business Sri Lanka

Renowned culinary expert Mallika Joseph has been running her home-science school since 1969 and is one of the country’s foremost experts in the culinary arts. A well-loved personality, who runs many tri-lingual programmes and works with over fifty companies and the Housewives Association, Mallika Joseph has earned her place amongst Sri Lanka’s greatest chefs and cookery professionals.

In this testimonial, she shares her insights and reccomendations for cooking with Silvermill Real Coconut Milk, which she believes is a practical and high quality product that truly makes the process of cooking easier.

Carefully extracted using state-of-the-art technology, Silvlermill Real Coconut Milk is full of wholesome goodness. Silvlermill Real Coconut Milk is hygienically packed using innovative Tetra Pak packaging solutions, which help to retain the freshness and goodness in each carton.

Tetra Pak is the world leader in complete packaging systems for liquid food products and works with customers to incorporate the use of Ultra High Temperature (UHT) technology inmilk processing as it is the safest and most reliable option for ensuring the freshness of milk. 

 

If good dining brings smiles to the diners, Commercial Bank’s Credit and Debit Card holders will be smiling a lot over the next two months as they enjoy the Bank’s latest ‘Dine & Smile’ promotion.

Sixty four popular restaurants including 40 located within 21 leading hotels will offer discounts of 30% on ComBank Credit cards and 20% on Combank Debit cards till 10th April 2017, the Bank announced.

The offer is applicable for payments made by both Visa and Mastercard branded Credit and Debit cards issued by the Commercial Bank.

These discounts significantly enhance the benefits already offered by Comdeals, a programme which provides value addition to Commercial Bank cardholders through discounts at a number of major retail outlets in the country and 0% easy payment schemes for Credit cardholders. Commercial Bank cardholders are also eligible to participate in global promotions carried out by Visa and Mastercard and receive more benefits under ‘CombankMax Loyalty rewards.’

Commercial Bank cards are the fastest growing cards in Sri Lanka and enjoy market leadership in Credit and Debit Card cumulative point-of-sale usage. The Bank offers a variety of credit cards in the Silver, Gold and Platinum tiers of both Visa and Mastercard as well as Visa Signature, World Mastercard and Visa Infinite cards in the premium segment. The cards are equipped with ‘Tap & Go’ NFC technology and are backed by a strong NFC Point-of-Sale (POS) network. Commercial Bank Max Loyalty Rewards scheme is the only loyalty scheme that offers loyalty rewards points on both Credit and Debit cards.

The only Sri Lankan bank to be ranked among the Top 1000 banks of the world for six years consecutively, Commercial Bank operates a network of 256 branches and 659 ATMs in Sri Lanka.

CBL, the manufacturers of popular Munchee Biscuits initiated a special project as a part of its CSR initiatives to assist the Bee keeping farmers of Welimada, Keppetipola, Boralanda in the Bandarawela areas as far back in 2005 in response to a request made by the Provincial Director of Agriculture for the assistance of CBL to rehabilitate the declining Honey industry.

Since then CBL implemented an attractive guaranteed price scheme with a promise to purchase all the honey produced in the Uva province.

This project was strongly supported by a multi pronged approached with the supply of Bee keeping equipment, Extension and training on bee keeping. CBL also assisted the producers in marketing the products through its existing distribution channels.

The project won the confidence of the ARTGOLD project of the UNDP, sponsored an assistance programme twice ,during the period 2006 – 2010 . In recognition of the contribution made by the project it was rewarded with the best sustainability project award in 2015 at the Best Corporate Citizen Awards organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce

The honey project was supported by the National Agribusiness Development programme (NADeP) under the state sponsored project to promote the Public and Private sector participation to enhance agricultural production.

Under this new programme over 500 bee keepers were provided with all their hardware requirements , technical training supported by an attractive guaranteed price scheme.

Aruna Lokupothagamage Manager Special Projects who is in charge mentioned that the project started with 350kg in 2005 has now grown up to 7,000kg in 2014 and their target is to increase the honey yield up to 25,000kg (25 Mt.)by the year 2018.

He also mentioned that school leavers, unemployed youth and house wives have shown interest in joining this project under the new assistance scheme.

It was also revealed that Sri Lanka imports 70 – 80 Mt. annually while having all the favorable conditions to reach self sufficiency in honey if not surplus for export.

Insights Advertising, an integrated marketing and communications agency, has entered into a strategic partnership with GroupM to further its reach and effectivity.

Insights Advertising is an agency that’s offering a fresh outlook in advertising which is creative led and reaches down to grassroots level in strategy, philosophy and execution while GroupM is the world’s largest advertising media company in terms of billing, handling over 32% of the world’s media billings which amounts to over $106 billion.

GroupM has over 5,000 employees and 150 offices in 93 countries and was formed in 2003 by the WPP Group to serve as the parent company for all its media agencies including Mindshare, Maxus, MEC, MediaCom, Xaxis and Outrider.

The scale advantages that this partnership expects to bring into the Insights clientele extend from trade consolidation benefits including improved accountability and inventory trading models, to improved measurement, improved systems and processes and seamless integrated planning capability across digital, activation, content and regular media.

The digital advantages from GroupM for Insights Advertising are reflected in the facts that it has the largest digital media growth with over 60% market share and that it is a global certified partner with preferred partnerships with media houses. With such partnerships Insights Advertising is expected to help its range of brands by enabling these companies to be the best in class in talent, technology, trading and full value chain services.

 

Finding the right venue is no doubt a tedious business. Pricing can be opaque and the associated logistics involved are often challenging.

As a result, individuals and corporates have limited options available when organizing an event. In order to cater to clients with diverse requirements, Paramount is now pleased to introduce the newest corporate venue spaces in Colombo. 

Paramount offers spacious event spaces to host business meetings, seminars, training programmes, product launches, workshops and exhibitions allowing clients to tailor their event the way they wish in a flexible and convenient manner. The elegant spaces by Paramount is located in the heart of Nawala with ample parking space and is within ten minutes walking distance from the Nawala Junction, surrounded with amenities and services with easy access from all parts of Colombo and its suburbs. The indoor event venue with comfortable seating for up to 120 pax is a versatile event space and provides the finest capacity for cocktails, banquets, AGM meetings, receptions, workshops or theatre style functions, whilst the outdoor rooftop venue overlooking the Nawala city skyline can accommodate up to 200 pax. The layout of the event venues is well suited for any kind of event, making it an ideal choice for your next event booking. These spaces can be customized creatively to make your event truly amazing and one to remember irrespective of whether you are an Individual, Small & Medium Enterprise (SME) or Large Multinational.   

The Paramount team is committed to assist you in creating the perfect event and will work in collaboration with renowned service providers and event curators whilst ensuring affordability.  The in-house event curators at Paramount can also assist in planning, designing and executing your dream event with an unparalleled level of service. Paramount is confident that its corporate venues will offer the best with regards to ambiance and top-class facilities.

Just In Time Group’s (JIT) goal is to create reading corners in orphanages and rural schools for children who are lacking this much needed knowledge development resource.

Reading even for just a few minutes a day has a myriad of benefits and helps shape a child’s personality.

This was Just In Time Group’s third CSR Project that was completed under their CSR initiative ‘Today a reader-Tomorrow a Leader’. The selected project location was Vajira Sri Children’s Development Center in Pita Kotte, established in 1983 with 30 destitute children who were the victims and lost their parents due the civil war in Northern Sri Lanka.

Just In Time Group chose this home due to the fact that they greatly lacked books for the children and an engaging and attractive space for the children to read.

Just In Time Group and its staff contributed in creating this mini library a reading space for these children which was received with much excitement by the children and the staff.

Just In Time Group contributed their time and resources in painting the space and decorating it to make it attractive for the children and donating the home with a fully equipped library and activity corner complete with arts and crafts and most importantly books to let their imagination and knowledge soar.

Vajira Sri Children’s Development Centre is in the care of Rev. Dr. Hunupalagama Vajira Sri Nayaka Thera whose commitment from day one has been for the development and betterment of these kids. Each child has a story of their own, and a smile that makes you appreciate the blessings we have.

Working to create a better future every day for our country’s children and youth is a cause Just In Time staff are very passionate about, and Just in Time Group (www.jithpl.com) has already launched its corporate internship programme to further this initiative and the CSR programme ‘Today a Reader–Tomorrow a Leader’ to inculcate the habit of reading in children across the island thereby playing our part in shaping future well rounded leaders.

Popular beverage brand Milo, endorsed by Sri Lankan Cricket Captain Angelo Mathews, was voted once again by Sri Lankan students as the ‘Student Beverage Brand of the Year’ for 2016.

This is the third consecutive year Milo has won the award, signifying the strong trust Sri Lankan consumers have in the quality of the product.

The win was awarded on the results of a survey conducted amongst 9,000 schoolchildren in the Western Province, inspired by D.S. Senanayake College for the Annual D.S. Student Brand Awards.

“Milo believes in encouraging kids to optimize their potential with the brand’s core promise of providing nutrition and energy. Milo has also been actively participating in sponsorships of school sports and events where the brand has helped kids to showcase their talents both locally and internationally,” said Norman Kannangara, Vice President Beverages for Nestlé Lanka.

“To be voted by a large number of students as the ‘Student Beverage Brand of the Year’ for the third consecutive time is an indication of the brand’s continuous efforts to provide children with the nourishment, energy and encouragement they need to be at their best. This recognition demonstrates the trust and confidence our consumers have in Milo, a brand that has leveraged global technical expertise from the world’s largest R&D network of any food company.”

Food safety and quality has always been Nestlé’s number one priority. MiloRTD (Ready-To-Drink) goes through an UHT (Ultra-high temperature) process, making sure its consumers receive a product that retains the nutritional benefits of milk.

The final product goes through product hygiene, food safety and quality checks at each stage of its manufacturing and storage processes, including testing in its own and external laboratories, before reaching its consumers.

Made from the freshest and high quality milk, collected from 21,000 Sri Lankan dairy farmers, Milo RTD offers the golden goodness of malt and cocoa from the finest cocoa beans, to give thatgreat chocolate malt taste. It is manufactured at Nestlé’s state-of-the-art factory in Kurunegala, upholding the high quality standards Nestlé is renowned for across the world.

Feng Shui Collection (Pvt) Ltd is looking to expand rapidly in Sri Lanka.

The company already has 36 branches in many important cities and is looking to add more in the next 18 months.

Asiri Wanigaratnewith his mentors

The company was founded by Asiri Wanigaratne in 2006 and has become the number one Feng Shui network within a limited period.

It also has grown into a company with more than 200 employees.

“With the head office located in Kalubowila, today we are the leading Feng Shui Company in South Asia with the largest branching network”, said, Consultant, Chandima De Alwis. She said that Feng Shui concept was first created in China centuries ago and it was confined to Royalty and for the high society. “But today we are bringing this luxury to the common man via our services.”

She said that Feng Shui systems helps a person, home, office, company, appartments industry and even a service to increase wealth, carrier, education, relationships and profits.

In the early 1990's Asiri Wanigaratne masterd this skill and become the best Feng Shui consultant in Sri Lanka and later building the biggest Feng Shui network in South Asia with 20 branches.

He has introduced so many talismans including the Feng Shui ring, Om mantra, many kinds of amulets, Feng Shui jewelleries and he has authored a number of best selling books.

“We also launched many impressive and a bestselling books and monthly magazines too in this subject.” The Feng Shui Collection branches provides advice and also offer imported blessed symbols, magazines, books, poster and stickers.

Wanigaratne has learnt Feng Shui from many Feng Shui consultants in Malaysia and Singapore, and has granted the highest International degree in Feng Shui.

He is also the founder of the popular “Colombo Astrology Centre”.

His service extends to analyzing building plans, land selection and house selection.

She said that today people not only in Asia but Europe, Australia and even Russians are taking a liking to this concept.

“We also see a growing demand especially from the corporate sector that seek or advise prior to launching taking a major financial decision.

“This is also evident we are being consulted prior to the ground breaking of a building, appartments or a factory to advise and find solutions to would be bad positioning of structures.”

She said that she too passed three key stages Feng Shui training in Malaysia. “There are solutions for almost any problem through Feng Shui, for any person of any age.”

“I also do field visits since 2012 to identify a problem and then offer a solution sharing my knowledge gained from Malaysian training.”

More details could be obtained from, chandimafengshui@gmail.com 

 

The Spices and Allied Products Producers’ and Traders’ Association (SAPPTA), in association with Sri Lanka Inland Revenue Department, will hold a seminar under the theme “Taxation for Agribusiness” on March 2, 2017, starting at 2 pm in the evening at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

The seminar will be conducted by four prominent industry experts, such as, Deepani Herath, Senior Commissioner of Sri Lanka Inland Revenue Department, A.M Nafeel and S.I Asanthi, both Deputy Commissioners of the Sri Lanka Inland Revenue Department and A.G.M Piyarathne, Director Finance of Malwatte Valley Plantations PLC.

The participants will be given a comprehensive understanding on Income Tax (IT), Economic Service Charge (ESC), Value Added Tax (VAT), Nation Building Tax (NBT), Simplified Value Added Tax (SVAT) and RAMIS during the seminar.

Those who wish to participate in the seminar can email to sappta@chamber.lk

The newly elected President of the National Chamber of Exporters of Sri Lanka (NCE), Ramal Jasinghe, Secretary General / CEO of the Chamber, Shiham Marikar and other officials of the Chamber met Sujeewa Senasinghe, State Minister of Development Strategies’ and International Trade, at his office.

Matter related to International trade, specifically how the NCE could compliment the programme to identify and empower 2000 entrepreneurs in the Provinces, which will enable to increase, and diversify Sri Lankan exports were discussed in length.

In this regard the State Minister also emphasized the importance of identifying and working closely with entrepreneurs in the electronic in view of the potential of this sector for economic development and employment creation as per the experience of leading countries in the Asian region.

The officials of the Chamber pointed out the necessity of linking procures with exporters to supply and produce semi-finished goods for export purposes.

The State Minister has indicated that many women entrepreneurs have been identified through various programmes and that he could organize an exhibition to enable them to display their products. He requested the Chamber to invite member exporters to inspect the products and build business linkages for mutual benefit. He also emphasized on the need to provide training on marketing, branding and packaging to the identified women entrepreneurs.

The President of the NCE informed the Minister that the Chamber has begun working closely with the relevant Ministries, and will be interested in the dissemination information to member companies Ministry communications related to the export sector. He also assured the support of the Chamber to achieve the export and economic development objectives and target of the Government. 

Ceylon Tobacco Company PLC (CTC) says that its contribution to Government revenue, through excise tax fell to Rs. 87.4 billion during the year ending December 31, 2016.

The company notes that the dip in its tax bill was a result of an unprecedented 43% price increase due to an excise increase in October and the introduction of 15% VAT in November.

The company delivered record excise gains for the government of Rs. 72.6 billion during the first 9 months, a 16% increase compared to 2015.

However, according to the company’s full year results, government revenue from excise in the fourth quarter-fell by Rs. 13.2 billion compared to third quarter of 2016. It is anticipated that this will continue to impact both the company’s and the government’s revenue in 2017. As a result of the business impacts faced, the company closed 2 leaf depots and reduced factory shifts by a third, in early 2017.

With legally manufactured cigarettes becoming more expensive and unreachable to average consumers, the company warns that a large percentage of cigarette consumers would be forced to turn to smuggled cigarettes or cheaper substitutes such as beedi. As prices stand currently, smokers can purchase around 10 beedi’s for the price of one cigarette, while smuggled cigarettes are widely available for half the market price.

CTC notes that during the past year, law enforcement agencies have continued to work towards curtailing the spread of unauthorized and illicit tobacco products reaching the local market with a total of 1,842 raids.

However, based on the increase in the number of detections which have taken place since the price increase, the company notes that it is apprehensive that high prices in legal cigarettes has accelerated the influx of smuggled tobacco products.

Company results also indicate that expenditure in 2016 was greater than that of the same period of the previous year as a result of a 10% increase in raw material costs due to the rise in imported tobacco leaf.

Increased importation of leaf is a consequence of, among others, farmers being pressured to stop cultivating tobacco, and thereby putting the livelihoods of over 20,000 persons involved in the tobacco farming sector at risk.

The company’s profit after tax stood at Rs. 12.56 billion for the year ended December 31, 2016. 

Gayendra Wickramarathna, an IT specialist cum social media geek, as well as an innovator with many ‘first times’ and novel innovations to his credit has redefined the words ‘Virtual Advertising’, by conceptualising SriLankaWebAds Portal.

That's Mobile Video Marketing - the latest trend in online advertising, beating the traditional newspaper and TV advertising and now catching on in the world.

A cyber platform for a virtual trade or business video directory is created for the first time in Sri Lanka, as an eye catching and a colourful pictorial 'one stop shopping mall’ on the worldwide web. Wickramarathna, an old boy of Royal College and his friend Wineendra Weeraman who is in the legal profession and an old boy of D.S. Senanayake College,recently launched Sri Lanka's first Virtual 4KUHDVideo Advertising E-Commerce platform, going a step further by amalgamating a 360 Degree Four (4)Dimensional Spin-View of a customer's product.

This in fact is a rarity among the world's e-marketing platforms too.SLWA takes Sri Lankan business ventures to the world.

Mobile data traffic is increasing at a huge rate, even in Sri Lanka, and a new study from Cisco confirms that by 2020, video will account for a staggering 75% of that traffic. That's up from 55% in 2015. The statistics for North America are even higher, coming in at over 77%. By 2020, there will be more than 11.6 billion mobile connected devices, exceeding the world population

Cisco's latest annual Visual Networking Index forecast (VNI) states that mobile data traffic has grown 400-million-fold over the past 15 years, and the increased number of users, mobile devices, and innovations in technology are driving mobile video consumption through the roof. The study predicts that by 2020, there will be more than 11.6 billion mobile connected devices, exceeding the world's projected population at that time (7.8 billion). That's going to have a huge impact on video traffic.

Mobile video traffic predictions for the future

Mobile Video Traffic Predictions for 2020 - By 2020, over 75% of global mobile data traffic will be video content.In U.S. video will account for 77% of total mobile data traffic by 2020, up from 61% in 2015.Video accounted for 55% of mobile traffic in 2015.

Smartphone use in watching videos increase

Smartphones will account for 81% of total mobile traffic by 2020 - up from 76% in 2015.4G connectivity share is predicted to surpass 2G by 2018 and 3G by 2020.By 2020, there will be 432M global WiFi hotspots (inc household) - up from 64M in 2015.There will be 3x more mobile connections than people in the UK by 2020.7 trillion video clips will be uploaded in 2020 - 2.5 daily video clips for every person.Global mobile data traffic will reach 30.6 Exabytes per month in 2020, up from 3.7 Exabytes in 2015

What's going to drive the increase in video consumption between now and 2020? Unsurprisingly, it will be the ease at which consumers can access high-end mobile devices, and how they use them to access online video footage. Smartphones have become so sophisticated that they are capable of generating 41x as much traffic as a basic mobile phone, tablets even more so with the capability to drive 113x more traffic.

Mobile video marketing strategy is needed for Sri Lankan Business enterprises

Video is set to have the highest growth rate of any mobile application in the next 5 years, which is why a ‘Mobile Video Marketing’ strategy is essential for brands. India is far ahead than Sri Lanka. Sri Lankans are too slow in getting on board the Band Wagon, which leaves them way behind world standards and thus becoming losers. Very high infrastructure rates - politically motivated - are another stumbling block.

40% of baby product consumers actually live in homes without children

A 2015 study by Google/IpsosMediaCT found that 40% of baby product consumers actually live in homes without children! This is also true for 52% of baby product influencers. Who are these people? Well, they could be grandparents, cousins, friends, or co-workers. And their #1 way of finding out about these babyand children products is via a search engine - whether that's Google, or YouTube. In other words, search is social.

SriLankaWebAds holds the largest amount of categories for an E-Commerce site

SLWA holds the largest amount of categories which are very explicitly depicted in Hi-Rez photos for any e-commerce site in the world.It's layout is in an unorthodox manner. As an example, the Home & Garden section has all the subjects included forbusinesses who would want to advertise their products relating to Home Building, from a Septic Tank to a Granite Tile.An internal search engine is included for users to search for a category or company.

Local Businesses should take this opportunity now

Local Businesses should take this opportunity now, provided by SLWA to advertise their services / products to improve their sales. They should understand that by advertising in a virtual trade or business directory, a person who wants to build a house as an example, can surf SLWA and find various dealers in the same subject and get quotes from them, in the comfort of his bedroom. It is a virtualised ‘Yellow Pages’ trade directory.

Wiki insists that the government should drastically reduce the charges for ICT related tariffs, so that more entrepreneurs could capitalize on this and earn more revenue thus generating more cash flow amongst citizens and the government via taxes.

Voice Messaging and Appointment Scheduling

SLWA has a feature where a customer can be contacted by a voice message or scheduling an in-office appointment. It is an interactive portal. This too is a rarity for local e-commerce sites.

Individualistic and doing what others dare do

Being individualistic & doing what others don't do, the site sportsa very vibrant color profile filing up the entire monitor screen with the content and with a logo on a rare color combination of pink and blue depicting males and females in a backdrop of an universe, meaning the site belongs to the whole world, making it stand out amongst many drab commercial websites.

Photoshop graphics, animations, web designing, backend programming, photo cum videography, video editing and search engine optimisation are all handled single handled by Wiki himself who is a professional in all these subjects and now proved beyond doubt.

Many Awards & Accolades to Wiki's credit

Wiki has won awards in Photoshop as well as photography and represented Sri Lanka through ICTA at the 1stManthan Awards, held in New Delhi, which is South Asia's largestIT Awards. Out of the Sri Lankan contingent he was the only person to have held discussions with international IT personalities, do a presentation and his profile included in the officialManthan website in 2008. This was on his own ‘Sri Lanka Almanac VidhyuthKoshaya Portal’, the name coined by Wiki himself & the word ‘Portal’ used for the 1st time in Sri Lanka in 2006. One of the pioneers in innovative web designing in the country.

Innovative design for the National Youth Services Council website

Wiki designed the website for the National Youth Services Council under the Ministry of Sports, where the menu icons were free standing rotating Lotus flowers on a black background, when it was a taboo to use black on websites. He says he was even rejected by a so called leading professional institution, not on websites but on marketing, but he stood his ground& succeeded. The site was launched in Scotland during the International Youth Services Council gathering and was appreciated by the Duke of Edinburgh due to it's innovativeness. He further states that most people are stereotype & orthodox, the reason why Sri Lanka has not become a designer's or an innovator's paradise.

Recipient of a World Bank CAP Grant

A grantee on a project named ‘Indigenous Building Methods Using Indigenous Knowledge’, Wiki showed the world how ancient monuments such as Jethavanaramaya which was the 3rd tallest building in the world at that time, only to be dwarfed by the 2 Pyramids in Gaza, was built using basic raw material & indigenous knowledge.He has nearly 100 subjects digitized on Anuradhapura for the 1st time in the history of Sri Lanka. He officially handed over his rights recently to another company recommended by ICTA.

4K UHD videos are the latest in video standards

SriLankaWebAds also hosts many 4K UHD videos of a customer which is another 1st time in the world for a Cyber Advertising company. 4K is the latest video standard with a resolution 4 times higher than the present 1080p horizontal resolution nearing 3840lines. SLWA would visit the location of a customer and videograph his factory or products which cannot be taken out to the SLWA studio.SLWA does a complete 4K UHD cinema resolution documentary using a large sensor 4K video camera on a client's business, service or product and then promote it through the internet for a worldwide audience.

SriLankaWebAds Channel on YoutTube the world's largest video search engine

Wickramarathna,says his next step will be to host Blue Ray videos with a higher quality than 4K which still hasn't even come to Sri Lanka's TV standards. In Japan he points out that 8K TV transmission is been tried out by NHK and shows how backward we are in the electronic broadcasting field. YouTube and Netflix now supports 4k videos and SLWA have their own channel named SriLankaWebAds on YouTube which permits them to run videos 15mts in length.

SLWA were the first to upload a 4K

SLWA were the first to upload a 4K video filmed with a real 4k video camera and not a GoPro type, in Sri Lanka.Customers can view their viewer rankings on SLWA, through Analytics which Google provides us. Google bought over YouTube which has over a billion users - almost one-third of all people on the Internet - and that audience will get larger now that Pakistan has lifted its ban. SLWA gets a customer's video ranked in the latest #1 search engine- the Video Search Engine-YouTube!

360 Degree 4D SpinView product advertising will take your company to the next level

Wiki's recent trip to USA enabled him to purchase modern equipment at B&H Photo in New York, which is the largest photo retailer in the world. Wiki's novel idea of making 4 dimensional multi spin views of a shoe as an example, makes it real cool for a client to get the feel of touching the product and even having a look at the sole of the shoe by turning the image by the finger on a smartphone or with the mouse on a desktop. This is definitely a first time in Sri Lanka and a rarity in the world too. He has made a sample for a Baker where the Cake can be rotated to see the filling of the cake and then the icing or the topping can be seen in an enlarged view separately.Going one step further he even spins a SUV to see all the sides of the Jeep and also the interior in one photo, all filmed in 4K. From a massive Jeep to a miniscule Gem or a Wedding Ring - Wiki spins them all.

SriLanka WebAds has accounts with all the major social media platforms

SLWA has many social media platforms where a client's profile cum documentaries are uploaded and linked back again to a website that a client has. Wiki leading in the field of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in Sri Lanka has another exceptionality, where he makes a ‘Thumbnail’ of a video of the client appear in the first few Google Chrome search pages, when a surfer searches for a certain name of a trade or service.

‘Video Thumbnail’ appears when searched for client's trade

This colorful little thumbnail attracts the eye of a surfer and makes it tempting to click on it. As an example, if a surfer searches for ‘Sri Lanka One Day Printers’, a thumbnail appears of a client's video which he has made on one of the first two pages in Google Chrome. SLWA is linked to Google pages too. Out of hundreds of thousands of websites in the world, only a handful of websites are capable of making this happen, thus proving Wiki's SEO capabilities. Wiki further states, that many proudly tell him that they have a website and do not want our services. But, he explains that having a website without getting it ranked according onit's' subject’ is worthless.

A surfer who knows that ‘A’ person has a website, will visit or contact that business directly, but a person who doesn't know that ‘X’ company manufactures a ‘Y’ product, will search for that ‘Y’ product on the internet. This is what most people do not understand Wiki says. Also, if anyone searches for a company name by typing the name of the company, obviously that URL would come 1st, but rarely of a product that particular company offers. This is Search Engine Optimization- which SLWA does. SLWA's forte is ranking a company or a product through Videos, which is a difficult and a rare task.

SLWA uses the latest web technology

SLWA uses the latest html5, css3, responsive, bootstrapping & mobile friendly technology. It is also a ‘secure’ site using the ‘https’ security certificate, so that customers are safe with their data with us, says Wiki, an ethical hacker during the 2008 / 2009 period.

Smartphone ready

With Mobile Video Marketing and 360degree SpinView E-commerce platforms becoming the latest trend in the world with a gigantic market share, SLWA is not only a ‘responsive' site, but ‘mobile friendly' too, where words are readable automatically rather than increasing the size by dragging it with your fingers. Wiki says that he has seen many multinational and leading companies in Sri Lanka still using outdated technology in their corporate websites. We have our own App on Google PlayStore too, he proudly says.

Signing an Agreement with Universal Granite

Wineendra says that they promote and market the client's services or goods locally &globally 24/365. Unlike TV commercials, a surfer could go through a customer's site as many times as he wants and whenever he pleases.

A newspaper is cumbersome and an advertisement is read and the paper thrown away. But, an online ad can be watched time and time againwithin a minimal space of your palm. The amount paid for a yearly newspaper ad measuring a measly 4 inches by 3 inches is only a fraction cheaper, than the amount paid for a slot in SLWA with all the perks mentioned herein.TV and Newspaper advertising is simply incomparable with virtual advertising. We make a Portal for a client with equipment used for documentary making and don't worry him for content. We do it all.

He further states, ‘we sign an agreement with the customer initially for 1 year as with all internet related matters.

We provide the customer about four to five 4K UHD video clips which they can use for their own promotions too, including for TV or Cinema advertising, plus Search Engine Optimization and global promotion through our many Social Media platforms having a large amount of followers worldwide.SLWA audience is global according to Google Analytics.

This novel concept is the first time in Sri Lanka and maybe a very few in the world, if at all. 

Greater consumer confidence could bring about higher returns from Sri Lanka's retail sector, though the possibility of a further tightening of monetary policy by the country's central bank might offset any near-term gains.

Sri Lankans have an improved view of market conditions, according to the latest MasterCard consumer confidence index released in mid-January, with a 2.1-point increase in sentiment levels from the previous year, taking the country's score on the index to 40.1.

This moves Sri Lanka from having a pessimistic outlook to a neutral one, and, while still well short of a positive score of 60, suggests a greater willingness to spend.

The result of the latest survey marks a modest turnaround from the previous MasterCard report issued in August, which recorded a 4.2-point fall in sentiment.

This was on the back of a 25.2-point drop in the February 2016 report, in which MasterCard suggested that consumer confidence had fallen in part due to uncertainty about the local currency and its impact on buying power.

Across 2016 the rupee fell 3.9%, after a far sharper decline of 10% the previous year. With the currency deprecating by another 1.6% since the start of this year, further retreats could feed into inflationary costs and potentially weaken demand for imported goods.

Growing retail activity

The incremental improvement in consumer sentiment was also reflected in the steady if unspectacular increase in retail and wholesale activity in the third quarter of 2016, the latest period for which data has been released by the Department of Census and Statistics.

Retail and wholesale trade posted a 4.6% increase year-on-year (y-o-y) in the third quarter.

While this was in line with the 4.7% expansion of the wider services sector, it was above the 4.1% y-o-y rise recorded by the broader economy.

Expanding reach

Another factor supporting growth in the industry is the expansion of retail outlets into areas away from main population centres, with opportunities for further development as disposable incomes rise, according to Ashok Pathirage, chairman and managing director of retailer and mixed operations company Softlogic.

“The rest of the country also holds substantial growth potential, as the private sector is now focused on geographical expansion,” he told OBG. “Indeed, the rise of mixed-use developments - an integration of commercial, residential, recreational and institutional space - is on an upward trend in regional markets.”

This could see more investments in quality retail spaces across secondary urban centres in Sri Lanka over the next few years, which in turn should open up new markets to retailers.

Downside risks, upside gains

While retail activity is gaining some traction, a possible further tightening of fiscal policy could rein in growth in consumer spending.

Though the central bank kept its benchmark interest rates steady at its February monetary policy committee meeting, the bank may come under pressure to raise rates late in the first quarter or early in the second due to upward movements in inflation.

Core inflation climbed to 5.5% in January from 4.5% the month before and in the upper range of the central bank's targeted bracket of 4-6% for 2017.

Offsetting the risks of unwanted inflation and higher interest rates are the forecasts of solid growth this year, with both the IMF and the central bank maintaining a positive outlook.

Though the IMF marginally cut its projection for growth in December, the 4.8% expansion it forecasts is well above the global average, while the reserve bank's 5-5.6% growth outlook is even more bullish. Even at the lower end of the scale, such growth, if achieved, would feed into disposable incomes and subsequently the retail chain.

(Oxford Busines Group) 

The Colombo Port City to be built on a reclaimed land in Colombo which was in a cloud of controversy and stalled due to series of issues is once again on track. The reclamation is carried out by China Harbour Engineering Corporation, who has been engaged by the investor. 125 hectares was the land was given as well as 88 hectares while owned by the government was planned to be leased for 99 years to the Chinese company. Picture by Shirajiv Sirimane. 

The acting head of Samsung is to be indicted on bribery and embezzlement charges connected to a corruption and cronyism scandal centring on South Korea’s impeached president, Park Geun-hye.

Lee Jae-yong and four other Samsung executives will almost certainly face trial over accusations that South Korea’s biggest conglomerate donated millions of dollars to foundations run by a close friend of Park’s in exchange for government favours.

Later on Tuesday, Lee, who is officially Samsung’s vice-president but has in effect run the company since his father suffered a heart attack in 2014, will be charged with bribery, embezzlement, hiding assets overseas and committing perjury before parliament, prosecutors said on the final day of their investigation into a scandal that has rocked the country’s political and business worlds. The four executives, who all face the same charges as Lee except perjury, are the Samsung group’s vice-chairman, Choi Gee-sung, and president, Chang Choong-ki, as well as Samsung Electronics’ president, Park Sang-jin, and executive vice-president, Hwang Sung-soo. Some of the executives will resign and leave Samsung, but Lee is expected to stay on as de facto head of the company if there is a trial. The firm, whose group revenues are equivalent to a fifth of South Korea’s GDP, has so far declined to comment on the charges, but this month it said it had “not paid bribes nor made improper requests to the president seeking favours”. (The Guardian) 

The Indian Government is planning to sell a majority stake in Air India, the country’s national carrier, to a strategic partner in a bid to turn around the loss-making airline, sources said.

The proposal includes reviving Air India within five years of selling a 51 percent stake, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public.

Talks are at an initial stage and presentations have been made to the finance ministry and the prime minister’s office, they added. Intense competition from non-state domestic airlines has added to the woes of the former monopoly carrier, which is saddled with about $7 billion in debt and has been unprofitable since 2007. Indian taxpayers have given Air India $3.6 billion in the past six years as part of an earlier bailout plan.

India’s finance ministry wants the plan to be discussed in detail to avoid a situation where there are no buyers after the offer is announced, the people said.

The carrier’s share in the local market has shrunk to 14 percent from 35 percent a decade back, placing it third in the national ranking.(PTI)

The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), seeks public comments on the input data parameters and assumptions of the Least Cost Long Term Generation Expansion Plan (LCLTGEP) submitted by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB).

The LCLTGEP of CEB is prepared based on the input data.“This is the first time that we are opening the platform for public comments on the input data which will be used to develop the long term generation expansion plan,” Public Utilities Commission Director General Damitha Kumarasinghe said.

“The comments on the fuel prices, social damage cost, cost and other parameters used to model renewable energy technologies and other conventional generation plants will be taken very seriously in our approval process of the plan,”he said.

Sri Lanka plans to generate 15160 Gwh of electricity in 2017 with a peak demand of 2585 MW, the base case forecast data shows.

16 hydro power plants are existing in Sri Lanka with the capacity of 1388 MW and the data shows 03 hydro power plants with the capacity of 182.2 MW are committed to be operated during the period of 2019-2022.The comments can be submitted on or before March 15, 2017, via email consultation@pucsl.gov.lk. 

Amana Bank continued its positive growth momentum in core banking, leveraging on its strategic focus of being primarily an SME and Retail Bank in 2016.

Financing Income crossed the Rs 4 billion mark by end of 2016, corresponding to YoY growth of 40% whilst Net Finance Income during the same period grew by 30% to Rs 1.9 billion.

The Bank continued to gain from Net Fee and Commission Income which recorded a growth of 46.3% in 2016 to reach Rs 246.5 million. Total Operating Income during the year under review grew by 17.7% to reach Rs 2.4 billion. Despite the impressive growth in Core Banking, the Bank was able to record only a Profit Before Tax of Rs 102.8 million for the year, owing to the loss on impairment of Rs 149.1 million from non-core banking activities. This is attributed to recognizing the impact of underperforming capital market investments which were prevalent in the portfolio.

The Bank’s Total Assets crossed the Rs 50 billion milestone during the year and closed at Rs 54.3 billion, a growth of 13.8%. Owing to the strong demand for its multitude of products and services, the Bank’s Deposits and Advances grew by 22% and 16.3% to read at Rs 46.9 billion and Rs 38.4 billion respectively in 2016. Chairman Osman Kassim said “Amana Bank has been growing significantly with overwhelming customer acceptance of its unique banking model and we look forward to further acceleration in our growth journey strengthened by the forthcoming capital infusion.” Chief Executive Officer Mohamed Azmeer said although the one-off impairment has had an impact to profits,the Net Assets were not affected as a result, due to such losses being captured in the Bank’s reserves previously, and set off against profits in the fourth quarter.

Ceylinco Insurance, the holding company recorded a consolidated after tax profit of Rs. 4.7 billion, for the year ended December 31, 2016.The profit before tax stood at an exceptional Rs . 5.9 billion.

Contributing to this remarkable performance, Ceylinco General Insurance and Ceylinco Life Insurance recorded profits after tax of Rs. 1.3 billion and Rs. 2.9 billion, respectively.

Ceylinco Insurance Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Ajith Gunawardena said Ceylinco Insurance sector, in 2016, remained far ahead of competition. Thus, the Insurance sector managed to return an impressive premium income of Rs. 31.1 billion in 2016, with Ceylinco General Insurance recording Rs.16.1 billion, marking a growth of 18.9 % ; an increase of over Rs.2.5 billion year on year, just as Ceylinco Life Insurance registered a premium income of Rs. 15 billion, marking a growth of 11.7 % ; an increase of Rs. 1.5 billion.

Ceylinco Life Insurance Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, R. Renganathan said in 2016 they embarked on a huge market expansion programme once again. Not only Ceylinco Life but the entire life insurance industry benefited through this.

The year 2016 marks a thirteen year period of unbroken market leadership for Ceylinco Life Insurance in the long term insurance segment. This is an incredible achievement, given the context of ever-increasing competition and the short - sighted tactics employed by smaller players in the market, in a bid to achieve short-term growth”

Ceylinco General Insurance Managing Director Patrick Alwis commenting on the remarkable performance of Ceylinco General Insurance said “ the premium income of our flagship brand ‘Ceylinco VIP’ alone stood at a staggering Rs.9.9 billion, with Non Motor Insurance contributing an impressive Rs.6.2 billion, allowing the total premium income of Ceylinco General Insurance to record yet another fantastic year. Ceylinco General Insurance has maintained its unassailable lead. This is in the midst of stiff competition. What we have achieved in 2016, is all the more important, as the industry is not a level playing field, with government entities still enjoying distinct advantages. Despite such challenges, we have worked hard and worked together, and we have exceeded expectations, once again. Ceylinco General Insurance paid claims amounting to Rs. 10.4 billion during 2016. The sharp increase in claim settlement is a result of the large number of claims we paid, during the floods in May 2016. Claims were paid within a period of 14 days, enabling our customers to return to normalcy in the fastest possible time. Some customers had only insured their vehicles, but not their homes, while some had insured their shops, but not their houses. However, Ceylinco General Insurance, looking at the situation from a humane angle, decided to pay a percentage to compensate the damages to their homes as well.” 

John Keells Holdings (JKH) won the overall crown of being Sri Lanka’s most transparent company at the ACCA Sri Lanka Sustainability Reporting Awards yesterday.

JKH also topped the Conglomerates and Diversified category, while Diesel & Motor Engineering (DIMO) further etched its corporate stewardship by emerging Runner Up overall and winning the Retail and Trading category. In the banking category, Sampath Bank emerged the winner while HNB came in runner up, while Expolanka Holdings was the runner up in the Conglomerates and Diversified category.

Winning the Financial Services and Insurance category was Union Assurance with the Runner Up being Citizens Development Business Finance, while in the Retail and Trading sector Runner Up was American & Efird Lanka.

John Keells Hotels and Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings were adjudged Winner and Runner Up in the Leisure and Connected Services and Nawaloka Hospitals won the General Services and Utilities category. Seemasahitha Sanasa Rakshana Samagama was the winner in the SME category and Vidullanka PLC emerged Runners Up.

“It is inspiring to see the private sector leading the way on sustainability and recognizing institutions that have excelled in their efforts.

The UN system looks forward to engaging further on implementing and achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda to ensure that we leave no one behind,” UNs Resident Coordinator in SriLanka Una McCauley said. Adding to this, President of the Member Network Panel of ACCA Sri Lanka Adrian Perera, said that what the world needs is a true wholehearted action, not for short term profits. “These days Sri Lanka is facing energy, water and a food crises. While the solutions are at hand, we continue to take the easy path.

For example, Sri Lanka is blessed to be surrounded by the Indian ocean but still continues to import fish products from overseas. This is similar with our energy, food and water issues.” Speaking on behalf of the panel of judges, Franklyn Amerasinghe commended the reports that had made the grade, saying that each had succeeded in the primary judging criteria of the 3Cs of Completeness, Credibility and Communication and thus infused best practices in sustainability reporting which is imperative to operating a sustainable business.

The Awards Ceremony, now in its thirteenth year and each year works on a theme, this year highlighted ‘Sustainability and its many facets’, underlining six of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The fifteen awards presented across seven industry categories demonstrated a comprehensive coverage of the three fundamental pillars of sustainability, namely economic, social and environment and were selected from nearly sixty applicants. 

Creating history in Sri Lanka’s handicrafts sector, an unprecedented number of Lankan craftsmen are to be felicitated at Shilpa Abhimani National Handicrafts Awards ceremony held today March 1,in Polgolla, Kandy.

“This event will felicitate 600 winners of 2016 November Handicrafts Competition held along with 2016 SAARC Handicraft Exhibition in November 2016

The awards ceremony will be held at National Cooperative Building at Polgolla, Kandy. Over 600 Sri Lankan craftsmen and women who were picked from 2016 SAARC Handicraft Exhibition at BMICH will be felicitated by the President today.

The winners come from a wide range of handicraft sectors-ranging fromclay, mats, fibres, jute, cotton, cane and bamboo, metal, jewellery related crafts, masks and puppets, carvings, musical instruments, textiles and textile based, lace, lacquer works, wood based crafts, leather crafts, stone based crafts and paintings and sculptures-and even some specialised arts such as Batik and Sri Lanka’s own Dumbara designs.

The 2016 SAARC Handicraft Exhibition at BMICH was held from November 17 to 20, 2016, with more than 30,000 participants. It was the first ever such national handicrafts expo that was held in Sri Lanka with international participants. It was joined by craftsmen from several SAARC countries. 

Lee Hedges PLC, said that they are planning a scaled down operation in place of the proposed multi storied residential service apartment building on Lot D of the land called Collpetty Mills.

The Board of Directors having considered the status of the company’s present investment portfolio and having further assessed the present economic climate are of the view that it is the best interest of the company that the company invests its time and expertise on maximising the

returns to the Company with its existing investments and accordingly and will not to proceed to invest the Rs. 2.8 bn in Lot D of No 353, Galle Road,Colombo 3.

An official from Lee Hedges said that their current BOI approved ongoing Mixed development Project on the former Cashew Corporation premises facing Galle road will be ready by end July this year.

This project is being built on a land leased from the Urban Development Authority (UDA) on a 99 year lease. The project consists of 100,000 sq.ft. on a total of 15 floors.The second floor to eighth floor is designed for corporate offices and the upper floors for service apartments.

This building is owned by the Lee Hedges Investment Limited, a subsidiary of Lee Hedges, the Company will rent the building for the long term tenants. “This will be an eye mark building in Colombo 3,and we hope to launch pre sales soon,”a company official said. 

Motor car registrations have come down by 40% on a month and month basis mainly due to drop in financing share of motor cars. The three wheeler segment came down by nearly 50%,according to the JB Securities monthly review.

Implementation of the budget proposal to restrict credit to new cars (50% LTV) and three wheelers (25% LTV) is the primary factor accounting for a plunge in registrations.The full impact of the directive will only be felt this month, the report said. However there have been a surge in Hyundai Eon cars (100% increase)According to JB Securities monthly review in contrast there have been an in increase of used cars, especially Toyota’s and also electric cars are picking up.

There was also a big jump in Hybrid used cars where Axio witnessed a large increase (200+) while there was also an increase in Mini Vans(268% increase) with the biggest mover being Suzuki Every.

“Three wheelers may be a menace on the road but it has been a huge contributor in creating inclusive growth both in terms of being a production asset (taxi) and/or personal vehicle providing mobility to the owner which in turn increases his radius of employment opportunities,ability to work flexible work hours due to not being reliant on public transport, access to markets.

The segment also saw Bajaj losing market share to TVS,” the J. B. Securities said.

The report also says that mini trucks have come down by 20% while the registration for Buses have gone up by 40%.