The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) recently recognized 20 top companies as strategic level training partners at a special ceremony held at the Instituteandrsquo;s Colombo 7 premises.

Phoenix industries, one of the largest plastic molding company in Sri Lanka with over 35 years of industry experience, laid the foundation stone for a new plant situated at Horana, which will be fully dedicated to Unilever.

The first-ever Agency andlsquo;Show and Tellandrsquo; was held last Wednesday (29) for the finalists battling for the titles in the Spikes Media category and the Spikes Integrated category for the upcoming Festival of Creativity to be held in Singapore. The winners of their respective categories will represent Sri Lanka at the Young Spikes competition this September in Singapore.

andlsquo;Eveready Lucky Familyandrsquo; final grand draw presentation ceremony was held at the Banquet Hall, Premier Park Colombo on 28 August 2012.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, this week hosted an advanced trade finance seminar in Colombo to train bankers from Sri Lanka and Maldives on using sophisticated trade finance products, the better to serve small entrepreneurs engaged in international trade.

HSBC Sri Lanka was presented with the prestigious Credit Card Initiative of the Year award by Asian Banking and Finance 2012 for the launch of its Visa Signature credit card in Sri Lanka, at a special awards ceremony held at the Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore on 23 August 2012.

HSBC in partnership with the British Council held andlsquo;HSBC Youth Enterprise Awards 2012andrsquo;andmdash; a business plan contest aimed at recognising young entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka, was held last Wednesday (29) at the Colombo Hilton.

Janashakthi Insurance PLC recorded another strong performance at the half year in 2012 and has announced a dividend of Rs1 per share.

The Annual General Meeting the Womenandrsquo;s Chamber of Industry and Commerce Sri Lanka (WCIC) was held on 24 August 2012. High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Ashok Kantha, graced the occasion as the chief guest.

Excel World Entertainment Park (EWE) andndash; formerly known as Excel World andndash; now a fully owned subsidiary of Browns Investments PLC, offers the whole family a one-stop wholesome entertainment spot in the hustle bustle of Colombo 10, one of the busiest areas in the city.

Sri Lanka Ceramics and Glass Council Annual General Meeting (AGM)was held on August 28 at the Taj Samudra Hotel Colombo.

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has signed a codeshare agreement with China Eastern Airlines.

Consumer prices in Sri Lankaandrsquo;s capital Colombo rose 9.5% in August 2012, easing slightly from 9.8% in July, with the index falling in absolute terms in the month, State statistics office said.

Reuters: Samsung Electronics became the first handset maker to announce a smartphone using Microsoft’s latest mobile software, making its surprise, hurried announcement just days before the highly anticipated launch of Nokia’s version. The brief announcement on Wednesday at a Berlin electronics show comes amid expectations that smartphone makers may turn increasingly to Windows devices...

Reuters: China’s economy is stabilising slowly as pro-growth government policies gain traction while real estate curbs have suppressed speculation, the head of the country’s top planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, said on Wednesday. Zhang told a meeting of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s top legislature, that China’s two-pron...

24th August 2012 Dr. P. B. Jayasundera, Secretary to the Treasury, Ministry of Finance & Planning The Secretariat, Colombo 1. Dear Dr. Jayasundera, Establishment of a Financial Services Authority and a Banking and Finance Commission I suggest for your consideration that you duly evaluate the long-term national economic benefits of enhancing effective fiscal management capability ...

Since its inception in May 2012, the Maalu Maalu Resort and Spa as a socially responsible company has taken an initiative to help and improve the local community, setting the benchmark for other hotels coming up in the region and simultaneously promoting sustainable tourism in Passikudah.

Richard Trading Co (Pvt) Ltd., one of the largest manufacturers of notebooks and paper-based stationery, recently upgraded their exercise books and stationery to international standards and designs.

For a long time cruising is a term exclusively used by richest of the rich. With the surprising growth in the cruise tourism industry, the parameters of defining the market segment for cruise ship operators have changed from richest to the ordinary holiday makers.

Bahrainandrsquo;s national carrier, Gulf Air will resume its services to Iran and Iraq from 20 September 2012 following the Bahrain Governmentandrsquo;s approval.

The flagship restaurant of Hilton Colombo Residence, Union Bar and Grill (UBG) will launch a Vietnamese Food Promotion under the selected theme of andlsquo;Discover Saigonandrsquo;s Treasuresandrsquo; between the 03 and 09 September 2012.

DFCC Vardhana Bank (DVB) continues to uphold its status as one of Sri Lankaandrsquo;s fastest growing banks. Fitch Ratings Lanka re-affirmed the bankandrsquo;s national long-term rating of andlsquo;AA-(lka)andrsquo; (stable outlook) with DVBandrsquo;s subordinated debentures also rated at andlsquo;A+(lka)andrsquo;.

Sampath Bank, celebrating its 25thandnbsp;anniversary, recently concluded its popular series of educational seminars for grade five scholarship students.

The Grand Oriental Hotel (GOH) launched a brand new Night Club in town, B52, on 25 August at the hotel premises.

SriLankan Airlines enters andnbsp;the new age of andlsquo;iPad electronic flyingandrsquo; by switching from using bulky mandatory paper manuals, to a sleek 662 gram iPad, as SriLankan becomes Asiaandrsquo;s first airline to use the iPad electronic flight bag (EFB) starting 29August, 2012.

The world leading international Emergency Services Company, Falck (Denmark) has acquired 50% of Sri Lankan Emergency Medical Services (EMS) company, Med1 (Pvt) Limited.Med1andnbsp;plans to launchandnbsp;emergencyandnbsp;medicalandnbsp;response services in the Colomboandnbsp;areaandnbsp;by the end of 2012.

Seychelles, which has the highest Human Development Index in Africa, wishes to implement Sri Lankaandrsquo;s backyard economic unit programme andmdash; Divinegumaandnbsp; andmdash; at its earliest, to kick-start agricultural revival in the country, Seychellesandrsquo; Minister of Natural Resources and Industry, Peter Sinon said recently.

By D.C. Ranatunga The news of the death of Neil Armstrong took my mind back to the late evening of Sunday 20 July 1969. I was then with the Observer functioning as the Features Editor. That evening we were busy with the Magazine Edition of the paper, as the Poya Day edition was named after ...

REUTERS: England’s Ian Poulter and Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium were named by captain Jose Maria Olazabal on Monday as Europe’s two wildcard picks for next month’s Ryder Cup. World number 26 Poulter and 35th-ranked Colsaerts join 10 automatic selections in the 12-man team for holders Europe for the September 28-30 match against the United States ...