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BOI:
Better late than never But judging
by a press conference on Thursday, it faces an uphill battle. Intended
to showcase the country as stable, efficient and business-friendly,
the event began 40 minutes late. When he finally
reached the speakers' podium - about one hour after the press conference's
scheduled starting time - BOI chairman Arjuna Mahendran stressed
that the games were taking place at a critical point in Sri Lanka's
history. The ongoing
ceasefire with the LTTE meant the country now had another chance
to fulfil the potential it showed before the war, when it was considered
one of the richest countries in Asia. "This
year we think marks a turning point in the development of our country,"
he said. "The BOI
has a fairly ambitious plan of developing Sri Lanka into a Hong
Kong of southern Asia." Proximity to
southern India - the most rapidly-developing region in the sub-continent
- had provided Sri Lanka with a unique opportunity to develop into
a regional trading hub. The construction of a 22 km bridge between
the two countries was a principle part of this masterplan, he said. Mahendran also
drew attention to successful industries like tourism and tea production,
as well as some more concealed sectors. "Sri Lanka
is one of the best producers of lingerie in the world today,"
he said. "That
has been of profound interest to a number of journalists who have
come here in the past." But when the
time came for questions, the assembled media indicated where their
interests lay. "Can you
provide us with a list of the athletes who are competing at the
games?" asked one journalist. His request was met with a clear
''no'' - the press conference had been convened to talk not about
athletics but about Sri Lanka's potential as an investment destination,
and on that topic the BOI was happy to answer any queries. "So are there any more questions," the compere asked. The room responded with silence. Sri
Lanka Institute of Credit Management's awards event Ceylinco Consolidated
chairman Lalith Kotelawala will present diploma certificates for
2000 and 2001 to 120 diploma holders. The Sri Lanka
Institute of Credit Management which was established in 1988 under
the Companies Act is now incorporated under a Parliamentary Act.
It was initiated and encouraged by the Finance Co. Ltd, Lanka Orix
Leasing Co. Ltd, Alliance Finance Co. Ltd, L.B. Finance Ltd, Mercantile
Credit Ltd, Central Finance Co. Ltd and Sinhaputhra Finance Co.
Ltd. The SLICM, the brainchild of Kotelawala, was formed to train personnel working in banks, finance companies and financial institutions in the art of managing credit and enhancing their knowledge and competence when working in financial institutions. The Institute has so far trained 755 students from 98 financial institutions. Children's
account with many surprises Parents are
spoilt for choice with the promise of attractive returns from a
multitude of children's savings instruments when opening an account
for their child. Though only one account has reached out to meet
their needs with deeds and not mere promises. With the Tikiri children's
savings account from the Seylan Bank, children are encouraged to
save through the most innovative gift scheme where gifts are entitlements
for growing your account and not subject to tedious draws. Parental peace of mind is heightened with the Tikiri fund, a unique feature which every account holder is entitled to financial assistance for a variety of reasons. The child's health, their education and extra curricular pursuits are catered to by this special fund. Kids and parents can expect many similar pleasant surprises because Tikiri is an account that constantly innovates. Seylan Bank, a bank with a heart. Another
innovative campaign Launched with
the idea of rewarding their loyal customers, the Keells Super Dream
Draw, comes hard on the heels of last year's Go Banana's Promotion
which was a pioneering campaign and the first of its kind to be
launched by a supermarket chain in Sri Lanka. "This
year's Dream Draw campaign is a result of customer feedback",
said Director Jaykay Marketing Rajeev Dharmendra. Dharmendra said
that as a result of the Go Bananas campaign, Keells Super achieved
significant growth in term of sales while attracting new customers
as well. Dharmendra said that the prizes offered in this year's Dream Draw Promotion too were based on customer feedback as to what they would like to win as a prize, hence the choice offered to the winner of the Grand Draw of a total of 3 prizes from which they could take their pick. "In short we have tried to cater to the dreams of most people," said Dharmendra.
Fashion Bug expands All in all, it has been a story of success, based on being able to anticipate customer trends and meeting them, "We have been able to set a new trend for fashionable clothing in Sri Lanka", says GM of Fashion Bug. "We cater to both male and female target groups, covering everything from baby clothing, children's wear, teenagers, young adults and adult segments. At Fashion Bug you can find clothing for all occasions - office wear, casual wear, evening wear sports clothing etc. Our entire collection is from Sri Lanka, Bangkok, Indonesia, Hongkong and India. We also stock the largest collection of Cholies and Shalwars in Sri Lanka." CIM
recognition award for Uditha Dr Uditha Liyanage
is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing at the Postgraduate Institute
of Management of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and is also
the immediate past Chairman of CIM Sri Lanka. He is a consultant
to a number of companies, a director of the boards of four large
companies, a member of the board of study of two leading educational
institutes and a renowned management trainer and developer. Dr Liyanage's
contribution to CIM in Sri Lanka is significant. Not only did he
help introduce events such as the CIM Annual Conference the Marketer
Awards and the CIM Apparel Marketing Programme, but was also instrumental
in introducing a process-based approach to branch-management which
is now being adopted in other countries where CIM is present. Dr Liyanage is the only CIM member in Sri Lanka to obtain a doctorate in Marketing and one of the few in the region to do so. He has contributed extensively to marketing and management Journals, both here and abroad and has addressed a number of important International Conferences and Seminars. Sri
Lankan honoured Having invited
him to join the Group of Companions of the Management Institute
which is the highest category of its membership and is awarded only
to those which a distinguished record of achievement in senior management.
The Board of
Companions of the Chartered Management Institute, UK carefully maintains
a high standard of entry and the number of awards made is comparatively
few. It is from
the companions that the Institute draws valuable help in its efforts
to raise management performance. Mr. Hidelaratchi, who counts over 4 decades of experience in management of which nearly 3 decades at senior management level is the first Sri Lankan to have been offered this honour after the Management Institute of UK achieved Royal Chartered status. Development
award for ESD project ESD, a World
Bank and Global Environment Facility (GEF) assisted programme was
launched to promote private sector and community based renewable
energy power generation. This follows about three years of market
development work in mainstreaming grid-connected mini-hydro, off-grid
village hydro and solar home systems in Sri Lanka. The project
is managed by an administrative unit set up within the DFCC Bank.
The success of the ESD Credit Programme has aroused worldwide interest.
Following its
success, in July this year, a second phase was launched under the
project name Renewable Energy for Rural Economic Development (RERED).
A programme
of the government of Sri Lanka with assistance from the World Bank
and GEF, it envisages electricity access to over 100,000 remote
households and 1000 rural small and medium enterprises and public
institutions. This is the first time that we see private sector
participation in a government development project. |
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