Biz-Briefs

DIMO to introduce Mercedes-Benz trucks and vans

DIMO is the authorised distributor for Mercedes-Benz vehicles in Sri Lanka, with the relationship between Daimler AG and DIMO spanning more than seven decades. DIMO will provide Road Side Assistance with its after sales service and Mercedes-Benz warranty with every new purchase.

ICASL fetes new Tax Chief

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL) recently felicitated the newly appointed Commissioner General of the Department of Inland Revenue Mallika Samarasekara at a ceremony in Colombo.

ICASL President Sujeewa Rajapakse assured ICASL's support to Samarasekara to enhance public confidence in the country's tax system.

AmCham meeting

The American Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka (AmCham) has organised a luncheon meeting on "Private Sector Partnerships with USAID: Past Successes and Future Opportunities" on February 28 from 12.30p.m to 2.00pm. The presentation will be followed by a Q and A discussion.

Mission Director, USAID James Bedner will be the Guest Speaker. The presentation will focus on opportunities for companies to partners with USAID, success of past and present partnerships with USAID, Case studies on partnerships between USAID and the private sector and benefits to communities and USAID's plans for further engagement with the private sector.

The Finance Co in Jaffna

The Finance Company PLC relocated its Jaffna branch at Powerhouse Road, Jaffna. Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, was the chief guest. The Finance Co. PLC Chairman Preethi Jayawardena and Jaffna GA Mrs. Imelda Sugumar were present at the opening.

British economy shrinks in fourth quarter

LONDON Feb 24, 2012 Britain's economy shrank 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of last year compared with the third, official data showed on Friday, putting the country close to a return to recession. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) left its initial reading for gross domestic product (GDP) for the final three months of 2011 unchanged.

A further contraction in the first quarter of 2012 would place Britain back in recession, defined as two successive negative quarters.

Countries rally against EU carbon tax on airlines

Delegates from 26 countries opposed to a new EU carbon tax on airlines are meeting in Moscow to consider possible retaliation, amid fears of a trade war. China, India, Russia and the US are among the countries opposed to the EU fee, which took effect on 1 January.

Critics say the EU has no right to impose taxes on flights to or from destinations outside Europe.But in December the European Court of Justice ruled that the EU tax on CO2 pollution from aircraft was legal. The Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) creates permits for carbon emissions.

Emirates offer special student fares to Australia

Emirates has introduced special fares for students travelling to Australia, as part of the airline's continuing support to Sri Lankans travelling overseas for higher education.

Two all-inclusive, one-way student fares to Melbourne and Sydney on Economy Class are priced ten percent lower than standard fares, and are valid for purchase and outbound travel up to June 14, 2012.

Also on offer are competitive return fares to these two destinations inclusive of taxes, and attractive one-way fares to Brisbane and Perth from, the airline said. All-inclusive return fares to Brisbane to Perth are also being marketed by Emirates during this period.

WSO2 and GRIDSOLUT to deliver cloud solutions to German Market

WSO2 and GRIDSOLUT entered into a strategic partnership to deliver service-oriented architecture (SOA), business process management (BPM), and cloud-based solutions to enterprises in Germany. WSO2 delivers the industry's most comprehensive middle ware platforms to enable SOA and composite application development and deployment on-premise and in the cloud.

WS2 brings proven expertise in delivering software and IT consulting services to enterprises and State organisations. Through the partnership, the growing base of German customers using WSO2's 100 percent open source middle ware can take advantage of locally based, best-in-class IT implementation services from GRIDSOLUT.

Renuka infuses new life to Richlife Dairies

Chief Operating Officer of Richlife Dairies Ltd, Palitha Gunathilake (2nd from right) and Sanath Bandara Production Manager (3rd from right) inspect production operations of the Tetra aspetic filling machines.

Renuka Holdings PLC, the parent Company of RAL, a diversified conglomerate listed in the CSE with business interest in Agriculture, Automotive, FMCG, Foodservice, Investment, Property and Management services, acquired Richlife Dairies Ltd.

Renuka, having created a footprint in the global market across 61 countries with its high quality value added coconut-based product range, is expanding its investments in the post war economy exhibiting its commitment and dedication to Country's economic growth. Renuka Group consolidated its distribution capability in 2011 with the acquisition of Shaw Wallace Ceylon Ltd, a leading FMCG and food service distribution company which has served the nation for over a century.

Maliban Milk holds 2011Sales Convention

Maliban Milk held its Sales Convention 2011 at the Mount Lavinia Hotel. The theme was "We Are Family: Javayen Idiriyata". The objective of the convention was the appreciation and recognition of the company's distributors and sales representatives.

"Our distributors have their entire families involved in their business. Spouses and children of our employees assist in all aspects of the business, such as maintaining the warehouse or loading the van for distribution. In that sense, they bring in the feeling of family to their work," said , head of sales and marketing, Maliban Milk,Nalinda Jayamanne.

Global Park opens first green warehouse in Sri Lanka

Global Park, the logistics centre of Sri Lankan logistics giant Global Park as the international logistics hub for all garments manufactured under the M& S label in Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh. M&S with an annual turnover of nearly GBP 10 billion has a retail operation of 700 stores in the UK and 300 retail stores including Franchised Stores in over 40 countries.

This initial hub operation in Sri Lanka is a novel concept, a first of its kind in the local Industry which was possible due to the assistance provided by the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka , Sri Lanka Customs and various other government agencies, which understood the importance of this project to position our country as the first international logistics hub in Sri Lanka, handling multi country consolidation and distribution to various countries.

Sri Lankan student tops EDEXCEL world ranking

Nishika Samaratunga, former student of Colombo International School was awarded the Edexcel World Prize for ranking First in the World in English Literature at GCE A Level(Lon) at the recently concluded Edexcel High Achievers Award Ceremony 2010/2011.

This outstanding achievement follows her success at the GCE OLevel (Lon) where she also received a World Prize for English Literature, coming within the top three in the world, whilst also receiving an Edexcel Award for outstanding achievement for obtaining 8As at the GCE O level examination. Nishika is a second year Law student at University College London, UK.

Hayleys MGT proposes Rs 914 million Rights Issue

Hayleys MGT Knitting Mills PLC has unveiled plans to float a rights issue to raise Rs 914 million for expansion and to strengthen the company's balance sheet, subject to Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and shareholder approval.

The Board of Directors of the company has proposed the issue of two new ordinary shares for every ordinary share held, at Rs 9 per share. The current stated capital of the company is Rs 527,856,000 represented by 50,781,106 ordinary shares.

The announcement of the proposed rights issue came as Hayleys PLC, the major shareholder in Hayleys MGT Knitting Mills, reported record nine month net profits of Rs 3.6 billion, even after losses incurred by its textile operation, which is undergoing restructuring.

Nokia launches 500 entry-level smartphone

Nokia 500, an entry level touch screen smartphone incorporates Nokia's fastest processor to date, a 5MP camera, entertainment experience and preloaded with Maps and turn by turn navigation, the Nokia 500 extends Nokia's portfolio into the entry-level smartphone market.

As the newest addition to Nokia's range of Symbian-based devices, the Nokia 500 is built on the latest Symbian Anna user experience with enhanced software features, a faster Web browser and new Ovi Maps.

Abans launches LG Optimus Smartphone

Abans launched the LG Optimus Smartphone series - the LG OPTIMUS SOL (LG-E730), which runs on the Android 2.3 Gingerbread platform.

At 9.8mm, it has a 3.8 inch "Ultra AMOLED" display from which its name "SOL" is derived for its high clarity display which makes tracking contents easy even in bright and sunny conditions.

The new and improved Ultra AMOLED display has a two-fold advanced reflection rate compared to standard AMOLED displays, and reduces image quality degradation.

The LG Optimus Sol uses an enhanced idle-based power management system that enhances battery life by 20 to 30 percent. With the Dark UI selected, the LG Optimus Sol utilizes less white light in order to extend its battery life performance.

LG Optimus Sol includes a 5.0 MP camera for fast auto-shuttering, auto-focusing and shot-to-shot. Users can also take full advantage of multimedia connectivity via on-screen links to DLNA and Wi-Fi Direct. It also has HD Video, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, 1GB Internal Memory, ultra AMOLED capacitive touch screen and Wi-Fi.