• Govt-Emirates fresh meeting on UL in January
• Govt. boasts of high revenue but Sri Lanka gets a beating in global tax rankings
• Land ‘goes’ cheap as Rs 83 per perch !
• UN report reaffirms Lanka’s steady progress in human development
• Mahinda pledges support to Iran’s nuclear rights
• Cost of living woes hit the sick: No more milk tea in hospitals
• Military mans hospitals while workers strike

Editorial: Blunder that belittled a beleaguered nation

Political column: The Boggles, Pakistan saga: A crisis of poor judgement

Defence Line: Ruthlessly efficient Air Force vow to clip Tigers’ claws

As I see it: The JVP and Tamil militancy

• Lanka IOC drills itself to profitability
• Phoenix Industries pioneers blow moulded plastic chairs
• Coca Cola enters juice market
• USAID partners with Microsoft to unleash Lanka’s ‘Unlimited Potential’ in IT
• Bigger benefits within Intel’s tiny 45-NM
• ICTA completes 2 years of developing capacity in ICT industry
• Singer ties up with Dialog ECM for Contact Centre Services
• Lanka Bell to represent country at global ICT competition
• SLT empowers Foreign Employment Bureau to help migrant workers
• ‘Tigo Zone’- a new experience for the young
• Gotabhaya vows to kill Prabha in special b’day message
• Air Force bombs Voice of Tigers
• UNP wants President to fire Boggles
• Media got it wrong says Bogollagama
• UNICEF unperturbed by FM’s threats
• Army calls retired soldiers
• Postal workers snub Hakeem’s plea, vows to continue strike
• Health unions plan a massive strike on Dec. 4 and 5
• Lanka suffering from fiscal indiscipline
• SriLankan Airlines scores a century in India!
• GAC Marine Services embroiled in legal battle with Customs
• Ceylon Theatres, Millers announce merger

Marketers to review Budget 2008

The Chartered Institute of Marketing Sri Lanka Region has organized a training programme for a Post Budget Review under the CIM Talking Point series sponsored exclusively by HSBC- The world’s local bank, which will be held on 30th November 2007 from 6.30pm to 8.00pm at the Garnet Room, Ceylon Continental Hotel.

The programme will be conducted by Ms. Lakmali Gunawardena Nanayakkara who will address the audience on the new fiscal policies codified in the Government’s budget for 2008 and its implications on the economy and business. The programme has been designed for the senior managers, general managers and CEOs involved in making top level decisions in organizations.

The Institute has also invited a panel of eminent speakers representing a cross section of the industry to discuss the budget propositions related to their respective industries. The panelists are Mr. Asanga Ranasinghe, Customer Development Director of Unilever Sri Lanka Ltd., Mr. Ranjit Page, Chief Executive Officer of Cargills (Ceylon) Ltd. and  Dr. Anura Ekanayake, Deputy Vice Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and the Chairman of the Industrial Association of Sri Lanka.

The panel discussion will be moderated by Mr. Chandra Jayaratne (FCA, FCMA), past Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. The presenter, Ms. Lakmali Gunawardena Nanayakkara possesses over 25 years of experience in the accounting industry. Presently, she is the Senior Partner and Head of Tax Practices at Ernst & Young. She has conducted a number of seminars and workshops on accounting and taxation. During her tenure at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL), Ms. Nanayakkara has held numerous portfolios, including the chairpersonship of the Taxation Committee and the ICASL Committee. She is a member of the Statutory Accounting Standard Committee (SASC) and the Sri Lanka Accounting and Auditing Standard Monitoring Board (SLAASB).

The CIM Talking Point series is one of the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programmes initiated by The Institute which is targeted at senior members and strategic level managers of organizations.

The CIM Talking Point series addresses the current issues and contemporary topics of interest in order to strengthen marketers to face the challenges ahead of them.

The Institute also intends to aid its members to achieve the next stage in their professional careers by organizing these programmes. The Chartered Institute of Marketing is the world’s largest and most prestigious professional body for marketing.

The Chartered Institute of Marketing Sri Lanka Region is the fastest growing CIM body, with nearly 1000 members and 3000 student members. In recognition of excellence in management and value creation towards its members and the regional community, The Chartered Institute of Marketing Sri Lanka Region has been conferred the Best Managed Region Award and the Best Regional Programme of Events Award by The Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK. This is the third consecutive year that The Institute has been awarded the Best Managed Region Award.