January - Garnet is the birth stone of January. Garnet is found in variations of red to orange and pink. Garnet is not a very expensive gemstone, it is believed that garnet gives constancy, riches, good health and joy.
February - Amethyst is the birthstone for February and this is also use as the gemstone for 6th wedding anniversary.
March - Aquamarine is considered as the birthstone of March. This outlines love, affection and friendship.
April - Diamond represents the birthstone of the month of April. Also used in rings for 10th and 16th wedding anniversary.
May - The green stone, Emerald is the birth stone of this month. This is wear for the protection and long life of the carrier.
June - Ruby known as the stone of June. It represents the 15th and 40th wedding anniversary.
August - Peridot is the birthstone of August.It was believed that the wearer becomes gracious and loving.
September - Sapphire is the birth stone of September as well as the anniversary stone for 5th and 45th years.
October - Opal represents the month of October as the birthstone. It is wear as a symbol of hope. This is also the gemstone of 14th wedding anniversary.
November - Topaz that comes in many colors from blue, yellow and white. This is not a very expensive gemstone.
December - Turquoise is the gem of December. Tanzanite also consider as the birth stone of December.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Ceylon Sapphires International
Ceylon Sapphires International is pleased to announce that we are nowoffering the following International Standard Lapidary Servicesto the Sri Lankan Gem & Jewellery trade:
Sawing, Pre-forming and Calibrating rough gemsFacetting and Cabbing – Standard and FancyshapesFacetting and Cabbing BriolettesUltra-Sonic Drilling of gemsRe-shaping, Re-polishing, Re-cutting andRepairing of gems, including Cat’s Eyes and StarSapphires/RubiesOur experienced, skilled and knowledgeable staff can handle large orsmall quantities, in sizes ranging from 1.5 mm upwards.
Contact Details
Ceylon Sapphires International
156, 2ndFloor, Hospital Road
Kalubowila, Dehiwela
Sawing, Pre-forming and Calibrating rough gemsFacetting and Cabbing – Standard and FancyshapesFacetting and Cabbing BriolettesUltra-Sonic Drilling of gemsRe-shaping, Re-polishing, Re-cutting andRepairing of gems, including Cat’s Eyes and StarSapphires/RubiesOur experienced, skilled and knowledgeable staff can handle large orsmall quantities, in sizes ranging from 1.5 mm upwards.
Contact Details
Ceylon Sapphires International
156, 2ndFloor, Hospital Road
Kalubowila, Dehiwela
Carnet Invoices
Many foreign Guaranteeing Associations are complaining to us that our present format of invoicing Carnets has caused them many problems sometimes resulting in mistakes. The current practice is as follows:
If a customer takes Gold Jewellery, Silver Jewellery and Gems they are categorized under separate lists as List A, List B, and List C carrying numbers from 1 to whatever, in each list. As a result say item No. 7 can be in all three lists. What they recommend now is to have one list serially ordered. It will ensure that a particular number refers to a one item only. Example if Gold Jewellery is 1 – 100, Silver Jewellery is 1 – 50 and Gems 1- 25 the suggested format will carry numbers from 1 – 175 instead of being broken down into three separate lists. The London Chamber has informed us that they will reject any Carnet in the future not complying with the suggested format. Please be good enough to inform all exporters accordingly.
If a customer takes Gold Jewellery, Silver Jewellery and Gems they are categorized under separate lists as List A, List B, and List C carrying numbers from 1 to whatever, in each list. As a result say item No. 7 can be in all three lists. What they recommend now is to have one list serially ordered. It will ensure that a particular number refers to a one item only. Example if Gold Jewellery is 1 – 100, Silver Jewellery is 1 – 50 and Gems 1- 25 the suggested format will carry numbers from 1 – 175 instead of being broken down into three separate lists. The London Chamber has informed us that they will reject any Carnet in the future not complying with the suggested format. Please be good enough to inform all exporters accordingly.
INTERVIEW BY THE FINANCIAL REVIEW OF THE DAILY ISLAND NEWSPAPERS ON 24THJUNE 2009
Exorbitant auditors’ fees negate export rewards scheme
By Devan Daniel
Exporters are having to pay high fees to auditors when completing their paperwork for the Export Development Reward Scheme and are still facing difficulties with commercial banks charging high interest rates on loans despite several reductions in policy rates by the Central Bank during the past few months.
According to the government’s Export Development Reward Scheme (EDRS), introduced to help exporters counter the ill affects of the global financial crisis, if exporters can maintain more than 90 percent of their returns compared with the corresponding quarter of the previous year, a reward of 3 percent of the export value will be paid by the government.
A reward of 5 percent will be paid to those who equal quarterly export proceeds.
Auditors are required to issue a certificate authenticating export proceeds. This certificate must then be handed over to the Commerce Department along with Customs clearance certificates when applying for the reward.
Exporters said auditors had initially been reluctant to issue the certificates without conducting a proper audit which was time consuming and defeated the purpose of having the reward as a timely relief package of sorts. But this issue has now been settled.
However, exporters have to pay a high fee to have their export proceeds certified.
"We have to bear a high cost for auditors’ certifications of export proceeds and this tends to go against the very concept of a stimulus package," Chairman of the National Chamber of Exporters Rohan Fernando told the Island Financial Review.
Some audit firms are known to bill their clients as much as Rs. 100,000 for a certificate.
Fernando said getting Customs clearance certificates was not a difficult issue.
When the EDRS was first introduced, exporters were anxious it would be implemented smoothly but this was not the case when the Department of Commerce had to be called in to takeover the administration of the scheme from the Export Development Board, causing some discomfort to exporters during the transition.
Applications had to be handed over to the Department of Commerce within 45 days after each quarter.
"We hope the rewards will be in liquid form, because this is what we really need right now," Fernando said.
"Banks have still not revised their interest rates on lending despite the Central Bank cutting its policy rates and this is still a big issue for exporters," he said.
Exporters criticised that those who really needed the stimulus would not get it as meeting last year’s export targets would be extremely difficult under the current global environment but authorities defended this requirement on the grounds that firms should still attempt to improve their productivity in these difficult times.
Sri Lanka’s export earnings slumped by 16.2 percent during the first four months of the year compared with the previous year. The apparel sector however recorded a 2 percent growth.
According to the Department of Census and Statistics more than 60,000 apparel workers had lost their jobs during the first quarter. The Labour Department said about 70,000 jobs in all sectors had been lost since the global economic crisis began to impact Sri Lanka towards the end of last year. Some politicians and trade unionists said the number was about 100,000.
By Devan Daniel
Exporters are having to pay high fees to auditors when completing their paperwork for the Export Development Reward Scheme and are still facing difficulties with commercial banks charging high interest rates on loans despite several reductions in policy rates by the Central Bank during the past few months.
According to the government’s Export Development Reward Scheme (EDRS), introduced to help exporters counter the ill affects of the global financial crisis, if exporters can maintain more than 90 percent of their returns compared with the corresponding quarter of the previous year, a reward of 3 percent of the export value will be paid by the government.
A reward of 5 percent will be paid to those who equal quarterly export proceeds.
Auditors are required to issue a certificate authenticating export proceeds. This certificate must then be handed over to the Commerce Department along with Customs clearance certificates when applying for the reward.
Exporters said auditors had initially been reluctant to issue the certificates without conducting a proper audit which was time consuming and defeated the purpose of having the reward as a timely relief package of sorts. But this issue has now been settled.
However, exporters have to pay a high fee to have their export proceeds certified.
"We have to bear a high cost for auditors’ certifications of export proceeds and this tends to go against the very concept of a stimulus package," Chairman of the National Chamber of Exporters Rohan Fernando told the Island Financial Review.
Some audit firms are known to bill their clients as much as Rs. 100,000 for a certificate.
Fernando said getting Customs clearance certificates was not a difficult issue.
When the EDRS was first introduced, exporters were anxious it would be implemented smoothly but this was not the case when the Department of Commerce had to be called in to takeover the administration of the scheme from the Export Development Board, causing some discomfort to exporters during the transition.
Applications had to be handed over to the Department of Commerce within 45 days after each quarter.
"We hope the rewards will be in liquid form, because this is what we really need right now," Fernando said.
"Banks have still not revised their interest rates on lending despite the Central Bank cutting its policy rates and this is still a big issue for exporters," he said.
Exporters criticised that those who really needed the stimulus would not get it as meeting last year’s export targets would be extremely difficult under the current global environment but authorities defended this requirement on the grounds that firms should still attempt to improve their productivity in these difficult times.
Sri Lanka’s export earnings slumped by 16.2 percent during the first four months of the year compared with the previous year. The apparel sector however recorded a 2 percent growth.
According to the Department of Census and Statistics more than 60,000 apparel workers had lost their jobs during the first quarter. The Labour Department said about 70,000 jobs in all sectors had been lost since the global economic crisis began to impact Sri Lanka towards the end of last year. Some politicians and trade unionists said the number was about 100,000.
‘Sri Lanka Rising’ - to attract export, expand market
The country will be projected under a new theme “Sri Lanka Rising” to the international market in attracting exports and expanding our markets, President, National Chamber of Exporters Sri Lanka (NCESL) Rohan Fernando said. The Chamber is working towards disseminating this simple message through our products, he said.
He called for an urgent national policy on development, energy and water emphasizing the need to conserve water and energy and to make maximum use. “We have the potential and we work with Government institutions to create a positive frame of mind. This is what we try to inculcate in our members as a business community”, he said.
Under the current economic environment we stood up to a worldwide recession and fought a war which was the worst in the world.
We overcame these challenges successfully. The country was not badly affected by recession due to the stringent financial regulations. Firstly, as a Sri Lankan and as business community we congratulate the correct political leadership, armed forces and others involved in the successful role against the war, he said.
There is a saying that “when one door closes at least another door opens” and we need to concentrate on the avenues available for development.
The upbeat about the future and achieving the goals is not a difficult task, Fernando said. We need to strive to look at other openings.
Sri Lanka’s economy is resilient to the point that there is an abundance of natural strengths and resources. These natural strengths including military expertise could be made use of in international wars.
The natural resources such as marine, water, wind and solar are not exploited fully. Steps are needed to extend our maritime economic zone to broaden our boundaries. The sea contains natural resources including fish, minerals, carbon resources and power generation capacity by way of geo- thermal.
It’s our responsibility to harness all these resources. We are an island nation. The Government needs to have a timeframe to stop importing fish, he said.
“This is a time that we can set up our basic infrastructure and ground work. After the recession there will be a boom point. This could propel so many other silent dormant activities. We should be prepared to take full use of the world economic expansion”, he said.
Sri Lanka has a vast potential in converting many areas of food production in to consumer ready items.
Tea recorded a one billion dollar turnover two years ago. It has the potential to be a five billion industry and 3.5 billion kilograms of tea are consumed annually. Tea is no more a poor man’s beverage. It is a health related product and tea could also produce a range of by-products which are health supportive and aimed at life support.
We can expand our tea export industry to make Sri Lanka a tea export nation. This would facilitate national economic growth, Fernando said.
Regarding milk production, it is far from satisfactory. We are confident that with a proper strategy we could improve liquid milk production. Our garment industry should aim at high end products and value addition.
The North and East development is vital in our economy. These provinces need to produce food items such as fish, onions, potatoes and chillies not only for local consumption, but should be also export oriented.
There is a greater demand for foods and also for natural food and we need to capitalize on this situation, Fernando said. We should encourage local production and this in turn will benefit our farmers. It will also help to save billions of rupees of valuable foreign exchange on food imports, he said.
He called for an urgent national policy on development, energy and water emphasizing the need to conserve water and energy and to make maximum use. “We have the potential and we work with Government institutions to create a positive frame of mind. This is what we try to inculcate in our members as a business community”, he said.
Under the current economic environment we stood up to a worldwide recession and fought a war which was the worst in the world.
We overcame these challenges successfully. The country was not badly affected by recession due to the stringent financial regulations. Firstly, as a Sri Lankan and as business community we congratulate the correct political leadership, armed forces and others involved in the successful role against the war, he said.
There is a saying that “when one door closes at least another door opens” and we need to concentrate on the avenues available for development.
The upbeat about the future and achieving the goals is not a difficult task, Fernando said. We need to strive to look at other openings.
Sri Lanka’s economy is resilient to the point that there is an abundance of natural strengths and resources. These natural strengths including military expertise could be made use of in international wars.
The natural resources such as marine, water, wind and solar are not exploited fully. Steps are needed to extend our maritime economic zone to broaden our boundaries. The sea contains natural resources including fish, minerals, carbon resources and power generation capacity by way of geo- thermal.
It’s our responsibility to harness all these resources. We are an island nation. The Government needs to have a timeframe to stop importing fish, he said.
“This is a time that we can set up our basic infrastructure and ground work. After the recession there will be a boom point. This could propel so many other silent dormant activities. We should be prepared to take full use of the world economic expansion”, he said.
Sri Lanka has a vast potential in converting many areas of food production in to consumer ready items.
Tea recorded a one billion dollar turnover two years ago. It has the potential to be a five billion industry and 3.5 billion kilograms of tea are consumed annually. Tea is no more a poor man’s beverage. It is a health related product and tea could also produce a range of by-products which are health supportive and aimed at life support.
We can expand our tea export industry to make Sri Lanka a tea export nation. This would facilitate national economic growth, Fernando said.
Regarding milk production, it is far from satisfactory. We are confident that with a proper strategy we could improve liquid milk production. Our garment industry should aim at high end products and value addition.
The North and East development is vital in our economy. These provinces need to produce food items such as fish, onions, potatoes and chillies not only for local consumption, but should be also export oriented.
There is a greater demand for foods and also for natural food and we need to capitalize on this situation, Fernando said. We should encourage local production and this in turn will benefit our farmers. It will also help to save billions of rupees of valuable foreign exchange on food imports, he said.
Facets 2009 - Sri Lanka's premire gem and jewellery show
The great event is about to show the finest gemstones and jewelry of Sri Lanka at the Facets 2009 Gem and Jewellery Exhibition. The even is organized by Sri Lanka Gem and Jewellery Association and The National Gem and Jewellery Authority. The theme of the Facets 2009 is "Gemstones direct from the source".
Facets 2009, 19th Sri Lanka International Gem and Jewellery Show will be held from 3rd to 6th September 2009 at the BMICH, Colombo.
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