business Sri Lanka

The Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) for all items for the month of December 2018 was 126.3.

It records an increase of 0.1 index points that is 0.02 percentage points compared to the month of November 2018 for which the index was 126.2.

This represents an increase of expenditure value by Rs.15.72 in the “Market Basket”.

An increase in the index point by 0.02% was due to the expenditure value increase of Food items by 0.24% and decrease of Non Food items by 0.22%.

Contribution of food and non alcoholic beverages items: 0.24%.

Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT) has reported handling 2.65 million TEUs for the 12 months ending December 31, 2018, recording a 13 per cent increase in its annual throughput and contributing 38 per cent of the Port of Colombo’s volumes in the year just concluded.

A significant factor in the achievement of 7 million TEUs by the Port of Colombo, CICT’s performance helped the port increase its total throughput by 14 per cent in 2018, a noteworthy accomplishment in the region.

Announcing the year’s final volume, CICT said ULCCs (Ultra Large Container Carriers) of a size that only CICT is capable of handling, had contributed 70 per cent to the volumes the terminal achieved for the year. CICT handles mega container vessels from all three major shipping line alliances. With the geographical coverage of these services and the high frequency of mainline liner service connections, CICT has helped the Port of Colombo to move up the Drewry’s Port Connectivity Index to be ranked the 11th best connected port in the world.

“While our deep water capacity is one of the main factors driving growth, constant innovations and commitment to service excellence including facilities such as auto-gate, dual cycle operation, intelligent truck pooling and dispatch, a fully automated customer service kiosk, our unique mobile application and CICT e-billing have been game changers in the Port of Colombo,” CICT CEO, Jack Huang said.

“The combination of state-of-the-art infrastructure and equipment, efficiency and convenience enhancing features and the synergies developed through our parent company CMPort, has enabled CICT to generate incremental volumes for Colombo, which was the primary objective of the deep water terminal,” he said. “Additionally, the ability to access the CMPort global network enabled us to attract new transshipment volumes to the Port of Colombo.”

The concluded year has been a prolific one for CICT: besides being adjudged the Best Container Terminal in Asia in the Under 4 million teus at the Asian Freight, Logistics and Supply Chain (AFLAS) Awards for the second consecutive year, CICT also handled MV. Ever Golden, the first 20,000+ teu vessel of Evergreen to call on Colombo, as well as the 14,000 teu ‘One Columba’ – the first magenta colour vessel to call on Colombo. The company was also responsible for salvaging the storm-ravaged ‘MV Theseus’ earlier in the year.

Dialog Axiata yesterday said the company has taken a major step forward in Sri Lanka’s 5G journey with the commissioning of South Asia’s first fully functional and standards compliant 5G transmission using commercial grade base stations and end user devices.

Dialog’s pre-commercial 5G transmission was enabled in collaboration with the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) who has lead the region in making available spectrum in the 3.5GHz band for the piloting of pre-commercial 5G services.

Dialog’s pilot 5G transmission delivers speeds in excess of 2 GBps in a real-world setting including base stations installed and commercial grade 5G Home Gateway Routers, which can deliver 5G throughput to a host of wireless devices and applications across the spheres of video, gaming and automation.

5G technology is designed to deliver an era of ‘Intelligent Connectivity’, bringing together the power of 2GBps + transmission speeds alongside cutting-edge technologies such as Augmented and Virtual Reality, Robotics, Autonomous Vehicles, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning based applications and cloud based Enterprise Networks. 5G networks will augment 4G services with fundamental advancements with respect to network speeds, throughput, traffic capacity and ultra-low latency.

Director General, TRCSL, P.R.S.P. Jayatilake in congratulating Dialog on embarking on the bold initiative of setting up a pre-commercial 5G transmission said, “Sri Lanka has consistently led the South Asia region in technology introduction.

The TRCSL is very proud to note the achievements of the mobile sector in delivering broadband services to Sri Lankan consumers on a very affordable basis – this along with wider availability has driven broadband penetration in Sri Lanka”.

Supun Weerasinghe, Group Chief Executive, Dialog Axiata PLC said, “Reaching the milestone of enabling a fully functional pre-commercial 5G transmission as well as our investments in making a major part of our expansive island-wide 4G network fully 5G compliant, demonstrate our commitment to deliver to our customers, network capability and digital enablement on par with the most developed markets in the world.

The progressive policies of the TRCSL have enabled Sri Lanka to lead the region in this respect and we greatly appreciate the foresight of the TRCSL to allocate spectrum for pre-commercial transmission of 5G services. Dialog will build on the learning from the pilot transmission and will work in partnership with the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Digital Infrastructure in leveraging the unique capabilities of 5G technology towards empowering Sri Lanka’s socio-economic transformation, enhancing productivity, efficiency and advancement of the country as a regional technology hub.”

Over a year prior, in August 2017, Dialog Axiata hosted South Asia’s first 5G demonstration in a laboratory environment in collaboration with technology partners Huawei and Ericsson. Since then Dialog has upgraded over 20% of its expansive base station network to ‘5G Ready Status’ by deploying Massive MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technology.

Dialog’s Massive MIMO network today transmits speeds in excess of 720 MBps enabling superlative upload and download speeds on the company’s widely available 4G services. The same infrastructure will transmit 5G speeds upon the licensing of commercial 5G services in Sri Lanka.

For the first time a Chinese law firm, Baqian Law Group, has selected Sri Lanka to open their regional office for the South Asian region.

Chairman, Baqian Law Group, Zhao Yao, speaking in Colombo said that this is their fifth regional office after Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.

China has become Sri Lanka’s largest trading and largest infrastructure construction partner. Chinese workers also top the foreign staff working in Sri Lanka. In addition China’s tourist also tops the arrival list to Sri Lanka. “On top of all these Sri Lanka along with the SAARC region would play a major role in the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative launched by China.

“China-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (CSFTA) would also increase Sino Lanka economic relations,” he said.

“Due to this Baqian Law Group is keen to extend our foot print in Sri Lanka to look after legal matters and also providing a basic support for the development of strategic development arising not only in Sri Lanka but in the entire region. We will open our office in Colombo next week and would have for Chinese lawyers along with a legal team from Sri Lanka.”

Established in 1992 in Kunmin, China the law firm is looking to open more officers in Sri Lanka and in Asia.

Attorney at Law and Sri Lanka consultant for Baqian Law Group Sri Lanka, Sunil Abeyratne said that the legal systems in both China and Sri Lanka have major differences and they hope to provide advice and consultancy services for Chinese companies in Sri Lanka. “Sri Lanka is also in the process of drafting several new legislatures on ICT and electronic money transfer and other areas and we will provide our expertise for in these areas.” (SS)

The Colombo Port handled its seven millionth TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit) yesterday.

The cargo was brought by MV CPO Hamburg of the MSC line. The containers will be handled with the joint marketing strategies by three terminals, JCT (Jaya Container Terminal), SAGT (South Asia Gateway Terminal) and CICT (Colombo International Container Terminal).

The Colombo Port marked its first achievement of operation in 1995 with one million TEUs. However it took almost nine years to reach the mark of two million TEUs in 2004. After that they were able to obtain three million TEUs in 2006, four million TEUs in 2010, five million TEUs in 2015 and six million TEUs in 2017 respectively.

“We need to work on better marketing policies,” said Sagala Ratnayaka, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Southern Development. He further said that this industry needs to have confidence on constitution and judiciary to expand its operation.

Through the collective operation of JCT, SAGT and CICT, the waiting time of all container vessels outside the port waters were reduced by allowing operations of vessels at the immediately available terminal.

The Colombo Port was ranked as the world’s No 1 container growth port among the top 30 container ports for the first half of 2018. It also had a recorded growth of 15.6% during the first half of 2018. It is also a significant achievement as it is the first time in history the Colombo Port reaches the top of a global maritime ranking. With this growth, the Colombo Port has leaped ahead many other Asian ports, major European ports and Dubai as well.

“But what is unique is that this year, the port handled seven million TEUs and that one million took only one year. By the end of this year, the transshipment volumes have increased by 19.3%,” Parakrama Dissanayake, Secretary to Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Southern Development and the Chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) said.

With the rapid development of port infrastructure including the new terminals and the public private partnership in operations at the Colombo Port, the TEU handling capacity at the port has dramatically increased during minimum time lapses of time period after 2004.

Furthermore, all sectors of the port operation showed a rapid growth with the latest initiatives implemented at the SLPA.

The word ‘profession’ means different things to different people. But at its core, it’s meant to be an indicator of trust and expertise. According to the Professional Standards Council of Australia, A profession is a disciplined group of individuals who adhere to ethical standards.

Professionals are accountable to those served and to society. Back in Sri Lanka the Organization of Professional Associations of Sri Lanka is the body of Professionals presently belonging to, 50 member associations catering to 32 disciplines with a total membership of over 50,000. The 9 objectives of the OPA explain the importance of a profession, how they could promote the interests of a profession and set about in promoting their interests for the development of the profession.

The first step of defining a professional is to develop a definition for the profession. Although the plantations was the first large scale commercial venture in Sri Lanka, the planter is still not a recognized professional by the OPA.

The Ceylon Planters Society took this challenge upon them and developed the definition under the leadership of Prof Ajantha Dharmasiri of PIM, generally known as the Harvard of Asia. ‘a Planter leads an agribusiness professionally to reach desired growth sustainably’. It’s important to understand the distinct meaning denoted by key words in this definition.

There is a distinct difference between a manager and a leader and planters have been known for his gentleman and leadership qualities since the very inception. Managers supervise staff in the day-to-day operations of an organization, whereas Leaders create change within organizations and inspire others towards greatness.

Plantation crops are perennials and are not short term unlike in the case of agriculture.

Wikipedia defines agribusiness as: the business of agricultural production. The term was coined in 1957 by Goldberg and Davis. It includes agrichemicals, breeding, crop production (farming and contract farming), distribution, farm machinery, processing, and seed supply, as well as marketing and retail sales.

It is clear that plantations come under agribusiness hence defines the involvement of a Planter with the particular industry known globally.

The professional is one who is engaged in a specified activity as one’s main paid occupation rather than as an amateur.

A growth can be defined in many ways but very briefly growth is the process of increasing in amount, value, or importance.

In a business it is about a business generates significant positive cash flows or earnings, which increase at significantly faster rates than the overall economy.

Sustainability is all about causing little or no damage to the environment and therefore able to continue for a long time. The famous aspects of sustainability refer to physical environment (soil, air, and water), social (stake holders etc.) and economical (profitability). In short it is about the people, planet and profits.

The definition also explains the strategic competencies a Planter possess already and leads to a million dollar question of ‘is the planter sufficiently compensated for the unthankful job he performs whilst sacrificing health and personal comforts to contribute to the nation building.

Regrettably ‘culture of the plantations industry eats strategy for breakfast, lunch and dinner’. We pointed out the dire need to manage the industry strategically at the beginning of the year, 2018. We are not late still.

The Ministry has to take a lead by presenting the 10 year strategic road map for the plantation agribusiness and then the rest of the stake holders will follow suit.

The N.I.PM must now use the definition developed by the C.P.S to secure the membership of the OPA thus gaining a deserving position in the society for the Planter profession.

Then the Planters could join hands with the rest of the professionals and work towards national goals rather living in isolation. As far as we are aware that the OPA is waiting until the NIPM send the application without which nothing could happen.

The writer is a former senior planter, agricultural Adviser, visiting agent and freelance plantation journalist

The inflow of imported brass and silver craft items into our country has been the main obstacle faced by thousands of traditional craftsmen and their dependents living intheir village, a traditional craftsman 67- year old W.G. Jayaratne in Naththaranpotha Kalapuraya village said.

According to another craftsman, Sampath Kumara,the day to day increasing unbearable prices of raw materials that are used to manufacture brass and silver craft items has also become another major problem faced by traditional handicraft manufacturers in this village.

These are some of the comments made by Sri Lanka’s traditional craftsmen in the Naththarampotha Sri Narendrasinghe Kalapuraya Village in Kundasale, Kandy. The legend says that manufacturing craft items at this village has a long history and even during the colonial era British families had visited this village on their way Kandy.

The Daily News visited this village with officials of Laksala Gift Emporium , the state owned premium gift and souvenir boutique, Colombo to have a close “look of the art of manufacturing traditional craft items.

The Daily News also had an opportunity to discuss with craftsmen and craftswomen and also with their families about the manufacturing of craft items and also to listen to their grievances.

According to Naththarampotha Kalapuraya, Cooperative Society, Chairman P.P.Gamini Dharmawardana, the name of this ‘Kalapuraya Craft village’ was established in 1964 during the time of the “late Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike” following the commencement of various livelihood projects by traditional craftsmen in the area.

Naththarampotha Craftvillage is located about 15 kilo meters from Kandy town.Villagers say that during the latter stage of 1960’s nearly 160 families were engaged in manufacturing brass and silver craft items and sold them in Kandy town area to cater foreign tourists who visited this ancient village during the Kandy Perehara season .

Some of the traditional brass and silver items manufactured in the Naththarampotha village are statues of gods and religious dignitaries, traditional oil lamps, relic caskets used in peraharas, badges worn by Nilames in the Perahara, Jewellery for Kandyan brides and bride grooms, silver and brass badges for official ceremonies in tri –forces, school badges, temple bells (Gantara), pinnacles for pinnacle laying ceremonies, sesath for religious festivals, flower pots, silver chains, betel trays, oil lamps, statues of animals, especially elephants etc.

Craftsman 64- year old M.S.P Karunaratna said although there were lot of craftsmen in the Kalapuraya village 40 years ago, the number has declined due to the high cost of raw materials. The Government should take measures to look in to the livelihood of craftsmen and their families.

He said if this situation goes on continuously due to lack of attention of Authorities, the number of craftsmen will decline further.

However, Karunaratne admired the effort made by Laksala to fulfil their expectations by purchasing 90 percent craft items manufactured by Kalapuraya craftsmen.

Sixty Five –year old Craftsman C.M. W. Jayathillaka said officials from Laksala visit their village every year to purchase items and proposed authorities to visit the village many more times, so that they could sell their craft items without any delay.

He also said that he has been involved in the business for the past 20 years and earns a monthly income of Rs. 35, 000 and that was sufficient to bear the expenses of the family.

He however said his children do not like to manufacture craft items, saying that this industry cannot be carried out without the state patronage.

A father of three, M.S.P. Karunaratna proposed that Sri Lanka Tourism to send at least two buses with foreign tourist to their Kalapura village, so that they could sell their items directly to them He said unlike in the past, craft item manufacturing business has become a dying industry not only due to the high cost of raw materials but also due to import these items.

However, Karunaratna also thanked Laksala for the unstinted support extended towards craftsmen in Naththarampotha Craft village by purchasing finished items.

Recalling an old incident craftsman 67- year old W.G Jayaratna said that with the request of Laksala he manufactured a silver tray to be used for former President J.R. Jayewardene’s swearing – in ceremony held in 1977 and engraved the relevant details on it.

“Now this tray could be seen at the Parliament Complex at Sri Jayewardenepura, Kotte,”

He also said in addition to brass and silver items, some craftswomen are now engaged in patch work and manufacture table clothes, pillow cases, wall hangings, batik garments, chair covers etc.

A father of three children Ananda Wijesuriya said there are many feeble craftsmen in the village and proposed to commence a pension scheme to spend the latter part of their lives happily.

He also said many craftsmen using modern electrical items to manufacture craft items and requested authorities to introduce an insurance scheme considering the safety of their lives.

Craftsman B.G. Ranasinghe thanked the village Cooperative Society for the support given to sell their products to Laksala.

Meanwhile, Laksala officials said in addition to purchasing craft items, Laksala management also help craftsmen with financial assistance for various purposes. Traditional craftsman A.D.Nawaratna requested authorities including Parliamentarians and Sri Lankan Tourism officials to visit the Kalapuraya Craft Village to see the inborn talents of craftsmen. He also proposed authorities to start a handicraft training school to encourage schoolchildren the art of making brass and silver items.

He said an exhibition of craft items should be held every year in Colombo with the assistance of craftsmen in the village to enable them to earn an additional income.

A 71- year old Ranmuthuge Premasiri narrating his pathetic story said,“ the livelihood of over 1,000 families in this village depend on manufacturing brass and silver products and their daily income is now significantly coming down due to high cost of materials.

When interviewed Laksala, Chairman M. Hamza said Laksala will make every effort to keep the traditional crafts alive, whilst adapting itself and evolving to new needs and demands of buyers. He said Laksala also helps small entrepreneurs who supply goods to us to sustain their businesses and earn a reasonable livelihood.

Chairman Hamza also requested both local and foreign visitors to visit Laksala and buy a gift or souvenir which reflects the Sri Lankan heritage, while giving them the value for their money and the quality”

Deepal Wickremasinghe, the Chairman of the Southern Province’s leading private healthcare provider Ruhunu Hospital (Pvt.) Ltd, was recently endowed with an award for the service rendered to the healthcare sector in the Southern Province by the Galle District Chamber of Commerce and Industries.

This award recognises Wickremasinghe’s service through his entrepreneurial and leadership acumen, and is a testimonial to his devotion to the healthcare sector in the Southern Province, where his flagship healthcare brand ‘Ruhunu Hospital’ spearheaded the sector for over 20 years, generating almost 300 employment opportunities.

Speaking on the achievement, Ruhunu Hospital (Pvt.) Ltd Chairman, Deepal Wickremasinghe said, “This award reflects on the hard work and effort put into maintaining and prevailing the quality of standards and services of our organisation. I dedicate this win to all my hard-working employees and to the people of Galle for having trust in us. We will continue to keep up the quality of service and dedication towards a healthy nation.”

Deepal Wickremasinghe is a consultant structural engineer. He is also the Chairman and Managing Director of Deepal Wickremasinghe Associates (Pvt.) Ltd, a leading consultancy firm in Sri Lanka.

Ruhunu Hospital is investing to expand a new wing which will comprise of 50+ hospital beds, 50+ channel rooms and two operating theatres, with the intention of this investment being, to provide luxury and comfort to the customers. The company will also be investing in specialised areas of Neurosurgery, Vascular Surgery, Cancer, Dialysis, Radiology (MRI), Fertility Treatment and a VIP treatment centre.

PayMedia, a rapidly evolving Financial Technology (Fin-Tech) company in Sri Lanka, won eleven awards in total in 2018, and was highly commended for the leadership of its Founding Director, Kanishka Weeramunda, who was recognized with multiple leadership awards himself.

These accolades won by PayMedia, which are a testament to the company’s innovation and creativity includes six awards at NBQSA, two awards at e-Swabhimani 2018, Digital Social Impact Awards organized by Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA), one award at the CSSL ICT Awards and two awards at the CMI Excellence Awards.

PayMedia’s visionary CEO, Kanishka Weeramunda was recognized as the “Entrepreneur of the Year” at the National Best Quality ICT Awards (NBQSA) and “ICT Leader of the Year 2018” at The Computer Society of Sri Lanka (CSSL) ICT Awards which was presented to Weeramunda by President Maithripala Sirisena. He was also named the Best CEO of the Year and the Best Future Leader of the Year in the small and medium service sector category at the CMI Excellence Awards 2017, which was held in April this year.

Delivering better customer experience has become a key priority for most banks in recent years. Therefore, PayMedia, a truly Sri Lankan company was started with the aim of providing the best calibre of total software solutions for banks and other institutes. While keeping the focus on Fin-Tech, the company wants people to trust and enjoy the convenience of digital technology and disrupt the payment processes in the country and around the world.

The company is driven by a team of ambitious and committed young individuals who are acutely aware of the limitless growth potential of PayMedia. The products of the company are currently simplifying the user experience of millions around the country and enables the clients to gain a competitive edge by enhancing digital services based on process automation and real time payments.

Some of the innovative customized solutions are cash deposit ATM/KIOSK switching, KIOSK hardware and POS devices. The company also specializes on desktop, web, mobile and KIOSK applications, including feasibility studies conducted for independent system audits to ensure higher rates of ROI.

PayMedia Private Limited was established in 2014 and the company has achieved a rapid growth ever since currently enjoying a worldwide presence with established operations in Sri Lanka, Australia, Netherlands and Belgium. The company also plans on entering the Middle-Eastern countries in the near future.

As of now, the company has successfully launched projects with Sampath Bank PLC, Nations Trust Bank, Amana Bank PLC, Hatton National Bank PLC, LOLC Finance Company, Central Finance PLC and the Ceylon Electricity Board. In addition, PayMedia has also undertaken several new projects with financial and banking institutes such Sanasa Development Bank, Citizens Development Business Finance PLC, Ceylinco Life Insurance Limited and Sri Lanka Red Cross Society.

PayMedia is a company well-known for revolutionizing the banking and financial industry by disrupting the conventional banking system in Sri Lanka. With the introduction of the Smart POS solution, PayMedia has entered the digital era by shifting conventional methods of daily transactions by bringing convenience through innovation.

These solutions are the definition of a modern life and the approach aims at minimizing the hassle an individual goes through during their regular banking experience.

In a nutshell, the company uses innovative new techniques to provide a remarkable degree of products, while remaining pragmatic, affordable and effective.

PayMedia ensures that the customers, the financial institutes and the merchants are satisfied by making their lives better and efficient and ultimately enhancing the economy as a whole.

CIPM Sri Lanka, the Nation’s leader in Human Resource Management rolled out a series of outbound training and team building programmes for the management and executive staff of People’s Insurance PLC recently.

These workshops were designed, organized and conducted by the Consultancy and Corporate Training Division of CIPM Sri Lanka. Experienced outbound trainer and resource person Ajith Bopitiya was the Chief Learning Facilitator of the outbound training workshops. The first outbound training workshop was specifically designed for the management team of People’s Insurance PLC with the objective of developing the contribution of leadership and team building while the second workshop was specifically designed for its executive team with the objective of developing their skills.

A total of over 70 members of the management and executive teams of People’s Insurance participated in these outbound training sessions which were held at the MAS Athena premises in Thulhiriya and Dampe Village in Piliyandala.

“We are pleased to have been selected by People’s Insurance PLC as their outward bound training partner. CIPM Sri Lanka’s consultancy and training team has the unique advantage of being multi faceted due to our ability to draw upon the expertise of our highly qualified and experienced member network to offer customized solutions,” said Dhammika Fernando, President, CIPM Sri Lanka.

“Enhancing teamwork and cooperation is vital to achieve corporate goals and objectives in a dynamic and competitive environment. We are confident that the outbound training programme which was designed and delivered by the experts at CIPM Sri Lanka will no doubt add value to our competencies and capabilities. The outbound training programme aims to achieve a multitude of objectives including problem solving and decision making, taking risks and innovating, demonstrating ethics and integrity, displaying drive and purpose, building and maintaining relationships, managing effective teams and work groups etc.,” said Deepal Abeysekera, CEO, Peoples Insurance PLC.

Set away from office environments in natural settings, outbound training programmes aim to enhance team performance through experiential learning and revolves around activities designed to improve leadership and communication skills, planning, change management, delegation, teamwork and motivation.

The mentor/facilitator of the outbound training programme plays an important role in guiding and mentoring the participants. Each session was conducted using modern and comprehensive outbound training methods.

CIPM was founded in 1959 and was subsequently incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1976. CIPM is affiliated to the Asia Pacific Foundation of Human Resource Management and to the World Federation of People Management Associations.

CIPM, being a professional institute is also a constituent member of the Organization of Professional Associations [OPA] Sri Lanka. Currently, CIPM comprises of over 1200 Professional Members who serve in both public and private organizations. It was elevated to Chartered Status by the Parliament of Sri Lanka on the 28th of September 2018 by amending the original act of establishment.

Sri Lanka’s major tropical plants, cut flowers and best quality horticulture exporter Mike Flora Ltd has received National Awards for Science and Technology Achievements (NASTA) at a recent ceremony, organized by National Science Foundation at the Presidential Secretariat.

National Science Foundation is the nation’s premier driving force in promoting science, technology and innovation for economic and social prosperity of Sri Lanka.

The Award was presented to the Tissue Culture Lab of Mike Flora Group, Mike Biotech Asia Pvt Ltd, under the category of “Development of viable substitutes for imports and acquired or adapted technologies resulting in successfully exported products/services”.

Speaking at the ceremonyDirector, Sumedha Hasthanayake said Mike Biotech Asia Ltd is Sri Lanka’s modern and reliable plant biotech company and the young plant production division of the Mike Group of companies.

He said the company was established in 2004 and it is in the forefront of exporting Tissue Cultured plants to Australia, Japan, Denmark, The Netherlands, South Korea and many other countries worldwide that annually brings valuable foreign exchange to Sri Lanka.

Director Hasthanayake further said the Mike Group has the plant tissue culture laboratory with 20,000 sq.ft floor area is adequately equipped with all state- of- the- art production and R&D facilities.

It is said that Mike Biotech Asia is Sri Lanka’s modern and reliable plant biotech company and the plants are produced by in-vitro tissue culture technology.

The staff of the Bank of Ceylon raised voluntary donations to aid victims of the natural disaster that has occurred due to torrential rain in the Northern Peninsula.

Standing alongside with the rest of the Sri Lankans in this difficult time, BOC’s staff also shared their thoughts with affected people and helped in providing dry rations etc, in hope of bringing relief to affected people in Northern Peninsula assisting them to rebuild their lives once again. The staff attached to the head office and all branches donated from their salary in which the Bank’s Management, Staff and trade unions organized and bought goods that were much needed by affected people. Trucks carrying dry rations and other essential commodities were dispatched from the Bank of Ceylon head office early on December 29th Saturday 2018 with the participation of the Bank’s CEO/General Manager, members of the Bank’s Corporate and Executive management and the staff. Many staff members headed to Northern Province with the donation to provide necessary manpower to distribute them following the directions received from Divisional Authorities.

Speaking on behalf of the staff the Bank’s CEO/General Manager Mr. Senarath Bandara stated that “On behalf of the Management and Staff of the Bank I extend heartfelt sympathies to families and friends who have lost their belongings and are displaced or have been adversely affected. I sincerely wish all our fellow citizens strength and courage, to face this disaster sturdily and to make every effort possible to rise up from this adverse situation”.

The government has begun discussions with the IMF, JAIC, Millennium Challenge Cooperation and other monetary bodies to obtain the normal services again.

During the recent political impasse key monetary bodies halted its disbursements to the country.

Eran Wickremaratne, State Minister Finance, said discussions has begun on a preliminary stage with all Sri Lanka’s international partners who lend money to the country. The State Minister expressed hope that with the dialogue resumed, aid agencies normal service will start again soon.

The Minister said they have indicated to international lending agencies including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the others that the government will continue discussions with them commencing soon after the holiday season in financial markets and will take the process forward. The IMF during the political impasse put on hold discussions around the next tranche of the USD $1.5 billion loan to Sri Lanka. Though Sri Lanka has received over USD $1 billion so far, it was expected to receive a sixth tranche of approximately USD 250 million, with the total loan installments completed by mid-2019. Also affected was the loan pledged by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) which was to give Sri Lanka US$ 1.7 billion on very concessionary terms and also the Millennium Challenge Cooperation grant of USD 480 million to Sri Lanka to be utilized on several development projects.

The agreement between the Government and the Millennium Challenge Cooperation for the grant of USD 480 million was scheduled to be signed in December in Colombo. JICA had agreed to provide a US$ 1.7 billion loan at 0.1 percent interest with a 40-year repayment term with 12 year grace period for a light rail project in Sri Lanka.

The re-appointment of ‘pre-October 26 Government’ and passing of the Vote of Account in Parliament, and with the political uncertainty that prevailed over the last 8 weeks easing off, has provided financial capability for the Government and its institutions to function beyond 2018 according to a report by First Capital Research.

“Over the last 3 months (25-Sep to 24-Dec) we’ve maintained exposure at 50% considering earnings hit via depreciation and political unrest affecting sentiment of the market. However, during the period market gained by about 100-120 index points.”

“As we step into 2019, we are witnessing the global fund flow reversing towards Asia and commodity prices crashing with the dip in oil prices benefiting the BoP position of Sri Lanka and positively affecting Cost of Living.”

We believe the events that have unfolded may benefit Sri Lanka and the equity market over the next few months positively impacting earnings and possibly leading to net foreign inflows.

Thereby, we upgrade our equity exposure to 60% and upgrade ASPI volatility expectations to 6,000-6,500 (from our previous 5,800 –6,200),” the report adds.

Sri Lanka tourism is experiencing an increase of cruise liners calling in Colombo and this is attributing to the increase of tourist arrivals. Throughout 2018, Sri Lanka saw the arrival of 53 cruise liners.

In November 2018, Sri Lanka saw the arrival of three super luxury passenger vessels with combined passenger occupancy of nearly 7,000. Around 72,500 onboard passengers were reported throughout the year.

The super luxury passenger vessel MV Mein Schiff 3 of TUI Cruises with 2,430 passengers and 995 crew made her maiden call at the Port of Colombo on November 26. The vessel was welcomed at the East Container Terminal of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA).

The Chairman of SLPA Dr. Dissanayake said that the Port of Colombo had become an extremely busy port and that there were plans to construct a state of the art passenger terminal at the Port of Colombo. He further said that the process has already started and will be going through procurement process soon.

Assistant Director, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Harindra Dissanayake said, ‘’we’re delighted to add our contribution in promoting Sri Lanka as a leading travel destination, by establishing Tourist Information Counters in each passenger vessel to create awareness among tourists on Sri Lanka as a leading travel destination. This is done with the purpose of encouraging more tourists to visit Sri Lanka.”

Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC) has recently launched its three-year Strategic Plan, aimed at consolidating its dominant market position and exploring emerging opportunities in risk protection and life investment optimization.

The strategic plan was developed in consultation with MTI Consulting, using its internationally applied MTI’s 8S Model® and with the active participation of the management team.

Since its establishment in 1962, SLIC is the largest state-owned insurance company in Sri Lanka. SLIC has been living up to its motto “Like a father, Like a mother” providing both General Insurance as well as Life Insurance. The company is also the first and only local insurer to secure Fitch Ratings AA+ (lka) rating for its long-term financial stability and strong capital position.

 Commenting on the strategic plan, SLIC’s CEO Chandana L Aluthgama stated, “The insurance industry in both the global and local context has become challenging, making it tough for market leaders to maintain their position due to disruptions to the industry brought in from conventional as well as emerging players. We believe this plan will equip us with strategies to address above challenges via significant improvements and innovations in our products, channels, staff capabilities, processes and technologies”.

Chairman of SLIC, Dr K.A.S. Keeragala expressed that “A well-structured strategic plan of this nature will provide a clear direction for the future of our organization.

The successful implementation of this strategic plan will enable us to realize our vision and long-term goals, while positively contributing to the economy and people, as the nation’s insurer.”

The Colombo Port has created a unique all time record handling land mark 7 million TEU for 2018.

The Ports Authority says that reaching the seven million TEU container volume is a major milestone in the history of Colombo’s container handling operation. Colombo Port was also adjudged as the fastest growing port in the world and even ahead of competing ports such as Singapore, the ports of Dubai, Fujairah, Salalah in the Gulf and Tanjun Pelepas in Malaysia in the first half of 2018.

Meanwhile Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Southern Development Sagala Ratnayaka made familiarization visit to the port of Colombo, recently.

The Minister visited the Chairman’s office, Harbour Master’s Office, Pilot Station, JCT Administration Building and several other units of the Colombo Port.

The Minister was accompanied by the Secretary to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Southern Development Dr.Prakrama Dissanayake, Managing Director of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Athula Hewawitharana and Director Operations of Sri Lanka Ports Authority Jayantha Perera. Several Executive directors and employees of SLPA were present at this visit.

The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, at its last meeting decided to maintain policy interest rates at their current levels.

Accordingly, the Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) of the Central Bank will remain at 8 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively.

The Board considered current and expected developments in the domestic economy and the domestic financial markets as well as the global economic environment, with the broad aim of stabilising inflation at mid single digit levels in the medium term to enable the economy to achieve its potential growth.

As per the provisional estimates of the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS), the Sri Lankan economy recorded a modest real GDP growth of 2.9 per cent, year-on-year, during the third quarter of 2018, compared to the revised growth of 3.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2018. As per the available economic indicators and other economic developments, real GDP growth is likely to be low in the fourth quarter of 2018 as well, before picking up gradually in 2019.

The continued low economic growth reemphasises the need for implementing broad based structural reforms without further delay.

The reduction of the Statutory Reserve Ratio (SRR) at the last monetary policy review in November 2018 released around Rs. 90 billion of rupee liquidity to the banking system. However, the liquidity deficit has widened thereafter, and the Central Bank continued its open market operations (OMOs) cautiously to manage liquidity on overnight, short term and long term basis as appropriate.

In spite of the increased cost of funds and tight liquidity conditions, the year-on-year growth of credit to the private sector accelerated since September 2018, partly reflecting the private sector advancing its activities in anticipation of measures by the government and the Central Bank to curb excessive import growth.

Headline inflation, based on both the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) and the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI), and remained in low single digit levels. Core inflation also remained subdued thus far in 2018.

Recent downward adjustments to fuel prices and selected administratively determined prices, as well as the reduction of Special Commodity and telecommunication levies, along with the ongoing recovery in the agriculture sector are expected to impact favourably on inflation in the near term.

Volatile global commodity prices, possible weather related disruptions to domestic supply chains due to unpredictable weather patterns, and the possible pass-through of the effect of the rupee depreciation in recent months to domestic prices pose risks to the inflation outlook.

The current projections show that inflation, on average, will remain below 5 per cent in 2019 and stabilise in the range of 4-6 per cent thereafter with appropriate policy adjustments.

The trade deficit widened further in the first ten months of 2018 with the expansion in import expenditure outpacing the growth of export earnings. However, a moderation in import expenditure is expected, in response to the measures adopted to curb imports of motor vehicles and non-essential goods as well as the impact of the depreciation of the rupee.

While earnings from tourism continued to grow, a slowdown in workers’ remittances was observed. In the financial account, both the government securities market and the Colombo Stock Exchange experienced net outflows of foreign investment, although marginal inflows have been observed in December.

The widening trade deficit, tight conditions in the global markets and excessive speculation in the domestic market exerted pressure on the exchange rate, and the Sri Lankan rupee depreciated by 15.9 per cent against the US dollar thus far during 2018 up to 27 December.

Meanwhile, gross official reserves amounted to US dollars 7 billion at end November 2018, providing an import cover of 3.7 months.

Although inflation remains subdued and economic growth remains below potential, the Monetary Board was of the view that it is appropriate to continue the current monetary policy stance to stabilise overall economic conditions and domestic financial markets in a context where there has been an uptick in private sector credit as well as continued pressure on external reserves.

Accordingly, the Monetary Board decided to maintain the Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) of the Central Bank at their current levels.

Three Sinha Group, one of the leading companies in construction field to invent a number of new products to Sri Lankan market, opened its latest branch at Walgama, Matara recently.

The new branch is a one stop shop for all products and services offered by Three Sinha and a special feature of the Concept Center is the facility to test, learn and experience about all products and services before the customer makes the decision to purchase them.

The very presence of Three Sinha group in down south is a great opportunity for all living in Matara, Galle and Hambantota districts.

While the head office and main Concept Center of Three Sinha Group is located at Nawala, Koswatta its branch network spreads to Negombo (at Colombo Road, Negombo), Kandy (at William Gopallawa Mawatha, Kandy) and Rajagiriya (opposite the Election Commission).

The latest introductions by Three Sinha are the eco friendly solar power systems. While diversifying its business network Three Sinha Industries has started constructing law cost prefabricated steel buildings with state of the art technology.

Three Sinha has introduced a range of roller door products to the market, namely roller doors, roller shutters, sectional overhead doors, window shutters, fire resistant doors, Aluminium fabrications, sensor doors, stainless steel, steel railings and stairways, poly-carbonated canopies, stainless steel pantry cupboards, rack systems, automatic barriers and motor operated sliding gates and swing gates.

Three Sinha also has the distinction of being an ISO 9001:2008 certified organizations.

Commenting on the opening ceremony at Matara, Managing Director of Three Sinha Group Manjula Ariyakumara said that their presence in down south would contribute immensely to uplift the construction sector in the area as Three Sinha is offering a high quality service to its customers with new inventions and concepts.

A leading company in the sale of environmentally friendly electric motorbikes, Green Bike Center, has introduced a hybrid scooter for the first time in Sri Lanka.

The scooter manufactured by the Chinese company named Jandsu Honsin Motorcycle company, is sold under the brand name of Gallant Eco Hybrids. The scooter is run on both electric power as well as petrol and can be charged at home. An inverter generator within the vehicle produces the energy required to run the scooter.

The first 40km can be run using the energy from the battery charged by your electricity supply at home. When the battery drops to 20 percent of charge, the generator kicks in to charge the battery and produces energy needed for the scooter.

Once the battery is charged, the generator stops working and the scooter operates on the power of the battery. The fuel efficiency of this vehicle comes to 80km per litre. The scooter can be purchased at the Green Bike Centre showroom located in Minuwangoda. The company also has all spare parts and they provide all their customers with excellent after sales service, said the company’s Operations Director, A. A. N. T. Adhikari.

The scooter’s generator which can bear up to 200kg also generates up to 1500W which can be used to power your home. The bike also has a 2000W motor consisting of six 72V-20A batteries. Other specialties of the scooter include; LED headlights, a reverse gear, disc brake, a 49CC four stroke air-cooled engine, self-cool inverter generator and a 4 litre fuel tank. Scooters are available in the colours of; red, white, silver mixed with red and black, silver mixed with red and blue and carries a warranty for two years or a mileage of 24,000km.

The scooter which comes with eight patents is priced at Rs 245,500 and all customers will be given a charger, helmet, jacket, coat, tool kit and four rounds of service for the vehicle free of charge.

CINEC Campus will open its doors to 2018 A/L students and their parents on January 5, 2019 to explore the potential educational avenues available to them, leading to a successful career in the future.

Potential students attending the Open Day could also get a head start to their educational aspirations with amazing discounts offered to registrations on same day, Among them are scholarships of up to 75% for students who have excelled in their A/Ls and support for affordable educational funding.

laborating on the September Open Day, CINEC Managing Director Capt. Ajith Peiris said, “We have shrived to provide a sound base for our youth to enrich themselves with the tools and skills they need to pursue a successful career anywhere in the world. The depth of knowledge they acquire is infused with the soft skills that is lacking in many other formal educational institutions that focus singularly on the academics only. We strongly believe that we need to send out workplace ready professionals. We look forward to welcoming a new batch of young adults ready to hone their passion for their chosen area of study.”

The purpose-built CINEC Campus in Malabe will open at 9 am on January 5 and will give visitors a first-hand experience of the state-of-the-art facilities for educational and recreational activities. Lecturers and non-academic staff will also be available to visitors to seek additional information about their programs on campus, career prospects in their preferred area of study, affiliation to international universities and other specialized institution leading in their respective fields. CINEC currently has over 20,000 enrolments annually across 195 courses in the areas of Maritime, Engineering, Aviation, IT, Logistics, Management, English, Law, Tourism and Hospitality, HR, Education and Health Sciences.

Since its inception in 1990, CINEC has been committed to bringing study programs that lead to highly sought-after employment opportunities in fast growing sectors across the world. Students will be exposed to a sound theoretical base coupled with numerous practical exercises fully supported by CINEC’s experienced academic staff. The campus is also equipped with residential facilities, cafeteria, swimming pool, gymnasium and other allied facilities.

Sritrims, a member of the Speed Group of Companies, manufacturer and supplier of apparel and fashion accessories to renowned international brands across the global landscape celebrated their 22nd anniversary.

Managing Director, Sritrims, Nishantha Delgoda, said, “in our forward journey, the key factors which contributed significantly towards our success and excellence were exploring alternative markets, diversifying our business, modernization, creativity, innovation and the profound commitment of all members of our staff”.

“With gradual expansion, the Company’s fully-fledged operational centres are now active in India, Pakistan, Turkey, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Cambodia.’’

He said that during the past two decades, the global economy suffered a setback from time to time. The downturn reflected adversely on Sri Lanka as well, where the economy was badly hit at one point or another during this period. “As a leading manufacturer and supplier of apparel and fashion accessories to the international market, we were able to survive the vicissitudes of the economic meltdown over the past 22 years and push ahead with our operations steadfastly on a successful note,” Delgoda said.

Sritrims is a member of the Speed Group of Companies, which also have under its umbrella Speed Water, Speed Motors, Speed Land and Speed Credit.

Sritrims manufacture apparel and fashion accessories such as buttons, eyelets, grommets, rivets, hooks and bars, metal plates as well as webbing, braided, plattered leather, PU, wax coated canvass and all kinds of belts under stringent international quality standards at production facilities in China.

The products are procured by reputed suppliers in the apparel and fashion industries in the USA, the UK and other European countries.

ICC Green Energy, an arm of reputable general contractor, International Construction Consortium Pvt Ltd (ICC) introduces a range of garbage composter machines that can convert organic waste in to compost within just 24 hours.

The range of machines covers processing capacities suitable for domestic, condominium and commercial use.

The domestic unit called ‘Food Cycler’ comes with built in activated carbon filters that eliminates any processing smell. It could process 1.5 kg per cycle of 6 to 8 hours, consuming electricity less than 1Kw/hour. This equipment is very simple to use, just fill the bucket provided and place it in the machine, close the lid and press start. Once the cycle is finished it will stop.

Activated carbon filters are available if required to reduce processing odor. Commercial units work the same way with 24 hours for processing. The larger units could be supplied with bin lifters to make loading easy. They also discharge the finished product automatically.

Commenting on the product, Nihal de Saram (Director) of ICC said “ICC Green Energy Solutions has long been in the business of marketing environmentally sustainable equipment to conserve resources. With the launch of the quick composter, we hope to encourage the practice of replenishing earth with what we so systematically extricate from it; the composters are a way of achieving this easily. The mineral content of the converted food waste will enrich the soil when it is used as a fertiliser.” ICC Green Energy Solutions is also the supplier of a smart modular sewage treatment system namely the ExtraPac system that treats sewage/wastewater and transforms it into useable water. There are over 15 units operational in Sri Lanka today and it is approved by the CEA. The Company is also a leading supplier of Solar panels, with current installations of over 11 megawatts installed in the country.

With a growing global presence and recognizing dynamic business environment, the management of ETA MELCO announced the change in the company name to A G MELCO Elevator Company Lanka. The new identity reflects integrity, stability and continuity, keeping in line with the company philosophy to uphold the highest levels of credibility.

A G MELCO Elevator Company Lanka (formerly ETA MELCO Engineering) established operations in Sri Lanka in 1983 and has 35 years of experience in the field of supply, installation and maintenance of Mitsubishi elevators and escalators, and there are over 3,500 such units installed by the company across Sri Lanka.

The name change came as a result of corporate restructuring which however did not result in changes in staff or in the range of products and services offered by them.

The company will continue to operate as before, while their contact details, including location, phone and fax numbers remain unchanged.

The change in the company name will not impact their ongoing engagements, cooperation and obligations contractually or otherwise. AG MELCO operates in multiple geographies such as the Middle East, South Asia, Africa, Turkey and CIS countries. With over 40 years of business presence in the industry, AG MELCO looks forward to grow and serve customers in the global market.

The core inflation, which reflects the underlying inflation in the economy, decreased to 3.1% in November from 3.4% in October on year-on-year basis. The annual average core inflation remained unchanged at 2.4% in November.

However the headline inflation as measured by the year-on-year change in the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI, 2013=100) reversed its declining trend, recording 1 per cent in November 2018 from 0.1 per cent in October 2018.

The increase observed in year-on-year inflation in November 2018 is mainly driven by the increase of the prices of Food items. Year-on-year Food inflation increased to -3.9 per cent in November 2018 from -6.6 per cent in October 2018. However, year -on- year Non-food inflation decreased from 5.8 per cent in October 2018 to 5.2 per in November 2018.

The change in the NCPI measured on an annual average basis decreased to 2.7 per cent in November 2018 from 3.3 per cent in October 2018.

The month on month change of the NCPI increased by 2.2 per cent in November 2018 due to increase in the prices of the items in the Food category, particularly that of vegetables, green chillies, rice, limes and potatoes.

Meanwhile, prices of the items in the Non-food category also increased during the month where Health sub- category reported the highest increase.

The Board of Directors of The Lighthouse Hotel PLC has decided to invest a sum of Rs. 450 million (excluding government taxes) for the refurbishment, upgrade of rooms, public areas, service areas and plant and equipment at Jetwing Lighthouse and intends to leverage on the existing capital structure of the Company.

Jetwing Lighthouse has a total of eighty-five 85 rooms out of which 63 rooms will be under refurbishment, upgrade from May to July 2019. The remaining 22 rooms will be in operation during this period.

With this transformation, Jetwing Lighthouse intends to continue its position as a unique hospitality property in the southern coast.

It is estimated that the hotel will be fully operational by August 2019. (LN)

Sri Lanka’s tourism industry has posted a 10.6% growth in revenue up to October 2018, compared to last year.

Foreign exchange earnings from tourism up to October 2018 were estimated to be US$ 3,495 million. Compared to last year, the earnings from tourism recorded a growth of 10.6% where the estimated earnings for the previous year were US$ 3,160 for the same period.

With international tourist arrivals growing up to 11.2% in the first eleven months of 2018 with India, China, the United Kingdom and Germany continuing to dominate the top source markets, the government revenue projection for tourism this year is US$ 4,400 million.

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has won the titles of ‘Best Commercial Bank’ in Sri Lanka and the ‘Best Foreign Bank’ in Bangladesh in 2018 from the UK-based Global Business Outlook (GBO) magazine, ending a year of international and local accolades with twin honours across the Palk Strait.

The prestigious Best Commercial Bank award is based on quantitative as well as qualitative indicators encompassing the Bank’s financial performance in the year of assessment, its impact on the national economy, financial inclusion and rural development, geographic range, achievements, new products, CSR initiatives and awards and accolades.

The Best Foreign Bank award presented to Commercial Bank Bangladesh recognises growth achieved in new accounts, deposits and advances, services offered to corporate and personal banking customers, new products and the growth of the Bank’s Online Banking services in that market.

This is the first occasion that Commercial Bank has participated in the Global Banking Outlook awards programme.

“This is an encouraging end to what has been a year of achievements for Commercial Bank,” the Bank’s Managing Director/CEO S. Renganathan said. “We have probably won more awards in 2018 than in any other year, demonstrating that we do not compromise on quality and performance even in challenging market conditions, and that growth can be achieved with an unwavering focus on fundamentals and best practices.”

Global Business Outlook evaluated a vast number of companies in various sectors of industry for these awards, including but not limited to Banking, Insurance, Wealth Management, Asset Management, Brokerage, Technology, Real Estate and Hospitality.

Super luxury passenger vessel M.V. Marella Discovery of Marella Cruises with 1,732 passengers and 764 crew on board made her maiden call at the Port of Colombo recently.

Managing Director of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Capt. Athula Hewavitharana said that the Port of Colombo was honoured by the presence of Marella Discovery in Colombo.

Marella Cruises (formerly Thomson Cruises) is a British cruise line offering cruise holidays around Europe, the Caribbean and Asia.Marella Discovery is approximately 264 meters in length and 32 meters wide having 902 state rooms with a capacity to accommodate up to 2,074 passengers.

The excursions organised by Aitken Spence Travels had over 1,000 passengers joining in to enjoy the city and immediate locations of Sri Lanka such as the Colombo heritage walk, exploring the city of Galle and Sri Lankan river safari.

Marella Discovery commenced its voyage from Europe calling at Italy, Crete and moving onto Egypt, Jordan, Oman, U.A.E. and several ports in India on her way to Sri Lanka and will thereafter cruise towards Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. The vessel that cruised under the flag of Malta called Colombo from Cochin, India and Sabang, Indonesia is her next port of call.

To mark the maiden call of the vessel at the Port of Colombo plaque exchanges were held between the Master of the vessel, SLPA, local agents - Aitken Spence Shipping Ltd and travel operator, Aitken Spence Travels Ltd.

On behalf of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Capt. Athula Hewavitharana, Managing Director exchanged plaques with the Master of Marella Discovery, Capt. Christopher N. Dodds, IqramCuttilan, Managing Director of Aitken Spence Shipping and NalinJayasundera, Managing Director of Aitken Spence Travels exchanged plaques with the Master on behalf of the Aitken Spence Group subsidiaries.

Earnings from merchandise exports increased by 0.4 per cent (year-on-year) to US dollars 979 million in October 2018. The marginal growth of exports in October reflects mainly the decline in agricultural exports by 11.5 per cent which offset the 4.5 per cent growth of industrial exports.

Under industrial exports, export earnings from textiles and garments increased marginally in October 2018 due to higher earnings from textile exports despite the slight decline registered in garment exports.

The reduced earnings from garment exports was mainly driven by the lower demand from the USA, despite an increase in exports to the EU market and non-traditional markets such as India, Canada, Japan and Hong Kong. Further, reflecting the combined impact of both volume and export prices, earnings from petroleum products increased significantly in October 2018.

Export earnings from food, beverages and tobacco and base metals and articles increased substantially during October 2018 due to improved performance in most of their sub categories.

Meanwhile, earnings from agricultural exports were lower during the month owing to the poor performance in almost all sub categories except seafood, vegetables and rubber.

Reflecting lower average export prices and exported volumes, export earnings from tea declined in October 2018. Export earnings from spices also reduced during the month due to the poor performance in most categories of spices.

Further, despite an increase in earnings from coconut non-kernel products, earnings from coconut exports decreased due to the drop in earnings from coconut kernel products such as desiccated coconut and coconut oil.

However, owing to higher exports to the EU market, earnings from seafood exports rose during the month.

Leading markets for merchandise exports of Sri Lanka in October 2018 were the USA.

The first ever version of “Reach The Peak Sri Lanka hike“ reached its pinnacle when it drew a large number of hikers who were given a challenge to test their adventurous traits during the climb of Hanthana peaks . A total number of 150 hikers took part in the event and ventured out to cover some 12 kilometers across the Hanthana mountain range recently.

Delmege tours – the inbound and MICE arm of the Delair Travels organized this event with the support of several partners.

Delmege Tours observed that project was aimed at adding value to the country’s touristic profile which needed to be seen as a destination with myriad options for adventure and expeditions.

Head of Travels, Events and Corporate Affairs Delmege Tours, Mahesh Senananayake said, “our goal was to attract enthusiastic hikers in numbers and create an event of international precision which we could do. Thereby we wanted contribute to uplifting of the country’s image as a growing destination for adventure tourism”.

“The team from Sri Lanka Army Air mobile brigade led by Col. Nissnak Iriyagama and Major Rangana Gamlathge brought in a paradigm experience to the participants and i thank them for their strategic partnership. . I believe that in the future, there shall be a product of adventure tourism offered and handled by the Sri Lanka Army.”

Endorsed by Sri Lanka tourism and Sri Lanka Convention bureau, Reach the peak was supported by Mountain Dew – Official beverage partner, Pan Asia Bank – Official Banking partner, Amaya hills – Official hospitality partner amongst several other partners. All participants were given an insurance cover, Food and water and a medical team was stationed to facilitate any emergency.

A tree plantation ceremony too was held.

Club Waskaduwa Beach Resort and Spa will be celebrating their third year of operations next January.

Chairman, Athula Makawitage who worked in Gulf and Japan for over two decades in both the hospitality and aviation sectors said that in a bid to extend their foot print he is looking at investing in two more similar hotel projects in Galle and Kandy soon.

He said that he was always keen to get involved in the Sri Lanka leisure sector and invested over Rs. 650 million and built the hotel and open it in 2017 January also providing 114 employment.”

Club Waskaduwa Beach Resort and Spa is five star boutique property with facilities for differently abled guests. It has 54 premier and deluxe rooms and several one to three bed room suites with a view to the ocean or garden.

The hotel has installed Japanese and European equipment in toilets, lighting, glass and kitchen adding more value to the hotel. Rooms come with a flat-screen TV with satellite channels, safety deposit box, free Wi-Fi, tea coffee making facility, mini bar and private bathroom equipped with a bathtub and many other features.

Hotel overlooking the Indian Ocean has an all Day Dining Restaurant, large swimming pool with a kiddie’s pool, Spa managed by the French and Fitness center, large dining area, sea food restaurant, (Pokirissa) saloon and sports and recreation facilities in the garden and the beach.

To meet the growing demand for local and foreign weddings, corporate day outings and MICE events which are currently hosted in the large garden and in their mini conference room that could accommodate 80 guests, the management is looking to re develop the roof top area. “The hotel has been maintaining an average 75% occupancy throughout the year and our main market is Europe, Russia, Japan and China”. The hotel has also been selected as the host hotel in Sri Lanka for the Miss England Top ten tour.

He said that in a bid to address the needs of the leisure industry to have more trained staff the hotel would be launching their own hotel school in February jointly with the Sabaragamua University to initially train 100 students. “The hotel will offer them hostel facilities, meals and on the job training and would offer one year diploma and six month Certificate courses.”

One of the world biggest cruise liners in the world, MSC Shipping sailed MSC Splendida with her 4000+ passengers to Colombo during their 29 day voyage on her way to Abu Dhabi.

Departing from the shores of shanghai, China, the ship left Okinawa, Hongkong, Laem Chabang, Singapore, port Klang and Phuket to reach Colombo.

In bid to market the cruise liner among Sri Lankan passengers, the NKAR Travels and Tours Pvt Ltd, PSA for MSC cruises in Sri Lanka organized a tour of Travel agents to the MSC Splendida.

The 18 deck ship where only 14 are reserved for the public, hosts a total of seven restaurants, eleven bar lounges, fifteen entertainment places, five places for relax and fitness and eight shops.

The Swarovski crystal staircases with each step valued at 30,000 pounds, The sports bar, Formular one simulator and the excellent choices of dining options attracts many passengers.

An officials of the ship said that the MSC Splendida owns the largest theatre of the fleet. The Strand Theatre which could accommodate 1000+ viewers, features top west end style shows.

MSC Splendida built in 2009 was honored with the title of ECO Ship due to its efficient systems in place to save energy and process waste and water in the cleanest way.

One of the main entertainment places within the ship, The Yacht Club has 71 spacious suites with its own concierge reception, 24 hour butler service, private top sail lounge, pool deck and bar. Further the top 18 sundeck offers stunning sea view with its own dedicated spa service and bar menu with its complimentary fruit skewers.

The Ship owned by the world’s largest privately-owned cruise line and brand market leader in Europe and South America, MSC Cruises in Italy operates several cruises all over the world. Their ships sail year-round in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, and the seasonal itineraries include Northern Europe, the Atlantic Ocean, South America, southern Africa, China, and Dubai, Abu Dhabi & India.

The Sri Lankan rupee has further depreciated to Rs.182.7137 against the US dollar.
As per the exchange rates recorded by the CBSL the selling price of the rupee stood at Rs. 182.7137 while the buying price stood at Rs. 178.7451 against the US dollar today.