Biz Briefs

Increase in tourist arrivals

The number of tourist arrivals increased 18.3 percent to 330,116 during the first four months this year compared to 278,959 recorded during the corresponding period last year, Sri Lanka Tourism data revealed.

Tourist arrivals rose 9.0 percent to 69, 591 in April this year compared to 63, 835 recorded in the corresponding month last year.

The number of visitors last year was 855, 975.

HSBC offers dining deals

Dining in the heart of Colombo amidst the perfect ambiance with live entertainment is no longer a desire, but a reality for HSBC Premier and HSBC Visa Signature credit cardholders.

The latest promotion with six of the most patronised restaurants at the Old Dutch Hospital will entitle card holders to special dining deals from May 25-27.

HSBC Premier and HSBC Visa Signature credit cardholders can enjoy a 25 percent discount at the Colombo Fort café, Heladiv Tea Club, Ministry of Crab, “O”, Semondu and WIP (Work in Progress) when they dine at any of these restaurants during the promotion period.

Vision care branch in Kandy

The 21st branch of Vision Care was opened at the Kandy City Centre (KCC) in Kandy recently. The branch will offer optical solutions, hearing tests and augmented hearing equipment.

SLT hosts Pre-Paid Dealer Convention

The Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) Pre- Paid Dealer Convention was held at Water’s Edge recently. The event commenced with the dealer contracts for 2012 being signed between SLT and its dealers and was held under the patronage of Chief Marketing Officer of Sri Lanka Telecom, Roshan Kaluarachchi. This was followed by an awards presentation by the CEO of Sri Lanka Telecom, Greg Young who rewarded dealers who achieved sales targets for 2011.

Tokyo Cement collaborates with the University of Peradeniya

Tokyo Cement recently conducted a seminar titled ‘Bonding for the future’ for undergraduates of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Peradeniya to commemorate the seven-year partnership between the University and Tokyo Cement. The seminar was conducted at the E.O.E Pereira Theatre and was attended by nearly 400 final and third year civil engineering undergraduates. Consultant engineer, Mouli Gunaratne addressed undergraduates at the seminar

Ultrapro, energy drink launched

Mega Lifesciences (Pty) Ltd. launched Ultrapro which enhances muscle building and is energy- giving. Ultrapro has been tested by a WADA (World Anti-Doping Association) certified body and found to be free from prohibitive substances such as steroids which can cause more harm than good to the body.

“All products are manufactured with state-of-the-art equipment in a zero-bacteria environment and go through rigorous quality analysis checks certified by the Director of Quality Assurance,” said Country manager for Mega Lifesciences Pty Ltd Praveen Viswakumaran.

PAB joins Jayawardenapura Kotte Municipal Council to combat Dengue

Chief Marketing Officer of PAB, Nalaka Wijayawardana and Promotions and Sales Support, Anshal Ambawatte handing over the promotional material to the Mayor of the Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte Municipal Council, Janaka Ranawaka and Deputy Mayor, Madura Vithanage while officials of the municipality look on.

Pan Asia Bank (PAB) joined the Sri Jayawardenapura, Kotte Municipality Council to combat the dengue threat in the area as a CSR initiative.

The Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte Municipality has launched several door-to-door campaigns to create awareness among residents in the area about the threat of Dengue. PAB is providing promotional material and getting staff members to participate in the campaigns.

Allianz Lanka goes to Tissamaharama

Allianz Lanka opened a second branch in the south at Tissamaharama. Allianz Lanka CEO, Surekha Alles said "we are delighted to expand to such a historic city, which was once the ancient capital of the Ruhunu province."

In view of the expansion drive now taking place in the Hambantota district, Tissamaharama will be restored to its former glory. Here Allianz Lanka CEO Surekha Alles lights the oil lamp to open the branch while AGA Tissamaharama, Z. Siriwardena looks on.

Abans bridal registry

The Abans bridal registry is a simple and informal way for a couple to communicate to invitees what they need or desire.Wedding gifts consist of useful appliances for the new home.

The wish list maker could log on to a gift registry portal, create a wish list by choosing the event for which they want the gifts, and then share the list via Buy Abans website, email or SMS. The gift givers, on the other hand, can click on the link of the wish list, select a gift that suits their taste and budget, and pay for it online or offline.

Apart from weddings, Abans Bridal Registry could also be used for other occasions like engagements, birthdays and wedding anniversaries.

Metropolitan Computers reward best IT student at SLIIT

Metropolitan Computers teamed up with the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) for the second consecutive year in rewarding the best IT student in the B.Sc.Degree program at the SLIIT annual convocation which was held recently. Imalka Keshani Amarasinghe received this award presented by Metropolitan Computers for her excellence in the program.

“We have worked with many students of SLIIT in our IT projects and have found them to be outstanding.

The Fonterra project is one such project where we worked with a team of SLIIT students and the entire project was rolled out and completed on schedule.

CEAT launches three ‘Milaze’ radials

The introduction of three CEAT radials increases the number of sizes in the brand’s car radial segment to eight, and more options are expected in the near future,said a company spokesman.

The new sizes are 155/80 R12, 155/80 R13 and 185/65 R14, which fit a wide range of compact and mid-sized cars.

“Our radial tyre segment grew 50 percent in the last three years, maintaining CEAT’s position as the number one radial tyre in Sri Lanka,”said Vice President Sales and Marketing at CEAT, Kelani Holdings Ravi Dadlani,. “We believe there is room for further growth with the widening of the range with more sizes and continuous value addition through improved attributes.”