Sri Lankan Airlines is set to begin offering new codeshares with fellow Oneworld member Finnair.
From June 2 Finnair’s AY code will be added to select Sri Lankan Airlines services between the Sri Lankan capital Colombo and Frankfurt, Paris, London, Rome, Bangkok and Hong Kong.
Sri Lankan Airlines’ UL code will be added to select Finnair services between Helsinki and Frankfurt, Paris, Rome, London, Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen.
Sri Lankan Airlines, head of commercial operations, Mohamed Fazeel said: “Sri Lankan Airlines is very pleased to be partnering Finnair which is one of the world’s leading airlines.
“We are confident that this partnership with Finnair will expand Sri Lankan’s reach to the Scandinavian region; thereby increasing Scandinavian tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka and facilitate more visitors to the Scandinavian region from Sri Lanka and South Asia.
“Sri Lankan Airlines will continue to partner many other Oneworld member airlines in order to provide more direct connections to Colombo.”
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The iconic World Trade Center, Colombo (WTC) is now a ‘True high performance green’ building as it was bestowed with the Gold Certification of Green Rating System from Green Building Council of Sri Lanka (GBCSL). Another momentous achievement was WTC being the first to receive the Green Certification under ‘Existing Building’ category.
Organised by the GBCSL, the Green Building Awards 2013 was recently held at BMICH with the awards presented by Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa. The Senior Manager of the Facilities management team of Overseas Realty, Indradeva Mendis, a Green Professional, received an award for his commitment in transforming the twin towers to a green building.
The immense initiatives taken by Overseas Realty (Ceylon) PLC (ORCL), the owner, developer and manager of the WTC in water and energy conservation and sustainable operational initiatives over the last few years earned the building the prestigious title. The building was assessed under seven categories reviewed by the GBCSL assessment team and then recommended by the Board of Directors of GBCSL to award appropriate level of rating.
As a round the clock operation with nearly 250 tenants and 14,000 footfalls on a daily basis, the WTC strives to manage the building in the most environmentally friendly manner. The 39-level twin towers are fitted with energy efficient lighting and controls which aids in the reduction in light pollution.
To optimise energy performance, the company incorporated new energy efficient chillers at an investment exceeding Rs. 100 million in 2013. A rainwater harvesting system is in place to collect rainwater of roof and facades, which in turn is used for air conditioning systems and landscaping of the building. WTC is the only high rise commercial building to implement this innovative system.
To further conserve water usage, reduced cistern tank capacities, self-closing pillar faucets are amongst the many features used. As the only intelligent building in Sri Lanka, the fully integrated state-of-the-art Building Management System (BMS) was upgraded to be fully automated for minimum energy consumption. The Elevators at the WTC are equipped with computerised Elevator Management System (EMS), which too was a first in Sri Lanka. The elevators are designed to generate power during every downward movement.
“We are committed to best practices in conserving the environment and have embraced sustainability in our corporate values and energy policy,” said Overseas Realty Group Director/ CEO Pravir Samarasinghe. “I am proud of what we have achieved and applaud the efforts of our award winning Facilities Management Team for their dedication in making the WTC a Green Building,” he continued.
The WTC has been recognised asthe most energy efficient commercial buildings in Sri Lanka on numerous occasions winning many coveted awards. Just last yearWTC,received the highest accolade as the Most Energy Efficient Building under Large Scale Commercial Building Sector at the Sri Lanka National Energy Efficiency Awards. In 2010 the company won the Gold Flame Award, conferred by the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority, in 1998 the Most Energy Efficient Hotel and Building Sector Installation conferred by the Ceylon Electricity Board.
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Recently we reported that a Sri Lankan bank has begun negotiations with US based PayPal to become its domestic partner bank for inward remittances. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka currently allows outward payments through PayPal via credit cards but the monetary authority prohibits receipts and withdrawals from domestic bank accounts.
However, the Central Bank has planned to ease restrictions and allow inward payments as well.
Now, there are reports that PayPal has unveiled a new global branding campaign designed to put greater focus on its ability to let the people make payments for goods and services anywhere and anytime.
The rebranding comes as the company has grown to have some 148 million active PayPal accounts and has taken on a broad-ranging approach to new mobile payment technologies. The moves have led some analysts to conclude that PayPal faces a promising 2014 and beyond.
Citing its 148 million active customers, PalPal says “no other mobile wallet player can boast these numbers or even come close.”
A Yankee Group survey shows that 15% of U.S. mobile device owners have used a PayPal app recently, which trumps any other mobile wallet by fourfold.
PayPal already puts a strong emphasis on mobile payments, made possible with the PayPal App for consumers that can be downloaded for iOS, Android and Windows Phone.
PayPal has also announced plans to help merchants accept payments with a barcode shown on a phone, or from a customer inputing a 4-digit PIN in a payment terminal in the store.
The branding campaign is PayPal’s first since 2007. It will rely on the slogan, “”Powering the People Economy,” in print, digital and TV advertisements.
A new PayPal logo incorporates the double ‘P’ of the previous logo, but now overlaps the two P’s and uses more vibrant blue colors and a slightly different font.
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President Mahinda Rajapaksa opened the newly constructed House of Fashions shopping mall at D.S.Senanayake Mawatha, Borella monday evening.
This opening sees the closure of the fashion retailers mall situated at the Duplication Road.
The new mega ‘House of Fashions’ mall located at the D. S. Senanayake Mawatha, Colombo 8, spans across 250,000 square feet.
The nine story building is the largest one-owner store in South Asia.
This is the sole House of Fashion shopping center in the country and will contain products carrying international brand names such as Nike, Adidas, Disney, Mango and other famous brand names.
The House of Fashions store in Duplication road, Colombo 4 is now closed for business.
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Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Pakistan Jayalath Weerakkody recently said that Sri Lanka has concluded an agreement to purchase 100 cars manufactured by Toyota Pakistan,
This was revealed during a meeting between the Sl envoy and Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar wherein they discussed the upcoming meeting of Common Wealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) being held in Sri Lanka this month, the Pakistan based The Nation newspaper reported.
The Finance Minister expressed the confidence that economic ties between the two countries would grow further and thanked the Sri Lankan government for purchasing cars from Pakistan, it said.
The High Commissioner invited the Finance Minister to the meeting and also requested him to address the Business Economic Forum being held on the sidelines of the conference. The Finance Minister said that he was extremely grateful for the invitation which reflected the close fraternal relations that existed between the two countries.
During the meeting the High Commissioner also informed the Finance Minister that the Joint Ministerial Economic Commission between the two countries is scheduled to meet in Colombo on November 27-28, 2013.
The High Commissioner said that both countries can cooperate in the fields of Dairy and Livestock, Housing, Construction and setting up of sugar industry in Sri Lanka to further strengthen their bilateral economic ties.
The Finance Minister said that Pakistan will provide all possible assistance to Sri Lanka in the development of their infrastructure and industry.
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Glamour was the order of the evening at the new ‘K Zone’ mall at Ja-Ela when Odel opened its second largest store in Sri Lanka within its precincts on Friday, 25th October.
Comprising of 12,000 square feet of stylish retail space, the new store offers the complete Odel experience, only outmatched in scale by Odel’s flagship store at Alexandra Place, Colombo. It will serve residents of Ja-Ela, Kandana, Negombo and other towns north of Colombo.
The new store was ceremonially opened by Odel founder and CEO Otara Gunewardene accompanied by two of her facebook fans. Invitees and Odel fans who attended the ceremonial opening were treated to a colourful fashion show inside the mall just before the store’s doors were opened.
The new store is open seven days a week from 10 am to 8 pm. It comprises of Odel’s Ladies, Men’s, Kids, Homeware, Backstage and Embark departments. New design elements and features offer a brighter, ultra-clean, sleek and modern look.
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Colombo International Container Terminals Ltd. (CICT), a joint venture between China Merchants Holdings International Company Ltd. and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, has delivered on its commitment to be the single catalyst and significant player in making the Port of Colombo the regional maritime hub.
Within a very short time period of just three months of commencing commercial operations, CICT has attracted the largest-ever container ship of 14,000 teu capacity to make a regular call at its terminal in the Colombo South Harbour.
The brand new vessel MV. Thalassa Hellas owned by the world’s fourth largest container Shipping Line, Evergreen Marine Corporation of Taiwan, berthed at the western end of the 18 metre deep alongside berth at CICT last afternoon.
This maiden call of this vessel was given a traditional welcome on arrival by senior officials of CICT.
Also present at the berth to witness this historic occasion were the owners representatives of the shipping line, senior officials of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, and other invitees of Evergreen Marine Corporation.
The behemoth entering the new access channel of the Port of Colombo, direct from the Indian Ocean into the new Colombo South Harbour basin, was a prize picture for those following the history of the Port of Colombo. The Sri Lanka Ports Authority provided the professional pilotage and related tug boat services to ensure the safe berthing of the ship, alongside the berth. The manoeuvring of the 370 meter long vessel was carried out to precision with the assistance of the very high-powered bow-thrusters and the latest navigational equipment fitted on board this vessel.
This event is a very significant milestone in the history of the Port of Colombo, as there is no other port in the whole of South Asia, adjacent to the East-West shipping route, that could accommodate and service such a large vessel. CICT has proved now, with the arrival of this vessel at CICT, that the focus of attention of all the other competing shipping lines is bound to shift to the Port of Colombo.
This CICT project commenced construction in December 2011 with a project completion timeframe of 60 months. But within months CICT revised the timeframe to fully complete the project from the original plan of 60 months to 28 months. The first phase of construction was completed in 19 months and equipped with the largest-ever ship to shore gantry cranes and commenced commercial operation very much ahead of schedule.
With the second phase also running ahead of schedule, the second batch of ship to shore cranes arrived just two weeks ago. CICT, backed by a huge technical resource pool of shareholders, is to accomplish the full project by the first quarter of next year to meet the challenges in handling the 18,000 plus TEU ships that are already in service. This would no doubt draw the attention of the shipping lines and logistics service providers to the pivotal role that the Port of Colombo will play in the region.
Asked to comment on the two record achievements of fast tracking the construction period and delivering on attracting the largest carrier to the Port of Colombo, the General Manager of CICT Tissa Wickramasinghe emphasised that this challenging achievement was made possible due to the joint venture partners working together to meet the single objective of making the Port of Colombo the regional maritime hub. This was complemented with the ABC philosophy of American quality, British standards, and Chinese speed.
CICT is focused on attracting the attention of the niche market of ultra-large-container-carriers, to make Colombo the port of call on their East-West service rotation. He acknowledged that with the current trend of the container shipping industry being the phasing in of ultra-large-container-carriers and mega-alliances among the major players, there were challenging but exciting times ahead for CICT and the Port of Colombo. (FT.lk)
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