Business
Frostaire celebrates 41 years as Sri Lanka’s leading air conditioning and refrigeration brand

Frostaire Industries (Pvt) Ltd., Sri Lanka’s pioneer air conditioning and refrigeration solutions provider, celebrates 41 years of developing and introducing superior home and industry cooling systems to the country. To commemorate the occasion, the company will be offering free air conditioner servicing to all of its customers on any Frostaire appliance and system, with special gifts of gratitude for its long-standing clients.
Founded in 1980 as a refrigerator and air conditioner manufacturing and repair company which, over the years, was quick to adapt to local demand and international market trends, broadening its product line and diversifying its portfolio even before the need arose.
In 1990 the home-grown brand became the first to introduce retail ice to Sri Lanka under the name ‘Frosty Ice’. Frostaire also pioneered the local manufacture of cold rooms and freezer trucks, to help facilitate the efficient management of the country’s cold supply chain.
“2021 marks another monumental year for Frostaire,” said Mukthar Marikkar, Frostaire Managing Director. “Investing in our client and partner relationships, as well as our heritage of introducing state-of-the art cooling systems, continues to fuel our innovation and culture of continuous improvement.”
From single unit air-conditioners and refrigerators for the home, to commercial refrigerated warehousing, storage, and transport solutions -for perishable food, beverages, and medicines-, the Frostaire name has come to be recognized for excellence, as well as an efficient and reliable distributer of high-quality, contemporary cooling solutions, a company news release said.
“Additionally, its comprehensive product portfolio has resulted in a fast-expanding clientele, with several large-scale deployments by private sector organisations, government institutions, well-known food and retail chains, and individual industry professionals, and tens of thousands of units provided and installed island-wide.”
Among the many global names it has acquired to supplement its suite of products, Frostaire has also been awarded the status of sole agent and dealer of Thermo King truck and trailer refrigeration units sales and services in Sri Lanka, and has now established a well-equipped Thermo King Service Center in Welisara, made available to assist clients with their specific chiller and freezer truck service requirements. This is in addition to Frostaire’s one-of-a-kind in-house R&D lab, and one of the largest installed bases of air conditioning and specialized refrigeration appliances in the country, the release said.
“With customer experience always its highest priority, Frostaire is also committed to delivering superior after-sales customer care by harnessing four decades of industrial and technical expertise to give back to the consumer,” it added.
To avail Frostaire’s free A/C servicing anniversary offer, the company asked customers to contact 0718 958 958 to make an appointment, and a professional team will visit home or facility (following all COVID-19 safety and precautionary measures) to provide free-of-charge advisory and servicing of the air-conditioning or refrigeration units in question, the company said.
“Now, 41 years later, and with plans for future expansion, Frostaire can proudly say that its cooling solutions have been largely responsible for keeping Sri Lankans comfortable in their homes, productive at work, and their food cool and safe in kitchens, on trucks, and in stores,” the release cocluded.
Business
Cabinet approves rationalization of VAT exemptions and abolition of SVAT System

The Cabinet of Ministers granted concurrence to the resolution forwarded by the Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies to remove most of the releases from Value Added Tax (VAT), further retaining releases that ease the pressure on low – income families to secure the fundamental sectors of the economy as well as the releases for sectors such as education, health and agriculture, as well as to revise the provisions applicable for the Value Added Tax (VAT) act so that the Simplified Value Added Tax (SVAT) methodology can be canceled with effect from 01.01.2024 by introducing a more formal methodology for repaying the Value Added Tax (VAT) and to instruct the Legal Draftsman to prepare a draft bill for the purpose.
Business
Venora Lanka Power Panels to set up assembly plant in Australia

By Hiran H.Senewiratne
Sri Lanka- based, export- oriented manufacturer, Venora Lanka Power Panels (Pvt) Ltd, with a state of the art electric panel factory at the Export Processing Zone, Biyagama, will set up an assembly plant in Australia.
“Once we set up the electric panel assembly plant in Australia, we will export all our panels from Sri Lanka and that plant will do 30 percent value addition to the product to supply that market, the company’s chairman/ Managing Director, engineer Sagara Gunawardena told The Island Financial Review.
Gunawardena said that the company is a value- addition assembly plant and he would be investing AUS $ 2 million for the project to be set up in Melbourne and hire 100 engineers and other professionals. He explained that the venture has enormous potential.
Venora Lanka provides power panels to mega projects in Sri Lanka and exports to Bangladesh, Maldives, Kenya, Ethiopia, Seychelles and Myanmar. Panel assembling is strictly in compliance with IEC 61439 standards, it was explained.
Gunawardena added: ‘I firmly believe that, being a truly customer focused organization, every employee and every process in the organization has to be aligned behind delighting customers. Therefore, at a time when the country is facing a major dollar crisis, my company would be aiming at bringing dollars into the country, while providing employment for local professionals, especially engineers.
‘At Venora Lanka we do not try to change customers’ mindsets. Instead, we take time to understand what they really want and focus our brand on delivering that. Venora is values- driven first and cost- driven second – creating a unique brand proposition.
‘Since the US dollar rate has come down, it is our concern that importers and suppliers do not change their prices, which is really affecting the manufacturing sector.
Company sources added: ‘The company has several wings of operation, such as local and overseas projects, switch board assembling, telecommunication infrastructure installations, earthing, lighting and surge protection, incorporating world renowned brands.
‘Venora Lanka Power Panels is the first Sri Lankan company to receive the licence, in accordance with the UK Trade Mark Act 1994, to use the trade mark “Best Enterprise”. It won a global award at the event, ‘Golden Awards for Quality and Business Prestige’, held in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2015.
‘Within a short span of time, with the perfect blend of progressive thinking and expertise, Venora Group has expanded to consist of, Venora International Projects, Venora Telecom, Venora Industrial Solutions and Venora Lanka Power Panels (BOI approved). Further, Venora has established its overseas presence through Venora Engineering Kenya and Venora Engineering Myanmar.’
Business
Share market moves into positive territory; indices up

By Hiran H. Senewiratne
CSE trading got off to a positive note yesterday but during the last session of the day the momentum slowed. However, the market is now moving towards positive territory following the Central Bank announcement of a downward trend in interest rates, market analysts said.
Amid those developments the market witnesses improvements in both indices and in the turnover.
The All- Share Price Index up by 12.8 points and S and P SL 20 rose by 6.97 points. Turnover stood at Rs 710 million with one crossing. The crossing was reported in JKH which crossed 430,000 shares to the tune of Rs 60.2 million; its shares traded at Rs 140.
In the retail market top seven companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were; JKH Rs 212 million (1.5 million shares traded), Access Engineering Rs 44.7 million ( three million shares traded), Lanka IOC Rs 34.5 million (264,000 shares traded), Browns Investments Rs 28.6 million (5.3 million shares traded), LOLC Finance Rs 23.8 million (4.7 million shares traded), Capital Alliance Rs 22.9 million (615,000 shares traded) and First Capital Holdings Rs 19.2 million (574,000 shares traded). During the day the 31.4 million shares volumes changed hands in 9000 transactions.
Yesterday, the Central Bank’s US dollar buying rate was Rs 285.16 and the selling rate Rs 298.85.
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