business Sri Lanka

The District Court of Colombo on 24th July, 2017 refused the applications for Enjoining Orders sought by Sri Lanka Telecom PLC (SLT) against Dialog Axiata PLC (DAP). SLT had instituted proceedings against DAP on 05th June, 2017 seeking to restrain DAP from providing any Fixed Telecommunication Services including Gigabit Passive Optical Networks (GPON) Active Solutions operations.

Whilst SLT sought to obtain ex parte Enjoining Orders, DAP lodged an appearance and brought to the notice of Court that SLT had erred in instituting proceedings against the wrong party and misrepresented facts to Court by stating that DAP was not entitled to provide or be engaged in GPON Active Solutions operations, when in fact, it was Dialog Broadband Networks (Private) Ltd (Dialog Broadband), a wholly-owned subsidiary of DAP, that was entitled to and engaged in GPON Active Solutions operations, under the license issued to Dialog Broadband.

Accordingly, the case has no impact whatsoever on the GPON-based Fibre Solutions provided by Dialog Broadband. The action by SLT against DAP to block the lawful provision of GPON Solutions by DBN is monopolistic and anti-competitive, suppressing choice and competition in the provision of the said services.

Dialog Broadband has over the past years made large scale investments in cutting edge high speed broadband and other digital infrastructures totaling to over USD 425 Million (over LKR 48,000 Billion). The coming to fruition of these investments including without limitation the rapid expansion of its fibre network, connection to the 100G-Plus Bay of Bengal Gateway submarine fibre cable, and the launch of the country’s first-ever Tier-III certified data centre, has introduced an all new dimension of competition and choice to end-users within Sri Lanka’s broadband market.

Meanwhile, Dialog Broadband, which is duly licensed by the TRCSL to provide fixed telecommunication services as well as Integrated Transmission services using Fibre Optic or Radio technologies including without limitation GPON-based Active Transmission Solutions filed action against SLT in the District Court of Colombo to restrain SLT from disrupting, undermining, interfering or obstructing in the supply and installation of GPON-based Active Solutions.

DAP further stated to Court that the SLT’s case is wrongly constituted and premised upon confidential information belonging to Dialog Broadband namely confidential Request for Proposal, which SLT had unlawfully and wrongfully obtained.

The confidential information of Dialog Broadband comprised of comprehensive Network Architecture and Service Delivery Architecture design specifications amongst other confidential information of Dialog Broadband and as such kept secret due to its enormous commercial value.

In this regard, Dialog Broadband has already instituted action against SLT in the Commercial High Court bearing No. HC (Civil): 23/2017/IP for wrongfully and unlawfully acquiring confidential information belonging to Dialog Broadband and the Court has ordered SLT to disclose the source / person from whom SLT had acquired the confidential information of Dialog Broadband and to show cause as to why the interim injunction restraining SLT from using the confidential information contained in the Request for Proposals should not be granted.

In the present case, after hearing submissions of Counsel for the Plaintiff - SLT and Defendant - DAP, Honourable Amali Ranaweera - Additional District Judge, Colombo, reserved Order which was thereafter delivered on 24th July, 2017 rejecting the enjoining orders sought by SLT.

S.A Parathalingam, President`s Counsel appeared with Chanaka de Silva instructed by G.G Arulpragasam for the Plaintiff, Sri Lanka Telecom PLC.

K. Kanag-Isvaran, President`s Counsel, appeared with Avindra Rodrigo, L. Jeyakumar and Nimesha de Silva for the Defendant, Dialog Axiata PLC.

Fitch Ratings has downgraded Sri Lanka’s Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC’s National Long-Term Rating to ‘A+(lka)’ from ‘AA-(lka)’. The Outlook is Negative. The agency has also downgraded the National Long-Term Rating on Lion’s outstanding senior unsecured debentures to ‘A+(lka)’ from ‘AA-(lka)’.

The downgrade reflects Fitch’s expectations that Lion’s net leverage, defined as lease-adjusted debt net of cash, operating EBITDAR, is unlikely to fall below 2.0x over the next three years due to lower beer sales from the higher taxes imposed over the last 18 months.

“We do not expect Lion’s EBITDA to recover to historical levels over the same period. The negative outlook reflects the potential for further downgrades should Lion’s sales volume not recover enough in the next 18 months to reduce leverage to less than 3x.”

For the first time in Sri Lanka, Opex Holding (Pvt) is planning on moving towards manufacturing and exporting specialty liquid fertilizer products to African and Southeast Asian countries, which is expected to bring in about USD 2 million of revenue per annum from export markets in the near future.

As a leading agri-input company in Sri Lanka providing inputs and services towards the betterment of local agri based economy Opex Holding has been in the business for more than 40 years in the vegetable seed sector and later on diversified into specialized fertilizers and agro chemical industries

In order to initiate the new business venture, the company will be opening up their new Specialty liquid fertilizer manufacturing plant, which is the first of its kind in Sri Lanka.

The inauguration of the liquid fertilizer plant on August 3 at 9.30 am. (AW)

Millennium Housing Developers PLC (MHDL), recorded an outstanding financial performance for the first quarter ending June 30, 2017 posting all-time high Q1 revenue of Rs. 965 million with a PAT of Rs. 120 million.

When compared to Q1 performance of last financial year, the company has grown by Rs. 724 million in top line and Rs. 100 mn in profit.

“We are extremely pleased with MHDL’s Q1 performance and we are confident that this performance will be continued for the rest of the financial year. Our outstanding business performance affirms a promising future for all stake holders as we continue to offer affordable luxury for all our customers who seek progressive lifestyles,” said Harshith Dharmadasa, Chairman, Millennium Housing Developers PLC.

“Strong growth performance in the first quarter 2017/2018 on the back of an outstanding PAT of Rs. 148 million in 2016/2017 is result of our focused approach in location selection, profit oriented management style of marketing,” affirmed Harshith Dharmadasa, Chairman, Millennium Housing Developers PLC.

 Fitch Ratings has affirmed Sri Lanka-based cable manufacturer Sierra Cables PLC’s (Sierra) ational Long-Term Rating at ‘BB+(lka)’ with a Stable Outlook.

Sierra’s rating reflects its exposure to cyclical end-markets such as infrastructure and construction and investments in international markets where the company has yet to establish itself.

These risks are counterbalanced to an extent by its growing domestic market share and stable EBITDA margins.

Consequently, Sierra’s revenue growth has been volatile, which is reflected in its rating.

The domestic construction sector started recovering from late 2016 on the resumption of projects that were halted in 2015/16, helping Sierra to increase its local cable revenue by 21% yoy in FY17 compared with a decline in FY16.

Abans Finance, a member of Abans Group, has registered a pre-tax profit of Rs. 197.4 million for the period ended March 31, 2017, compared to Rs. 130.5 million recorded in the corresponding year of 2016, achieving a YoY growth of 51.29%.

The post–tax profit of the company for the period under review has also improved by 48.2%, from Rs.90.1 million in 2016 to Rs. 133.6 million in 2017.

Abans Finance has also enhanced its stated capital from Rs. 382.3 Mn to Rs. 844 Mn during 2016/17 and further to Rs. 1,121.4 Mn during the current financial year of 2018. Ironwood Investment Holding (Pvt) Limited has invested in Abans Finance and currently holds 41.89% Equity of the Company with the conclusion of the Mandatory Offer closed in July 2017.

Ironwood is a private equity firm that successfully raised a Sri Lanka-focused Private Equity fund of up to USD 30 Mn. in long term (8 year) capital commitments.

The company has continued to increase its profitability ami external challenges such as increasing interest rates and slowdown in consumption. The increase in profitability was mainly due to favourable growth in net interest income.

A slight shrinking of Net Interest Margins (NIM) had an adverse impact on the Net Interest Income (NII) of the entire NBFI sector and Abans Finance was no exception to this trend. Nevertheless, NII of the company recorded a remarkable increase of Rs. 162.98 million or 23% during the period under review from Rs.708 million in 2016 to Rs. 871 million in 2017, aided by the significant expansion of the asset-base of the company since 2016, coupled with prudent liability management strategies.

Net fee and Commission income which mostly comprises of fees, commissions and other fee based income decreased to Rs.19.4 million from being Rs. 34.7 million during the year 2016, reflecting a decline of 44.2%. The company introduced a number of unique value additions to its Hero Motor cycle leasing offerings during the period under review in order to remain competitive in view of the fact that most competitors have now made moves to the two wheeler motor cycle credit market to retain margins in a period of rising interest costs.

A 22.5% growth was recorded in other operating income for the period under review as compared to the corresponding period in 2016. Other operating income earned during the 2017 amounted to Rs 20.7 million,whereas in 2016 it was Rs. 16.9 million.

Successive governments have completely neglected the export sector for far too long which has resulted in exports declining by the year, said President of exporters association (EASL) Harin de Silva.

Speaking at their Annual General Meeting at Hotel Ramada, he said that time and again exporters have stressed the importance and need for a strong and positive political will and vision to drive the export sector to reach its full potential.

The EASL has always been extremely vocal in asking successive regimes to include the association in its endeavors to shape export policy through a public private sector partnership whereby a new model of advocacy is developed under the new government’s slogan of good governance.

He said that the present government has looked at their suggestion positively and asked to make representations to the government on a yearly basis. “This is a welcome move,” he said.

Commenting on the restoring GSP+ back to Sri Lanka he said it will most certainly come with fair share of challenges. “Those exporters who shifted away from markets based in the EU since GSP+ was withdrawn from Sri Lanka will take time to re-establish themselves back in markets based in the EU.”

“Limited production capacities in Sri Lanka have severely hampered the Sri Lankan export fraternity to cater to the additional demand the GSP.

“With many key geopolitical developments such as Brexit shaping the course of global economics, it is fair to say that Sri Lanka has a massive challenge in being competitive in our exports when compared to countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar, Vietnam and Cambodia who have continued to grow their export sectors in spite of external constraints of this nature. Capacity constrains in terms of labour shortages is one challenge that springs to mind which has been highlighted in many forums by stake holders. “With Brexit now unraveling itself in the EU Sri Lanka is faced with a very unique challenge that will have negative impact on realizing the GSP+ benefits especially for sectors like the apparel sector as the UK accounts for 40% of Sri Lanka’s apparel exports into the EU,” he opined.

Meanwhile Minister of State for Enterprise Development Sujeeva Senasinghe said that the government should try to force the ‘rich’ to pay more taxes and reduces the indirect tax revenue which is around 80%

He said that the affluent pays only around 11% taxes of the total of GDP and this should move up to 20%. “The government has in the recent times moved this up from 11% to 14% and a further 5% increase is needed.”

He emphasized that no new taxes were needed but only loop holes in the tax system should be tightened. He said that these additional tax revenue can be used for infrastructure development of the country. (SS)

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce’s (CCC) National Agenda Committee (NAC) on Infrastructure presented a set of recommendations on fast-tracking Private-Public Partnerships (PPP) to Minister of Finance and Media Mangala Samaraweera recently and highlighted the need for a robust institutional and operational set up for the new PPP agency.

At a meeting held recently, the group presented their recommendations to the Minister and Ministry officials A. R. Desapriya (Deputy Secretary to the Treasury), K. A. Vimalenthirarajah (Director General of the Department of Trade and Investment Policy) and Deshal De Mel (Economic Advisor to the Ministry of Finance) and discussed priority issues to be tackled and ways of collaborating to advance the PPP investment agenda in Sri Lanka.

The NAC on Infrastructure first made representations to the Ministry of Finance in October 2016, on the need for PPPs and to establish a robust mechanism for dealing with PPPs in a transparent and profitable manner.

This subsequently saw the setting up of a PPP unit and a national PPP initiative, which was launched amidst 100 foreign investors at the Chamber’s Investment and Business Conclave 2017 held recently.

The Committee’s latest set of recommendations which focussed on developing guidelines to ensure efficient collaboration between the PPP unit and line ministries; prioritization of projects through developing a robust project pipeline; ensuring a fair, transparent and well managed procurement process; as well as implementing an effective communication strategy were well received by Minister Samaraweera.

The Chamber Committee and Ministry officials pledged to collaborate closely to promote PPP investment opportunities among domestic and international investors through the CCC.

The NAC on Infrastructure comprises leaders in private and public sectors with experience in infrastructure development, as well as representatives of multilateral development agencies. Since last year, the NAC has been continuously lobbying for the facilitation and fast-tracking of PPPs.

The deal to sell a majority stake in Hambantota Port to China Merchants Port Holdings Company Limited for $1.12 billion and under a lease term of 99 years is credit positive for the sovereign because it will boost foreign-exchange reserves, Moody’s said.

This will ease the government’s external liquidity position ahead of several large international bond payments in 2019-22.

Earnings from the Hambantota Port stake sale will feed into the central bank’s foreign-exchange reserves, which will help bolster investor confidence and encourage future portfolio inflows. Importantly, the sale will allow the government to set aside earnings to repay its upcoming debt maturities and reduce its external debt, a key constraint on Sri Lanka’s credit quality. External debt maturities in 2019-22 total $13.8 billion.

Sri Lanka’s balance-of-payments position remains vulnerable after foreign-currency reserves materially declined in late 2016 and early 2017. More recently, reserves have risen somewhat because of capital inflows from international sovereign bond issuance and syndicated loans.

As of June 2017, gross official foreign-exchange reserves (including gold and special drawing rights) were $6.9 billion.

The foreign-currency reserves portion of gross reserves was slightly under $6 billion (see Exhibit 2), covering about 3.75 months of imports, just above the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) minimum reserves adequacy threshold of three months.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka intends to increase gross official reserve assets to at least $7.4 billion by the end of 2017, in accordance with the targets under Sri Lanka’s current three-year IMF Extended Fund Facility program. Moody’s expects the central bank to come close to its target, which would help support the sovereign’s credit quality.

Moving forward, greater exchange-rate flexibility and more limited foreign-exchange interventions by the central bank would help preserve reserves.

Although the Hambantota receipts will ease external pressures, we expect those challenges to remain, given persistent elevated government debt and large borrowing requirements. Moody’s expect Sri Lanka’s external vulnerability indicator, which measures the ratio of external debt payments that are due over the next year to foreign-exchange reserves, to rise to about 183% in 2017 from around 150% in 2016.

Development of the broader Hambantota Port area will help bring in foreign direct investment, especially from China.

The buildup of associated infrastructure surrounding the port also can help attract greater private-sector investments.

This, together with other ongoing development projects such as the Western Region Megapolis Plan and Colombo Financial City Project, will provide a stable source of financing for Sri Lanka’s external position and support economic growth.

Closure of the long-pending deal also will allow the government to focus on key priorities, including advancing economic and structural reforms under its IMF program.

Though there are several Sri Lankan brands which have made it to the global arena, only a few companies have been able to thrive with their operations overseas. LAUGFS is one such Sri Lankan brand which had stamped their footprint successfully in a number of countries. With an annual turnover of over Rs. 28 billion and a workforce of 4,000, the company has diversified aggressively with businesses currently in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and UAE.

“In a mere two decades we have been able to firmly imprint the LAUGFS name not only in Sri Lanka, but also across the region, touching the everyday lives of millions,” remarked LAUGFS’s Group Managing Director, Thilak De Silva. He recalled how the company started its journey in 1995 with the revolutionary auto gas conversion business - Gas Auto Lanka. LAUGFS has since expanded rapidly into over 20 industries covering power and energy, industrial, services, consumer retail, leisure, logistics and property sectors.

LAUGFS has been strengthening its presence in the power and energy sector within the region with a number of ventures. The LAUGFS LPG Import & Export Terminal, which is currently under construction, is one such project, which it believes will help positon Sri Lanka as an energy hub, by taking advantage of its strategic geographic location in the Indian Ocean. In 2015, LAUGFS entered Bangladesh, becoming one of the largest LPG downstream players in the country. Last year, the company also set up its energy trading arm with SLOGAL Energy DMCC, which is based in Dubai.

“Commissioning Sri Lanka’s largest solar power project, setting up our maritime logistics arm and expanding our LPG vessel fleet, as well as expanding our LPG operations to Bangladesh and becoming the first Sri Lankan energy brand to become a multinational are some of our great achievements,” Thilak De Silva commented. “As a Sri Lankan conglomerate, we are proud of what we have achieved within a very short span of time.”

In addition, LAUGFS has also now ventured into Health Care & Wellness Sector. LAUGFS Pharmaceutical is setting up Sri Lanka’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturing facility, with a massive investment in excess of USD 30 million. “Our LAUGFS Wellness is a distributor of international Wellness products and also operates our own Pharmacy chain. We also have plans to go into the online Pharmacy platform in the near future,” he remarked.

These efforts also won both local and global accolades for LAUGFS, with Chairman W. K. H. Wegapitiya and the Group Managing Director Thilak De Silva being presented with a haul of awards. “We have a philosophy to not compromise anything less than perfection in whatever we do. Our continuous focus is on delivering value to our stakeholders,” Thilak De Silva said.

Q: How did you get involved with LAUGFS?

A: After I came back from England having completed my studies, I joined our family business and was involved in that for several years. Then in 1995, I got the opportunity to be part of a pioneering venture in auto gas conversion, which became the inception of LAUGFS. What started that day with just a few people, has today become a diversified conglomerate with over 20 businesses in Sri Lanka and overseas, employing over 4,000.

Q: Given the current market and economic conditions, where do you see the country within the next 10 years?

A: Sri Lanka is on its way to becoming a middle income country. World power is shifting to countries like India and China and we are geographically very well centred to cater to the market demands of these economies and the country needs to rapidly gear up for this.

I see Sri Lanka becoming a service hub in South Asia, and as a Sri Lankan conglomerate, we have also identified these strategic opportunities and have made investments for future growth. Our LPG Import & Export Terminal in Hambantota is one such example.

Q: As a company with local roots and expanding beyond borders, what is your vision for the country and its people?

A: We believe that Sri Lanka has the resources to compete effectively on a global platform. Sri Lanka has a vibrant and diverse culture and strong values and ideals. We have a workforce with tremendous potential, and as a company with a strong Sri Lankan identity, we believe that we can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with international companies on a global platform.

We have shown this when we first started LAUGFS Gas competing with a multinational in 2001. Our LAUGFS Lubricants became the first to launch a Sri Lankan lubricant brand, again competing with international brands in the market

Q: The group recently expanded its operations to Bangladesh and what is the potential you see and the vision behind diversifying beyond Sri Lanka?

A: We are always looking to identify emerging market trends and to leverage on our expertise.

Bangladesh is one of the fastest growing LPG markets in the region. With depleting natural gas reserves, the government is currently promoting alternative energy sources, especially LPG. With over 160million population, it is also one of the most populated countries in the world. We see tremendous potential for growth in Bangladesh.

Going into Bangladesh has helped us take the first step in becoming a serious regional energy player. We are the only player in the market with own vessel fleet, which in itself provides a strategic advantage.

Q: What are the future investment plans for the Hambantota terminal?

A: The LAUGFS LPG Import & Export Terminal at Hambantota is a world class facility and will be one of the largest terminals in South Asia.

This is a significant project not just for LAUGFS, but for our country, as it will help position Sri Lanka on the global energy map, taking advantage of Hambantota Port’s close proximity to some of the busiest shipping routes and our strategic location amidst some of the largest emerging LPG markets in Asia, such as Bangladesh.

It is constructed with a total investment of USD 80 million, with a total capacity of 45,000 MT, of which Phase 1 will be of 30,000 MT. Construction is well on track and we plan to commission the new Terminal in the 2nd half of 2018.

Q: What are the future plans for the maritime and LPG sectors?

A: We recently acquired our third LPG vessel – Gas Courage, in January this year. Our plan is to expand our vessel fleet to service our expanding businesses in SL, Bangladesh and other countries. This will strengthen our LPG logistics capabilities to cater to regional demands as well as our own LPG operations in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Q: Today start-ups have become the culture across the world and what advice would you give to young entrepreneurs?

A: Entrepreneurs face many challenges, especially at the early stages, and persistence and courage become very important. It’s important to look after your team as you go along, since it’s them who will help you drive your vision and make things a reality.

Once you become successful, it’s very important to never forget your roots. The people who have been there for you, your family, your upbringing, your school, have also had a tremendous impact on you to become who you are today. So, it’s important to remember that and give back in whatever way you can.

Q: What are your views on the importance of sustainability and company initiatives?

A: I believe that sustainability of our businesses also depends on our team. I believe that having a great team with a strong trust-based relationship is vital for any business to succeed. We have a very strong family culture, with a great team spirit at LAUGFS. Our teams have worked tirelessly over the past two decades with a single vision to make LAUGFS what it is today.

Also, as a conglomerate with Sri Lankan roots, we believe that we have a responsibility towards helping and supporting our communities and our nation. We have been able to make a significant positive impacts on our local communities and our country’s economy as a whole – from infrastructure development to supporting industry growth, to employment creation to skill and knowledge enhancement and more.

We have a similar approach to our environment, where environment sustainability and responsible practices have been an important part of our business strategy from day one. In 1995 we offered auto gas conversion as a cleaner alternative for motorists. Today, our businesses include LAUGFS Gas, which offers LPG as a cleaner alternative to traditional fuel, Eco Sri, which is a pioneer in air quality management, as well as LAUGFS Power, which engages in renewable energy generation including hydro and solar. In addition, there are various projects we are currently working on to minimize our impact on the environment. For instance, LAUGFS Solutions is currently working on electric–powered trishaws, with 4 trishaws already converted as part of the pilot project.

Q: what are your personal ambitions?

A: I believe that remembering our roots are very important, no matter how successful we are. I grew up in Ahangama and I constantly focus on giving back to the community I grew up in and have been spending a lot of time in projects to uplift the local communities there.

I’m currently planning on setting up a total community centre there, which would include a theatre, library, playground, and a Montessori.

My pet project at the moment is a Tuck Shop I’m setting up at Mahinda College, dedicated to Dani Aiya, who helped me when I was a young student at the college. He used to give me a free cup of tea when I didn’t have any pocket money, and I have always been grateful to him for that. Helping to develop my former schools (Ananda College, Mahinda College and St. Aloysius College) have been a key focus for me.

Thilak De Silva is a prominent industry leader, a noted philanthropist and the Group Managing Director of LAUGFS Holdings.

One of the founding partners of LAUGFS, De Silva has been instrumental in the phenomenal growth of the company over the years. His untiring efforts, unparalleled business and industry knowledge, and remarkable charisma have made an indelible imprint in the story of the Group’s growth.

Having completed his undergraduate studies in Engineering Technology and Business Management in London, UK, De Silva returned to Sri Lanka to assume responsibilities as an Executive Director in his family businesses, which rapidly expanded under his leadership.

In 1995 however, he became part of the pioneering project that transformed the automobile industry by converting vehicles from the traditional petroleum fuels into liquefied petroleum gas, which became the inception of LAUGFS. This proved a phenomenal success and became the turning point that laid the foundation to create one of the largest business conglomerates in the country today, employing more than 4,000 staff across over 20 industries.

The warm, nurturing nature of De Silva has enabled him to inspire and drive his teams into achieving many great feats, which has been pivotal to LAUGFS’s success over two decades. He is well respected for his strategic foresight, collaborative and engaging leadership style, and entrepreneurial skills that have helped withstand many challenges and build LAUGFS into a trusted and respected Sri Lankan conglomerate.

Noted for his philanthropic work, De Silva has been part of many community and national projects as well as numerous charitable causes. His contribution has extended into many areas including community development, livelihood, education as well as healthcare.

Driven by a firm nationalistic pride and a strong desire to contribute towards uplifting communities, he acts as a strong advocate of eliminating rural poverty and empowering communities.

De Silva has been a participant of a number of entrepreneurial and management development programs both local and overseas and was also the recipient of the prestigious Association for Overseas Technical Scholarships (AOTS – Japan) in 2003. He is a regular participant in many LP Gas business forums conducted at various parts of the world and widely connected with industry leaders in the energy sector.

With decades of experience in the travel industry, Shums & Sons Travels (Pvt) Limited opened its doors for the very first time in Hambantota recently at No 108, Tissa Road, Hambantota.

The 36-year-old company expanded its operations in the region, welcoming distinguished invitees to their grand opening. The opening ceremony commenced with the Shums Chairman Azmeer Shums cutting the ribbon, followed by the cutting of the cake by the Managing Director Karim Shums.

The first ticket at the new office was purchased by Dr. Hosney Cader to Vancouver, Canada. All guests who visited the new branch were treated to a lavish brunch and complimentary gifts courtesy of Shums Travels.

As a reputed and prominent business in the travel industry, Shums Travels is recognised for its commitment and reliability as a travel agent.

Shums Chairman Azmeer Shums

The travel agency is an IATA registered company, a member of TAASL (Travel Agents Association of Sri Lanka) and a member of the business chambers.

Incorporated in 1981 as a travel agent, Shums Travels is an associate of the renowned Shums Group, which was established in 1948 and offers a diverse range of services from export trading, airline GSA and tour operations amongst many more.

Shums Travels offers an assortment of travel solutions along with a high quality personalized service that ensures a customer’s travel needs are met smoothly by their experienced IATA qualified staff.

The company has a range of services on offer including ticketing, visa applications, hotel bookings and transport solutions as well as inbound and outbound tours.

"Amongst the number of services they offer, the company has established themselves as one of the leading agencies to specialise in Haj and Umra packages, offering a selection of customized packages to suit the requirements of each pilgrim.

As well as being registered with the Saudi Ministry of Haj and Umra, Shums Travels offers easy payment schemes for pilgrimages and holidays, creating a travel solution that is feasible for all customers.

Plan your next trip with Shums Travels and make your next journey a memorable experience.

Visit the Shums Travels Colombo branch at 33A Queens Road, Colombo 03, or the Hambantota branch at No 108, Tissa Road, Hambantota,

Emirates has announced it will increase the frequency of flights between Dubai and Khartoum from five to seven a week starting August 8.

As with Emirates’ current flights between the two cities, it will also operate a Boeing 777 on the additional services, offering customers a choice of cabins with 8 luxurious private suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat seats in Business Class and plenty of room to relax in Economy Class with 304 seats.

“Emirates’ decision to commit two additional scheduled flights a week is a clear indication of customer demand for our award-winning products and services. Our expanded schedule will provide customers with greater flexibility in their travel plans and allow more options for them to connect seamlessly to other flights on Emirates’ extensive global network via our Dubai hub. These additional flights will also further support Sudan’s economy,” said Orhan Abbas, Emirates' Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations Africa.

Offering a total of over 700 additional seats each way per week, the two new flights will enhance connectivity from most cities in the Middle East, Asia and Americas. This includes popular cities served by Emirates’ A380s such as Kuwait, Beijing, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, Seoul, Mumbai, New York and Washington DC.

Customers travelling to and from Khartoum can access more than 2500 channels of visual and audio entertainment on the airline’s award winning ice system, featuring the latest movies, music, audio books and games, as well as family friendly products and services for children, including complimentary toys, kids’ meals and movies, priority boarding for families and the use of free strollers at Dubai International Airport.

In addition to the on-board comforts and products, customers will experience the world famous hospitality from Emirates’ multinational cabin crew while enjoying chef prepared regional and international cuisine, as well as complimentary beverages.

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, in association with the Department of Sri Lanka Customs, will organize a series of half day seminars on Export and Import Procedures in order to help exporters maximize opportunities in the global market.

The seminar series will focus on areas such as Goods Valuation, Export Procedures, Goods Classification and Harmonised System, Import Procedures, Export facilitation, Bonding and Entrepot Trade. This seminar series will provide practical information to help protect a firm’s interests and maximize opportunities in the Global Market Place.

It has been noticed that often importers and exporters, even those with years of experience, encounter unexpected issues that could be easily avoided.

The seminars will be conducted by T Raviendrarajah, Deputy Director of Customs and T G A Arachchi Superintendent of Customs. The first session will take place on August 3, 2017 at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

More information could be obtained from sriyani@chamber.lk

99X Technology held Sri Lanka’s first-ever technical meetup on the open source web framework Serverless earlier this month.

The event saw some awesome cutting-edge globally trending tech insights shared with an eager audience.

A new technological trend that has been changing the way developers think about writing web applications. It’s a free and open source web framework that has been gaining popularity globally in recent times.

The meet up last week was to bring to the Sri Lankan IT community the new developments surrounding the Serverless framework, which is also gaining traction fast locally.

The speakers featured a mix of the local and global, with sessions by Serverless Inc. Lead Front-End Engineer Nik Graf and 99X Technology Associate Technical Architect Ashan Fernando, and the Meetup was seen as a great way of bringing together people with shared interests in open source technologies and frameworks.

Held at 99X Technology, the Meetup kicked off with Serverless Inc.’s Nik Graf who conducted a remote session from Vienna, Austria, delivering an insightful introduction to Serverless Architecture, exploring the benefits and challenges associated with using it. In addition to being the perfect icebreaker for professionals who were new to the framework, the session gave other participants the vital opportunity to clarify issues they had faced while using Serverless in their work.

Ashan Fernando from 99X Technology reached out in his session to the participants who had already started using Serverless in their work, by relating his personal experiences with which the audience connected well. The session grew to an interactive forum with great takeaways for the Sri Lankan IT community.

Given the welcome by the local IT community and embracing of the concept of this gathering, it was decided by 99X Technology to proceed with more meetups of this nature with a view of powering knowledge sharing across the industry.

Being a thought leader in the local IT sphere, many more events are lined up by 99X Technology for the coming months with international speakers.

As technology has become an integral part of everyone’s life, the Sri Lankan education landscape needs to be quick to adopt Information and Communications Technology (ICT) into their teaching and learning process at universities and institutes.

Today, all over the world, technology-based tools are helping students to learn, communicate, collaborate and study better both on and off campus

Leading the way in smart video learning: Creating an environment of academic excellence, innovation and motivated learning by leveraging video conferencing technologies brought into the classroom to enhance learning, ICBS has taken the step towards being the first institute in the country to embed the futuristic Touchcast video conferencing methodology into their classrooms and is now providing more interactive and synchronous learning resulting in improved student performance.

TouchCast as the most advanced video conferencing platform currently available to experience, with Smart Video at its core, allows a person to collaborate on an endless, digital whiteboard, share files, documents and presentations with participants during each session by bringing in videos, photos, and web pages, give the ability to record and archive any session and to find and play back any part of a previous lecture with video transcription and smart search.Connecting their students with in this way and making it easier for lecturers to teach and students to learn, ICBS has smoothly integrated this technology into everyday classrooms using desktops, tablets, and a simple internet connection.

Taking the learning process to the next level: Thilina Ukwatta Head of Strategic Planning & Senior Lecture at ICBS said, “Video in the classroom is a powerful tool because it has the abilityto make the classroom come alive, make meaningful learning experiences and connections and allows a student to never again miss a lesson with recorded lessons that students can watch as many times as they need to at their own pace.

Using the TouchCast technology, our lecturers easily produce interactive video lectures that engage students. It includes earning materials that students can explore, or a personalized grading that bridges the gap between professors and their students.Students learn actively, engage in hands-on projects in the classroom, and produce interactive videos to document and present their learning and work in teams and collaborate within and outside their classrooms.

He added, “young people today are drawn to the world of online broadcasting and in communicating their ideas and thoughts through video. By supporting their natural communication habits, we are helping to create an environment in which they learn by doing.

Therefore by utilizing this methodology, we aim to help hurdle learning obstacles, offer opportunities to facilitate easy access to information, and enhance the teaching and learning processes through online collaboration, and self-paced learning, by utilizing the aid of these technological tools. Our objective through this initiative is in developing a digital environment which meets students’ expectations and help them to progress to better study, leading to better results and better employment”.

This unique initiative of ICBS’s ongoing ‘smart’ transformation and shift to a ‘smart’ learning environment, emphasizes and epitomizes that today’s ‘smart’ learning strategies provide building blocks for tomorrow’s ‘Smart Societies’ which will rely on innovative solutions for 21st-century living.

ICBS will continue to leverage its ‘Smart Learning’ elements to raise the bar in learning and reshaping their educational landscape and environment to complement evolving learning requirements.

AIA has delivered an excellent set of results in the first half of 2017 with record VONB growth of 42 per cent to US$1,753 million.

The Board has declared a 17 per cent increase in the interim dividend for 2017. This reflects AIA’s excellent financial results in the first half as well as our confidence in the outlook for the Group.

“AIA has significant competitive advantages created over our long history in Asia. We have a clear strategy that is working well and is fully aligned with the substantial opportunities presented by the extraordinary social changes and substantial economic growth taking place across the region. Our strong track record of value creation is the direct outcome of our many experienced teams working collectively to deliver our strategic priorities. We will continue to challenge ourselves and our strategy to ensure we capture the many significant opportunities that the region presents – well into the future.

“Today’s announcement is the first time I have reported our financial results since I assumed the role of Group Chief Executive at the beginning of June and I am delighted that we have delivered a very strong performance. AIA is an exceptional company with outstanding people and a unique franchise. I look to the future with great enthusiasm as we continue to realise AIA’s full potential in Asia and generate sustainable value for our customers and shareholders,” said Ng Keng Hooi, AIA’s Group Chief Executive and President,

Sinhaputra Finance has reported an increase of 84% in pre tax profit compared to the previous year, despite allowing for a provision of Rs. 329 mn. The effect of this provision was a reduction in capital funds which now stands at Rs 1.1 bn.

During the last 39 years, there have been no less than six economic busts, some stretching for long periods. Sinhaputhra’s responses have been modulated during these ups and downs and safeguarding depositor’s assets have always been the centre of concern during these periods.

Managing Director Ravana Wijeyeratne said, “whilst this cautious growth pattern of the company has been reflected in its mature asset quality and a realistic consideration of the nation’s debt repayment capacity, it has also allowed the company to build its human capital and core competencies in response to these real issues rather than being seduced by risky opportunities during periods of dizzying growth periods that would mask such underlying issues with glossy ratios, but may result in future problems.”

Janashakthi Insurance PLC was recognized for its work as a responsible corporate citizen at the Fintelekt Insurance Awards 2017 held in Mumbai, India, recently.

The insurer received the ‘Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative’ award in recognition of the ‘Janashakthi Full Option Appathon – the Next Gen Smart Tech Challenge’ (Janashakthi Appathon) initiative.

Launched in 2016 under the theme ‘Solutions to Issues Caused by Traffic’, the Janashakthi Appathon is a team-based challenge that encourages the nation’s youth to propose and develop apps that add value to the lives of the general public.

Speaking about the company’s achievement, Chief Executive Officer of Janashakthi General Insurance Limited, Jude Fernando, stated, “At Janashakthi, we are committed to engaging the youth of the nation to become active participants in the rapid digital transformation taking place around the world. As an entrepreneurial organization, we believe in empowering young Sri Lankan entrepreneurs and helping them develop their skills in technology and innovation. This award is a reflection of that belief and commitment, and we are humbled to be recognized at this prestigious forum, as we continue on our own digital transformation in how we deliver insurance solutions.”

Widely respected within the insurance sector, the Fintelekt Insurance Awards recognize and honor the efforts of insurance companies across India and Sri Lanka for achieving significant business objectives. The event’s organizers commended the Janashakthi Appathon initiative for its emphasis on a pressing social issue and providing a platform for the younger generation to contribute to the resolution of the problem.

The country needs another six percent plus growth in the export sector to strengthen its economy further, Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy said.

Dr. Coomaraswamy made these remarks at the 20th AGM of the Exporters’ Association of Sri Lanka, held in Colombo. Internal Trade State Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe was also present.

Delivering the keynote address Dr. Coomaraswamy said the growth in the export sector is crucial for the future development and therefore the country’s exporters should achieve a significant improvement in this sector during the coming years.

He said even former President J.R. Jayewardene took measures to strengthen the export sector and Lankan exporters were able to achieve a 36.4 percent growth in 1977- and 72.2 percent growth in 1979.

He said Sri Lanka increased it exports 1.95 times in 2015, while Vietnam and Bangladesh increased exports by 11.2 times and 5.1 times respectively. South Korea and Thailand increased exports by 3.1 times.

Dr. Coomarawwamy also said that it is necessary for Sri Lankan exporters to focus attention towards value added products and more technologically advanced products, as such exports can create more jobs to Lankan youth.

He said 27 percent of the country’s work force have been leaving the country annually for employment in Korea, Middle East and Italy and if Sri Lanka can improve its export sector, youth can remain here to work for the country.

He said since Sri Lanka has a very close relationship with countries including Japan , china and Korea, the country could develop its export sector to the maximum.

“As Sri Lanka’s per capita income continues to rise, we can also increase our productivity using our services like tourism, transport and IT,”

Internal Trade State Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe said the policies of the Government has been admired by foreign countries and this situation has resulted in these countries investing in Sri Lanka and also commencing industrial zones and factories in many parts of the country .

He said many countries have already agreed to start factories and industrial zones at Hambantota, Moneragala, Galle, Maratra, Kalutara, Kandy, Kurunegala and also in the North and East.

The state minister also highlighted the setting up of a 20, 000 acre industrial park in Sri Lanka to start a Honda car factory and a wire factory.

“We also worked with Harvard University and they granted a five miilion US dollar fund and the ITC gave a fund of eight million Euros to improve our trade and economic policies,” he said.

The minister said he represented the exporters and investors forum and signed agreements with China, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore to start business ventures.

“We also have planned to set up two cement factories, one oil refinery and one sugar refinery, “

Exporters’ Association of Sri Lanka , Chairman Harin de Silva highlighted the invaluable service rendered by Sri Lankan exporters and said the sector was neglected by authorities in the past.

He said due to this, the export sector declined year by year and need a strong political vision to drive it to reach its full potential.

“ With the BREXIT unraveling itself in the European Union (EU), Sri Lanka face with a unique challenge that will have a negative impact on realizing the GSP + benefits for sectors like the apparel as the UK accounts for 40 percent of Sri Lanka’s apparel exports into the EU,”.

Chairman de Silva further said the Government must now help to strengthen this sector to reap the benefits of GSP+.

He said the Export Development Board and the Foreign Ministry with the help of diplomatic missions overseas must help prospective exporters to find new markets and opportunities for Sri Lanka to re-enter the European Union (EU) based markets.

The new investigation team of Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) was able to complete three investigations and four others are at different stages of completion during last year, said Thilak Karunaratne Chairman SEC in their annual report 2016.

The ultimate aim of a capital market is to ensure that investors and issuers alike have confidence to trade in the market.

“Given that market abuse poses a threat to confidence and integrity, we continued to upgrade our investigative skills in order to effectively detect and investigate potential securities law violations. “Being a signatory to the IOSCO Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MMoU), the SEC successfully sought assistance from several jurisdictions to conduct these investigations,” he said.

Greater international cooperation among regulators is vital to deal with challenges faced by capital markets and enhance overall market regulation of Securities Fraud and Abuse, he said. The present negative market sentiments underscore the importance of the SEC remaining vigilant to address growing risks and vulnerabilities.

Subsequent to obtaining Board approval and broker consultations, the CSE made recommendations to the SEC to approve the introduction of risk based capital adequacy requirement based on international best practices to instill better financial discipline and ensure that stockbrokers are prudent in their business conduct.

“Although a few stockbrokers criticised this move due perhaps to ignorance and misconception, this framework is expected to strengthen the stock broking industry and enhance the protection of client assets. Unless all stakeholders work in unison we will not be able to achieve the expected regulatory outcomes.”

He said meanwhile in a bid to ensure the general public gets a greater opportunity to invest in the capital market and to increase market liquidity the SEC directed all Public Listed Companies to comply with the Rules on Minimum Public Float on a continuous basis

“As a result of a high incidence of non-compliance among listed entities and taking into consideration the views of the market, we decided to revise the Minimum Public Float requirements to provide listed companies with a wider range of options to comply with the Rules effective from January 2017. We expect the revised criteria will encourage more listings on the CSE.”

In 2016 the SEC successfully facilitated the implementation of an integrated Broker Back Office and Order Management System (OMS) for stock broking firms which is jointly financed by the SEC and CSE.

The OMS will not only be a pre-requisite for the market to move to a Central Counterparty (CCP) - DvP system but also enable seamless trading, clearing and settlement of securities.

The SEC was only the third in the world to have an International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) Country Review which started in July 2016.

Very soon the rich would have to pay more taxes and they would be slightly hit. The rich should really pay 20% tax but the government is only asking to pay 11%, said Minister of State for Enterprise Development Sujeeva Senasinghe. “This may be an unpopular decision but has to be taken,” he said.

Speaking at the Exports Association AGM last Friday at Ramada Hotel he said that though some sections of the public are disappointed with the government for not delivering their promises, things were now moving in the right direction and promises were now been fulfilled. One must remember that the unity government was only one and a half years old and now the right people were finally been appointed to key positions enabling the execution process of the government policy being more efficient. The state minister however said that his execution powers were every limited and he was only a state minister with virtually no subjects assigned to him.

Senasinghe said that Sri Lanka exports have to be more innovative and take advantage of thew GSP+ and other benefits. ?Sri Lanka is yet to see an entrepreneur like Upali Wijewardene who introduced Upali Fiat and Mazda. Today investors are now coming and one of the biggest developments would be the proposed Katutura investment zone where a leading Thailand investor is planning to set up. This investor, Chai Vinichbutr, already has seven special economic zones in Thailand and Hong Kong. Since there were political issues in both those countries he wanted to shirt his business in Sri Lanka and was keen to start it in Katutura.?

There would be over 250 industries including a Honda cars assembly plant. He also said with the commencement of industrial zones, it would provide the opportunity to make high tec, high end products right here in Sri Lanka.

The state minister said that in 1984 annual export value of Bangladesh Apparel?s were US$ 3.5 billion and it has now reached US$ 27 billion while in Sri Lanka it has increased form US$ 3 to 5 billion in the same period. “However today we see MAS and Brandix moving to the next step in appeal which is the designing stage and exports should look at diversifying to the electoral and industrial component manufacturing sector,” he said.

 The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) felicitated the new Inland Revenue (IR) Commissioner General Ivan Dissanayake at a ceremony held recently.

Addressing the event, Dissanayake said that Chartered Accountants can play a more significant role by way of being intermediaries who support the Inland Revenue Department’s efforts to raise government revenue required to provide public services like health care and education facilities which in turn ensure the well-being of the community as a whole.

“As professionals who assist the tax payers understand and comply with their tax obligation, you are the professionals who can bridge the gap between tax payers and Inland Revenue and we rely upon you as chartered accountants, because it is you who can encourage voluntary compliance so the leakage of the revenue in the form of tax evasion can be minimized,” he said during his speech at the ceremony.

Dissanayake also unveiled a plan where he hoped to collect Rs. 1 trillion by 2019/2020 through the expansion of the tax payer base in the country, while also taking steps to adjust indirect and direct tax ratios.

“The ongoing RAMIS project will be an immense strength in achieving this target as the RAMIS project enables the IR information system to be integrated with more than 30 interface agencies through which IR can get required information to bring new tax payers in to the system,” he said.

Congratulating Dissanayake on his appointed, President of CA Sri Lanka Lasantha Wickremasinghe said that the mutual assistance both organisations can extend to each other is vast and diverse which in turn will help strengthen the country’s position while also enhancing its economy. He recalled how both CA Sri Lanka and the Inland Revenue have worked together in collaboration to enhance and improve the taxation structure of Sri Lanka.

“Any organisation’s true success always relies on the leadership and the hard work of its staff and with your vast experience, including foreign training, I am most certain you will be the visionary leadership who will possess the ability to drive the Inland Revenue to greater heights, while ensuring a more proactive tax system in the country,” Wickremasinghe added.

Chairman of the CA Sri Lanka Faculty of Taxation Duminda Hulangamuwa said that the relationship between CA Sri Lanka and the IR has been very strong over years, and continues to strengthen on a daily basis. “Mr. Dissanayake who I have personally associated for a period of 20 years or more has been one of the few offices at the department who have taken decisions fearlessly, and he has been decisive in whatever he does and also independent,” he said. Hulangamuwa added that under Dissanayake’s leadership, the relationship shared between both organisations will continue to become stronger.

During the felicitation ceremony, CA Sri Lanka also launched the Transfer Pricing Guideline publication for the benefit of its members. The guide will help maintain uniformity and the professional outlook when issuing the relevant certificates.

Significant progress has been made with respect to the promulgation of a new governing legislation for the SEC in the form of the Securities Exchange Act, said Vajira Wijegunawardane Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka(SEC).

A preliminary draft of the proposed Act which was finalised after extensive deliberation among members of the high-level advisory committee appointed for the purpose was later approved by the members of the commission for public consultation and the policy underlying the same received Cabinet approval.

The passage in 2017 of the proposed Act would not only complete a longstanding initiative of the SEC, but also decisively define its ability to engage in effective and holistic regulation of the capital market. Extensive public consultation was conducted with respect to the draft Securities Exchange Act in early 2017 both in the interest of maintaining transparency throughout the legislative process and that of ensuring the enduring relevance of the legislation promulgated today to market participants. Having received the insights and feedback of a cross-section of regulatees and other market participants over the course of several weeks, the Director General was confident that the present draft has greatly benefited from the consideration and incorporation of multiple perspectives during its formative stages.

“ We were one of several jurisdictions to have made representations to the IOSCO Assessment Committee for the conduct of a Country Review of Securities Regulation.

We became only the third member jurisdiction to secure the opportunity to be subject to such review by the global standard-setter for securities regulation, and were assessed in 2016 against 37 of the 38 IOSCO Principles, in the Assessment Committee’s most comprehensive Country Review to date. Our regulatory framework is critical to attracting the interest of investors; especially international portfolio investors .

True to these efforts and to our pledge last year, the SEC in 2016 strove to ensure that our role as the capital market regulator is coherent and that policy and regulatory certainty are preserved through responsive regulation . We formulated a comprehensive Capital Market Strategy integrating regulatory and developmental initiatives to be undertaken during the 2016-2020 period, which obtained the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers in October 2016 and was made accessible to the public in March 2017.”

Huawei Consumer Business Group recently announced its 2017 first half year financial results. Sales revenue for the first six months of 2017 increased by 36.2% year-on-year to CNY 105.4 billion. Smartphone shipments also rose to 73.01 million, a year-on-year increase of 20.6%.

Richard Yu, chief executive officer of Huawei’s Consumer Business Group, said, “Our Consumer Business Group continued to deliver extraordinary growth, beating the industry average and penetrating high-end markets around the globe. This ongoing growth is testament to the strength of the Huawei brand and the momentum we’ve built through delivering premium, market-redefining devices that resonate with today’s discerning consumers.”

In Q1 2017, Huawei’s market share rose to 9.8 percent of the global smartphone market, according to industry analysts IDC.

This growth was driven by a significant increase in sales of mid-range and high-end smartphones in key geographies.

In Greater China, Huawei laid claim to 22.1 % of the market where shipments increased by 24 percent year-over-year.

Huawei also saw rapid growth in smartphone shipment across Europe, reporting 18 percent year-over-year growth with particularly robust performance in Central and Eastern and Nordic Europe.

The Huawei Consumer Business Group also experienced major breakthroughs in Asia-Pacific markets including Thailand, Malaysia, Japan and South Korea. Russia also grew strongly.

According to the research of GfK and Sino, Huawei’s Honor brand consecutively topped both the Internet smartphone sales volume and sales revenue in China from January to May, 2017.

This year-on-year growth was reflected in Huawei’s rise as a globally recognized premium brand.

In 2017, Huawei was named number 49 on BrandZ’s Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands, number 88 in Forbes World’s Most Valuable Brands and number 40 on the Brand Finance Global 500 Most Valuable Brands lists.

“Huawei devices have resonated with global audiences because of our clear commitment to quality, experience and innovation,” continued Yu. “With a robust consumer devices ecosystem that includes critically acclaimed smartphones, tablets, wearables and now PCs, consumers know that they can trust Huawei to deliver the kind of experience they’re looking for in a premium device.”

As Huawei’s brand presence grows, so too will its sales strategy. Huawei is set to grow its expansive retail network, reaching 56,000 retail stores worldwide by the end of 2017 – an increase from 35,000 in May 2016. These stores reflect the high-end, premium image that Huawei has cultivated around the world.

Looking ahead, Huawei expects to spur continued growth as the company pushes its devices further through innovations in artificial intelligence and machine learning that will drive the new “smart era” forward. The Consumer Business Group is committing to delivering intelligent devices that anticipate users’ needs and fit more organically into the way people work and live.

Across its 15 global research centres and 36 joint innovation centers, Huawei is working on new technologies including sensors, data management and advances to its Kirin chipset that are designed to bring this type of functionality to the marketplace. Huawei is also complementing its own innovation by collaborating with industry-leading companies such as Leica, Dolby, Microsoft, Intel and Google.

Through these efforts, Huawei will continue to delight customers, challenge the industry, and build a Better Connected World.

For the second consecutive year, Fairfirst Insurance the market leader for health insurance, won the title of Excellence in Medical Insurance at the recently held Fintelekt Insurance Industry Awards held in Mumbai.

Supported by a strong underwriting team and leading customer servicing team, Fairfirst continues to deliver market beating growth and exceptional service standards.

Providing protection for employees of large corporates and individuals alike, Fairfirst is today among the top general insurance companies of Sri Lanka. This is further accentuated by the backing of one of the largest property and casualty insurers of the world – Fairfax, who have operations spread across geographies.

Driven by disciplined underwriting and streamlined claim operations, Fairfirst have displayed consistent and healthy growth in revenues, client base and segment profitability for the financial year 2016.

“With an ageing population and a rise in non-communicable diseases we are seeing an increase in demand for inpatient and outpatient care services as well as laboratory services,” said Thushara Edirisooriya – Head of Surgical Insurance. “And now with medical costs on the rise, people are beginning to understand the value of having a medical coverage to counter their health contingencies”

Fairfirst is continuously re-inventing themselves in terms of product offerings and strategic partnerships. This was confirmed, with their recent tie up with the Sri Lanka Pensions Department and the subsequent launch of Buhuman - a unique health insurance policy specifically aligned with the evolving insurance needs of pensioners. Also, the company has successfully secured partnerships with leading financial institutions and telecommunications partners as the insurer of choice in order to further their reach.

“We are thrilled to win this award that recognizes the efforts of our sales, underwriting and claims teams who have been working tirelessly to service our customers” saidd Dr. Sanjeev Jha, CEO and Managing Director of Fairfirst Insurance.

Sri Lanka’s premier startup conference and showcase, Disrupt Asia 2017 (DA17) concluded on a successful note recently helping the country establish new startup ecosystem paradigms.

Organised by the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA), the nation’s apex ICT Institution under the Ministry of Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure, the event included 52 star-studded foreign and local speakers,well-known resource persons and over 350 attendees.

This year’s conference was unparalleled and unique in that it united thought leaders, entrepreneurs, investors and avid community members for keynote talks, interactive workshops, speed mentoring and showcasing startups, all united in their mission to radically change our startup ecosystem.

Setting the tone for the conference, the morning keynote speaker Cheryl Edison, Serial Entrepreneur and Global Business Expert, observed, “We are standing on the edge of one of most the important times in the history of Sri Lanka. We need to work together to make Sri Lanka the superpower startup ecosystem that it intends to be.”

The American innovation guru and serial entrepreneur noted that local entrepreneurs were hemmed in due to a lack of an official payment gateway. She said, “The entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka have one hurdle that they cannot overcome on their own: a payment gateway system that will empower every person in Sri Lanka to move money, make a business that works for them and their local communities.”

She elaborated on the need to build ‘makerpaces’. “We need to build places which serve the needs of our entrepreneurs – makerpaces, where entrepreneurs come and create a community and create links between their creativity and commerce.

Investor Forum

The keynote speaker for the evening session was Kevin Petrovic, Partner of Custom Space and President of Carbon70 Holdings. Taking the audience through his journey as an entrepreneur and founder of several startups, he said, “The ideas came from improving the value for the customer. Make something people actually want. If you don’t have a good idea copy one.”

He advised the audience on getting help. Kevin noted, “Everyone needs a lot of help when they start out so do not be afraid to go after help. Find people who know your industry, who have an interest and who want to help. It acts as a big driver in the success of startups.”

On being entrepreneurial he said, “Entrepreneurship means you don’t have to come up with your own idea to be an entrepreneur and work on startups. You can help grow a company as well as be part of that. That too is very entrepreneurial.”

In conclusion he said, “Start now and make steps towards the goal. Only you can decide your success. If you don’t try you definitely won’t succeed.”

The main conference included nine discussions on a range of topics with exceptional presentations sharing a wealth of knowledge with a captivated audience. The conference provided attendees opportunities to express, share, understand and explore insights into navigating through the transforming startup ecosystem.

‘Is Sri Lanka Ready for the Digital Age,’ ‘Diversity in Tech - How well we are doing’, ‘Opportunities and Obstacles for Fast Scaling Startups’ were among some of the thought-provoking sessions.

Parallel to the Main Conference was ‘Stage 2.0’ which also provided many insightful discussions with attendees having the opportunity to learn firsthand how to drive innovation in their businesses.

Over 40 participants including high-net-worth individuals in the investment domain and investors looking to invest in tech startups attended. Both foreign and local resource personnel including Daniel Goldman, inspirational speaker, entrepreneur, futurist, investor and Managing Director of Ignition Angels held sessions and panel discussions engaging the audience on the significant opportunities that have emerged in early stage investing in startups.

While participants attended several stimulating workshops, a novel feature of DA17 was the academic workshop segment. Held in partnership with the University Grants Commission (UGC), this session included two foreign resource personnel: Dr. Neelam Saxena and Prof. Rehan Bhana and ICTA Senior Consultant Indika de Zoysa.

Over 20 universities representing both public and private academia participated in this workshop. The main discussion was focused on how to develop the student entrepreneurship ecosystem within universities.

Importantly, during the workshop a draft framework and action plan for building and developing the student entrepreneurship ecosystem in the country was also developed.

During DA17 Exhibition, 27 technology startups showcased their products. Visitors were able to meet vibrant local startups and entrepreneurs and observe new rise of Sri Lanka’s startup ecosystem. In turn these startups met and networked with potential clients and investors as a result of participating and showcasing their innovations.

With exponential growth of the local startup culture, the Disrupt Asia 2017 Hemas Slingshot Startup Battle was the ideal platform for startups to competitively pitch their business ideas. Olivescript was adjudged the winner and received a cash prize of Rs. 200,000 and six months co-working space by Business Hubs, sponsors of the event. The Runner-up, Direct Pay, received Rs. 100,000 and six months co-working space.

DA17 witnessed an overwhelming response not only from the participants but greater support from all the sponsors and supporters. The event was supported by the Ministry of Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure. Other supporters included Visa (Platinum partner) Sri Lanka Business Hubs (Workspace Partner) Edulink International Campus (Supporting partner) Edison International (Investor Forum partners) US Embassy in Sri Lank and GTZ (Community partners) Hemas Slingshot (Startup Battle Partner) and Gudppl (Volunteer partner).

Hayleys Advantis Limited broke ground for a Mega Distribution Centre (DC) in Kotugoda, on July 28, paving the way for the construction of the largest facility of this nature in the country with a footprint in excess of 500,000 sqft.

The move is part of the company’s expansion strategy with emphasis on consolidating operations for greater efficiencies.

Hayleys Group Chairman Mohan Pandithage speaking at the event

Speaking at the ground breaking ceremony, Hayleys Group Chairman Mohan Pandithage said, “We are proud to contribute towards the Government’s vision of establishing Sri Lanka as a key logistics hub in the South Asian region by investing in projects of this nature. As the country’s largest integrated logistics solutions provider, we have always worked closely with all stakeholders in pushing this industry forward. Our new Mega Distribution Centre will enable us to further contribute to this endeavour.”

The facility will be constructed on a 15-acre plot of land in Kotugoda, with the investment for the first phase alone being Rs. 3.2 billion. Once completed the facility will offer Ground+7 high racking to optimize space utilization.

Commenting on the new investment Hayleys Advantis Managing Director Ruwan Waidyaratne said, “We are delighted to break ground on this new Mega Distribution Centre which will allow us to consolidate our operations at a single location bringing in added operational efficiencies and cost benefits. We hope to have the facility completed and ready for operations by August 2018. This investment goes in line with the expansion plans we have in mind for Advantis, and we hope to offer ultimate cost effective solutions for our clients in the near future.”

Advantis has over a decade of experience in managing warehousing and distribution facilitates for both large and small clients through its brand Advantis 3PL Plus (former Logiwiz).

The company will be capitalizing on its experience in designing this new facility. The Mega DC will also consist of the latest in warehouse management technology complemented by world-class equipment which will further boost efficiencies.

With over six decades of experience in the transportation and logistics industry in Sri Lanka, Hayleys Advantis is on an aggressive drive to expand its presence in the Asian region, already covering 10 countries.

Backed by the diversified blue-chip conglomerate Hayleys PLC, the company provides integrated logistics services through its wide network of offices across the region.

3D drawing of the Mega Distribution Centre

Battawatte Estate, Madulsima, realised an all-time record price of Rs. 780per kilo for sale of its Orange Pekoe (OP) grade offered at the Colombo Tea Auction July 25/26. This sale broke the previous record of Rs. 740 per kg.

Battawatte Estate is part of Madulsima Plantations PLC. Teas were purchased by Basilur Tea Export (Pvt) Ltd and marketed by Asia Siyaka Commodities PLC.

The Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) has launched a publication titled ‘Status of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)Indicators in Sri Lanka: 2017’ and a website to disseminate up-to-date information particularly for Sri Lanka on SDGs. In 2015, countries of the United Nations adopted a set of goals to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all as a part of the new sustainable development agenda.

The SDG officially known as ‘Transforming our world: the 2030 agenda for sustainable development’, is a set of seventeen goals with 169 targets and 244 indicators between them.

All countries of the United Nations are expected to give high priority in their development agendas to the SDGs.

The commitment of the Government of Sri Lanka in achieving 2030 goals is reflected by establishing the Ministry of Sustainable Development Parliament Select Committee  on SDGs, the mandate of which is to make recommendations to ensure that the UN 2030 Agenda for SDGs is achieved in Sri Lanka and having four cluster committees of parliamentarians set up representing four thematic areas.

The first copy of this publication was presented to the Deputy Speaker, Chairman of the Parliament Select Committee on SDGs, Thilanga Sumathipala, on July 26, at Parliament by Dr. A.J. Satharasinghe, Director General of the Department of Census and Statistics.

A website on SDGs in Sri Lanka, was also launched by the Chairman of the Parliament Select Committee on SDGs.

There is an urgent need for a SDG indicator framework to turn the SDGs and their targets in to a management tool to help development of implementation strategies and to allocate resources accordingly.

It also serves as a report card to measure programmes towards sustainable development and help to ensure the accountability of all stakeholders for achieving the SDGs.

“Preparing this publication on the availability of data for 244 SDG Indicators (Indicator Framework) is an important endeavour to facilitate compilation of baseline data by the respective agencies, monitoring the progress, and reporting the achievements of SDG Targets,” said Dr. A. J. Satharasinghe, Director General of the Department of Census and Statistics, at the launch ceremony.

This publication provides a brief overview on 17 SDGs, 160 SDG targets and 244 indicators.

Baseline data already compiled by the DCS for the indicators are given in this publication.

Also given in this publication are global and local definitions and tiers for these indicators.

The Director General further said that this publication will continue to be updated by incorporating data compiled by the DCS and other institutions of the NSS from time to time.

The Director General of the DCS said that the webpage launched on SDGs in Sri Lanka can be accessed through its website at http://ift.tt/1yIZV2r.

UN’s specialized agency for industrial development is to usher and inclusive and sustainable industrialization framework to Sri Lanka.

The new initiative of United Nation’s Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) is part of a vast array of strategic interventions under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed globally in 2015.

“SDG 9 involves the three I’s -Infrastructure, Industrialization and Innovation,” said visiting New Delhi based UNIDO Regional Representative Rene Van Berkel, in Colombo recently.

UNIDO Representative Van Berkel was in discussion with Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen. Joining the meeting were Head of UNIDO focal point office in Sri Lanka Nawaz Rajabdeen and Senior Advisor to Minister Bathiudeen Himali Jinadasa.

“SDG 9 focuses on building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization and fostering innovation,” said Van Berkel. “We aim to structure around inclusive and sustainable industrial development and investment, including SMEs. SDG9.2 (referred to as Target 9.2) promotes sustainable industrialization and raise industry’s share of employment and gross domestic product, and in in least developed countries, double industry share. SDG 9 can assist proposed industrial reforms as per the vision of the Government of Sri Lanka. We can work on new industrial parks and also on sub-sectors of the economy such as agri-business and farmer markets, farmer produce collection and storage, food processing and packaging, exports and stronger industry linkages to exports such as leather production.”

During his first visit to Sri Lanka in February 2015, UNIDO Director General Li Yong hinted of bigger plans for UNIDO’s Sri Lanka operations in his meeting with Minister Bathiudeen.

“Let me stress that it is time that Sri Lanka receives a fully-fledged UNIDO country programme. Sri Lanka is a very important member of UNIDO. The long history of national and international engagement by Sri Lanka is very commendable,” D.G. Yong said.

Dr. Ali Asger Shabbir yesterday purchased 85,557,022 ordinary shares of Ceylon and Foreign Trades PLC (CFT) at a price of Rs. 5 per share thereby increasing his stake to 61.027%.

Dr. Shabbir confirmed the purchase and mandatory offer to acquire the balance issued and fully paid voting shares of CFT in a corporate disclosure sent to the Colombo Stock Exchange yesterday. Ceylon and Foreign Trades PLC traces its history back to 1949, one year after the country gained independence from British rule, when a group of pioneering businessman banded together to form this company.

CFT is one of the oldest trading companies in Sri Lanka, which was established in 1949 and became a publicly quoted company in 1978.

CFT, an asset rich company which is mainly into real estate, at present owns a two-acre warehousing complex at Bloemandal Road, Colombo, a 96-perch plot of land in Sedawatta, a five-acre property in Grandpass which is known as the Unilever property and 22% ownership in On’ally Holdings PLC which is a public quoted company with substantial real estate interest in the country including Unity Plaza, becoming it’s second largest shareholder.

The Net Asset Value of CFT amounts to Rs. 12.54 per share as per the latest published interim accounts which is a significant discount to its market trading price.