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Central Bank has told commercial banks to cut the interest rate charged on credit card advances by 4 percentage points in a bid to reduce other lending rates, the Deputy Governor said yesterday.

Nestlé Lanka PLC’s Bandula Egodage has been appointed as the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Export Development Board (EDB) of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, ministry officials stated.

An Australian firm is looking to make an initial US$ 150 million investment in Sri Lanka’s mineral sands prospects in the near future, according to Australian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Robyn Mudie.

Sri Lanka’s Hemas Holdings PLC, a family-run conglomerate with a strong presence in FMCG and healthcare sectors has embarked on to develop 3 new hotel properties in partnership with Thai-based Minor Group, a top official of the firm said.

The high-street fashion label Avirate will be joining a large and diverse portal of online retailers in Australia effective as of May 22, 2013 with its brand new Australia website.

Anilana Hotels and Properties Ltd Sri Lanka will be investing approximately Rs. 4.6 billion in the construction of its next three hotels, according to its founder, high net worth investor, Asanga Seniviratne.

Access Engineering PLC, the leading infrastructure developer in Sri Lanka currently sees opportunities in the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions for expansion, according to a top company official.

The Lanka Hospitals Corporation PLC (LHCL) is to set up a state-of-the-art laboratory service, that will facilitate a range of diagnostics tests that are currently unavailable in the country, a top official stated.

A sustainable, focused marketing strategy with the full involvement of all stakeholders is required to ensure targeted visitor segments are attracted, a top official of a leading Sri Lankan leisure operator stated.

The diversified conglomerate and the leading planter in the country, Richard Pieris and Company PLC is considering venturing in to automotive component manufacturing, under the corporate brand ‘Arpico’, according to top company official.

Expolanka Holdings PLC posted a net profit of Rs.1.06 billion for the year ended March 31, 2013 as against Rs.1.03 billion during the previous year, largely due to the growth in revenue witnessed during the year, interim financials released to the Colombo Stock Exchange revealed.

Fonterra Brands Sri Lanka said in a statement that it is confident that all of its dairy products meet the DCD free standard to be introduced by the Government from 1st June 2013

Hemas Holdings PLC’s profits grew by a significant 42.3 percent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs.1.66 billion during the year ended March 31, 2013.

Brown & Company PLC Group Managing Director/CEO, Murali Prakash has tendered his resignation enabling him to attend to certain urgent personal matters outside the country, a stock market filing stated

Colombo, 22 May 2013: TELiBrahma, India’s leading mobile advertising solutions company specializing in augmenting real world context with digital engagements; announced its partnership with Wijeya Newspapers Ltd - to bring interactive print content LIVE on readers’ mobile/tab.

Binod Chaudhary-controlled Cinnovation Group has already obtained the preliminary approvals from the Board of Investment (BoI) of Sri Lanka and licence to carry out tests from the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) for the US $ 75-100 million cement factory the group is planning to set up in Sri Lanka’s northern peninsular.

The 1,342nd Forbes US dollar billionaire in the world, Binod Chaudhary, yesterday said that he has ‘full confidence in the Sri Lankan system’ to make investments and set up businesses in the island nation and stressed fast tracking of official procedures will further enhance the business-friendly environment.

Dialog Axiata PLC, a unit of Malaysia's Axiata group has clinched the sponsorship deal for Sri Lanka Cricket at a sum of Rs.753.9 million+ taxes, a stock exchange filing by Sri Lanka's largest mobile services provider said.

Celebrating the ‘World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) last week, the national telecommunication service provider – Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) announced the soft launch of its Very-High-Bit-Rate Digital Subscriber Line 2 (VDSL2) advanced fixed broadband technology.

The Dubai-based budget carrier Flydubai officially launched its services to Sri Lanka’s second international airport in Mattala yesterday.