Biz Briefs

The Bank of Ceylon (BoC) relocated its Malabe branch as a state-of-the-art branch at Kaduwela Road, Malabe.

The branch was opened by BOC Chairman Air Chief Marshal Harsha Abeywickrama and General Manager D.M. Gunasekara. The branch is equipped with a 24-hour drive-through ATM and extended banking hours up to 6 pm and Sunday banking from 8.30 am to 2.00 pm.

Softlogic Finance debenture opens on Thursday

Softlogic Finance PLC debenture issue which has been rated AAA by Ram Ratings (Lanka) Ltd, offers 14,000,000 redeemable, guaranteed debentures to the public at a face value of Rs 100 each.

The debenture issue has been made with GuarantCo who have guaranteed the instrument that carries a Barclays Bank guarantee as part of GuarantCo’s structure.

Eurozone second quarter growth flat

Growth in the eurozone was flat in the second quarter, according to official estimates released on Thursday.

The eurozone saw 0.0% growth compared with the first quarter, according to Eurostat figures. The economic bloc's two largest economies, France and Germany, performed worse than expected.

Germany's Federal Statistics Office said the economy was “losing momentum”. And official figures show the French economy saw no growth in the second quarter.

- BBC

UBC signs Rs. 15 b agreement

The Union Bank of Colombo PLC (UBC) has entered into an investment agreement with the USA-based global investment giant, TPG, which has resulted in an approximate investment of Rs 15 billion in UBC. The transaction will place Union Bank among the top five banks in Sri Lanka.

This is one of the largest foreign direct investments to Sri Lanka in recent years and is said to be the largest in the financial services sector.

NCCSL CEO Forum

The CEO Forum organised by the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) was held at the chamber premises last week. Deputy Director General of the Urban Development Authority Nihal Fernando spoke on the future development of Colombo and its environment with infrastructure development for the benefit of businessmen.

NCCSL Secretary-General Bandula Dissanayake, Senior Deputy President Thilak Godamanna, NCCSL President Sunil Wijesinha, Deputy Director General, UDA, Nihal Fernando, Deputy President Sujeeve Samaraweera were also present.

Seminar on apparel exports to China

The Sri Lanka Apparel Exporters Association organised a seminar at Hilton Colombo Residencies recently for apparel exporters as Sri Lanka is expected to enter into a Free Trade Agreement with China. It was aimed at enhancing awareness on supervisory regulations and mandatory testing of textile and apparel exports to China.

SGS Global Director for Softline (Textile and Apparel Industry), Dr. Jane Jiang was the guest speaker. She was assisted by Joey Zou of SGS China.The chairman of SLAEA, Yohan Lawrence reiterated the advantages, benefits and the positive impact that a free trade agreement with China would make on Sri Lanka’s economy. About 82 people including high officials and experts in the apparel trade were present.

Mobitel renovates Nawagaththegama regional hospital

Mobitel recently refurbished the prenatal and postnatal units of the Nawagaththegama regional hospital and the special labour ward also received a facelift. The refurbishment was carried out as a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative for the betterment of the people in Nawagaththegama and to live upto the organisation’s brand promise, ‘We Care. Always'.