BIZ-Briefs

SriLankan inducts another A320 aircraft

A new Airbus 320 joined the SriLankan Airlines' fleet on Wednesday October 26.

The A320, a narrow bodied mid-range aircraft was flown down from Toulouse and has a seating configuration of 20 Business Class and 120 Economy Class and is equipped with the latest AVOD (Audio Video- On Demand) inflight entertainment systems.

With this latest addition the national carrier fleet stands at 19 aircraft, which include 06 A340, 05 A330 and 06 A320 and 02 Seaplanes.

The airline is due to take delivery of another A320 aircraft in November, bringing the total to 20 aircraft, while more aircraft acquisitions are in the offing for 2012.

Sri Lanka among shortlisted countries for IT Award

Sri Lanka has been shortlisted for the best offshore destination of the world awards at the 2011 National Outsourcing Association (NOA) Summit and Awards to be held in November 2011. Sri Lanka has been nominated, for this award along with Egypt and Poland.

The NOA awards recognise countries, companies and individuals who demonstrate excellence in outsourcing. NOA works to build networks and share good practice within the outsourcing sector and to promote the benefits of outsourcing. The event is set to attract over 500 Corporates and decision-makers from around the world.

People's Leasing raises Rs. 2 b through securitisation

People's Leasing Company Limited (PLC) raised Rs. 2 b through the issuance of a Hire Purchase and Lease Receivables Securitisation. Deutsche Bank AG, Colombo Branch was the Trustee to the issue. The funds were raised through several investors including commercial banks.

PLC is a subsidiary of People's Bank, one of the largest state owned banks in the country.

Com bank wins Global Finance Award

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon recently won the 'Best Bank in Sri Lanka' award for the 13th time from Global Finance, one of the world's most respected financial publications.

The awards presentation took place at the National Press Club in Washington DC., and coincided with the annual sessions of the World Bank and IMF. The performance of Commercial Bank in areas such as growth in assets, profitability, strategic relationships, customer service, competitive pricing and innovative products were taken into consideration by Global Finance in selecting the Bank for this award for the 13th consecutive year.

NCE to participate in MENOPE Expo

The National Chamber of Exporters of Sri Lanka (NCE) will participate in the Ninth Middle East Natural and Organic Products Expo (MENOPE) to be held from Dec. 5-7 at the Dubai International Exhibition and Convention Centre.

The products to be exhibited are natural and organic food and beverages, herbs and spices, cosmetics and personal care items, healthcare, herbal traditional and alternative medicines as well as functional food and supplements.

KIK Cola’s Kite Festival at Pasikuda beach

KIK Cola organised a kite festival and a musical extravaganza at the Pasikuda Beach on October 15 in partnership with Sooriyan Fm. The event attracted large crowds from nearby areas. The highlight of the event was the giving away of a KIK branded kites along with every purchase of 500ml bottle of KIK Cola. A range of games was also organised.Children in the area were also encouraged to come on stage and showcase their singing talents.

Nations Trust Bank in Ratnapura

Nations Trust Bank opened a branch in Ratnapura.The branch is based on the banks standard design concept. This branch at Main Street, Ratnapura will offer the people of Ratnapura the opportunity to experience 365 Day banking and extended banking hours. The Bank provides Private Banking and Inner Circle Membership, Platinum and Gold membership for SME customers, Personal Banking Centres at selected Keells Supermarkets, a 24-hour Customer Contact Centre and the American Express Card Franchise.

SLDF 2011 set for a ‘Close-up’

The Sri Lanka Design Festival (SLDF) 2011 is conceptualised by the Academy of Design (AOD), Sri Lanka’s leading design campus. AOD organises the festival in association with industry leaders and the government and will be held next month at the Mount Lavinia Hotel. The event will take place under the theme of Close-up on Sri Lanka, extending an open invitation to the world to take a look at Sri Lanka’s potential to lead in design and creativity.

AOD organises the design festival annually to highlight the country’s creative wealth in several sectors such as the apparel industry, fashion, design and crafts. AOD has established creativity’s role in development by fusing the major creative-based industries.

Textured Jersey to knit new dimension at SLDF 2011

A creative and initiative that employs the fashion catwalk to highlight untapped potential of knitted fabric will be unveiled by Textured Jersey, Sri Lanka’s pre-eminent producer of value-added knitted fabric, at the third edition of the Sri Lanka Design Festival (SLDF).

In a first-of-its-kind initiative, Textured Jersey, the official Fabric Partner of the 2011 Festival, will present a ‘glamorous’ facet of the knitted fabric it produces, the use of which is largely limited to the production of intimate apparel by the company’s international customers.

Elegant evening wear specially designed by a group of final year students of the Academy of Design and produced with a range of Textured Jersey’s knitted fabric will be presented by models at three fashion shows during the festival.