Fin in short

Foreign tours for Asian Paints dealers

Over 100 dealers of Asian Paints Lanka have been rewarded with foreign tours to Switzerland, Thailand and Hong Kong in the last seven months for outstanding sales performances for the India headquartered multinational coatings company. Dealers who belong to the Asian Paints 'Privilege Club' were treated to a tour of Switzerland while dealers who exceeded sales targets for the concluded financial year received tours to Thailand and Hong Kong.

SMB Leasing strengthens directorate

Dr. T. Senthilverl

Thirunavukarasu Someswaran

SMB Leasingappointed an Independent Non Executive Director and a Non Executive Director to its board of directors recently.

Thirunavukarasu Someswaran and Dr. Thirugnanasambandar Senthilverl succeed E.T.L. Ranasinghe and P.A. Jayawardena on the SMBL board.

T. Someswaran is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and serves as a director on the boards of Serendib Land PLC and Panasian Power Ltd.

Dr. Senthilverl serves as a director on the boards of many institutions including Amana Takaful Insurance PLC, Lanka Ceramics Citizens Development Business Finance .

AAP seminar

The Academy for Administrative Professionals' (AAP) annual residential seminar was held recently at Nilaveli Beach Hotel Trincomalee. The three day workshop was based on a very innovative concept as administrative professionals who are on the fast track need continuous training for better performance.

Belgian trade and investment delegation here

A Belgian trade and investment delegation comprising 40 companies (over 50 persons) are currently visiting Sri Lanka, as a result of an exemplary joint effort between the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Belgium, the Embassy of Belgium in New Delhi and the Consulate of Belgium in Colombo. These companies specialise in the fields of agro-food, machinery, construction, interior, energy, fisheries, gems, information technology, infrastructure, water supply, financial services, textile, tobacco and tourism. Most of them are seeking to do business with Sri Lanka for the first time. They are pictured with officials of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce prior to meetings with 105 Sri Lankan companies with matching interests.

BIA shopping festival

Chairman AASL Prasanna Wickramasuriya inaugurates the promotion at the Alpha Orient Lanka shop at BIA. Deputy Chairman AASL Kamal Ratwatte, CEO Alpha Orient Dimantha Kinigama, Director Alpha Orient Nanda Nair and Manager Commercial Alpha Orient Dammith Amarasiri were also present.

Alpha Orient Lanka has launched a mega promotion to coincide with the BIA Shopping Festival. A Rolex watch worth a million rupees and daily prize giveaways of Gold Coins are part of this mega promotion. Customers purchasing goods to the value of US$60 stand a chance to win daily prizes via scratch cards and a Rolex Watch worth 1 million via a grand raffle draw at the end of the promotion period. The festival organised for the first time by outlets at the departure lounge in collaboration with the Airport and Aviation Services aims to promote Sri Lanka as a unique shopping destination.

‘Join the Christmas Cheer’ with Hameedia

Menswear specialist Hameedia recently launched its end-of-year festive campaign - “Join the Christmas Cheer” with 90 prizes and rewards on offer.

On until December 31, the “Join the Christmas Cheer” promo consists of a raffle draw for all customers who purchase clothes worth more than Rs. 5000 from a Hameedia showroom.

The 90 winners will be entitled to win 20 iPADs, 10 BlackBerrys from Etisalat, 10 full board vouchers from Amaya Resorts and Spas, 30 Envoy and Le Bond suits and 20 pairs Adidas shoes.

All customers who purchase clothes for over Rs. 5000 will receive a gift voucher worth Rs. 500/- which can be used for more purchases.

Etisalat has teamed up with Hameedia in the ‘Join the Christmas Cheer’ promotion as its Official Telecommunication Partner, with Amaya Resorts and Spas as the Official Hospitality Partner and Adidas as the Official Sportswear Partner.

Glitz’ seasonal collection

Fashion store Glitz unveiled its seasonal collection with a range of fashion clothing and accessories for the forthcoming festive season. “We have created a festive atmosphere in store so that our customers feel the warmth of the season with a new look exterior, decor and ambience unique to Glitz fashion stores” said Marketing Manager, Glitz A. L. M. Akeel.

“Our customers will no doubt enjoy the delightful shopping experience this season”, he added. The festive collection includes party wear in seasonal red and black as well as in the colours for 2011 comprising light green, orange and coral with stripes being the most sought after trend for the forthcoming New Year.

Evening wear for ladies range from party dresses in different silhouettes - balloon shaped, halter, strapless and maxis to the glamorous little black dress; blouses - with 3-D motifs in eye catching shimmer and satin material worked in sequins and beads.

HSBC spreads the joy of Christmas

HSBC joined hands with six orphanages recently to spread the joy of Christmas. The Bank invited 300 less fortunate children to a special Christmas party at Excel World. HSBC staff and senior management led by Chief Executive Officer HSBC Sri Lanka and Maldives, Nick Nicolaou entertained the children.

Celebrating Christmas with children has been a much looked forward to event in the HSBC calendar, and the Bank has hosted 11 consecutive events.

Nicolaou said, “It gives us a great sense of satisfaction to bring a smile on each child and to have celebrated Christmas with them. We will continue to do so. This has indeed been a great experience for all of us to be a part of this noble cause”.

This year’s event included many fun filled activities, including joy rides at Adventure and a thrilling experience at the Naughty Castle followed by entertainment items performed by the children, culminating to the grand entry of Santa Clause, who presented each child with a gift.

Students for 2011 Leadership Summit at Harvard

Thirty two Sri Lankan students between the age of 16 to 19 from 10 schools, will join 300 other teenagers from 30 countries at the “Leadership in Action Summit’ at Harvard University - Boston USA in July. The delegates are Akana Jayawardena and Amani Wickramasinghe from Bishops’ College, Nimantha Fernando from St. Thomas’ Mt. Lavinia, Minura Tissera from Lyceum International School, Jaikishan Jayesinghe, Shenelle Siriwardena, Migara Cabral, Rashida Patel, Nishath Karim, Prashan Mendis, Ruchira Nanayakkara, Udesh Dharmadasa, Toshan Wickramanayake, Lishan Perera, Nitya Amalean, Senal Rajamanthri, Lahiru Gamage, Lakshitha Weerasuirya, Aqil Refai, Wiyan Perera and Kavindu Ranasinghe all from Colombo International School, Shireen Akbarally, Upeksha Narayana, Tarangee Mutucumarana, Mansha Abdulla, Aqla Mizver and Sachini Egodage all from Asian International School, Raga Raguraman and Sasha Chatoor from The British School in Colombo, Lukshmee Saravanapavan from Elizabeth Moir School, Dmitri Cooray from St. Josephs College and Gimantha Perera from St. Thomas Prep Colpetty. Ms. Rochelle Melder a former teacher at Asian International School will be the Delegation Manager.

Commercial Bank Overall Gold Winner

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC was adjudged Overall Gold Winner, and also received the top award in the Banking and Finance category, the Business Excellence Award in the ‘Extra Large’ category and the top award for Excellence in Performance Management Practices.

The four awards were received by Commercial Bank Chairman Mahendra Amarasuriya, Managing Director Amitha Gooneratne, Chief Operating Officer Ravi Dias and Chief Financial Officer Nandika Buddhipala.

Managing Director Amitha Gooneratne said. “The team effort that goes in to achieve and maintain such a status is truly inspiring.”

Piramal Glass wins Gold and Silver

E.M. Wijetilleke - Secretary General/CEO NCCSL, presenting the award to B.K. Wimalasiri - Factory Manager Piramal Glass Ceylon PLC. Also in the picture are Thilak Godamanna, Secretary NCCSL and U.P. Hettige, General Manager Operations Piramal Glass Ceylon PLC.

Piramal Glass was honoured with the Gold Award in the Chemical and Ceramic Sector, and the Silver Award in the Best Tech - Savvy Company Sector.

“Piramal Glass is a technology driven company. We have a team of highly skilled engineering staff who undergo continuous, in-house on the job training, as well as regular overseas training. The company continuously invests in purchasing and upgrading its machinery to keep up with international norms,” said CEO and Managing Director of Piramal Glass, Sanjay Tiwari.

These two awards were a testament to the bold and courageous step the company took in 2006 by investing over Rs. 4 billion in a new, state-of-the-art glass plant at Horana under the auspices of the 300 factory program of the Mahinda Chinthana.

“This investment helped the Company to double its capacity, thus enabling it to successfully achieve its goal of selling its additional capacity in international shores, increasing export tonnage from 1,200 tons to 26,000 tons in just three years”.

During the year Piramal Glass’ achievements were also recognised with a Gold Award at the 18th National Chamber of Exporters Awards, as well as a Merit Award at the 9th CNCI Achiever Awards.

Piramal Glass Ceylon PLC (formally Ceylon Glass Company PLC) is a 55 year old company which had the opportunity of coming under the umbrella of the Piramal Group in 1999 [one of India’s largest conglomerates].

Piramal Glass has 11 manufacturing plants in India, Sri Lanka and USA, as well as several marketing offices worldwide. This strategic alliance paved the way for the company to have a global presence as well as recognition.

NDB Bank wins two awards

Chief Executive Officer NDB Bank Russell de Mel receives the award from Honorary Treasurer NCCSL H.A. Wehalle. Chairman Bank of Ceylon Dr. Gamini Wickramasinghe and at extreme right Chief Operating Officer, NDB Bank Indrajit Wickramasinghe are also in the picture.

NDB Bank was the recipient of two awards proving the Bank’s continued dedication towards remaining a financial institution that delivers innovative solutions with ‘best in industry’ service. The Bank was awarded a Silver Award for ‘Excellence in Business and Financial Performance’ and a Merit Award for ‘Business Excellence - Banking and Financial Sector’.

Commenting on the achievement NDB Bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Russell de Mel said, “The overall stability and performance of NDB Bank over time, has been a great assurance to our customers and stakeholders. We will continue to maintain the highest standards while demonstrating excellence in corporate governance and social responsibility”.