Rules of Sri Lanka – Greater Mekong Business Council Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia
TITLE
The name of this Council shall be the,
‘Sri Lanka – Greater Mekong Subregion Business Council’ of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.
OBJECTIVES
- To promote trade in goods, tourism and other services between Sri Lanka and Vietnam Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.
- To promote investment from Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia to Sri Lanka and encourage the establishment of joint ventures in Sri Lanka with investors from Vietnam Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.
- To exchange information on trade and investment with the appropriate authorities and
institutions in Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. - To recommend to the Standing Committee ‘A’ (STC ‘A’) of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce proposals to be made to the Governments of Sri Lanka and or Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia to promote bi-lateral trade and investment
- To conduct joint meetings with Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia business organisations in Sri Lanka and in Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.
- To undertake all matters that are incidental or conducive to attaining the above objects.
MEMBERSHIP
Individuals, partnerships, companies, state owned enterprises or other organisations engaged in trade, tourism or services with Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia or engaged in joint ventures with Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia organisations or interested in entering into or promoting trade, tourism, services or joint ventures with Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia organizations shall be eligible for membership of the Council.
The founder members of the Council shall be those organizations, which indicate their willingness to join the Council by 7th June, 2010 and accepted by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Leadership Team (STC ‘A’). The founder office bearers shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce from amongst the founder members.
Where a member is a body corporate or a partnership firm, the individual representing it on the Council shall be its CEO, Director, General Manager or Partner or such other senior official nominated by the CEO or Senior Partner of the body corporate or partnership firm.
All such persons nominated to represent an organisation as a member of the Council will require to be approved by the Executive Committee of the Council. Persons wishing to join the Council will be required to provide the information set out in the application form prescribed by the Executive Committee and agree to abide by these rules and by any conditions set out in the application form. Election shall be made by the Executive Committee.
The members of the Council shall be divided into three categories;
i).General Membership
ii).Associate Membership
iii).Honorary Membership
The Executive Committee of the Council shall have the power to refuse to entertain applications for membership from persons, firms, companies or other organisations without stating a reason therefor, should they be of the opinion that the applicants are not suitable for General or Associate membership, as the case may be.
Membership will become effective on acceptance by the Executive Committee and the payment of the annual membership subscription.
Membership in the Council will cease if annual subscriptions are not paid by the date prescribed by the Executive Committee.
ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP
Vietnamese business organisations carrying on trade with Sri Lanka or interested in promoting trade or investing in Sri Lanka but not having a permanent business establishment in Sri Lanka shall be entitled to apply for Associate membership.
The Associate members shall have no voting rights and shall not be eligible for election to the Executive Committee. They shall enjoy the other benefits of Membership
HONORARY MEMBERSHIP
The Executive Committee of the Council may invite appropriate non-commercial authorities to be Honorary Members of the Council.
The Honorary members will not have voting rights and will not be required to pay any fee or subscription.
PATRON
The Patron of the Sri Lanka – Greater Mekong Subregion Business Council shall be the Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.
OFFICE BEARERS
The Office Bearers of the Council shall be the President and three (03) Vice Presidents and Immediate Past President (maximum Total number of Office Bearers five (5)).
The first President, two (2) Vice Presidents and the Five (05) Committee members of the Council shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce at the inaugural meeting of the Council. Subsequent Office Bearers shall be elected by the Executive Committee in accordance with the procedure set out below.
The Executive Committee shall identify the persons to be nominated for election as Office bearers and ratified at the next Annual General Meeting (AGM). The President of the Council shall be a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Director, Per pro, Partner or General Manager of a member organisation of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.
The names of those to be nominated shall be sent to the Secretary General/CEO of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce to ascertain from Standing Committee ‘A’, whether they have any reason to consider a nominee not suitable to hold office.
The Council shall provide the Secretary General/CEO with the following information regarding each person to be nominated, at least one month prior to the Annual General Meeting (AGM)
i). Full Name
ii). Name of the Business Organisation
iii). Designation/Title
iv). Date of joining the Council
v). Any other information the Council wishes to disclose
In the case of a self-employed professional, the following additional information will require to be provided.
- The Professional institution to which he/she belongs
- year of admission as a member of that institute
If no such objection has been received from the Secretary General/CEO within 7 working days of informing him in writing of the proposed nominations, it shall be presumed that Standing Committee ‘A’ endorses the nominations.
The Executive Committee shall then proceed to convene a General Meeting of the membership to ratify the election of the Office Bearers, so nominated.
The Secretary of the Council shall be the Secretary General/CEO of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce or his authorized nominee.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The affairs of the Council shall be conducted by an Executive Committee, which shall consist of the Office Bearers (a maximum of five (05) members) and a Committee (of a maximum of four (4) members). The first Executive Committee shall be the initial members of the Executive Committee. Members of subsequent Executive Committees excluding the Office Bearers shall be elected by the membership on the recommendation of the outgoing Executive Committee, at the AGM. The Executive Committee shall hold office until the Annual General Meeting.
A person shall cease to be a member of the Executive committee if he/she absents himself/herself from three consecutive committee meetings without offering a valid excuse. The Committee may however, pass a resolution by a simple majority and grant special leave of absence to any person who will continue to serve on the Committee notwithstanding his/her absence from three or more consecutive committee meetings.
MEETINGS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The Chairman of the Council may at anytime call for a meeting of the Executive Committee in order to make decisions and pass resolutions thereof for the conduct of the affairs of the Council.
The quorum for such meeting shall be four (4) and in the event of equality of votes, the Chairman shall have the casting vote.
The Minutes of the meetings and extracts of resolutions of the Executive Committee shall be endorsed by the Chairman or the Secretary to the Council.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
An Annual General Meeting shall be held within four months from the end of the financial year. The business to be transacted at such meetings shall be:
i). To confirm the Minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting.
ii). To receive the report of the Council and the Audited Accounts for the previous financial year.
iii). To ratify the appointments of the following Office Bearers/Committee Members;
- President
- Three (3) Vice Presidents
- Immediate Past President
To elect a maximum of four (4) Committee members recommended by the outgoing Executive Committee.
iv). To elect the Auditors.
v). To deal with any other business of which seven days (07) notice shall have been given in writing by the members.
FINANCIAL YEAR
The financial year of the Council shall be from April 1st to March 31st
ENTRANCE FEE AND ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION
Entrance Fee – Rs. 2,500/=
The Annual Subscription shall be Rs. 5,000/=
The Executive Committee shall have the discretion to revise the above fee from time to time.
SECRETARIAT
The Secretariat of the Council shall be The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.
An MOU shall be entered into between the Council and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and it shall not be amended without the prior written approval of the STC ‘A’ of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. The Council shall be bound by the MOU.
RULES
No changes to these Rules shall be made without the written approval of Standing Committee ‘A’ of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.
GENERAL
Any matters not provided for in these Rules shall be determined in accordance with such decisions as may be made by the Executive Committee.
WINDING UP
If on the winding up of the Council there shall remain after the satisfaction of all its debts and liabilities any funds or property, the same shall form part of the general funds of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. No surplus on the winding up of the Council shall be distributed to the Membership.