Exhibition on European technology

It will allow Sri Lankan businessmen to get a feel for European technology without the expense of having to visit trade fairs in Europe and help European firms to promote their products in Sri Lanka without being physically present here.

Among the sectors covered would be environment, power, infrastructure, food and beverages, education and machinery for garment factories, food processing and light engineering. It is organised by the European Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (ECCSL) and the European Business Information Centre (EBIC) together with EU member state representations.

Meanwhile the ECCSL, which has nearly 250 European and Sri Lankan member firms, plans to publish its first chamber trade directory next month. It will contain company profiles and sector and product information which will help promote these firms in Europe and Sri Lanka, helping to increase trade and business. The directory will also be available online and be accessible worldwide.

Sri Lankan businessmen will be also given an opportunity to meet French buyers, distributors and producers next month with the visit by a delegation from the Confederation of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (CGPME) of the Rhone Alps in France.

The business delegation, led by Francois Turcas, president of CGPME, will be here during February 8-16. The Board of Investment, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and the EBIC will arrange one-to-one meetings between the visiting French delegates and Sri Lankan businessmen. The Europeans are interested in cosmetics, health products, ayurvedic products, protective clothing, refrigeration, household cleaning equipment, kitchen accessories, hospital furniture and machinery for the textile industry.

ISB-led investment mission to Botswana

ISB said the business tour would run from February 24 to March 6 and is aimed at Sri Lankan entrepreneurs interested in investing in Botswana, a Southern African state considered one of the fastest growing countries in the world.

Potential investment areas are textiles and garments, diamond cutting and polishing, leather production and tanning, ceramics, assembly of automobiles, parts and components, electrical goods and pharmaceuticals.

ISB said some Sri Lankan companies have already established ventures in Botswana which provides more facilities and incentives to investors than other South African countries.

The trip is being organised in collaboration with the state-owned Botswana Export Development and Investment Authority (BEDIA).

Business briefs

Workshop on business writing

The workshop will cover a review of business grammar, principles and structure of effective written communication, teach participants how to write effective business letters, memos, faxes, e-mails and minutes of meetings.

MIM said the facilitator would also give the participants points on positive written communication.

Seminar on management

The main speaker is Prof. Sunil Erevelles, a distinguished member of the faculty of the Gary Anderson School of Management at the University of California.

Ahangama appointed director

He has also been appointed a director in three Forbes subsidiaries.

Social responsibility project

Under this scheme, MTI Consulting will offer, free of charge, their management consulting services to a selected social organisation for a specific project.

Hilmy Cader, global CEO of MTI Consulting said that while most commercial organisations get involved in charity projects, MTI's SR project is fundamentally different.

"We will use our management and marketing expertise to help a social organisation on a strategic project that has a far reaching impact on society," he said. Interested parties can contact Dhanushka Jayakody on 543700 at the MTI office in Colombo.

British consultancy services

BESO is a UK-based independent, non-profit organisation, which sends experienced men and women overseas to provide assistance to private enterprises and public and private sector organisations that cannot afford commercial consultants.

The agency's services are free to its clients who pay only for the local costs of the advisor's accommodation, subsistence and transport during the assignment with BESO normally covering the cost of the return airfare to and from the UK.

BESO's local representative is Dr. Sarath Abayawardene.

Tokyo Cement Group targets western, southern markets

The plant, operated by its subsidiary, Samudra Cement Company Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, has an initial capacity to bag 600,000 metric tonnes of cement a year.

Tokyo Cement chairman, A.Y.S. Gnanam, said that the construction industry has been one of the few sectors that had managed to survive despite the economic downturn.

"The cement industry can be a catalyst in the nation's forward march with more investments and innovation provided the right policy and market environment is created," he said at the opening ceremony.

Joint Managing Director, S.R. Gnanam, said the group felt that it must be present in the western and southern province if it was to make a greater impact in the domestic market, given the continued robust construction projects, both commercial and individual, in these provinces.

The Samudra Cement plant has a silo capacity of 20,000 metric tons and a loading capacity of 2,200 bags per hour or eight lorries. The cement terminal is equipped with dust collectors to reduce emissions.

Samudra Cement will be available in bulk, bagged and in ready mixed concrete. The group's ready mixed concrete plant, under construction at Peliyagoda, will be opened later this month. The company is also investing another Rs. 90 million to build a new warehouse to replace the one it acquired under the agreement with the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.

Tokyo Cement is also in the middle of a Rs. 500 million expansion project which enjoys Board of Investment status at the main plant in Trincomalee.

Susanthika Jayasinghe at SLIM sales congress

The aim of the NASCO, to be held on January 26 at Trans Asia Hotel, is to motivate sales people to attain excellence and also for companies to recognise top sales achievers.

Other speakers include Professor J.B. Dissanayake who will speak on, "Talking the language of the consumer" and Hettigoda Group Chairman, Victor Hettigoda of Siddhalepa fame whose topic will be "Identifying market opportunities and playing on one's strength". Major General Gamini Gunasekera will speak on the topic of "Motivating people in a challenging situation". At NASCO they will share their success stories and describe what motivated them.

NASCO Chairman, Boos-han Sonnadara said this is the first time that personalities outside the marketing field have been enlisted to motivate sales people. This will give them an opportunity to share the experience of prominent people who have excelled in their relevant fields. Asked why a person such as Susanthika Jayasinghe was chosen, Sonn-adara said she had succeeded despite many difficulties.

SMB launches four-year debenture issue

The issue carries an option to raise a further Rs. 30 million in the event of an over-subscription. Interest rates would vary according to each individual type of investment and would range from 13 to 14.5 percent per annum, the bank said.

"We have found that these relatively small issues generate a lot of interest in our target segment," SMB's Director/General Manager, Rohan Senanayake said. "Our focus is on smaller individual investors rather than institutions. About 350 investors participated in our last debenture issue, which was very encouraging."

SMB has structured several debenture issues since 1998. The last in June 2001 for Rs. 50 million was oversubscribed in December last year.

Davnell Whatmore to motivate corporates

Following the success of the first session of "The Coach, The Motivator" held in September last year, Knowledge Inc. (Pvt) Ltd has put together the second session with Whatmore owing to popular demand. The first session attracted over 260 top-level executives of Sri Lankan corporate companies. The second round was originally to be held on December 21 but was postponed. The latest session to be held at the Taj Samudra hotel is for those who registered for the December meeting, according to the organisers. It will also feature Dyan Gomes, CEO of Slimline (Pvt) Ltd and President CIMA (Sri Lanka) as the guest speaker.

Shamrock adds another port of call

This container feeder service, which is the only one of its kind, according to the operators of the 279 TEU capacity vessel 'M.V. Mathish", has so far completed 12 voyages, transporting and relocating containers between Colombo and Tuticorin since its November launch.

Capt. Nalin Abeyratne of Shamrock G. Shipping said the initial success of the Colombo – Tuticorin sector coupled with the subsequent demand for a second such service, has led to M.V. Mathish servicing Cochin. He cited the features of their vessel, its dedicated service, coupled with the best freight rates, as being the crucial factors for the success of the two-month old service.

HSBC Holdings to market American Express TCs

The bank said HSBC Holdings plc had signed a three-year contract for American Express to supply travellers cheques through HSBC branches, making this contract the largest global agreement of its type for the American Express Travellers Cheque Group.

Customers will be able to encash their American Express travellers cheques, bought from HSBC, at all HSBC branches worldwide without any commission charge.