Sri Lanka fast emerging MICE destination

Sri Lanka Tourism positions as “authentic venue” for MICE. Sri Lanka Convention Bureau together with SriLankan Airlines and MICE Industry ( Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) attended this year’s ITCMA (Incentive Travel and Conferences, Meetings Asia) held in Bangkok recently.

ITCMA is the most sought after Exhibition in Asia for MICE tourism buyers and sellers. This is an annual calendar event that Bureau participates together with SriLankan Airlines and Members of the Bureau.

This year’s event not only enabled the Sri Lankan team to position Sri Lanka as an authentic venue for Meetings and Conferences among the new buyers but also differentiate Sri Lanka from the competitotrs by offering venues in diverse locations. Many new business leads were established with new buyers who are looking for new destinations for their meetings.

Sri Lanka is fast emerging as a MICE destination thus attracting many internationally reputed conferences and the most recent event being the Commonwealth Games General Assembly presently held in Colombo which was brought into the country by Sri Lanka Convention Bureau together with the National Olympic council.

 

Justice and the Buddhist conscience

Prof. M. Sivasuriya says… The Buddha the founder of Buddhism preached and practised ‘ahimsa’ or loving compassion spreading it not only to human beings but also to all other living creatures as well. It is my view that ‘ahimsa’ should ideally be observed and practised not only by Buddhists but by the entire human species.

Violence and killings are rampant in Sri Lanka today and human life has become very ‘cheap’. It should be abhorred by all religious leaders who should set an example for the others to abide by.

It is therefore axiomatic that inter alia the Buddhist monks should be in the forefront in this regard and set an example for the others to follow. The primary objective of Buddhist monks should be to instill into the minds of the lay public the evils of violence and killings and to preach the teachings of the great Buddha, viz., the observance and the practice of ‘ahimsa’ through their own personal example.

There is then the hope for Sri Lanka once again to become the ‘Resplendent Isle’ of the Indian Ocean, an island ‘blessed’ by the Buddha. via email

 

Dr. Harsha De Silva says there is nothing exciting in the budget

1. There is nothing exciting in the budget. It is neither development oriented nor populist. The only certainty in the budget for 2008 is that it will add further burdens on the people of this country who are already reeling under 22% island-wide inflation.

2. The revenue estimates indicate that the total tax on goods and services will increase by a massive 25% in 2008. It is no secret that such consumption tax increases will hurt the poor more than the rich.

3. The deficit of Rs. 293 Billion as stated in Parliament today; the difference between the revenue of Rs. 751 Billion and expenditure of Rs. 1,044 Billion is not the whole truth. This is because this amount leaves out the large amount of direct charges on the Consolidated Fund under the provisions of the Special Law which includes the repayment of debt.

4. The real total expenditure for 2008, as per the Budget Estimates prepared last month was Rs. 1,516 Billion. This was made up of Rs. 925 Billion on supply services via the Appropriation Bill and Rs. 591 Billion under the Special Law. The estimates also showed that the total Revenue of the Government for 2008 would be Rs. 775 Billion. The difference of these two figures, i.e., the total deficit amounted to Rs. 741 Billion. That is why the Appropriation Bill had Rs. 741 Billion as the borrowing limit for 2008.

5. However, in the Budget Speech made in Parliament today, the President announced that the expenditure on supply services has since increased by Rs. 119 Billion to Rs. 1,044 Billion, which upon including the Rs. 591 Billion under Special Law increases to Rs. 1,635 Billion. According to the documents tabled, the Revenue Estimate has also fallen by Rs. 24 Billion to Rs. 751 Billion increasing the total deficit from Rs 741 Billion to Rs. 884 Billion.

6. In this context, the original approval for borrowing Rs. 741 Billion is no longer sufficient, and a further Rs. 143 Billion of borrowing will have to be authorized. It is ironic that such a huge change in the estimates could take place in a matter of days.

7. In my view it is critical that the Government is forced to abide by the Fiscal Responsibility Management Act without which we may drift into a unsustainable debt trap driven by unchecked and unnecessary expenditure.

Even though the President reiterated that the Government is planning to undertake a massive development drive, particularly in the East, the figures tabled indicate a totally different story; absolute lack of resources for development projects.

8. The movement in the money markets over the last few days and the data on the holding of Treasury Bills by the Central Bank tell yet another story. That is one of busting up the proceeds of the USD 500 Million to settle overdrafts of the Government and retiring debt. While this is not at all a ‘bad’ outcome, it needs to be pointed out that it will be very evident in the next few days that the Government was not truthful about the reasons for the USD 500 Million Bond issue. All indications are that there will be no money left over from the bond issue for any development activity; they have all been used up for settling existing debt.

 

BNS new role as brand ambassadors

EPSI Computers (Pvt) Ltd, sole authorised distributors for ASUS in Sri Lanka, has appointed Bhathiya and Santhush, the young icons of the music industry in Sri Lanka as brand ambassadors to promote ASUS Notebooks in Sri Lanka.

Rukshan Jayawardena, head of Marketing of EPSI Computers, stated that B&S created a new trend in the music industry of Sri Lanka and EPSI gave music its due recognition, by providing B&S with state of the art ASUS Notebooks to give a help in hand in their music creation, which would further help these young icons achieve greater heights.

B&S said, “Our lives are easier as the ASUS notebook has made our music tracks as well as tunes on this stylish ASUS notebook which has state of the art features. It also enables us to take it with us on all our tours. This has helped us to give a better performance to our fans. We are indeed happy and proud to be associated with EPSI Computers and thankful for making us brand ambassadors of this world renowned brand.”

 

BOI investors in housing and garment sectors

The Board of Investment of Sri Lanka signed agreements for two new projects recently that involve a housing and apartment complex and a garment factory. Chairman/Director General of the BOI, Dhammika Perera signed the agreement on behalf of the BOI. The projects include Star Asia Properties (Private) Limited which signed an agreement that covers a Singaporean investment for the construction of housing units and an apartment complex. The project is an investment of Rs.600 million. The investors involved are Tjio Siang Min and Wendy Sulaiman. The Chairman M.Y.M Nassar and CEO Sabry Mohamed signed the agreement on behalf of the company. The investor expressed satisfaction with the way the BOI processed his application. The project will provide employment for 30 workers and involves the construction of 266 individual houses at Kohilawatta off Avissawella for middle-income groups. The apartments, which will be in an 8-story condominium, are for high-income groups. These will be built at Colombo 6.

Crystal Martin Europe (Private) Limited in the meantime also signed an agreement with the BOI. Crystal Martin Europe is a Hong Kong based investment for the manufacture of garments the total value of which is US$1.05 million. The project will create 1,000 new employment opportunities and will be located at the Katunayake Export Processing Zone. Shaun Walsh, Chief Operating Officer signed the Agreement on behalf of the company. Dr Sarath Amunugama, Minister of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion formally presented the investor with the BOI Certificate of Registrations.

The factory will manufacture ladies’ leisurewear for the Marks and Spencer Group. The company is the second largest supplier to Marks & Spencers and plans to develop Sri Lanka as its manufacturing base.

 

WiMax Endorsed by UN Agency

In a general meeting of the International Telecommunication Union held on the 19th October, the United Nations Telecommunications agency reached an agreement to approve WiMax as a global third-generation communication standard.

After several obligation, negotiation, and deliberation by several countries that wanted their application included, the UN agency finally endorsed the WiMax to be among the IMT-2000 standard for advanced mobile technologies.

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) radiocommunication assembly in Geneva has included WiMAX-derived technology in the framework of its set of standards.

The ITU said this agreement paved the way for the deployment of a range of voice, data and multimedia services to both stationary and mobile devices.

Senator Coonan said the decision effectively endorsed WiMAX wireless broadband as a world-class high speed broadband service.

Dialog Broadband Networks (DBN) this week became the first in Sri Lanka to introduce Broadband Internet, powered by WiMAX technology.

WiMax is an acronym for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access and it has the ability of delivering wireless broadband connections at speeds of 70MB a second over an area of 65KM, compared the current fixed-line broadband connections that have speeds of about 2MB per second.

This decision has opened door to many opportunities. In one sense, it means rural areas denied of fixed-line broadband connections due to its high cost will be benefiting from the high-speed internet access for mobile telecommunicating can now choose to use their franchise to provide WiMax services to customers in place of slower technologies.

Definitely, the endorsement of WiMax by UN will open way for many International Telecommunication Union member countries to devote resources in improving on services in that respect

 

Dialog first in Sri Lanka to introduce Broadband Internet

Dialog Broadband Networks (DBN) this week became the first in Sri Lanka to introduce Broadband Internet, powered by WiMAX technology.

Kavan Ratnayaka, Chief Executive Officer, Dialog Broadband Networks, speaking at the launch, said, “Internet is quickly becoming an integral part in many aspects of our lives, and with very high speed access Dialog Broadband will change the way we experience the Internet.

True broadband opens up unlimited possibilities for both organizations and individuals and our announcement today unleashes the full power of the web for our customers.”

This new service includes pre-packaged high-speed, Internet solutions, together with unlimited Internet usage for a fixed monthly subscription.

 

Sri Lanka Telecom assumes lead to fashion leaders in sports

Sri Lanka Telecom, the nation’s communication powerhouse, partnered with the National Olympic Academy (NOA) to better train sports leaders and facilitate more effective operations of the sports movement.

SLT said its sponsorship shows its commitment to develop and strengthen relationships through sport with the participation of sportsmen and women in and around the country.

In this regard, SLT was the sponsor of all activities in 2007, including the bi-annual Sports Administration Course conducted by the NOA.

The course, which was held at the National Institute of Sports Science, began with defining values, attitudes and philosophies regarding sport and includes the study of the theory and requisite skills for administration and management. It also provided information about solving various needs, problems and concerns, but above all else, the training of sports leaders’ centers on improving inter-personal relationships, communication between individuals, and commitment by many, to advance sport opportunities for people young and old.

The courses are usually held twice a year, with the course directors possessing the relevant experience in the various aspects of sports administration.

“Courses such as these are essential if we are to make sure we have the administrative skills to match the skills of our athletes,” said Hemasiri Fernando, President of the National Olympic Committee. “We cannot expect our sportsmen and women to perform at their best for Sri Lanka if they do not have the necessary support backing them.”

Christie Alwis, advisor to the CEO of SLT said, “We believe that sports administrators should also have the necessary skills and knowledge to perform their duties effectively. Therefore our partnership with this event was both timely and relevant. Sport has played an important part socially and culturally in Sri Lanka, bringing together individuals and communities and crossing social boundaries and breaking down barriers. SLT’s partnership will reinforce its commitment to leading the nation.”

The course was conducted with the Olympic Solidarity publication Sports Administration Manual as a guide. Sri Lanka Telecom (www.slt.lk) is one of the country’s most valuable blue chip companies with an annual turnover in excess of Rs 40 billion. Whilst NTT Communications Corporation of Japan owns a 35.2% stake in Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), 49.2% is owned by the Government of Sri Lanka and 15.3% is listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange. The company was also awarded an AAA (sri) rating by Fitch Ratings Lanka followed by a BB- international rating by Fitch International.

The SLT Group has a customer base of over two million including multinational corporations, large and small corporate, retail and domestic customers. Today with NTT Communications of Japan as a strategic partner, SLT provides facilities and services: voice, data, video and mobile to its customers, which are unmatched in scope. These services range from domestic and international voice, advance data transmission services which include internet services on leased lines, broadband [on ADSL] and dial up, data circuits, frame relay solutions to IP services such as IP-VPN based on IP-MPLS technology, total corporate solutions of multiple services, satellite uplink services and mobile telephony through the fully owned subsidiary Mobitel.

With a view to making Sri Lanka a broadband island, SLT is in the process of introducing the necessary infrastructure in the form of NGN [Next Generation Networks] using optical fibre backbone and broadband services such as IMS, IPTV etc. SLT also provides high speed global connectivity to countries in the South Asian region through its investments in international submarine cables such as SMW3, SMW4 and the Bharat Lanka submarine cable between India and Sri Lanka and Dhirragu-SLT submarine cable system between Maldives Islands and Sri Lanka. Newly incorporated SLT Hong Kong Ltd., a fully owned subsidiary of Sri Lanka Telecom, fully geared to provide services such as IP transit, IPVPN, IPLC and International voice traffic transit services to global telecom operators and corporates in Hong Kong.

 

Photo of the Day: Mary Wilson to sing for landmine victims

Mary Wilson a founding member of the all female singing group ‘The Supremes”, which dominated the American music scene in the 1960s and the 1970s, arrived in Sri Lanka yesterday for a concert in aid of landmine victims to be held on Saturday.

The founding members of the group, which dissolved itself in 1977, comprised Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross and Betty McGlown. Incidentally the popular Hollywood movie ‘Dreamgirls’ was inspired by ‘The Supremes. Pic. by Dinuka Liyanawatta