Business

Baurs celebrates achievements of women in its board leadership

Published

2 years ago

2021/03/16

Baurs Director Finance Pavithra Samarasinghe (L) and Director Information Technology Anoja Basnayake

Expressing its commitment to gender equality and women empowerment, one of Sri Lanka’s leading diversified business groups A. Baur & Company (Pvt.) Ltd, also known as Baurs celebrates International Women’s Day by recognizing importance of having women in the board and in executive leadership positions.

Various studies have found out that women are still underrepresented especially the higher they go up in the corporate ladder. Baurs takes great pride in being one of the many companies challenging the status quo and understanding that ending gender disparity is a company-wide effort. And what better way than celebrating and recognizing the accomplishments of two of its Directors, Anoja Basnayake- Director IT and Pavithra Samarasinghe- Director Finance.

While staying true to its core values and purpose, Baurs continues to evolve with contemporary and emerging business landscapes. The company embraces and promotes a culture that speaks volumes on equality, diversity, inclusivity and innovation.

Anoja Basnayake’s journey with Baurs spans over 12 years, having joined as Manager- IT in 2008. She now leads the group digital transformation strategy at Baurs as Director- IT. ‘In my journey with Baurs I have always been inspired by the fact that women are actively encouraged to take bold steps and take on every opportunity that will help build their self-confidence. One could always be assured that their views are well heard and contributed to decision making irrespective of their gender.’

‘I’m always excited to engage and work with the wonderful people at Baurs. The diversity and inclusivity is rich and they truly understand the strengths and contribution women bring in to the workplace. The mutual respect and care I find here always aspire myself to grow stronger. I was given the opportunity to take on more responsibilities and oversee more business functions and the continued guidance, training and development I received at Baurs helped me become who I am today.’

Anoja has previously worked with Brandix, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Hayleys Group. She is a board member of Project Management Institute (PMI) Sri Lanka Chapter and SAP User Group, and a member of the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors (SLID).

Celebrating her 20th anniversary with Baurs this year is Pavithra Samarasinghe. Pavithra is instrumental in leading the company’s financial position, growth and long-term sustainability as Director- Finance. ‘I truly believe that diversity brings a lot of value to any company. I should know because I work at Baurs. I’ve never been discriminated nor deprived of any opportunity or benefit throughout my long-standing career. I am no exception, everyone here is treated the same irrespective of their gender or status.’

‘Women are extremely good at building relationships, multi-tasking and negotiations. Many companies are realizing this and paving way for women to take on key leadership positions. There is nothing holding back women from unleashing their potential and reaching to the top with necessary competencies, integrity and the right attitude. Baurs believes in promoting a healthy work-life balance which in my opinion is pivotal for women in workforce. There is a lot of empathy and encouragement across all levels.’

Pavithra Samarasinghe is a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) and associate member of CIMA UK and CMA Sri Lanka, and holds an MBA from the University of Colombo. She is also a member of SLID.

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Business

Share investors worried over Wealth and Heritage tax

Published

6 hours ago

2023/03/24

Thilina Walpola

By Hiran H Senewiratne

CSE trading kicked off on a positive note yesterday but the momentum could not be sustained for long owing to investor worries that the government is planning domestic debt restructuring involving the imposition of a wealth and heritage tax on citizens, market sources said.

Amid those developments both indices moved downwards. The All -Share Price Index went down by 131 points and S and P SL-20 declined by 46.8 points. Turnover stood at Rs 3.4 billion with four crossings. Those crossings were reported in Agalawattte Plantations, which crossed 45.3 million shares to the tune of Rs 1.5 billion, its shares traded at Rs 35, CTC 420,000 shares crossed for Rs 269 million and its shares traded at Rs 640, Cargills 100,000 shares crossed to the tune of Rs 24.5 million; its shares traded at Rs 245 and Hayleys 300,000 shares crossed for Rs 24 million; its shares traded at Rs 80.

In the retail market top seven companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were, SLT Rs 234 million (two million shares traded), Hayleys RS 121 million (1.5 million shares traded), Lanka IOC Rs 106 million (115,000 shares traded), Softlogic Capital Rs 69 million (5.6 million shares traded), CTC Rs 65.3 million (101,000 shares traded), Sampath Bank RS 54.7 million (one million shares traded) and Commercial Bank RS 52.5 million (801,000 shares traded).During the day 164 million share volumes changed hands in 20000 transactions.

Business

Brandix ‘RightToRead’ initiative gains momentum enriching Sri Lanka students and transforming learning

Published

6 hours ago

2023/03/24

Thilina Walpola

Inspired by the challenge to provide Sri Lankan children with better access to learning materials and the transformative power to read and comprehend English, Brandix launched the ‘RightToRead’ project in 2018 in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.

Accordingly, Brandix introduced the ‘ReadToMe’ English learning tool, created by English Helper – India, to improve reading and comprehension skills of Sri Lankan students. Last Monday, Julie Chung, the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, visited Susamayawardhana Vidyalaya in Borella, to observe progress of the project and experience how children and educators in Sri Lanka engage with educational technology.

Brandix Lanka Limited, Director, Ajit Johnpillai, said: “Education is the most powerful tool to enrich communities and futures, and Brandix is committed to build a strong foundation for transformational learning for students across Sri Lanka. The progress we have made with RiteToRead over the past two years is promising, and the potential for change in the education sector harnessing such digital technologies is immeasurable. Brandix will continue its commitment to deliver Inspired Solutions for the people of Sri Lanka.”

Business

Dialog TV Boosts Resilience and Capacity with Norsat Satellite Earth Station

Published

6 hours ago

2023/03/24

Thilina Walpola

Hytera, a leading global provider of professional communications technologies and solutions, is proud to announce the successful deployment of a new backup satellite station for Dialog TV, Sri Lanka’s No.1 satellite Pay TV service provider. The project was fulfilled in 2022 by Hytera and its subsidiary specialized in Satellite Communications (SatCom), Norsat International Inc. The new station enhances the resilience and capacity of Dialog TV’s existing system and ensures continuity of service in the event of damage due to natural disasters.
Dialog TV provides coverage over the entirety of Sri Lanka through the Intelsat 38 Ku-band satellite. As the business expanded, it opted for a backup solution to support its existing satellite station and to strengthen the network’s disaster tolerance.
Hytera and Norsat provided an end-to-end satellite earth station solution that includes the installation, integration, and setup of satellite antennas, a transmission and receiving system, a new network management system (NMS), and a carrier monitoring system (CMS). The NMS makes routine work easier and simpler for on-duty staff, as equipment status, parameter monitoring and configuration, and remote control of the devices can be viewed and accomplished via a single interface. The CMS monitors the carrier spectrum status of satellite signals in real-time and ensures stable signal transmission and receiving.
“We are excited to have been able to work with Dialog TV on this important project,” said Kevin Sun, Sales Director for Hytera South Asia, “Our ability to seamlessly integrate our new equipment and software with Dialog TV’s existing systems has helped to ensure a stable and reliable service for their millions of customers across Sri Lanka.”