Biz Briefs

Sri Lanka Tourism wins award

Sri Lanka Tourism and 15 tourism professionals from the private sector attended one of the leading global travel fairs in Asia Pacific - KOTFA, in Seoul, South Korea, braving the threat of MERS.

With 52 countries competing for the award, Sri Lanka Tourism did the country proud by winning the top award 'Best Tourism Publicity Award - 2015'. The Sri Lanka pavillion attracted 66,516 visitors.

Sri Lanka has recorded an overall growth of 14.5% with 714,584 visitors as at May 2015 with tourism receipts crossing the $1billion dollar mark according to Central Bank data. According to BOI sources, the leisure sector has received Rs. 4.1 billion in investments.

World Bank credit for ECD

Washington - The World Bank (WB) Board has approved a $50 million credit line to improve the quality and increase equitable access to Early Childhood Development (ECD) services in Sri Lanka.The Government recently set up the State Ministry of Child Affairs to promote the development and well-being of children from birth up to five years. It has also developed a draft National Plan for Early Childhood Care andDevelopment (2015-2020), to guide interventions in the ECD sector, which will be supported with this credit line.

Monitoring and managing the milestones for birth to two years are well-established. However, Centre-based ECD programs for children in the three to five age range are less developed.

Economic Forum

The 'Sri Lanka Economic Forum 2015', the country's top economic forum in August will discuss the importance of setting up a new global economic strategy for Sri Lanka.

This would be one of a series of important topics that will be discussed during the eight sessions of the forum.

The topic, 'Sri Lanka's Global Economic Strategy,' comes at a time when the country, with so much potential, such as its strategic location and human development fundamentals is lagging behind competitor economies in Asia, as the nation's economic structure does not provide the framework for high and sustainable growth.

LankaSathosa to be re-launched

The Colombo branch of the global consultancy firm, KPMG has been tasked to restructure the State FMCG giant LankaSathosa. KPMG is expected to find ways to sustain LankaSathosa in a profitable manner while giving the best market prices to consumers.

The institution owes Rs 10 billion to two banks and another Rs 3 billion to suppliers. It is the only national institution that gives the exact price of consumer goods to the market, especially in rural areas. As the first step, KPMG has advised the Government on streamlining and regularising the administration at LankaSathosa. The government will foot the pending bills of the institution amounting to Rs 7.5 billion and LankaSathosa will be re-launched on July 7.

Realistic gaming

Singer Sri Lanka introduced the PlayStation(r)4 (PS4), the successor to the PS3, to the market recently. Singer organised a gaming competition for guests and PlayStation enthusiasts at its Mega showroom in Mount Lavinia to mark the launch. Five gaming booths showcasing the console enabled PlayStation fans to experience the power of the platform. The PlayStation brings to players quality technology, graphics and visually realistic gaming experiences. Pic: Vipula Amarasinghe

Master Mariners AGM
 

The Company of Master Mariners (CMM) of Sri Lanka held its 24th Annual General Meeting at Club Palm Bay Hotel, Marawila recently. It was followed by a dinner dance. CMM is an association of certified marine professionals who hold various positions in the maritime field. The office-bearers of CMM for 2015-16: Seated (from left): Tilak Wickramasinghe (Treasurer), Capt. Rohith Fernando (Secretary), Capt. D.J. Amarasuriya (Vice President), Capt. Nirmal Silva (President), Capt. Palitha de Lanerolle (Vice President) and Capt. Ranjith Weerasinghe (Editor). Standing (from left): Capt. Mahesh Kuruppu, Capt. Mahendra Ranatunga, Capt. Chandana Perera, Capt. Nandika Peiris, Capt. Daminda Samaranayake, Capt. Kolitha Gunawardane, Capt. Ravi Jayaratne and Capt. N. Jeyasriskandarajah.

DSI opens 203rd showroom

DSI opened its 203rd showroom at Wakwella Road in Galle recently. The outlet is the fifth to be opened in Galle where the shoe company had its beginngs. The showroom houses an assortment of local and international brands such as DSI, Ranpa, Samson, Waves, Jessica (footwear and bags), Reebok, Fila, Liberty and Red Tape. D. Samson & Sons (Pvt) Ltd is the main marketing and distributing arm of the DSI Samson Group and is also one of the largest retail networks in the country that provides footwear, accessories and apparel to the local market.