BIZ-Brief

Diethelm vehicles for Taj Samudra

Diethelm Travel Sri Lanka (formerly known as Hemtours) launched its fleet of 40 cars valued at over Rs. 250 million to exclusively service the guests of Taj Samudra Hotel.

The fleet consists of 40 of the latest Nissan Blubird vehicles which conform to international safety standards.

“We have been in partnership with Taj Samudra Hotel for over eight years with our travel counters providing travel facilities to their guests. Considering the boom in the tourism industry and arrival of up market clientele, we decided to upgrade our transport services at the hotel. We thank all stakeholders for making this happen, said Chairman.

IFRS an accounting essential

As International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) gain rapid acceptance across the globe (with over a 100 countries adopting it), it was recently announced by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL) that Sri Lankan banks too would be required to adopt the international standard by January 1, 2012.

The ICASL will adopt IFRS by issuing a Sri Lanka Financial Reporting Standards (SLFRS) and Sri Lanka Accounting Standards (LKAS) for annual financial periods.

USA, Canada, India and Japan are some countries which are currently in a transitional process to IFRS. Though the International Accounting Standards (IAS) and the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) have been followed by Sri Lanka, standards issued after 2005 have not been adopted immediately while developing Sri Lanka Accounting Standards (SLAS).

Perera and Sons enters the social media world

Perera and Sons a brand since 1902 is making a major hype on cyberspace, as it recently joined the social media trend that many companies are stepping into.

An initiative of its Managing Director, Gihan Perera, who wants to combine technology to serve better customers of the Perera and Sons (P&S), P&S have now joined the Facebook wagon wheel.

Not only is the company becoming immensely popular on Facebook (now over 20,000 fans in fourweeks), they are also using other tools that many tend to leave out when it comes to social media; Twitter and Foursquare.

Union Assurance records impressive growth

Union Assurance PLC (UA), recorded continuous growth in the first half of 2011 with a growth of 28 percent in combined gross written premiums compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.

The outstanding results reflect the continued focus on improving the turnover and profitability of the company. Combined gross written premiums of the company increased from Rs. 3.1 b to Rs.3.9 b for the six months ended June 30, 2011 while life insurance gross written premium grew by 34 percent from Rs. 1.5 b in 2010 to Rs. 2 b in 2011 compared to the same period of the previous year.

Bartleet Finance opens branch in Ratnapura

Bartleet Finance Ltd. a member of the Bartleet Group opened its 17th branch in Ratnapura under the patronage of Deputy Chairman of Bartleet Group Sunil Wijesinghe recently.

‘Happy Hen’ obtains ISO 22000:2005

‘Happy Hen’ brand of eggs, a product of Switz Lanka (Pvt) Ltd., recently obtained ISO 22000:2005 certification for its high quality food management, production and supply chain system, being the first layer farm in Sri Lanka to receive such an endorsement, according to a company spokesperson. Here Director of Switz Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. S.H. Jeevunjee receiving ISO Certification from the Chairman of SLSI.

Sthree Mela fetes Commercial Credit chairman

Chairman of Commercial Credit PLC, Vagdevi Fernando was recently presented with an award by Sthree Mela (Voice of Sri Lankan Women) in recognition of her contribution to Sri Lanka’s financial services industry. Governor of the Central Province Tikiri Kobbekaduwa presented the award to Mrs. Fernando at the Kandy City Centre and organised by Voice of Sri Lankan Women which is headed by Visakha Dharmadasa in Kandy.

Abans launches 3D sound system

Abans unveiled LG’s first 3D Sound Blu-ray Home Theatre System. The HX 996TS LG Home Theatre System uses innovative new approaches to deliver sound and provides the soundtrack to watch 3D Movies. Home entertainment enthusiasts are increasingly getting opportunities to experience TV and movies in 3D, but until now, sound has remained firmly in 2D. With the HX 996TS Home Theatre System we have made a big leap with audio, so that viewers can now get immersed in sound, every bit as life-like as the best 3D movies, said President and CEO of LG Electronics Home Entertainment Company, Havis Kwon.

Farmer and Agribusiness Awards

Farmer and Agribusiness awards 2011 will be held today from 6 pm at the Mihilaka Medura BMICH.

Apple CEO resigns

Steve Jobs has resigned as Apple CEO and Chief Operating Officer Tim Clark was appointed. Jobs will continue to serve the company as the chairman.

IBM chip to imitate human brain

IBM said that it has designed a chip to imitate the human brain with an ability to understand its surroundings.

New regulations for tobacco and alcohol

A series of new regulations will be implemented restricting the use of mosaics or blurred images masking tobacco and alcohol scenes in television programs. Broadcasters will also be required to air messages that convey the hazardous effects of tobacco and alcohol use from September 1.

Infotel from Dec. 2

Sri Lanka’s flagship ICT Expo, Infotel 2011 organised by the Federation of Information Technology Industry of Sri Lanka (FITIS) will be held from December 2-5 at the BMICH.

Asiri Hospitals receive $ 20M from IFC

Asiri Hospitals a part of the Softlogic Group received $ 20M long-term financing arrangement from IFC, a member of the World Bank Group. The loan has been structured as long term, to be repaid in ten years, includes a grace period of two years. The transaction includes the main hospitals of the Group; Asiri Hospital, Asiri Surgical Hospital and the new Central Hospital, as Co-Borrowers. The major part of the loan $11.4M will be used by the new Central Hospital that will enable the newest venture within the Asiri Hospitals cluster to develop and achieve full potential.

Budget deficit in 2012 below 7 percent

The Cabinet last week agreed to further reduce the country’s budget deficit in 2012 while maintaining a sound economic growth and a single digit inflation rate, cabinet spokesman said. The 2012 Budget aims at keeping economic growth at least at 8 percent.

Inflation 6 to 7 percent and the budget deficit between 6.2 to 6.8 percent of GDP. Total Debt target for the year will be reduced to 75 percent from the current 80 percent GDP.

FDIs cross $ 1b mark

Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) this year will cross the $ 1b mark given the current trend of growth, said a BOI official. He said FDIs have been flowing into the country at a steady rate and the BOI is confident that by the end of the year foreign investments would reach around $ 1.2 b.

ICTA to take over LGN

The Cabinet has authorised supplementary funding amounting to Rs 74 m, to enable a subsidiary owned by ICTA to maintain and operate the Lanka Government Network (LGN), beyond August 2011. LGN was initially established under a Korean Government funded program through a managed services contract implemented by Samsung Networks Inc.

Tomahawk ‘rides’ into local market

Tomahawk brand was launched commencing a revolution in the bicycle history beginning a new era of high technology stylish cycles. Tomahawk has captured a 60 percent market share said a company official.

Enjoyed by people of all ages, Tomahawk is keen on the satisfaction of the consumer, focusing their attention to maintain high standards and safety. Taking a step towards the new generation, they have launched their website tomahawkbike.com and have started a bike club for the first time in Sri Lanka, on the social network, Facebook which enables anyone to join and win free cycles.