘Really, Really Fast Internet’. Etisalat was also the only telecom operator to win an award at this year’s event.

Marketing Manager for Postpay and Mobile Broadband at Etisalat Lanka, Gamika De Silva receiving the Silver Award for the Best New Entrant category by the Chief Exectuive Officer of CIC, Samantha Ranathunga. Also present was the Etisalat mobile broadband team, Assistant Coordinator, Sachini Mahesha, Senior Brand Executive, Dhanesh Subramanium, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, Riyaaz Rasheed, Sales Manager for Mobile Broadband, Sumedha Gomes, Asst. Brand Manager, Thilanka Abeywardena and Brand Executive, Abdul Qadir.

The category for ‘Best New Entrant’ is awarded to innovative and high-performing brands that have been in the market for less than three years. Within a year of launching 3G, Etisalat has not only achieved status as the fastest network, but is also the fastest growing amongst competition in the broadband category. Etisalat mobile broadband has depicted remarkable results within a short period of time by acquiring a higher share of the market by June 2012 and further being established to having the highest monthly new customer acquisition share.

Etisalat mobile broadband was identified as a strong business case, having assessed the needs of the market for local language content and secure internet space. Overcoming many barriers in the growth of the mobile broadband market in Sri Lanka, today Etisalat has ventured into all areas and segments of broadband servicing. Well recalled by consumers, “Really, Really fast internet” continues to thrive on innovation, a key factor for both smart phones and big screen segments.

Commenting on the occasion Senior Manager Marketing of Etisalat Lanka, Gamika De Silva said “We are humbled yet honored that we have achieved yet another milestone in broadband.

With our fast-safe-meaningful brand strategy, we have penetrated untapped markets whilst successfully capturing existing internet users with dual carrier HSPA+ internet service offerings as a first in the South Asian region. Initiatives such as web-patashala, Book-Hub, NetNanny and symantec bear testament to our commitment and continuous efforts to lead Sri Lanka towards a nation that will explore the limitless possibilities of the internet”

Criteria for the selection of ‘Best New Entrant’ were based on factors such as brand intent, brand content, identification of market opportunities, objectives and the strategy in the marketplace.

Other imperative criteria include the performance of the organization in terms of value, volume, consumer indexes, retail indexes and awareness.

The category for best new entrant also reveals brands that reflect excellent growth and strong brand propositions.

ICTA signs two projects

signing of the agreement for the replication of key e-Society projects in the Eastern and Northern provinces of Sri Lanka between CEO of ICTA, Reshan Dewapura and Executive Director of Skills International, Danesh Abeyawickrama.

The Information Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka entered into an agreement with Skills International Pvt Ltd for the replication of two key e-Society Projects in the Eastern and the Northern provinces of Sri Lanka to uplift the IT and English language literacy levels of the community in the two provinces.

The e-Society project is a key component of the e-Sri Lanka initiative of the government, which envisages the empowerment of Sri Lankans in the usage of information technology and to narrow the digital divide.

To date, Skills International has successfully completed several consultancy projects under the e-Sri Lanka initiative including island wide surveys to determine-the impact of ICTA Tele Centres (Nenasalas) on the community, Usage of Unauthorized software in the country, Impact of ICTA’s communication strategy as well as Facilitating, Monitoring and Evaluation of established Nenasalas in the Uva and Southern provinces of Sri Lanka.

Skills International is a multidisciplinary organization involved in consultancy, training and assessments. It is the implementation partner and approved centre of City and Guilds in Sri Lanka and is the authorized representative of City and Guilds in Pakistan. Its Consultancy services cover a wide range of areas from providing solutions for the TVET sector, Environmental Impact Assessment and M&E studies of Projects.

It’s training initiatives have been mainly in the engineering field leading to City and Guilds Awards.

The Finance to Piliyandala

The Finance Piliyandala Branch being opened by Gamini Lokuge, Minister of Labour and Labour Relations and Kamal Yatawar, CEO The Finance.

The Finance Company PLC currently on a streak of modernizing their branch network recently completed yet another branch, namely Piliyandala Branch which commenced providing services to the area from a new, more convenient location at Moratuwa Road, Piliyandala, recently.

The new location was declared open by the Guest of Honour Gamini Lokuge the Minister of Labour and Labour Relations.

The companies Director/CEO, Kamal Yatawara, Director/COO. T. B. Ekanayaka and Executive Director V. Dissanayaka were also present at this momentous occassion.

This follows the companies plan of operating a number of its key branches from more strategic locations in order to maximize the potential of these areas and to serve its customers conveniently from a more spacious and modern premises. Bringing this objective to light the 72 year old financial firm recently refurbished and reopened its Galle, Badulla, Kurunegala, Hatton and Kiribathgoda branches, during the last few weeks. The Finance Piliyandala Branch which operated in the region for the past seven years offers attractive interest rates through its fixed and savings deposits along with leasing and Hire Purchase facilities to a large clientele of the company in Piliyandala. The newest addition to the attractive services offered by the branch is the “Ran Ganu Denu” pawning service.

ComBank wins best CSR project award

The Bank's country-wide programme of creating an IT enabled environment among school children, particularly those in rural areas by commissioning fully-equipped computer labs in schools and for special needs groups as well as its annual scholarships for undergraduates won the Bank the award in this category at this prestigious event.

Priyanthi Perera, Coordinator of the Commercial Bank’s CSR Trust receives the award from Susantha Ratnayake, Chairman of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

Education and Training was one of five categories in the 'Best CSR Projects 2012' segment of the Chamber's awards programme.

The Commercial Bank has donated thirty three IT labs to schools and institutions, benefitting nearly 17,000 students, and awarded scholarships and a laptop to 25 undergraduates under its annual scholarships programme.

The total number of undergraduates assisted during the year was 98, considering beneficiaries of previous years, who continued to receive the annual scholarship of Rs 25,000 each.

The Bank's IT Labs programme which continues in the current year, has to date benefitted more than 30,000 students in 60 schools and institutions.

"What sets these programmes apart are the Bank's commitment to sustaining them over a long period, their scale, which is national and their alignment with national priorities and the Bank's own vision and mission," said Nandika Buddhipala, Chief Financial Officer/Trustee of Commercial Bank CSR Trust.

"We have not simply allocated funds but assigned staff resources and management representation to these projects to ensure they are well implemented and sustained."

The Bank's IT Education programme was subjected to an independent external evaluation by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) in April 2012, consequent to which an Assurance Statement was issued by DNV.

The inaugural programme under this groundbreaking initiative began at the Kiriella Madhya Maha Vidyalaya in Ratnapura and will conclude in February 2013. It will thereafter be replicated with simultaneous training programmes in other parts of the island.

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon took top honours for the best CSR projects in the ‘Education and Training’ category at the 2012 Best Corporate Citizen Awards presented by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.