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New
contribution collection at ETF An official
statement said the ETF Board has taken steps to bring it closer
to the employers while providing more benefits to those employers
who contribute large sums as dues. "In pursuance of this new customer oriented policy the ETF had developed a system of picking up ETF contribution cheques from employer's offices with no additional cost to them. Initially this facility has been limited to employers who pay over Rs. 150,000 per month. ETF had identified approximately 225 employers who are contributing over 150,000 per month and the total revenue collected from this category of employers is in the range of Rs. 110-130 million," it said. Seminar
on law and order The seminar will be on the theme 'Law and Order and Business' with the main speakers being Tom T. Ellawala, Chairman-Law and Order Sub-Committee, Prof. M.T.A. Furkhan, Chairman, Confifi Group of Companies, Ranjit Abeysuriya, President's Counsel and DIG H.M.G.B. Kotakadeniya, Senior Deputy Inspector-General of Police (Crime, Criminal Intelligence and Organised Crime). Six
new drugs in the market Antibiotics,
anti-ulcerant and anti-diabetic drugs were introduced to the Sri
Lankan market in a joint venture by Chemanex, a local pharmaceutical
company and Aristopharma. Among the pharmaceuticals
launched were Aristocef and Extracef which come in the form of capsules
and powder are broad spectrum antibiotics for upper and lower respiratory
tract infections, urinary tract infections and surgical wound infections.
AZ 250 is an
antibiotic for protection against acute and chronic bacterial infections
while Omep 20 is an anti-ulcerant and Glucozid, an anti-diabetic
drug for insulin dependent and non-insulin dependent diabetic patients. Aristopharma,
an accredited supplier to SPC under worldwide tenders, launched
the new products after tying up with Sri Lanka's Chemanex Ltd, a
long standing name in the supplies of disinfectants to local hospitals. More products
are expected to be introduced to the local market in the future.
Sri Lanka is among six other countries including Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Bhutan and Pakistan to which Aristopharma exports its products, Marketing Manager Dalilur Rahman said. SL's
first wine club launched Speaking at
the launch, Alpha Retail's Managing Director for the region, Paul
Topping said with the growing interest in wines, Orient Lanka felt
that the time was right to launch its own Wine Club. "After
extensive research amongst our existing domestic and duty free customers
as well as others, we have established the fact that there is a
need for a Wine Club of quality." Topping said
client research showed 71 percent wanted to know more about wine,
75 percent said they would buy wine on the Internet while 33 percent
said they preferred to drink wine at home. "Having received
such an enthusiastic response to our survey, we know there is a
growing trend in Sri Lanka which justifies the existence of a Wine
Club." Whilst "Labels"
will cater to wine buffs, its real target in the months to come
will be people who are starting to appreciate wine or those who
just enjoy wine. According to
wine sales figures, 34 percent prefer wine to other drinks, 65 percent
prefer red wine, 66 percent appreciate having some help when purchasing
their wine while 55 percent buy wine as a gift. At the launch of Labels, a total of eight wines were sampled, four reds and four whites from Australia, Chile, France and the US. CRESCAT
installs financial system Sybiz which
is the internationally acknowledged superior financial software
package, was installed at Crescat by Kingslake Engineering Systems
who are the local partners for Sybiz. Crescat's Financial Controller Eshan Perera said they chose Sybiz Vision because of its powerful windows-based, modular integrated accounting programme, with its multi user options. "We are now able to conduct a range of transactions such as maintaining stocks efficiently, maintaining debtors separately and retrieving a detailed breakdown of item wise income per customer, thus giving us the flexibility and accuracy that we have been looking for in a financial software system in order that we may remain competitive," he said. Next
mega industrial exhibition in Matara
More
than 600,000 people viewed the exhibition from August 16 to August
21, according to Dr. Bandula Perera, Chairman of the Industrial
Development Board (IDB) and of the exhibition committee. The total cost
of the exhibition was around 30 million rupees." Not a single
cent was borrowed from the central government. The money came from
private sector participation," he said. "Within
35 days we made all arrangements for the exhibition which was held
at the Trincomalee esplanade spanning across 24 acres where 15 pavilions
and around 240 stalls were put up." The Board of
Investment of Sri Lanka, Central Bank of Ceylon, public and private
sector establishments, including many foreign companies, were among
the stallholders. "The main
aim of the exhibition was to show the world what Trincomalee could
offer to international investors. People can come and invest in
Trincomalee. We have shown them not by words but by deeds with Yuga
Dekma," Perera said. "Already
companies from India and Korea have shown interest in investing
in Trincomalee. Five major investments are to take place in Trincomalee
soon, " he added. During the
exhibition period, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe ceremonially
opened the brand new Multi- Purpose Alongside Berth (MPAB) called
the Ashraff Quay named after former Ports and Shipping Minister
M.H.M. Ashraff. "Trincomalee port will play a vital role to
boost trade to and from the north, east, north central province
and Dambulla," said the premier in his speech. An international
investor forum was held in Trincomalee on August 18, which was presided
over by Prof. G.L. Peiris, Minister of Enterprise Development, Industrial
Policy, Investment Promotion and Constitutional Affairs. It was
the first such forum to be held outside Colombo. Peiris said
the country was to be divided into five economic zones that would
ensure efficient use of land, water and the resources of the locality
to strengthen the economy of the region. He said the prime minister
would make a policy statement in parliament next month listing out
this process and the benefits. IDB's Perera
said the board has several projects to be launched in Trincomalee
such as food processing technology and fisheries to infuse enthusiasm
among local industrialists. "Let the small man rise,"
he said. The IDB has
established its regional office in Trincomalee. The IDB has already
taken steps to establish an industrial estate in a 100-acre plot
at Kappalthurai, eight miles from Trincomalee town on the Trincomalee-Colombo
highway. The land allocated to the proposed Industrial Estate belongs to the Urban Development Authority, the IDB chairman said."For everything peace has to prevail. Otherwise the whole country will be finished," he said. NDB
Bank to expand this year "The Kandy
branch is the first of several outstation branches the bank intends
to open during the course of the year. These branches
would be complemented by ATM's, phone banking and in the future,
Internet banking facilities," he said at the opening attended
by NDB Bank chairman S.K. Wickremasinghe and NDB Director/General
Manager Nihal Welikala. NDB Bank, an associate of the NDB, began operations last October last year with the acquisition of the Sri Lankan branch of ABN AMRO Bank. NDB Bank's Kandy branch will have the first touch-screen automated teller machine in the country, a bank statement said. |
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