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NTB
profits up, takes over Amex Bank It said the
buoyant period was due to the bank's strategic shift towards retail
banking. "Our business plan is based on a dual expansion strategy
of (organised) growth coupled with the acquisition of complementary
businesses," said NTB CEO Moksevi Prelis. The bank, now
with 13 state-of-the-art branches, plans to have a network of 20
by end 2002 and 50 by end 2004. The bank was formed in 1999 when
a consortium comprising the John Keells group, Central Finance Co
and the Washington-based International Finance Corporation took
over the operations of the Hong Kong-based Overseas Trust bank. Although a "new kid on the block", NTB is growing in size and stature with institutions coming under it being Waldock McKenzie, the Kandy branch of Standard Chartered bank, the personal banking division of Deutsche Bank and the entire Sri Lankan operations of the American Express Bank. The agreement for the last deal was signed by both banks last Wednesday and is awaiting approval from the Central Bank's Monetary Board. FACETS
in September "Come September come FACETS" is the theme of the exhibition. The event will
help Sri Lanka regain its position as one of the best precious stone
producers in the world, chairman of the organising committee, Macky
Hashim, told a press conference. Already 60
stalls have been booked, including five by exhibitors in Hong Kong,
Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, he said. SriLankan Airlines, the Gem and Jewellery Authority and the Export Development Board are the main sponsors of the event which is being held for the 12th consecutive year. In
brief As part of
this campaign, cash prizes totaling Rs. 100,000, CellCARDs to the
value of Rs. 16,000, eight mobile phones with CellCARD connections
and scores of T-shirts, caps and other gifts are to be awarded to
CellCARD users over just eight days ending August 24 through a series
of novel competitions at eight Celltel dealer locations, the company
said. "Five
years on, CellCARD remains the biggest contributor to the growth
of the mobile phone user base in Sri Lanka," Celltel's Chief
Executive Officer Dumindra Ratnayaka said. "Our research shows
that it is frequently the first-entry level phone for the small
and medium sized businessman." Younger
generation will drive business activity-Balendra "The younger
generation will drive business (initiatives) in the country,"
said Ken Balendra, Chairman of the Bank of Ceylon, who was the chief
guest. He emphasized
the importance of young academics entering the business field and
said high performance, creativity, desire, determination, time specific
and efficiency were some of the qualities needed to become the perfect
executive. "The accountancy
profession has changed with globalisation and development in e-commerce,"
said Asite Talwatte, President of The Institute of Chartered Accountants.
Matale ComBank
completes 30 years Matale branch
manager Reggie Ratnayake said the Commercial Bank was the first
private bank to open a branch in this central hill town and was
done at a time when "communication and other facilities were
relatively poor but the effort was rewarded with a faithful and
loyal base of customers." He said the
branch has consistently upgraded its level of service and facilities
and scored another first when it installed Matale's first ATM. Dankotuwa
Porcelain sales, profits dip In a statement
the premier porcelain maker said export sales totalled Rs. 314.8
million against Rs. 346.8 million while local sales were however
higher at Rs. 85.7 million versus Rs. 61.1 million in the corresponding
period. Net profit
after tax fell sharply to Rs. 9.7 million from Rs. 32.7 million
in January to July 2001. Ceylon Biscuits
bags gold and silver Munchee Biscuits
and Ritzbury Chocolates were awarded the silver in the extra large
category of the export market while CBL Impex, a fully owned CBL
subsidiary, was awarded the gold for the value added tea segment. The company
said Munchee enjoys a market share of around 45 percent and are
now market leaders. CBL's group
export turnover in 2001 was around $ 1.5 million. Some 15 percent
of the company production is exported to the US, UK, Australia,
Canada, Middle East, India, New Zealand, Fiji and some other countries.
The product
- sold under the Munchee label and private labels - recently entered
the Hong Kong market with Lemon Puff and Coconut Crunch with plans
to enter the Chinese market through Hong Kong. It is also selling
in major supermarket chains like David Jones in Australia and K
Mart and Wall Mart. Career development
seminar The resource
person is Dr. K. Kuhathasan who has wide experience in conducting
professional development programmes in Sri Lanka and several other
Asian countries. Aussie business
team here next month It will be
led by Ian Whitaker, Manager, International Trade Centre of the
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia, who will
make a presentation on "Doing Business with Australia".
This will be followed by one-to-one meetings with Sri Lankan businessmen. The Australian
delegates are keen to establish contacts with joint venture partners,
potential clients, suppliers, buyers, manufacturers, agents and
distributors. SL-Canada
Biz Council office bearers Vice Presidents:
J. Wickremesinghe, Managing Director, Protec Services (Pvt) Ltd,
Primal Wijeyanayake, Director, Marketing Widac International (Pvt)
Ltd. Committee:
Rukmal Dias, Akbar Brothers Ltd, H. D. Gunewardene, Freight Links
International (Pvt) Ltd, Ramya Perera, Infotechs Ltd, A. G. Wimalasiri,
Maliban Biscuit Manufacturers Ltd, Yusuf Nanji, Pan Asia Ltd, Hemaka
Amarasuriya, Singer (Sri Lanka) Ltd. The council
is a bilateral business council that functions under the aegis of
the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. Emirates
opens new Arrivals Lounge Upon arrival,
Unaccompanied Minors (UMs) and customers requiring wheelchair assistance
are escorted to the lounge which is located within the main Arrivals
Hall next to the shop. Family members and friends meeting UMs or
wheelchair-assisted customers can wait in the lounge in comfort
and can be assisted with formalities by dedicated Emirates Airport
Services staff members. The lounge
is shared between the Emirates Special Services facility and Dnata
Special Handling which caters to all other airlines using the Dubai
International Airport. FACETS gem
fair in September "Come
September come FACETS" is the theme of the exhibition. The
event will help Sri Lanka regain its position as one of the best
precious stone producers in the world, chairman of the organising
committee, Macky Hashim, told a press conference. Already 60
stalls have been booked, including five by exhibitors in Hong Kong,
Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, he said. SriLankan Airlines, the Gem and Jewellery Authority and the Export Development Board are the main sponsors of the event which is being held for the 12th consecutive year. Construction
industry slams red tape The first half
of this year was the worst it had faced, the Chamber of Construction
Industry (CCI) president Surath Wickramasinghe said in a statement. "The CCI
was formed in October 2001 at a time when the construction industry
was desperately short of work," he said. "The situation
has not improved even with the new government in office." He called on
the government to channel work through the chamber for quick implementation,
saying that the CCI has technical expertise in the different disciplines
of valuation, quantity surveying, surveying, planning, and designing
of projects ranging from irrigation to building construction and
infrastructure development. "The cumbersome tender procedure
must be streamlined and discussions held with the development banks
and funding agencies to reform the regulations to expedite the implementation
of projects," the statement said. Several projects
that could be implemented through public-private partnerships with
private sector finance are not getting off the ground because of
unnecessary bureaucratic delays, it said. Projects such
as the Southern Highway project where funds are available cannot
proceed due to the road trace problems, which should have been resolved
at the outset, it said. "Unfortunately,
the public sector organisations connected with the construction
industry are very protective and are reluctant to devolve their
authority, responsibility and influence to the private sector,"
the chamber said. "Consequently,
due to this 'dog-in-the-manger' attitude, enormous delays occur
resulting in the construction industry having to struggle for work
and the government having to pay more due to those delays."
The North-East rehabilitation work was a good example, it added.
"The CCI
could also ensure that the quality and prices are reasonable if
the CCI is given such a responsibility," it said. "If
the government's intention is to speed up the development process
and to achieve its goals at a time when public finances are in dire
straits and when privatisation is the magic word, why are projects
not assigned to corporate organisations like the CCI to steer the
actual development?" It is very
clear that private sector consultants and contractors are far more
advanced in designing, planning and implementation than the public
sector, the chamber said. The construction
industry is "deeply concerned" that the bureaucracy has
no new strategies or new thinking, it said. "The same old policies, the same old officials are continuing," it said. "If the government is serious about development then the private sector and the chambers should be absorbed into the public sector decision-making and policy making process so that the country could benefit." Ceylinco
Life helps in battle against cancer Each of these
senior policyholders will receive a voucher for Rs. 5,000, for screening
at the Ceylinco Cancer Detection Centre in Colombo. This offer
will be in addition to their usual benefits such as bonuses. Ceylinco
Life will spend more than Rs. 5 million on this initiative, a company
statement said. Ceylinco Life
Director/General Manager R. Renganathan said: "According to
the Washington Cancer Institute it has been established that 70
percent of cancer related deaths can be prevented through early
screening and the recent WHO report indicates that two thirds of
all cancers could be cured or prevented if detected early. This scheme
will enable us to create awareness of this fact, inculcate the habit
of screening and at the same time reward a group of loyal policyholders."
He said recipients of this free facility would be required to undergo the routine preliminary risk assessment by the doctors at the Cancer Detection Centre, after which each would be advised on the future tests. SLIM
launches best brands awards scheme Earlier the
programme presented by SLIM was called a brand symposium where successful
brands were selected and its success story shared at a forum attended
by marketing practitioners. However, this
year under a new concept, SLIM chairman Taslim Rahaman said Brand
Excellence 2002 aims to add a wider dimension to the previous format
since the vision behind it is to motivate better "brand"
marketing. The entry criteria
and the basis of evaluation has been pre-defined and eligible "brands"
would be evaluated by an eminent panel of judges, said Janaki Kuruppu,
chairman of the organising committee. She said while
persons with marketing backgrounds would be on the panel of judges,
the committee would make every effort to ensure there is no conflict
of interest in the selection process. Top brands in two broads categories - Product and Service - would be recognised in addition to special categories like Innovative Brand of the Year, Survival Brand of the Year, Local Brand of the Year and New Entrant of the Year. A total of 11 awards would be given at a presentation ceremony in November this year. Marketers
heal thyself! "We thought
we would start with refreshments," said an embarrassed SLIM
President Taslim Rahman at 6 pm when urged by the media to start
a briefing that was scheduled to begin at 5 pm. The briefing
was delayed because some SLIM officials were attending another meeting
and apparently wanted the press to wait till they finished their
work! It took a full 72 minutes, after the scheduled time, for the
briefing to start and that too after some journalists threatened
to walk out! |
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