ICCSL-WCF host World Int’l Certificate of Origin Council Meeting

The World International Certificate of Origin Council Meeting and the World ATA Carnet Council Meeting were inaugurated by Senior Minister and Deputy Finance Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama on November 18.These meeting are held at Hilton Colombo and are conducted by International Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka (ICCSL) in collaboration with the World Chambers Federation (WCF).

Access Engineering In Publicprivate Partnership To Construct Housing For Public Sector

The Urban Development Authority (UDA) recently awarded a contract to Access Engineering PLC for the construction of 608 residential housing units for the government sector employees.

Emirates App on iPhone enhances travel experience

Building on the successful launch of The Emirates App for iPad earlier this year, Emirates airline has now increased its mobile presence with the launch of The Emirates App for iPhone on the App Store.Already the most popular travel app in 25 countries with a 4.5 star rating, The Emirates App for iPhone has enhanced features such as the ability to check-in and download their boarding pass directly to Passbook. The App also features push notifi

Etihad Scores Hat-trick At Aviation Business Awards

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was named the ‘Airline of the Year’, ‘Cargo Operator of the Year (Commercial Airline)’ and ‘MRO Service Provider of the Year’ at the Aviation Business Awards 2014.The awards, organised by ITP Publishing, celebrate achievements within the Middle East aviation i ndustry, with winners being announced during a gala reception in Dubai last ni

Pacific World Expands Presence To Sri Lanka And Maldives With Aitken Spence

Travel DailyNews: Pacific World has partnered with Aitken Spence Travel to open Pacific World Sri Lanka and Pacific World Maldives.Pacific World, t he i ntegrated global DMC and event management organisation announced its expansion into further two emerging MICE destinations, including Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Gabo Travels invites SRI Lankans to discover Europe through insider eyes

Trafalgar, the global leader in guided holidays has launched the much anticipated 2015 Europe and Britain collection featuring a record 117 carefully crafted itineraries with 14 new trips, across 10 trip styles and covering 44 European countries.Travel with Trafalgar and you’ll enjoy unique experiences that you will not have access to on your own. Climb Bramante’s spiral staircase in the Vatican, normally out of bounds to the gener

SLICM hosts Annual Convocation

The Sri Lanka Institute of Credit Management (SLICM hosted its 18th Annual convocation recently at the Centre for Banking Studies with Governor of the Central Bank, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, gracing the occasion as the Chief Guest.

Nsb Nine Month Profits Surpass Rs. 6 Bn

NSB recorded a profit before tax of Rs.6.0 billion for the nine months ended 30th September 2014, up by 492 percent from Rs.1.0 billion recorded in the corresponding period last year, and the net profit recorded an increase of 679 percent to Rs.3.5 billion from Rs.445million recorded in the same period last year.

CCC invites global chambers to explore Sri Lanka’s trade and investment potential

A group comprising representatives of nearly 30 chambers operating across t he globe visited Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and the Colombo Tea Auction yesterday.The group made this visit, while taking part in two ongoing training programs on ‘Certificate of Origins’ and ‘ATA Carnets’, conducted by the ICC World Chambers Federation in Colombo.

Mobitel excels in ICT innovation at e-Swabhimani Awards

The National Mobile Service Provider Mobitel won three esteemed awards at the recent ‘e-Swabhimani 2014 Awards’, the prestigious national awards that gives recognition for the best e-content and innovative ICT applications in the country.Mobitel received recognition for showcasing innovation in e-content and the use of its mobile platform as a powerful medium of exchange. Mobitel triumphed in the m-Content category for ‘Doc C

Etisalat ‘Game of Tunes’ on hat-trick

Etisalat ‘Game of Tunes’ is on its successful third month, after rewarding nine batches of lucky winners from their loyal Call-A-Tune fan base.The immensely popular promotion is based on a point system where participants have to dial *354, download their favourite Call-A-Tunes and generate the most number of points.

FITIS conducts patent workshop with ICTA support

The Federation of IT Industry Sri Lanka (FITIS) conducted a training programs on “Inventing, Innovating and Patenting” recently with financial assistance from ICT Agency Sri Lanka.Practicing ICT professionals from local software firms joined this program held at Hilton Colombo Residencies. The training was delivered by Dr Steven H Voldman from United States of America who is an authority in the subject.Inventions should be protecte

Indo-Lanka FTA study team arrives in Colombo

In a new development in t he on-going Indo-Lanka trade dialogue, an independent survey team has arrived in Colombo to map barriers to the free trade agreement (FTA) trade and the first round of this groundbreaking bilateral study would conclude in early 2015.“After the FTA was entered into, bilateral trade i mproved tremendously. I welcome your efforts to identify aspects where improvements are needed in our free trade dialogue,” I

Burger King Introduce Family Meals to Menu

Encouraging a more family friendly dining option, Sri Lanka’s favorite fast food restaurant Burger King has come out with their new Family Deal with a meal to satisfy the whole family. An enjoyable meal that will have the whole family around the dinner table, the Burger King family deal includes sumptuous burgers, flavorful portions rice with spicy gravy and salad, mouthwatering crispy chicken wings, Burger King’s signature thick c

Odel radiates Love & Light in sparkling Christmas makeover

Love and light were in abundant evidence when Sri Lanka’s best loved department store Odel literally switched on for Christmas 2014 in scintillating style at its flagship edifice at Alexandra Place, on Saturday 15th November.

Qatar Airways' Flights To Edinburgh To Increase To A Daily Scheduled Service

Qatar Airways will operate a daily, direct scheduled service from Doha’s Hamad International Airport to Edinburgh Airport from 1st May 2015. The announcement comes just six months after the successful launch of the five-weekly service on the route and reinforces the airline’s commitment to add additional frequencies on the route, which it announced at the launch.The daily QR027 outbound service and QR028 inbound service, operated b

Union Motor Reload and Travel Insurance offered in 5 minutes

Union Assurance has continuously brought the highest international standards of quality to its customers, and is continuing to do so by introducing an online purchasing option for its revolutionary Union Motor Reload and the Union Travel Insurance products.Union Motor Reload is a motor insurance policy that you can purchase according to your requirement, from 3, 6, to 12-month periods. Further to the convenience, it provides you with more cont

Galle Face Hotel loses iconic figure

Kottarappu Chathu Kuttan, the iconic doorman at the Galle Face hotel who made history for being one of the oldest hotel employees in the world, passed away yesterday.In honour of a personality that cannot be forgotten, the hotel observed a minute’s silence. Kuttan has lived to see the many changes in the hotel and in the country. He joined Galle Face Hotel during the latter part of the British rule in Sri Lanka. Kuttan’s career whi

VAT impact hampers Cargills September performance

Cargills Ceylon PLC which operates the country’s largest retail network, recorded a net loss of Rs.53.1 million for the September quarter (2Q15) against a net profit of Rs.51.2 million during the same quarter of the previous year, amid a challenging business environment.The loss per share for the quarter under review was 22 cents against earnings per share of 21 cents in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

LOLC Rs.5bn debenture snapped up

The diversified conglomerate, Lanka Orix Leasing Company PLC (LOLC) yesterday told its Rs.5 billion debenture issue was oversubscribed on the opening day. LOLC issued 50 million debentures at Rs.100 each to fund its massive lending drive. The group is currently in an aggressive lending push as it expanded its loan book by as much as Rs.25.1 billion during the first six months ended September (1H15). During the 1H15, the group’s lending p

Classic Travel unveils Classic Vacations

Sri Lanka’s leading travel solutions provider, Classic Travel, a subsidiary of Expolanka Holdings PLC, opened a new branch in Munidasa Kumaratunga Mawatha to cater to the discerning holiday travellers. The new branch will mainly focus on customized holiday tour packages with added value to suit each customer.A member of the prestigious Expolanka Group of Companies, Classic Travel specializes in providing total travel solutions to both co

Srilankan’s Flysmiles Partners With Loon Tao, Tsing Tao Restaurants

SriLankan Airlines’ frequent flyer programme, FlySmiLes entered into a partnership with Loon Tao and Tsing Tao to offer its members a host of attractive benefits.Accordingly, for every Rs.100 spent, FlySmiLes members can earn one FlySmiLes mile and the opportunity to redeem their miles when dining at any of the two restaurants.

Mobitel boosts SLT September bottom line

Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), the leader in fixed telephony services in the country, reported a net profit of Rs.2.06 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2014 (3Q14), up 32 percent year-on-year (YoY), largely helped by better performance of its mobile arm, Sri Lanka Mobitel.The basic earnings per share improved to Rs.1.15 from 87 cents reported in the same quarter of the previous year.

Expolanka continues to shed non-core businesses under Sagawa

Japan’s Sagawa group subsidiary, Expolanka Holdings PLC yesterday said it divested eight of its group companies to Aberdeen Holdings (Pvt.) Ltd, a diversified familyowned group, for a consideration of Rs.740 million.“(We) have undertaken this divestment with the aim of bringing improved returns and cash flows to the organisation and also to bring focus to the core business operations of the company,” Expolanka Holdings PLC sa

Amãna Bank Awarded as the World’s Best Up and Coming Islamic Bank

The world renowned ‘Global Finance Magazine’ recently recognized and awarded Amãna Bank as the Best Up-and-Comer Islamic Bank of the World. Amãna Bank’s Chief Executive Officer Mohamed Azmeer received the award from Global Finance at the 18th Annual, World’s Best Banks Award Ceremony 2014 held in Washington DC, USA, which coincided with the annual IMF and World Bank Conference in the same location.

Fly to Kunming – China with findmyfare.com for just 1 Rupee!

Sri Lanka’s largest online travel company, findmyfare.com recently launched an unbeatable deal with Seylan Bank for their credit cardholders who want to visit Kunming in China. Findmyfare.com together with Seylan Bank will offer 100 seats on SriLankan Airlines for just one rupee (plus Airline taxes of Rs. 15,869/-) each from 13th November 2014.

Mobitel bags two Gold Awards at ‘Techno Sri Lanka 2014’

The National Mobile Service Provider Mobitel was honoured for the eight consecutive year at the Annual Techno Sri Lanka 2014 Awards night where it bagged two prestigious Gold awards for ‘Product with Highest Social Impact’ and ‘Best Demonstration’ for the year.Techno Sri Lanka 2014 - The National Engineering and Technology Exhibition organized by the prestigious Institute of Engineers Sri Lanka (IESL) was held for the 2

Samsung expands network with new digital plaza in Panadura

Samsung Electronics recently expanded its network in Sri Lanka, by launching its latest Samsung Digital Plaza in Panadura.The new plaza will provide consumers in the town of Panadura with greater access to a variety of Samsung’s consumer products. The plaza was opened in collaboration with Softlogic Retail and the opening ceremony was attended by distinguished guests from Samsung Electronics India - Sri Lanka Branch Office and Softlogic

Huawei Launches Latest Big Screen Smartphone ‘Ascend Mate7’ In Sl

Huawei Ascend Mate7, the latest flagship smartphone of Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. was launched in Sri Lanka last week at their local partner’s Singer Lifestyle Exhibition and Fun Fair, at the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Exhibition Centre.“Ascend Mate7 is the latest big screen smartphone from Huawei and it shows its big ambitions as the number three smartphone vendor in the world,” Huawei Device South East Asia

Lending Push Ups Ndb 3q Net By 40%

The diversified financial services group, National Development Bank PLC (NDB) posted a net profit of Rs.1.24 billion for the quarter ended September 30,2014 (3Q14), an increase of 39.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the interim results.The Earnings Per Share (EPS) rose to 775 cents from 542 cents during the period.The profits were mainly driven by the better performance in the core-banking operations supported by the massive lending