BIZ BRIEFS

BOI ties up with Havelock City

BOI has signed an agreement with Havelock City (Pvt) Limited to set up a mixed development project which includes a shopping mall with multiplex cinema, restaurants, shops, entertainment areas and an office complex. The value of this investment is more than 27 billion rupees (of which $ 5 m is FDI). This project will provide an estimated 243 direct employment opportunities.

The project is part of the Havelock City residential and commercial developments which is a $ 350 m project on an eighteen acre site in the heart of Colombo.

This is another flagship development by Overseas Realty which will change the urban landscape of Colombo.

Brandix completes Jalavahini programs

Women leaders from over 200 community-based organisations (CBOs) in the water sector have been provided with new knowledge and advice through the Jalavahini program launched by Brandix in June this year as part of its CSR agenda. Sri Lanka has about 3,500 community based organisations in the water sector.

These are now being reorganised under the National Community Water Trust. Many of these organisations have extensive women participation at membership level but lesser representation at managerial level. The Brandix Group's principal CSR efforts are driven by the central corporate theme of 'Water'.

IT Park in Hambantota

Sri Lanka's first major data centre will be set up in Hambantota shortly. The IT park which will also be the primary data centre for the country will be housed in a complex covering 200,000 square feet.

The Sri Lanka Telecommunication Regulatory Commission has provided advanced facilities to businesses interested in carrying out IT, BPO and Data Centre activities.

The IT Park will be leased to parties to carry out IT related businesses. The government will provide state of the art facilities to the business entities. This Data Centre will be under the purview of Namal Rajapaksa MP under the direction of the President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

NDB ties up with Vision Care

The National Development Bank PLC (NDB) recently tied up with Vision Care Optical Services (Pvt) Ltd, to provide Western Union money transfer service to beneficiaries through their branches islandwide.

The NDB is a primary agent for the Western Union money transfer service in Sri Lanka and had previously appointed the Regional Development Bank and Singer Sri Lanka as sub agents to make the service more accessible to its customers.

A spokesman for the Bank said, “The agreement with Vision Care will enable the Bank to further strengthen the reach of this service and generate more opportunities for the growth of the money transfer facility. The NDB has been sharing a rewarding partnership with the global company for over five years.” “The appointment of Vision Care as a sub agent will foster growth of the service,” he said.

'BoC Online Banking'

'BoC Online Banking' of the Bank of Ceylon will enable companies to make EPF contributions to the Central Bank throughout the whole year.

Any company or organisation in Sri Lanka which has a business account with the Bank of Ceylon would be able to upload employees’ details to the Central Bank through the 'BOC Online Banking' facility.

Prior to obtaining the service, companies and organisations must register with the Central Bank. Registration is free.

Eden wins at NBE awards

Eksath Wijeratne, General Manager of Eden Resort and Spa accepts the award from Senior Deputy President of The National Chamber of Commerce Sunil G. Wijesinhe.

Eden Resort and Spa emerged runners-up (Large Category) at the National Business Excellence Awards 2012.

General Manager of Eden Resort and Spa, Eksath Wijeratne accepted the award from Senior Deputy President of The National

Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka Sunil G. Wijesinhe and Executive Director of Access Engineering PLC, Christopher Joshua.

A spokesman for the resort said, “This is the fifth consecutive year that this luxury resort has been felicitated for its excellence in service and operations at the NBEA Awards.”

SAP Academy opens

Just In Time Group (JIT), a Sri Lankan company launched the SAP Academy recently in partnership with SAP India (Pvt) Ltd.

The Academy is within the Imperial Institute of Higher Education (IIHE) at Colombo 4. “JIT has identified the growing demand for SAP education and SAP professionals in the local and international job markets, which enabled them to start the SAP Academy in Sri Lanka,” a spokesman for the Academy said.

“There are two training methodologies used at the SAP Academy, which is classroom training and web-based training,” he said.

“As a SAP business partner promoting SAP industry solutions, ERP, Business Intelligence, CRM and mobility solutions, JIT has made arrangements with some of the SAP customers to offer placements for SAP Academy students.This is an advantage for those studying at the JIT SAP Academy,” said Head of Marketing, Just In Time Group, Kavinda Mahawedage.

The SAP courses will commence in January.

UTE goes for ‘Product Link’

United Tractors and Equipment (Pvt) Ltd (UTE) dealers for Caterpillar (CAT) construction equipment, have launched ‘Product Link’.

‘Product Link’ provides information on the condition of the machine and its parts, and the location of the machine, the remaining fuel and fuel consumption, to the customer's PC through the internet.

CEO of UTE, Riyad Ismail said, “CAT is the global leader in our industry, so all the cutting- edge innovation comes from them. UTE as exclusive Sri Lankan dealers in CAT products and services are proud to spearhead the industry's innovation and evolution locally. Product Link is the next big step; it applies cloud computing to project management.”

“The Product Link motto is ‘it pays to know'. This service allows customer who may be seated in an office miles away from worksites, to monitor the condition, location and use of all the machines in the fleet,” Ismail said.

New paint from AkzoNobel

Akzo Nobel Paint Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, introduced an interior emulsion paint, ‘Dulux Once’ recently.

“'Dulux Once’ delivers the lowest cost per square foot of painted wall to those who use it,” said Managing Director, Akzo Nobel Paints Lanka Ltd, Gerald de Saram.

“The good news does not end there. By reducing the number of coats used, this product also reduces its carbon footprint significantly, thus contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gases and global warming.”

Over a decade ago ‘Dulux Once’ was in this market. “However, we believe that in today’s context there is a definite need for a genuine single coat emulsion to be reintroduced and we have succeeded in developing an outstanding and very exciting new product that will provide solutions to the issues of cost, time and convenience faced by modern consumers,” he said.

Yamaha Music Centre reaches milestone

The Yamaha Music Centre celebrates its 90th anniversary this year. A spokesman for the Centre said they were the pioneers in bringing Yamaha musical instruments to Sri Lanka. “It is the second oldest authorised sole distributor of Yamaha products in the world. In 2002, the Yamaha Music Centre introduced its flagship home theatre amplifier to the country and in 2007 the first white concert grand piano,” he said.

The entire range of Yamaha audio equipment is available in Sri Lanka and the Yamaha Music Centre opened a showroom area to display and demonstrate digital mixers.