Biz - Briefs

US economic growth revised

The US economy grew at an annual rate of 4.2% in the second quarter of the year, according to revised figures from the US Department of Commerce.

The revision upwards from 4.0% reflected stronger business spending and exports. It was the fastest pace of growth since the third quarter of 2013. A separate report from the US Labour Department showed that the number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell by 1,000 to 298,000 last week. - BBC

Mobitel wins award

Mobitel won an award for ‘Engineering - Services’ at the Excellence in Engineering Awards organised by the Institute of Engineers Sri Lanka (IESL) recently.

Mobitel was selected for the award for following the best practices in operating sophisticated engineering systems and processes.

The awards which was held this year under the theme of ‘Engineering Excellence through Project Excellence’, commended Mobitel for its project excellence of the Stage VII project, the largest network expansion project which consists of more than 1530 2G/3G/LTE nodes, 700 transmission nodes and more than 430 infrastructural elements.

Tea production up in July

The tea crop for July this year has seen a welcome gain of 6.1 million kilograms over the corresponding month of last year.

The Low Grown elevation has increased by 3.1 million kilograms followed by High Grown teas with 2.2 million kilograms and 0.7 million kilograms for Medium elevation teas.

From January-July, 2014 the total crop of 201.5 million kilograms compares favourably with the production of 196.6 million kilograms recorded during the corresponding period last year.

The positive crop figures recorded from May this year onwards has now wiped out the deficit in crop as at end June which stood at -1.5 million kilograms and as at end July 2014, Sri Lanka has overtaken last year’s crop by 4.8 million kilograms.

Seylan Bank trains Asia Express staff

Seylan Bank is conducting a one-week training program for the staff of the Oman-based Asia Express Exchange in Colombo.

The team arrived in Sri Lanka last week and is undergoing comprehensive training under a team of banking professionals of Seylan Bank. The program ends tomorrow. Among the wide ranging topics covered are basic banking skills, cash handling techniques, remittance operations, customer care and service, KYC (know your customer) norms to be followed, AML (anti-money laundering) compliance and guidelines, dealing with different local and foreign currency notes and detecting fake currency.

CB signs investment agreement with Chinese bank

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CB) and the People's Bank of China entered into a Bilateral Investment Agreement on Bond Investment last week. The agreement will enable the Central Bank to further diversify its reserve management activities into Chinese Renminbi denominated assets.

The Central Bank can now access one of the largest and growing securities markets in the world, while enhancing cooperation between the two Central Banks and the two countries.

Governor of the Central Bank, Ajith Nivard Cabraal exchanged the Bilateral Investment Agreement with the Governor of the People's Bank of China, Zhou Xiaochuan, at the People's Bank of China, Beijing.

T and FG helps drought victims

The Timex and Fergasam group distributed drinking water to over 1,000 families in the Moneragala district last week, a company official said.

A 10-member team travelled to Siyambalanduwa and with the help of the local Gramasevaka distributed 2,500 bottles of drinking water to the villagers of Waththegama and Kottiyagala. "It was truly rewarding work. We reached the more remote villages where water bowsers could not go and which had been overlooked as a result," said team leader Chandana Athauda.

The T and FG group hopes to execute the second phase of their drought relief program soon.

People's Bank provides Rs. 1.2b for houses

A memorandum of understanding was recently signed for 2014 by the National Housing Development Authority with the People's Bank to provide financial assistance to the Upahara National Housing Program. The Chairman of the National Housing Development Authority, Jayantha Samaraweera and the General Manager of People's Bank, N. Vasantha Kumara signed the Memorandum of Understanding at the People's Bank head office.

The People's Bank has provided Rs. 1,200 million as financial assistance this year for the Upahara National Housing Program. Rs. 500 million, Rs. 1,000 million, Rs. 1,200 million, were provided for 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Amãna Bank introduces Savings Plan
 

Amãna Bank recently launched its flagship savings product 'Savings Plan', a unique savings scheme which allows customers to reach a targeted savings amount by a desired period, helping them to develop the discipline of saving for the future. The Savings Plan is coupled with a Life Takaful insurance cover to match their targeted savings while also offering a higher profit share to the customer.

DFCC Bank supports drought relief operations

DFCC, carried out a relief activity to support people affected by a shortage of water.

The Bank with its commercial banking subsidiary, DFCC Vardhana Bank launched a relief program to support the most affected villages in the Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Moneragala districts, supplying water tanks totalling a capacity of approximately 25,000 litres with drinking water and dry rations.

CEO, DFCC Bank, Arjun Fernando said, "Every Sri Lankan has the right to access potable water which is a basic human need.

CDB wins award

Citizens Development Business Finance PLC (CDB) won a Platinum Award at the League of American Communications Professionals (LACP) 2013 Vision Awards in Florida, USA, one of the world's largest annual report competitions.

CDB won the award in the Financials - Diversified Services Category. Over 1,000 organisations from 24 nations took part.

The company also secured the 42nd position among the top 100 annual reports worldwide and the 17th among the top 80 in the Asia Pacific region.

"Our annual report outlines our vision for success and to receive such recognition on a global scale strengthens our resolve to achieve the vision," said Assistant General Manager, Finance, Hasitha Dassanayake.

Workshop on courteous customer service

A one-day workshop on 'Courteous Customer Service, Effective Reception Duty, Telephone Etiquette for Frontline Teams' organised by the National Chamber of Commerce will be held at the chamber auditorium, D. R. Wijewardene Mawatha, Colombo 10, on September 4 from 9.00 a.m to 5.00 p.m.

In many organisations the receptionist is the first contact with the public and the first impression they create will boost the image and the prestige of the organisation they work for.

Good attitudes by front liners backed by professional training can attract and retain customers.

Effective communication and reception skills combined with a positive personality will help to maintain an excellent relationship with customers.