| Business |
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Sunday
Times re-launches The Business Club (TBC) Speaking at
the launch, Patrick Amarasinghe, a veteran businessman and eminent
chamber personality, said that a lot of people in the business community
"tend to be silent" on burning issues and the club was
a good opportunity for them to take an active role in addressing
these issues. "The private
sector must not only take economic activities to grassroots level
but pay attention to its social responsibility. There are so many
young people looking for opportunities in the private sector and
it faces a big challenge with the government reducing recruitment
in the public sector." Having faced
a number of distasteful experiences in the past in the form of insurgencies
in 1971 and 1989, Amerasinghe noted that the private sector had
a huge responsibility in terms of conducting career guidance programmes
at school level. "The government expects us to play a major
role and we have to be conscious of our responsibility towards society,"
he said. The club will
be run by a new executive committee to be picked from among its
members and focus on current issues relating to the economic and
political scenario of the country, in addition to presentations
on career guidance and new management techniques through monthly
seminars for its members. Sunday Times
Business Editor Feizal Samath and current Club President Romesha
Wijesuriya also spoke. Among others present were Sujan Wijewardene,
Director, Wijeya Newspapers, Nalin Attygalle, a well-known management
consultant and senior staff members of the editorial and advertising
sections of the newspaper. Trans Asia sponsored the relaunch meeting. Transparency
in garment quotas The trade via
the Sri Lanka Apparel Exporters' Association (SLAEA) inaugurated
the Textile Quota Monitory Unit (TQMU) at its head office at Rosmead
Place. Under this system the members of the SLAEA and four other
garment associations will be able to check out quota allocation,
disbursements on a company wise usage basis. The data would
be provided by the Textile Quota Board (TQB) on a bi-monthly basis,
eliminating the need for garments manufacturers to get this information
from the TQB. Ministry of Enterprise Development, Industrial Policy and Investment Promotion Secretary Ranjit Fernando said the launch of the TQMU is one of the pledges that the ministry gave to the private sector to ensure transparency in quota disbursement. Opening
of gem and jewellery institute Prof. G.L.
Peiris, Minister of Enterprise Development, Industrial Policy and
Investment Promotion, US Ambassador Ashley Wills, Milinda Moragoda,
Minister of Science and Technology, and Kabir Hashim, Minister of
Tertiary Education will be present at the opening. The Institute will form the nucleus for training of a very high standard to the industry to achieve global competitiveness to enter niche markets. Mount
Lavinia Hotel, Manta Maldives buy Robinson Club The Robinson
Club has built a very strong client base over the last 15 years
with the former operator 'Robinson Club', a sister company of the
big German tour operator TUI, having helped give it an international
profile. "We focus
our talents on niche market products and Robinson Club fits very
well into our profile," said Sanath Ukwatte, chairman, Mount
Lavinia Hotel. "Today we are embarking on our first outside
project. We are very excited about the prospects that Robinson Club
offers as the first purpose-built club hotel in the country." Manta Maldives
has interests in 15 resorts including the Hilton Maldives and a
small luxury hotel in the Seychelles. They are also agents in the
Maldives for LTU, Kuoni, Air Tours, and Hayes & Jarvis. The shareholders of Manta Maldives (Private) Ltd are Amy Stierli and Hussein Afeef, currently the vice-chairman of the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry. Stierli is the founder and managing director of Manta Switzerland, a big tour operator for the Indian Ocean in Switzerland. Manta Switzerland sends over 15,000 guests a year to these Indian Ocean destinations. Gem
industry urges need for gem testing lab
He said if
"we want to be competitive in the global marketing of gems
a testing lab would be most vital." Supporting this proposal,
Sheriff Abdul Rahman, a past director of the Gem Authority, quoted
instances where local gem merchants obtained certification from
international gem testing labs by paying huge sums of money in foreign
currency. Rahman said
no foreign buyer would purchase genuine stones of high quality without
certification from an accredited testing lab, while urging Gem Authority
officials who were present, to help the industry in this country
by setting up this laboratory. Prof. G. Dharmaratne,
Chairman of the Gem and Jewellery Authority promised to explore
the possibilities of organising at least a mobile lab to test gems. A further request
was made by speakers to provide training facilities in lapidary,
gem cutting and gem polishing. Referring to
this request Prof. Dharmaratne said there is a special organisation
which provides structured courses of training in all aspects of
gemmology. He said he would pass on this request to that organisation
for early implementation. Kamil Ismail
speaking on behalf of the Gem Traders' Association, highlighted
the importance of local gem merchants participating at the forthcoming
FACETS 2002 Exhibition to be held on September 9-11 as it would
give them an opportunity to interact and exchange views with international
buyers attending the exhibition. He said if gem traders were unable to participate individually due to lack of financial resources, they could do so by pooling their resources and taking part as syndicates. EEZ
FREEZ to commence operations in Sri Lanka soon Speaking to
Eric Slemmermann, he has been in the Transport Refrigeration business
for well over 17 years and his Company EEZ FREEZ now enjoys a greater
market share in the business today within Australia. Its brand is
well recognised and accepted in Australia with exports to the Asian
Region and USA opening up. EEZ Freez has
developed its technology to one of the most reliable units on the
Australian and overseas market today. Their innovative
approach, in-house expertise and manufacturing infrastructure, have
produced a unique product that is ideally suited for vans and trucks.
Their product is more cost effective and efficient as compared to
their competitors. After sales service and warranty offered is efficiently
managed. Their Research
and Development Department is working hard to further improve the
product. Refrigeration transportation plays a major role in the food industry today. Maintaining the freshness of the produce from the point of collection to the warehouse and superstore is indeed a very important factor in the fresh and frozen food distribution system. |
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Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
Romesha
Wijesuriya, current President of the Sunday Times "The Business
Club" (TBC), speaks at last week's re-launch of the club. Others
in the picture - left to right - are Feizal Samath, Business Editor,
Patrick Amarasinghe, veteran chamber personality and chief guest,
and Sujan Wijewardene, director, Wijeya Newspapers Ltd.
