World crude now under $110
World crude oil prices fell below $110 per barrel for the first time in many months, with Brent variety being pegged at $109.59 on Tuesday while the OPEC Basket was trading at $108.86, the Central Bank said.
In the Singapore Refined Products market, petrol was trading at $111.60, diesel at $127.45 and kerosene at $134. Fuel prices have been crashing overseas but in Colombo, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation said recently that there are no plans to cut prices.

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LB Finance rights issue oversubscribed
The rights issue of LB Finance for 4.3 million shares were oversubscribed by 1.32 times at the closure on August 19, the company said. The total number of applications received were for 5,698,661 shares. The rights were priced at Rs.17 per share and the issue was in the proportion of one new ordinary share for every seven ordinary shares. The LB Finance share capital now stands at 34.6 million shares.

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Dimo shows improved performance
Performance at Colombo motor company, Dimo, has improved with post tax profit soaring by 290 percent in the first quarter to June 30 to Rs 17 million against Rs 4.4 million in the same 2007 period, the company’s results, released on Monday, show. Turnover was down at Rs 2.2 billion against Rs 2.6 billion but the cost of sales fell to Rs 1.6 billion against Rs 2.2 billion in the same quarter, a year ago. The company said it re-purchased 3.39 million ordinary shares held by Hayleys PLC (in Dimo) on June 30, 2008.

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Parquet 1Q09 net loss down 70% to Rs. 2 mln
Parquet Ceylon Ltd, a flooring product company, owned by Lanka Tiles Ltd (LTL), saw its 1Q09 net loss down by 70% to Rs.2 million from Rs.7 million in the same period last year, according to a stock filing by the company.

According to the statement, the company's land and buildings situated at Belummahara, Imbulgoda were revalued on July 20, 2007 at Rs. 262,150,000 and Rs. 75,629,559, respectively. “The Board of Directors decided to incorporate 60% of the value of land in the books of the Company in July 2007,” the notes to the account statement said.

Mahendra Jayasekera, Managing Director of Parquet, some months ago said that the company is to be restructured in the coming months with the intention of turning it into a profit making organisation. “In the said process, we will dispose of unproductive and unutilized assets including some machinery and part of the land at our factory premises at Belummahara, Imbulgoda,” he said. The company is currently exporting about 30 to 40 percent of its output and the balance is sold in the local market.

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TMC aims for two more units and one overseas in 2 years
The Management Club (TMC) says it plans to open at least two more clubs in Sri Lanka and one overseas in the next two years, according to the organisation’s President, Athula Jayasekera. He made these comments at a news conference on Monday during the signing of a MoU with corporate sponsors for the period July 2008 to June 2011.

According to a press release issued by the organisation, TMC comprises “the cream of practically all professional firms in the country among its managers. With a combined membership of around 600, the Chartered Management Institute – UK, Sri Lanka Branch and TMC strive to bring standards of management to international standards and heights of excellence.”

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MoU between NCE and Seylan Exim
The National Chamber of Commerce (NCE) and Seylan Exim Co. (Pvt) Ltd, a specialized banking institution set up under the Ceylinco Group, to provide exim banking services are pooling their resources to provide specialized exim services at one point.

The NCE and Seylan Exim will assist export enterprises to obtain overseas market information and access to buyers through their overseas trade networks. This service will be complimented by Seylan Exim providing status reports of potential buyers abroad. export enterprises will be further assisted through the provision of LC Facilities, Revolving Import Loans, Packing Credit Loans, Term Loans etc. to assist entrepreneurs with their export activities, according to a NCE press release.

The two institutions will particularly focus in assisting their clients to enter the EU market comprising of 27 EU countries for which special concessions are available to exporters from Sri Lanka.

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SriLankan backs tourism drive
SriLankan Airlines is closely supporting the government’s drive to promote Sri Lanka as a destination of choice in China, which is viewed as one of the fastest growing global tourism markets, the airline said. It actively participated in several travel fairs in China this year, including the Beijing International Tourism Expo (BITE), the International Travel Expo and MICE in Hong Kong, and the Guangzhou International Travel Fair (GITF). SriLankan also co-organised a workshop for travel agents in the Chinese capital.
Tourist arrivals from China to Sri Lankan grew by 7.3% in the first half of 2008, a trend that is expected to grow due to the combined efforts of the government, the national carrier, the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau (SLTPB), and the country’s hoteliers and tour operators.

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Sri Lanka Tourism Authority in force
The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) has replaced the Tourist Board from August 15, 2008, according to a SLTDA press release.

The SLTDA will function under eight main divisions, the directors of which received their letters of appointment from the SLTDA Chairman Renton de Alwis and the Director General S. Kalaiselvam, it said. The SLTDA will now be made up of Regulations and Quality Assurance, Domestic Tourism and Resorts Management, Product and Services Development, Research and International Relations, Financial Management, HRM and Premises Management, Information and Communication Technology and Strategic Management and Board Affairs.

Maintaining the quality of products and services, licensing of new hotels and other service providers, bringing SME’s in the tourism sector to the main stream will be handled by the Regulations and Quality Assurance Division while the Domestic Tourism and Resorts Management Division will handle resorts of the Authority located around the country. The new organizational structure is comparatively more stable and will ensure effective service delivery to the clientele and to the people in the country, the authority said.

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2007 Cricket World Cup commemorative coins
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka on Monday issued two commemorative coins in denominations of Rs.1000 and Rs. 5 and a coin pack, to mark the event of Sri Lanka Cricket Team becoming the Runners-up in the 2007 Cricket World Cup tournament held last year.These coins and the coin packs were ceremonially issued on August 18 at the International Cricket Ground, Dambulla during the one day international between Sri Lanka and India.

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PIM lecture on intellectual property
The Postgraduate Institute of Management Alumni (PIMA), as part of its Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programmes, is organising a lecture on ‘Intellectual Property in the Corporate World’ on August 26, 2008 at 5.30 pm at the PIM Auditorium . The presenter is Dr Harsha Cabral, President’s Counsel and a well known lawyer in the field of Intellectual Property and Company Law. Dr. Wickrema Weerasooria, Former Sri Lanka High Commissioner to Australia and the Insurance Ombudsman will act as moderator of the session.