Business

Free goodies at Confifi

April heralds in the New Year as well as a considerable number of holidays which make it conducive for families to travel as it is in sync with school vacations as well as public holidays. Throwing in a number of very attractive ‘freebies’ amongst its respective hotels are an encouragement for people to make use of this period to unwind and revel in some pure “R&R” while celebrating the New Year as well as the Easter season.

In this connection, Confifi Group Hotels, one of Sri Lanka’s premier beach resort chains on the South West Coast of Sri Lanka with its popularly known and well patronized Eden Resort & Spa, Riverina Hotel and Club Palm Garden in Beruwela continues to offer its guests the finest hospitality, good quality accommodation, extraordinary cuisine and a variety of entertainment and leisure activities.

Being pioneers in tourism, the Confifi Group has and continues to both innovatively and creatively introduce facilities and services which have popularized themselves over the years.

On this occasion, the Group has formulated a novel and ‘once in a lifetime’ package for the upcoming April holiday season which will be on offer from April 8-18, 2009.

 “We at Confifi Hotels constantly strive to give our guests a truly unique experience and we feel the timing is ideal for us to launch holiday packages of this nature in a market, where so many are looking for that affordable holiday break which offers value for money and something for the entire family” said Group General Manager Marketing Ms. Anushka Lovell.

What makes this package a “one of a kind” and different from other holiday’s packages is the “free, free, free” concept where the hotels offer you so many extras, that it actually makes your vacation so incredibly affordable.

The double room rate is between Rs. 4,000-5,000 per person on full board basis at Club Palm Garden and Riverina respectively.

They provide guests with a host of extras; Free corkage, which allows one to bring in their own liquor at no additional charge, free laundry to avoid the hassle of returning home to loads of washing, free car wash, free use of the Kiddies Club, free water sports at the Confifi Marina and much, much  more.

Guests who chose to stay two nights or more are also entitled to a free fuel voucher worth Rs. 1,000 and an extra lunch free of charge.

The double room rate of Rs. 6,500 per person on full board basis at Eden Resort and Spa offers you free spa vouchers worth Rs. 1,500; free laundry; free car wash, free water sports and a fantastic 30% off on all beverages. 

Those staying two nights in a Deluxe Room can also enjoy a free hour of drinks and canapés, free bottle of wine with every dinner, a choice of restaurants for dining and a free three hour boat trip.

As family holidays seem to be a much needed thing for so many who are tied down to long work days, Confifi Hotels ensures your kids can time away with mom and dad while treating themselves to free snacks, free ice cream and free soft drinks together with a variety of childrens’ activities planned out at Riverina Hotel and Club Palm Garden to keep the little ones busy under the supervision of child minders in order to give parents an opportunity to either relax by the pool or engage in something a little more challenging like water sports at the Confifi Marina.

 “Here too, we have extended special offers at the Confifi Marina for those water sports enthusiasts and special free spa vouchers for those staying at the Eden resort and Spa to indulge in a free Spa treatment of their choice, says Lovell.

Today, one is inclined to search for a holiday far from the busy schedule where one could rest, relax, rejuvenate and re-charge. Perhaps the current accelerated pace of life which far exceeds normal working hours and financial hardships have brought about this change. One therefore needs to get off the fast track where one could knock off, sit back and snap all ties with the “real world” and relax even if it might be for only a couple of days.

“We at Confifi Group have the ideal holiday package and the right remedies to suit any individual,” she concluded.

They provide guests with a host of extras; Free corkage, which allows one to bring in their own liquor at no additional charge, free laundry to avoid the hassle of returning home to loads of washing, free car wash, free use of the Kiddies Club, free water sports at the Confifi Marina and much, much  more.

Guests who chose to stay two nights or more are also entitled to a free fuel voucher worth Rs. 1,000 and an extra lunch free of charge.

The double room rate of Rs. 6,500 per person on full board basis at Eden Resort and Spa offers you free spa vouchers worth Rs. 1,500; free laundry; free car wash, free water sports and a fantastic 30% off on all beverages. 

Those staying two nights in a Deluxe Room can also enjoy a free hour of drinks and canapés, free bottle of wine with every dinner, a choice of restaurants for dining and a free three hour boat trip. As family holidays seem to be a much needed thing for so many who are tied down to long work days, Confifi Hotels ensures your kids can time away with mom and dad while treating themselves to free snacks, free ice cream and free soft drinks together with a variety of childrens’ activities planned out at Riverina Hotel and Club Palm Garden to keep the little ones busy under the supervision of child minders in order to give parents an opportunity to either relax by the pool or engage in something a little more challenging like water sports at the Confifi Marina. “Here too, we have extended special offers at the Confifi Marina for those water sports enthusiasts and special free spa vouchers for those staying at the Eden resort and Spa to indulge in a free Spa treatment of their choice, says Lovell. Today, one is inclined to search for a holiday far from the busy schedule where one could rest, relax, rejuvenate and re-charge. Perhaps the current accelerated pace of life which far exceeds normal working hours and financial hardships have brought about this change. One therefore needs to get off the fast track where one could knock off, sit back and snap all ties with the “real world” and relax even if it might be for only a couple of days.

“We at Confifi Group have the ideal holiday package and the right remedies to suit any individual,” she concluded.

Loans to tea trade

Banks reject ST’s guarantee letter

Banks have refused to accept Secretary to the Treasury (ST) Sumith Abeysinghe’s letter of guarantee to provide working capital loans for a period of one month to the tea trade on the grounds that the Treasury has not spelt out the terms and conditions governing such loans.

This scheme covers over 300 factories with a sum of Rs. 3.7 billion allocated for this purpose, Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) Director General H.D. Hemaratne told a forum at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) on Friday, where among the other government officials present were the Director General Fiscal Policy S.R. Attygalle, senior Inland Revenue Department (IRD) officers and SLTB Chairman Lalith Hettiarachchi.

Growers and factory owners have been hit due to falling tea prices on account of the global recession and this scheme is a part of President Mahinda Rajapaksha’s Rs. 16 billion stimulous package to revive the export industry, with one of the key sectors in this instance being tea.

“I know of one State bank which has refused to honour ST’s request,” Chrysantha Perera, former chairman of Forbes & Walker, a commodity broking firm said.

Now retained by the trade, Perera said that as a result, the regional plantation company to which he is now attached to, was compelled to take a commercial loan from a public quoted bank at 22½-23% interest.

But the question is what about the others who are unable to get facilities, with banks nowadays being shy to lend to the tea trade, he asked.

Hettiarachchi said that the 6% interest subsidy provided for under this package could be got by the industry after submitting the necessary bank loan documents to them.

Another sector that had been promised relief under this stimulous package unveiled by the President some three months ago was the rubber trade.

A representative of this trade said that though the government had promised a handout of Rs. 20 for every kilo of rubber, in the event rubber prices fall below the Rs. 175 levels, not a cent has thus far been paid.

Rubber prices are currently at the Rs. 140/150 levels, he said.

Political will

Recently Professor Mohan Munasinghe who shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Price with former US Vice President Al Gore on climate change told reporters that there were several solutions to Colombo’s garbage problem, but what was lacking was the political will to implement these.

This has led the masses to seek succour from the Judiciary, as the elected representatives have seemingly abandoned their responsibilities of finding a solution to this crisis for reasons best known to them.

Solutions include recycling of garbage, which, as Munasinghe said, could be done by sorting out the garbage, from those which are biodegradable and those which are not, and also by manufacturing compost fertilizer from that which is bio-degradable.

Japan has gone a step further, by even converting Tokyo’s sewage into fertilizer, after proper treatment.

This reporter can remember in the early 1990s, there was donor funding available to solve Colombo’s garbage problem, with a landfill in this connection proposed North of Colombo to dispose of non-biodegradable garbage.

But due to protests, the government of the day shunned going through with this proposal.

Lack of a political will to do that which is good for the country and for its people is nothing new to Sri Lanka, it has been the bane of this country since independence.

And worse so, it was this lack of a political will that spawned Northern terrorism, which has taken this country several decades back.

It had its beginnings in 1957, when late Premier S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike backtracked on federalism to the Tamils after the then opposition leader J.R.Jayewardene’s long march to Kandy against this pact. It was also this lack of political will by the then Premier Dudley Senanayake that nailed the coffin on federalism to the Tamils 10 years later.

And finally, it was a lack of a political will by then President Jayewardene that spawned the July ’83 riots (the root cause for the present crisis) which however could have had been nipped in the bud if the bodies of the 13 soldiers killed in Jaffna in an LTTE ambush on July 23, 1983, were given to their relatives, instead of trying to rush through with their burials in sealed coffins at Borella Kanatte the following day.

The list of key development projects that has got delayed and major policy initiatives vital for the country’s common good that has been backtracked due to a lack of a political will are long and numerous.

Some of those are the delayed Colombo-Katunayake Expressway, Puttalam Coal Fired Power Plant, Kotmale Hydro-Electric Power Project and the promotion of Private Higher Education Institutes, the closure of the North Colombo Medical College by the then President Ranasinghe Premadasa being an example of such a retrogressive step.

What Sri Lanka needs are statesmen and not politicians who will have the country’s long term good and interest at heart, and whose policies and actions will not be solely guided by wanting to win the next election, nor to cling on to power by hook or by crook.

Rupee weakens

With reports that the government is seeking a US$ 1.9 billion bailout package from the IMF to boost its reserves, the Central Bank since March 26 morning, has stopped defending the rupee, resulting in the US dollar gaining by Rs. 1.75 or more, in the past few days since, to be quoted at the Rs. 116 levels, after its seeming last peg at the Rs. 114.25 levels was removed since that date.

In January 2001 too Sri Lanka sought a standby loan from the IMF, a mere fraction of the US$ 1.9 billion sought for, at the present. It was just US$ 150 million at that time, with the rupee being allowed a free float as one of those conditions, resulting in the greenback, which was then being quoted at the Rs. 70s level, going beyond the Rs. 90s levels in a space of a few days.

Eleven months later that government was routed at the elections, probably not solely because of allowing the free float of the dollar vis-à-vis the rupee, but due to other factors as well that came into play, such as the LTTE’s successful attack on the Colombo airport on July 25, 2001, followed by “9/11.”

Factors that affected tourism, exports and caused insurance premiums to go up, on ships visiting Colombo, which was rounded up by the country for the first time recording a negative 1.4% growth.

The rupee has been devalued even before.

This reporter can remember, soon after the J.R.Jayewardene government came to power in 1977, the dollar which was quoted at the Rs. 7.50 levels at that time, was immediately pushed upto twice that amount in value, to the Rs. 15 levels.

So, since embracing the open economy in 1977, governments have been devaluing the rupee, chiefly on account of pressure by multilateral donor agencies such as the IMF to do so.

ADB Country Director Dr. Richard Vokes the other day contended that devaluation is good, because it helps import substitution, whilst also making exports competitive.

Sri Lanka did practice import substitution, with much vigour, in the halcyon years of the closed economy, from 1970-77.

With import controls being the name of the game at that time, it spawned queues for almost everything, from cloth to rice to sugar, due to shortages that came with it.

It also spawned corruption, nepotism and favouritism, and substandard goods, due to the lack of competition.

But the election of the Jayewardene government in July 1977 changed that, opening up the floodgates of trade liberalization, which resulted in a number of import substitution industries being swamped, with consumer preference being for the imported product, apparently because it was of a better quality and cheaper than its local substitute.

It’s multilateral donor agencies such as the ADB, no doubt egged on by the USA, which has been espousing free trade, and even making it a condition for aid.

But with the promoters of free trade, such as the USA, now getting into the protectionist gear due to the global recession, with its economy in particular being going on the reverse gear, one wonders whether it was that which prompted Vokes to seemingly do a 180 degree turn and espouse import substitution instead, or was it mere rhetoric, to defend government’s moves to devalue the rupee, seemingly in consonance with IMF’s terms and conditions?

Or, does he mean that we should go back to the era of queues, licenses and import control which the electorate rejected in 1977?

Exporters too have been crying for a devaluation because of high local costs.

 No doubt devaluation will push up prices, of certain essential imported commodities, and make the poor poorer.  However, if the price of oil is pushed up by the government on the pretext of rupee devaluation, that would be a crime, because oil prices have fallen by almost a fourth in under a year due to the recession.

And a devalued rupee also pushes government’s costs up, vis-à-vis foreign debt servicing and foreign exchange purchases, with a knock on effect on its rupee borrowing costs as well.

 But with reserves at a parlous state, the government has no option other than to bow down to IMF conditions, i.e. allowing the rupee to depreciate by removing its defences which it previously enjoyed at various levels vis-à-vis the dollar since late last year, in recent times.

Political will

Recently Professor Mohan Munasinghe who shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Price with former US Vice President Al Gore on climate change told reporters that there were several solutions to Colombo’s garbage problem, but what was lacking was the political will to implement these.

This has led the masses to seek succour from the Judiciary, as the elected representatives have seemingly abandoned their responsibilities of finding a solution to this crisis for reasons best known to them.

Solutions include recycling of garbage, which, as Munasinghe said, could be done by sorting out the garbage, from those which are biodegradable and those which are not, and also by manufacturing compost fertilizer from that which is bio-degradable.

Japan has gone a step further, by even converting Tokyo’s sewage into fertilizer, after proper treatment.

This reporter can remember in the early 1990s, there was donor funding available to solve Colombo’s garbage problem, with a landfill in this connection proposed North of Colombo to dispose of non-biodegradable garbage.

But due to protests, the government of the day shunned going through with this proposal.

Lack of a political will to do that which is good for the country and for its people is nothing new to Sri Lanka, it has been the bane of this country since independence.

And worse so, it was this lack of a political will that spawned Northern terrorism, which has taken this country several decades back.

It had its beginnings in 1957, when late Premier S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike backtracked on federalism to the Tamils after the then opposition leader J.R.Jayewardene’s long march to Kandy against this pact. It was also this lack of political will by the then Premier Dudley Senanayake that nailed the coffin on federalism to the Tamils 10 years later.

And finally, it was a lack of a political will by then President Jayewardene that spawned the July ’83 riots (the root cause for the present crisis) which however could have had been nipped in the bud if the bodies of the 13 soldiers killed in Jaffna in an LTTE ambush on July 23, 1983, were given to their relatives, instead of trying to rush through with their burials in sealed coffins at Borella Kanatte the following day.

The list of key development projects that has got delayed and major policy initiatives vital for the country’s common good that has been backtracked due to a lack of a political will are long and numerous.

Some of those are the delayed Colombo-Katunayake Expressway, Puttalam Coal Fired Power Plant, Kotmale Hydro-Electric Power Project and the promotion of Private Higher Education Institutes, the closure of the North Colombo Medical College by the then President Ranasinghe Premadasa being an example of such a retrogressive step.

What Sri Lanka needs are statesmen and not politicians who will have the country’s long term good and interest at heart, and whose policies and actions will not be solely guided by wanting to win the next election, nor to cling on to power by hook or by crook.

Rupee weakens

With reports that the government is seeking a US$ 1.9 billion bailout package from the IMF to boost its reserves, the Central Bank since March 26 morning, has stopped defending the rupee, resulting in the US dollar gaining by Rs. 1.75 or more, in the past few days since, to be quoted at the Rs. 116 levels, after its seeming last peg at the Rs. 114.25 levels was removed since that date.

In January 2001 too Sri Lanka sought a standby loan from the IMF, a mere fraction of the US$ 1.9 billion sought for, at the present. It was just US$ 150 million at that time, with the rupee being allowed a free float as one of those conditions, resulting in the greenback, which was then being quoted at the Rs. 70s level, going beyond the Rs. 90s levels in a space of a few days.

Eleven months later that government was routed at the elections, probably not solely because of allowing the free float of the dollar vis-à-vis the rupee, but due to other factors as well that came into play, such as the LTTE’s successful attack on the Colombo airport on July 25, 2001, followed by “9/11.”

Factors that affected tourism, exports and caused insurance premiums to go up, on ships visiting Colombo, which was rounded up by the country for the first time recording a negative 1.4% growth.

The rupee has been devalued even before.

This reporter can remember, soon after the J.R.Jayewardene government came to power in 1977, the dollar which was quoted at the Rs. 7.50 levels at that time, was immediately pushed upto twice that amount in value, to the Rs. 15 levels.

So, since embracing the open economy in 1977, governments have been devaluing the rupee, chiefly on account of pressure by multilateral donor agencies such as the IMF to do so.

ADB Country Director Dr. Richard Vokes the other day contended that devaluation is good, because it helps import substitution, whilst also making exports competitive.

Sri Lanka did practice import substitution, with much vigour, in the halcyon years of the closed economy, from 1970-77.

With import controls being the name of the game at that time, it spawned queues for almost everything, from cloth to rice to sugar, due to shortages that came with it.

It also spawned corruption, nepotism and favouritism, and substandard goods, due to the lack of competition.

But the election of the Jayewardene government in July 1977 changed that, opening up the floodgates of trade liberalization, which resulted in a number of import substitution industries being swamped, with consumer preference being for the imported product, apparently because it was of a better quality and cheaper than its local substitute.

It’s multilateral donor agencies such as the ADB, no doubt egged on by the USA, which has been espousing free trade, and even making it a condition for aid.

But with the promoters of free trade, such as the USA, now getting into the protectionist gear due to the global recession, with its economy in particular being going on the reverse gear, one wonders whether it was that which prompted Vokes to seemingly do a 180 degree turn and espouse import substitution instead, or was it mere rhetoric, to defend government’s moves to devalue the rupee, seemingly in consonance with IMF’s terms and conditions?

Or, does he mean that we should go back to the era of queues, licenses and import control which the electorate rejected in 1977?

Exporters too have been crying for a devaluation because of high local costs.

 No doubt devaluation will push up prices, of certain essential imported commodities, and make the poor poorer.  However, if the price of oil is pushed up by the government on the pretext of rupee devaluation, that would be a crime, because oil prices have fallen by almost a fourth in under a year due to the recession.

And a devalued rupee also pushes government’s costs up, vis-à-vis foreign debt servicing and foreign exchange purchases, with a knock on effect on its rupee borrowing costs as well.

 But with reserves at a parlous state, the government has no option other than to bow down to IMF conditions, i.e. allowing the rupee to depreciate by removing its defences which it previously enjoyed at various levels vis-à-vis the dollar since late last year, in recent times.

Shippers boycott box carriers

By Janet Porter 

Thursday, Lloyd’s List

GLOBAL shippers are boycotting some container lines because of the risk of failure after a carrier-driven rates war that has pushed some to the brink of bankruptcy.

Nestle’s head of global ocean transport Brett Whitfield said yesterday that the food and beverage group was excluding certain carriers from its tender process and diversifying the number of container lines used overall in order to lessen exposure to service closures by financially-weakened operators.

But Neptune Orient Lines president and chief executive Ron Widdows does not expect any of the big lines to collapse, despite rock bottom freight rates that show little sign of any recovery.

“I would be shocked to see a significant player fail in the short-term,” he told Lloyd’s List.

Even so, Widdows admitted that container lines were now braced for financial results that will be “much worse” than most were anticipating a few weeks ago after a dreadful start to the year.

As that becomes more evident, “so a level of sobriety is developing,” he observed.

Drewry Shipping Consultants recently forecast that combined losses could total $32bn., a figure that Widdows agreed was conceivable.

There is now greater recognition that the current situation cannot continue, with lines-whether listed, privately-owned or under state control-having to face shareholders and explain why they have thrown “a staggering amount of money into a black hole,” he said.

Speaking at Containerisation International’s 11th annual global liner shipping conference, Howe Robinson’s director of research and consultancy, Paul Dowell, said $84bn had been committed in recent years to containership orders.

At the same time, ship values have collapsed by up to 60% from their peak, while average charter rates have plunged by 80%.

A huge amount of activity is now going on behind the scenes to cancel New building contracts, and despite resistance from shipyards, most experts are sure many contracts will eventually be revoked since banks will not be able to meet their obligations because of falling asset

values.

But contracts are under review right along the transport chain, with APM Terminals’ chief commercial officer Richard Mitchell revealing that the ports operator is now pressing for terminal concessions to be renegotiated after a plunge in container traffic.

Illustrating the depth of the slump, Mitchell said that five miles of empty containers were now said to be lined up in Shanghai.

Shippers have benefited from the plunge in freight rates that have fed through to other prices along the supply chain, but Nestle’s Whitfield stressed that his company “did not ask carriers to drop their rates-they did that themselves.”

Nestle “could not ignore the opportunity thrown at us”, he said.

If lines offer close to zero ocean rates, “we would be crazy not to take them.”

Nevertheless, he expressed concern that a company like Nestle, which uses about 70 different carriers to ship its products to every corner of the globe, could find some trades no longer covered as carriers axe unsustainable services.

He also castigated container lines for continuing with an outdated mentality and failing to change industry practices despite the end of their antitrust immunity and joint pricing in Europe.

“Not one line has come up with some new ideas” following abolition of the conference system, he complained.

Whitfield also said choice was being eroded by the tendency for lines to share ships.

While careful to stress that alliance members still competed fiercely in terms of marketing and price, the Nestle executive said certain trades such as the Mediterranean to US east coast route offered very few ship alternatives these days.

Top priority now for container lines is to bring some stability to prices at a time when spot ocean rates in both the transpacific and Asia-Europe trades are still under enormous pressure as carriers chase a shrinking pool of cargo.

Recent pricing “antics” are adding to the challenge of negotiating new annual contracts covering eastbound Pacific where lines are seeking rates some $500-$600 per feu above very depressed spot rates, said Widdows who is chairman of the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement.

“There’s a way to go to achieve that objective,” he said in an interview. But only around 10% of contracts have been signed so far.

In the Asia-Europe trades, where a number of lines have brought in rate restoration programmes that took effect yesterday, Widdows said carriers should know within a couple of weeks whether they had made any progress.

At the moment, rates are barely covering variable costs, let alone fixed overheads, he said, while some lines continue to offer all-on rates that combine ocean transport with fuel surcharges.

But he discounted suggestions that any carriers were deliberately trying to drive others out of business through a price war.

“That would be a silly undertaking to consciously go down that road,” he told Lloyd’s List.

Top priority now for container lines is to bring some stability to prices at a time when spot ocean rates in both the transpacific and Asia-Europe trades are still under enormous pressure as carriers chase a shrinking pool of cargo.

Recent pricing “antics” are adding to the challenge of negotiating new annual contracts covering eastbound Pacific where lines are seeking rates some $500-$600 per feu above very depressed spot rates, said Widdows who is chairman of the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement.

“There’s a way to go to achieve that objective,” he said in an interview. But only around 10% of contracts have been signed so far.

In the Asia-Europe trades, where a number of lines have brought in rate restoration programmes that took effect yesterday, Widdows said carriers should know within a couple of weeks whether they had made any progress.

At the moment, rates are barely covering variable costs, let alone fixed overheads, he said, while some lines continue to offer all-on rates that combine ocean transport with fuel surcharges.

But he discounted suggestions that any carriers were deliberately trying to drive others out of business through a price war.

“That would be a silly undertaking to consciously go down that road,” he told Lloyd’s List.

Promoting cocoa

The country’s first-of-its-kind Cocoa Processing Centre was established in the rural village of Ulpotha in Matale recently, under Etimos Lanka (Pvt) Ltd’s innovative project, “Micro Finance Meets Small Producers In Sri Lanka.”

Etimos, a BOI approved company which began operations in 2007, was created to facilitate the services offered by Consorzio Etimos s.c.,  an Italian based  financial consortium that supports and sustains micro businesses and micro financing programmes in developing countries across the world.

Consorzio which has a strong presence in Asia, Africa, South America and Eastern Europe came to the country subsequent to the 2004 Tsunami, and supported affected families to get back to their livelihoods  through micro financing, supported by Dipartimento Italiano della Protezione Civile (Italian Civil Protection).

With the identification of Sri Lankan cocoa as one of the world’s best, Etimos partnered with Istituto Cooperazione Economica Internazionale and two cocoa producers’ associations, named Palapathwela and Yatawatte to form Cooperation for Industrial Development Lanka (Pvt) Ltd (COOP- ID ), a company focused  on   processing  cocoa beans.

This cocoa processing centre in Ulpotha, a joint effort by these partners was set up with the aim of developing the quality of cocoa beans, strengthening farmer organizations; developing their social status and finding them the right market to sell their products.

“We hope to implement the necessary standards in order to obtain a fair trade certification from the Fair Trade Labelling Organization International. Our product is organic based and chemical free. Establishing this centre will help to boost income level of farmers and be instrumental in poverty alleviation,” said Etimos Manager Niroshan L Kurera.

COOP-ID is looking at increasing cocoa production in the country by extending new cultivation  to  other areas such as Moneragala. The Organization also hopes to facilitate other agriculture base products like onion farming, vegetable and fruit cultivation, horticulture and paddy cultivation.

Re-building confidence

A home grown crisis creating doubts in the minds of investors, even on stable financial companies and how confidence may be restored, is highlighted by Edirisinghe Trust Investments Ltd.’s (ETI’s) Chief Executive Officer Mahendra de Silva in this interview. 

By Ashwin Hemmathagama 

Question (Q): What is the reason for the current crisis in the financial market in Sri Lanka?

Answer (A): Both the global and local financial markets are in problematic situations these days even though it has no inter relationship. The Sri Lankan problem is mainly due to mismanagement of certain companies and entities.  All these could have been avoided if right action was taken at the right time.

Q: Why do you say that right action was taken at the correct time at ETI?

A: A fundamental and established management theory “ The span of control” is very important in managing any entity especially a finance company mainly funded by public funds. Reporting structure and number of persons reporting to the head of a company are important. They say seven is the ideal. If it’s extend over 10, then it’s  sowing  seeds of trouble.

Our structure for the company and departments are manageable and always under scrutiny. Other control mechanisms needed for proper management are in place, such as an effective Internal Audit, continuously improving IT, HR and service functions, Board meetings are held monthly. Proper matching of interest paid for public deposits with interest earned, considering the time value is managed and the appropriate earning capability of products on a consistent basis is also well managed. We can boast of having an industry best earning potential with our product offerings.

Q: So what do you recommend as a solution to build the lost confidence?

A: Issue today is the loss of confidence on finance companies and banks. There are 34 registered finance companies apart from thousands of unregistered or unauthorized finance companies and individuals. The issue here is that all of them are using public money for their businesses. I think trade chambers, professional bodies and regulators should come up with a solution to build  investor confidence before the situation gets worse.

Q: How do you differentiate your company from the companies in trouble?

A: ETI is one of the leading finance companies in Sri Lanka. Our business is ” buying and selling of cash.” As a policy we invest money mainly in gold and gold related business. Only 30% of public money is invested in land and leasing products. Apart from that, we offer only realistic interest rates for those who are investing their hard earned money which is backed by properly timed and low risk re-investment options.

Q: How did you perform in the last financial year?

A:  The current financial year ended on March 31, 2009. However, during FY 2008 all divisions performed better than in the previous year with an overall increase in gross income of 45%, a remarkable growth.  We are a company earning an income in excess of Rs. one billion a year, Rs. 1,272,468,692 to be exact in 2008.

Avurudhu gifts galore

By Ashwin Hemmathagama 

Sampath Bank PLC (CSE: SAMP) sticking to its pioneering efforts is launching its Avurudhu offer through a unique deposit and gift scheme.

 This year’s Avurudhu offer themed ‘Sampath Udawa’ enables depositors to receive valued gift items when pre-designated deposits are made to their existing savings or children’s savings accounts. Opening a new account is also possible for depositors to win ‘Sampath Udawa’ prizes such as wall clocks, sets of umbrellas suitable for entire families, handy travel bags, trolley bags and specially imported stylish transparent strapped wrist watches for children. “Traditionally the first transaction was where you threw some coins into the well, after which fresh water is drawn and taken to the house.

Over a period of time family members used to receive new currency notes from the household head. But in modern day banking, customers have earmarked to do their first transaction with Sampath Bank, which gives a new meaning and hope for the New Year, said SAMP Assistant General Manager Marketing and Deposits Tharaka Ranwala.

During this season Cargills Food City (CFC) has also tied-up with SAMP where these gift items will be showcased in their 120 outlets, in addition to the 114 Sampath Bank outlets scattered islandwide.

“Now a customer can visit any Sampath bank branch or a Cargills outlet and see these gifts and then select the gift of their choice and by depositing the money with the bank teller/CFC cashier they can reserve their gift. Once it is reserved they can visit any branch of SAMP on the 14th where those would be open for traditional ganu-denu and collect their gift. Alternately they could visit any CFC outlet on 15th & 16th and collect their gifts. These gifts are given as an additional benefit to the customers other than the high interest rates that they would enjoy from the bank for their deposits. Sampath Bank introduced this Avurudhu Ganu-Denu concept almost eight years back and it has proven to be a success where none of the competitors could take the lead in it,” he added.

Three months wait for TFC depositors

A troubled registered finance company (RFC) belonging to the Ceylinco Group is asking depositors for three months to settle their capital dues, while assuring them of immediate remittance of interest receivables due. 

A. Sarath De Silva, Chairman of the government owned Lankaputhra Development Bank (LDB), a licensed specialized bank, which has been appointed as managing agent of The Finance Company PLC (TFC) by the Central Bank (CB), a troubled RFC, after stripping its former Board of all executive powers, told reporters recently that there was a mismatch in maturities of deposits taken, vis-a-vis loans given. That was the reason for the request for more time, to sort out this imbroglio.

Kamal Yatawara, a former director of TFC, now retained as a key executive said that there main problem stemmed from the fact that they had had to bail out troubled Ceylinco Group companies.

TFC, said to be the oldest and largest RFC in the country has a Rs. 28 billion depositor base from 100,000 customers; while it has an asset base of Rs. 22 billion. Those include a land stock of Rs. four billion and Rs. one billion worth of housing stock.

The company which has branches islandwide has some 1,500 employees.

TFC had a run on its deposits after its associate company, Golden Key, an unregistered financial company with Rs. 26 billion worth of deposits collapsed last year. As a result, TFC, which usually saw 80% of its deposits renewed, saw this reduced to a half, to 40%, after the Golden Key scam.

 “There is the danger of financial stability in the country being jeopardised in the event TFC collapsed,” said De Silva.

“But now it has been stabilized,” he added. De Silva however refused to give details of related party lending made by TFC before CB stepped in.

As part of a government stimulous package to infuse liquidity into such troubled RFCs and specialized leasing companies, some Rs. 2.25 billion worth of Treasury Bonds of two years maturity and at market rates have been made available through LDB in lieu of illiquid assets such as property, of which 67% of their values will be paid through these Bonds, which may be discounted in secondary market trading by those companies.

Additionally a government guarantee has been offered to banks to lift the freeze made on facilities that had formerly been made available to such institutions as at September 30, 2008

Adding more beds

ASIRI Surgical Hospitals (ASH) announced the completion of its new medical care wing, consisting of a tower adjoining the existing structure. This expansion has significantly increased the hospitals’ size, making it one of the largest hospitals in the country.

The 24,760-square foot,  nine-storey tower comprises an additional 35 new private patient rooms including 20 special beds to the two new Intensive Care Units and 40 private general medical care rooms. The private rooms at this new wing are available in two categories: standard and luxury and are of the highest quality providing the utmost comfort patients and their families. 

“This new addition will definitely provide better facilities and convenience to our patients,” said Asiri Group of Hospitals COO Dr. Manjula Karunaratne. “We are now able to address the pressing need for more medical care and facilities that has become a dire need in the country.”

The new wing is  equipped with four brand new state-of-the-art operating theatres bringing the total number at ASH to nine. This will considerably ease the time for patients awaiting operations as well, and alleviate congestion due to lack of space and facilities. The new space will also allow patients to access more doctors and physicians.

ASH’s fourth floor, which houses the new Asiri Heart unit, has a catheterization lab and a full-service cardiac rehabilitation programme. A 64-slice CT scanner, which helps diagnose cardiac problems is already up and running.  Additional lab and radiology services and surgical facilities are included, along with the existing facilities.

Night travel for VIPs

Cannot VIPs who seemingly have a threat to their lives from terrorists confine their travel late at night, thereby giving peace of mind to other road users, because of the breakneck speed theirs’ and their escort vehicles in particular are driven during busy traffic hours in the day?

After all they are being paid with taxpayers’ money? A slight inconvenience of travelling at night at those breakneck speeds on roads then virtually bereft of traffic will undoubtedly lessen the threat posed to other users simply because of the paucity of traffic at that time of the night.

This reporter whilst crossing the road at Mt. Lavinia junction on March 16 afternoon had a nerve wracking experience because of such a VIP escort, where a white Defender Land Rover, comprising the lead vehicle of this escort, and numbering three in total, virtually came bearing on to him, out of the blues, with horns blaring and lights blazing, whilst stranded on the middle of the road, on a busy day.

He could not go back, because of the traffic flow on the opposite direction.

Fortunately another motorist, probably seeing yours truly’s plight, slowed down and virtually came to a halt, allowing this reporter to take a few steps backwards, to allow the escort to pass through without coming to any bodily harm.

Wonder what the result would have had been if women, the elderly and children are caught up in such a situation?

Top handset

Nokia recently announced the launch of the addition to its Eseries range, the Nokia E75 in Sri Lanka, which is the first to ship with the company’s new email user interface. This device comes with Nokia Messaging that, when added to the company’s corporate email clients, gives people the “most efficient” solution for accessing the world’s consumer and corporate email on the go.

The new handsets come in the wake of the most successful year for Eseries to date, with more than 10 million units shipped in 2008.

“With companies looking at new ways to increase their efficiency while reducing costs, we are constantly adding new email-enabled devices in the Nokia range, such that the business professionals are equipped with the latest devices to have all the relevant information at the tip of their fingers,” said Nokia Emerging Asia Sales & Channel Development Manager Md. Mesbahuddin.

 “With direct access to Mail for Exchange and IBM Lotus Notes, companies can potentially save up to a third of their operating costs as there’s no need for middleware or additional servers,” he said.

 The slim, compact design keeps you in style and the full side-slide QWERTY keyboard is just the right size for messaging on the move. Keep your calendar updated, take notes, surf the Web, access business and personal emails, and much more.

With 50 MB internal dynamic memory and with support for up to 16 GB hot-swappable microSD cards, there is plenty of memory for files, videos and all your favorite music. Streamlined interface means that you can navigate easily via the One Touch keys to the calendar, contacts, email application, and the device home screen. On-board entertainment includes built-in MP3 player, FM radio and 3.5 mm stereo headphone plug, upload and share content with Files on Ovi, surf the web, and enjoy the 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, plus an additional front camera for video calling.

With the latest Eseries devices, people will no longer need to boot up a PC to get a full desktop email experience. The enhanced email UI includes folder and HTML email support, expandable views and sorting capability by date, sender and size, as well as the most commonly used email functions, just a single click away.  On top of email, the devices also offer improved calendar capability, as well as contacts and task management.

“With direct access to Mail for Exchange and IBM Lotus Notes, companies can potentially save up to a third of their operating costs as there’s no need for middleware or additional servers,” he said.

 The slim, compact design keeps you in style and the full side-slide QWERTY keyboard is just the right size for messaging on the move. Keep your calendar updated, take notes, surf the Web, access business and personal emails, and much more.

With 50 MB internal dynamic memory and with support for up to 16 GB hot-swappable microSD cards, there is plenty of memory for files, videos and all your favorite music. Streamlined interface means that you can navigate easily via the One Touch keys to the calendar, contacts, email application, and the device home screen. On-board entertainment includes built-in MP3 player, FM radio and 3.5 mm stereo headphone plug, upload and share content with Files on Ovi, surf the web, and enjoy the 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, plus an additional front camera for video calling.

With the latest Eseries devices, people will no longer need to boot up a PC to get a full desktop email experience. The enhanced email UI includes folder and HTML email support, expandable views and sorting capability by date, sender and size, as well as the most commonly used email functions, just a single click away.  On top of email, the devices also offer improved calendar capability, as well as contacts and task management.

Trip to Malaysia, S’pore

Life insurance leader Ceylinco Life’s capacity to create life-long memories for policyholders has scaled new heights with a luxury ocean cruise presented to 20 lucky winners as part of the company’s ‘Family Savari’ programme.

These 20 people from Uragasmanhandiya (Galle District), Matale, Kandana, Homagama and Kegalle are now back in Sri Lanka after a four-day tour of Singapore and Malaysia which included a cruise on the Malacca Straits on the  ‘Star Virgo’ luxury liner.

Their itinerary included a city tour of Singapore, a visit to Underwater World and a tour of Sentosa Island, a shopping spree at Mustafa Shopping Centre, a tour of historic sites and a shopping spree in Kuala Lumpur, dining at some of the finest restaurants in both countries and the fun-packed leisure cruise.

The dream overseas vacation provided to these five policyholder families was the first phase of Ceylinco Life’s latest mega promotion in the Family Savari series, and was to be followed by a full-day’s visit to the Leisure World theme park at Avissawella for more than 2,400 winners. “The promotion was an unqualified success in terms of the public response to it from all districts of Sri Lanka,” said Ceylinco Life Deputy Chief Executive Director Thushara Ranasinghe. “The luxury ocean cruise provided a spectacular and unforgettable experience to the grand prize winners.”

Ceylinco Life which has more than “750,000 lives” covered by active policies, retained its position as the life insurance market leader at end 2008 with premium income of Rs 8.2 billion. The company is acknowledged as the benchmark for innovation in the local insurance industry for its work in product research and development, customer service and professional development. In keeping with its vision of protecting every Sri Lankan family with insurance, the company has developed many products to make insurance affordable and appealing to diverse market segments, and today has the widest portfolio of products in the local market. This approach is supported by the company’s physical presence with an islandwide branch network that is the largest in the industry.

Rs. 2 bn. for roads

The European Commission has donated a sum of Rs. two billion for the development of rural roads in the Ampara district utilizing local labour, an official told The Sunday Leader.

“Of some 400 kilometres of roads earmarked under this programme, already 150 kms. have been developed,” Upali Delpetchitra an engineer, who is spearheading this programme which is implemented through the ILO Colombo office said.

These roads, known as Class “D” roads, were brought under development in this project which has been ongoing since 2007, he said.

35,000 employees laid off 

Thirty five thousand jobs, mainly exposed to the export sector, have been lost in the past three months due to the global economic downturn, official sources told The Sunday Leader.

These included MAS Holdings, one of the country’s top garment exporters laying off 1,250 workers through a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS), Labour Ministry Secretary Mahinda Madihahewa told reporters on Monday (March 30).

Another 1,200 jobs lost were those employed in the Golden Key Group, comprising some 40 companies, which went bust after being unable to honour some Rs. 26 billion worth of deposits, collected after operating an illegal finance company.

Other affected sectors are the ceramic, apparel manufacturing, tourism and leatherware sectors, Madihahewa said.

While a number who have lost their jobs have been paid VRS packages to the laid off employees, others are facing a liquidity crunch to honour such commitments, it’s learnt.

“Some firms have applied for temporary lay-off of staff, for a period of three months,” said Madihahewa. It’s learnt that the government is considering such requests.

Most of those affected are those in the garment sector, particularly those attached to the small & medium entrepreneur (SME) category.

Ninety five per cent of Sri Lanka’s apparel exports go to the USA and EU, both affected by the global economic meltdown.

 It’s the top management, those being paid fat salaries who are mainly facing the chop, it’s further learnt. On the other hand, in the bottom rung, in the apparel sector, there are unfilled vacancies, the sources added.

Powering agro-based financial products 

LB Finance recently extended its branch network to encompass some of the more rural areas of Sri Lanka. It opened branches in Nuwara Eliya and Polonnaruwa, catering chiefly to the locals involved in agriculture related livings.

With a solid presence in all the main towns in Sri Lanka, LB Finance has ventured into the more remote areas of the country where villagers have limited options when it comes to financial solutions. With this in mind, the Company established pawning centres in areas like Pitigala, Mahiyangana, Matale, Monaragala and Embilipitiya, affording small-scale borrowers the services of one of the top financial institutions in the country.

With 36 pawning centres, 20 branches and head office, LB Finance prides itself in setting benchmarks for the financial industry, offering a range of products including fixed deposits, hire purchase, micro-finance, agro-finance, letters of guarantee, finance leases, pawn broking, and Western Union international money transfer facility.

“Our branches in the more rural areas, however, were established mainly to focus on the individual needs of that particular area,” said LB Finance Managing Director.Sumith Adhihetty. “Pawning facilities, loans and lease financing for 3-wheelers and agro-based equipment are significantly sought-after among the rural masses, and we felt it was our duty to step in to cater to that need.”

LB Finance continues to attract more and more investors, the trust acquired during the close to 40 years that it has been in business speaking for itself. Backed by veterans in the industry and a dynamic team of young but experienced professionals, the company has earned a name for seeing it through every economic crisis to hit the country, coming out focused as ever.

Third quarter results for financial year 2008/09 revealed the Company earning a profit before tax of Rs.419.7 million, a 106% year on year (YoY) increase.

LB Finance is strengthened with a total asset base of Rs.14.4 billion which too grew from Rs.10.7 billion with the expansion of lending activities. Out of the total assets, 97% are earning assets. The lending of the company is mainly in the form of Leases and Hire Purchases which are secured on vehicles which amounted to Rs.9.4 billion in total. The Company has in the recent past expanded its operations in pawning and short-term advances secured on gold.

LB Finance is a public listed company, registered with and monitored by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Chairman.B.M.Amarasekara is a lawyer by profession and possesses over 50 years of experience in the field. Dhammika Perera remains the Company’s major shareholder and Deputy Chairman. A renowned entrepreneur and investor, he also serves as Board of Investments of Sri Lanka Chairman/Director General. His business interests extends to hydro power generation, shipping, manufacturing, leisure and banking and finance.

Adhihetty’s visionary and strategic know-how has contributed immensely to achieve the landmark results that the Company has been posting during the past few years. Others in the Board are non-executive directors Nimal Perera, A.W.M.Weerasinghe,.Anurada Perera and Mrs. Kimarli Fernando; independent directors.M.D.S.Goonatilleke and Lalith De S.Wijeratne and executive directors  Niroshan Udage and March Perera.

Revenue, land acquisitions, ADB conditions

Asian Development Bank (ADB) has uplifted its aid package to the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) by US$ 30 million to US$ 150 million, official sources from its Colombo office told The Sunday Leader.

On the government’s part it will have to enhance revenue collection and make land acquisition (a problem which the ADB earlier encountered in their aid assistance programme to the Southern Highway project) easier, the sources said.

They said that the original offer for the development of transmission lines under this project was US$ 120 million. But with the world going into recession, it has been uplifted to US$ 150 million.

ADB has committed an additional US$ five billion to developing Asia to tide over the global recession, ADB Country Director in Sri Lanka Dr. Richard Vokes told reporters on Tuesday (March 31).

“An area of additional funding that the ADB is looking at vis-à-vis Sri Lanka is providing aid for the development of the last lap as it were of the Southern Highway Development project,” he said. The Southern Highway project is a fast motorway project connecting Matara with Colombo, as an alternative to the Colombo-Matara A2 Highway via the Galle road.

Meanwhile, ADB’s three year development programme for Sri Lanka beginning from this year has committed a sum of US$ 630 million (subsequently uplifted to US$ 660 million after the enhancement to the power package) and covers four broad areas, namely Power, Roads and Water Development, as well as strengthening Fiscal Management.

“Manithaneyaka” for Kailasapillai 

By Kandiah Neelakandan

V. Kailasapillai, former deputy chairman of the John Keells Holdings Group (JKH) celebrated his 75th birthday on March 31, 2009.

At a book release on March 29, 2009, he was conferred the title “Manithaneyaka,” meaning a human being who loves and works for others, by the Chief Prelate of Nallur Aatheenam, Jaffna.

Kailasapillai, a native of Araly South, Jaffna, comes from a conservative Hindu family.

He was one of two children of Kanapathiar Viswanathar and his wife Parvathiar.

He lost his father when he was four.

He and his brother Dr. V. Ambalavanar, an economist, and a former additional secretary to the President, were brought up by their mother and grand uncle Sellappah.

Kailasapillai’s family was one of five families who gave substantial financial assistance to build All Ceylon Hindu Congress Headquarters (ACHC HQ).

When we wanted to honour his family, he requested us to honour his uncle Sellappah whose portrait has been unveiled at ACHC HQ.

Having attended Araly Saraswathie Vidyalayam, Araly for his primary education, he was then admitted to Jaffna Hindu College. From there he entered the then University of Ceylon and graduated with honours in mathematics.

Having worked at Mercantile Credit Ltd., for a short while as an accountant, he finally ended up at JKH and retired as its vice chairman.

A vegetarian and teetotaller, it’s a well known “secret” that he declined to be the Chairman of the Group because he felt that he could not throw parties or cocktails.

In 1993, when he reigned from the chairmanship of the Colombo Stock Exchange, news was flashed, “Kailasapillai’s resignation rocks Colombo stock market.”

The July 1983 riots were traumatic, and his family had to seek refuge at JKH, with the help of the then chairman David Blackler. They were among the 150,000 Tamils who fled Sri Lanka in the immediate aftermath of the July ’83 riots.

Since his retirement on December 31, 1997, he has been devoting his time to religious and humanitarian services, and in particular in helping children’s and elders’ homes islandwide. He also takes a devoted interest as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Thiruketheswaran Temple Restoration Society.

On August 2, 1992, he assumed office as President of All Ceylon Hindu Congress (ACHC) and expedited the construction work.

His wife Abhirami who is a first cousin, his son Aravindhan an information technology engineer based in USA, daughter Arunthathi an accountant and son-in-law Dr. Sivakumar Selliah (a senior lecturer at the North Colombo Medical College and deputy chairman of a group of hospital companies help him in his work.

*The writer, a lawyer by profession, is ACHC General Secretary and Group Deputy Chairman George Steuart Group of Companies.

In Brief

Foreign T. Bond holdings down 20%        

Foreign holdings in government Treasury Bonds in the week ended Wednesday declined by 20% week on week to Rs. 2.4 billion.

NPLs: After six months

Central Bank (CB) is considering a request to consider loans past due, if the default period extends upto six months, an official said.

Currently is a loan is not serviced for three months it is considered bad, or a non performing loan (NPL) with the debtor running the risk of being blacklisted.

Director General Fiscal Policy S. R. Attygalle speaking at a forum organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce on Friday, said that he had made such a request to the CB Governor, considering the current economic down turn.

Lower the bar

Exporters asked government officials to reconsider the government’s export incentive payment package in the light of falling commodity prices.

The Government, in a Rs. 16 billion export package unveiled in January, promised a 5% incentive payment to exporters who are able to maintain the status quo year on year (YoY) on export earnings with such payments to be made quarterly, beginning with the quarter ended March 31, 2009.

However with falling commodity prices, the government lowered the bar to 90%, which exporters say is still too high.

Sunil Wijesinha, Chairman Dankotuwa Porcelain, a manufacturer of tableware products, told The Sunday Leader that their YoY export earnings in January fell to 90%, with the February decline being 79% and last month (69%).

This month is going to be worse, he said.

This request was made at a forum organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce on Friday, where, among the government officials present was Director General Fiscal Policy S. R. Attygalle.

Withholding agents

Industry cannot be faulted if government institutions fail to remit VAT retained by them to the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) on contract payments, a tax consultant told a forum on Friday.

N. R. Gajendran, a tax consultant, speaking at this forum organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce where senior IRD officials were among those present, said that contractors should not be faulted for such sins.

He said that financial institutions such as banks should be made withholding agents, and not sundry government institutions.

A third of VAT dues are retained by these institutions on contracts executed by constructors, with such departments expected to remit those monies to the IRD, which, however is delayed due to cash flow problems to the detriment of the construction industry, who are then allegedly penalized by IRD for VAT payment delays. IRD Income Tax Commissioner H.B.A. Seneviratne assured the gathering that the private sector will not be penalized for such shortcomings to which they were not responsible.

Date at The Finance

On a recent assurance that interest will be paid on maturing deposits at the troubled The Finance Group, yours truly made a trek to that company’s Hyde Park Corner office on Wednesday, and, after a couple of hours, got his cheque, but not before making some noises and a few anxious moments.

First they said that the file could not be traced. But after providing the officer concerned with copies of the necessary documents, the cheque was got, with only the name and signature asked in return.

Fixed deposit renewal forms of various customers were piled on the ground on the fourth floor, according to its renewal dates. “Isn’t this dangerous?” yours truly asked one of its officers. “And, isn’t it dangerous to allow you’ll to roam from floor to floor unchecked?” he shot back. There were queues of depositors, waiting to get back their moneys, and, despite frayed tempers, et al, the company was seemingly attempting to pay them, with payments begun, late afternoon.

In defence of rupee

Central Bank (CB) in the six months to January 2009, has, on a net basis, expended US$ 1,674.2 million of its foreign exchange reserves to defend the rupee.

Its contribution in January ’09 alone on a net basis in this regard was US$ 239.99 million.

CB lends Govt. Rs. 8.5 bn.

Central Bank (CB) in the week ended March 26, 2009, week on week lent the Government Treasury a sum of Rs. 8,464 million, by subscribing to Treasury (T) Bills of an equivalent amount.

CB’s T Bill stock now stands at Rs. 199,931 million, meaning that it has lent an equivalent amount to the Treasury, by printing new money.

Tea down 19%

Tea prices at the Colombo Auctions in January 2009 fell by 19.3% year on year (YoY) to US$ 2.46 per kilo.

Meanwhile, rice import prices during this period increased by 54.4% on a c&f basis to US$ 701.8 per metric ton (pmt), while white sugar prices increased by 19.3% YoY to US$ 383 pmt.

However, crude oil import prices declined by 55% YoY to US$ 41.7 per barrel, while wheat import prices declined by 25.1% YoY to US$ 291.3 pmt c&f.

Nuts up 27%

Coconut production in January 2009 increased by 27.1% year on year (YoY) to 244.8 million nuts.

However, tea production during this period declined by 34.6% YoY to 17.2 million kilos, while rubber production marginally increased by 1.7% YoY 12.2 million kg.

Credit cards market shrinks

Credit cards both in terms of value and volume shrank in January over the corresponding figures in December 2008.

In value terms the decline was Rs. 231 million (0.7%) to Rs. 33,981 million in regard to credit card outstanding, while in volume terms this decline was 4,468 (0.5%) to 912,950. (Source: Central Bank)

WAYs continue to fall

Wednesday’s Treasury (T) Bill primary auction for the re-issue of Rs. 6,000 million worth of Bills saw the weighted average yields (WAYs) of Bills of 91, 182 and 364 day maturities dip by 16, 17 and 16 basis points (bps) to 14.46%, 15.99% and 16.47% respectively.

CB accepted Rs. 6,485 million worth of offers made at this auction.

Meanwhile, the preceding T Bond primary auction held on Tuesday saw the WAYs for T Bonds of one year & 11 months, two years & 10 months and three years 10 months maturities dip sharply by 114, 111 and 122 bps to 16.92%, 16.99% and 16.91% respectively, over the WAYs commanded at the previous Bond auction which was held on March 12.

That auction had maturities of two years, two years & 10 months and three years & 10 months respectively on offer.

Tuesday’s auction had parcels of Rs. 750 million each on offer for the first two maturities and a parcel of Rs. 500 million on offer for the last maturity. CB accepted offers worth Rs. 1,125 million; Rs. 550 million and Rs. 900 million respectively for each of these parcels.

Promotions     

The Monetary Board has promoted four Assistant Central Bank Governors, Mrs. M. A. R. C. Cooray, K. G. D. D. Dheerasinghe, Dr. P. W. R. B. A. U. Herat and Dr. D S Wijesinghe to the post of Deputy Governor effective from March 13, May 23, May 27 and July 07, 2009 respectively.

Rs. 2.7 bn. dues from State

Hatton National Bank plc (HNB) has not got dues of Rs. 2.7 billion after government seized the collateral on account of moneys owed to it by the now defunct Kabool Lanka Group.

HNB Managing Director/CEO Rajendra Theagarajah in the Bank’s 2008 Annual Report, referring to this said: “Over the last three years our books have continued to show a deep dent in excess of Rs. 2.7 billion as outstanding from Kabool Lanka and Lanka Synthetic Fibre Ltd.

The State has acquired properties vested with the Bank (which were taken as collateral for facilities extended to these companies).

Repeated requests have not yielded any results in receiving compensation due to the Bank by law on account of these acquisitions. We strongly believe that in these times of a financial crunch, where high interest rates and scarce capital abound, these monies could be reinvested in our business.

This would pave the way for investing in the future, benefiting not only HNB, but the larger picture in general.”

The Bank Group in the year under review saw Group profit for the year decline by 9.8% year on year to Rs. 2.9 billion.

This would pave the way for investing in the future, benefiting not only HNB, but the larger picture in general.”

The Bank Group in the year under review saw Group profit for the year decline by 9.8% year on year to Rs. 2.9 billion.

Local in MNC board

Gihan Chinthaka Jayaweera (37) was appointed Senior Director in A.P. Moller-Maersk, Copenhagen from this month.Jayaweera started at A.P. Moller-Maersk Group in 1997 in Sri Lanka.

He functioned as the Country Finance Manager for the Container Business and the Country Manager for Maersk Logistics during his time in the  island.

He moved to Denmark in 2004 as General Manager responsible for the Business Control function in Maersk Logistics and has been holding progressive positions in the Container Business since then.

Maersk’s Country Manager in Sri Lanka is Amal Rodrigo.

Relief

Link Natural Products’ “Samahan Herbal Balm” brings relief to aches, pains and colds, said a statement.

Tops

Metropolitan received the Top Achiever Award for the 8th consecutive year at the Regional Canon Distributors conference held in Singapore recently.

50 mn. new poverty entrants

An additional 50-60 million Asians are expected to descend into poverty due to the global economic downturn, ADB’s Country Director in Sri Lanka Dr. Richard Vokes told reporters on Tuesday.

This is similar to the earlier downturn caused by rising food and energy prices last year, he said.

Sri Lanka is expected to grow by 4.5% this year, down from the 6% growth achieved last year, while the island is expected to grow by 6% next year, according to ADB statistics.

Enter Entrust

Ceylinco Shriram Securities Ltd. (CSSL). was re-named Entrust Securities Ltd. recently.

The company will unveil its new corporate identity shortly.

 The new corporate logo which resembles the letter “e” is portrayed in an artistic style to capture the eye while registering it as a symbolic element of the logo. The “soothing” colours of green and blue present stability and trust which epitomises the company’s corporate values.

CSSL, now known as Entrust was incorporated in April 2000 as an intermediary to cater to the financial needs of local and foreign investors with regard to investments in Government Securities, a Primary dealer appointed by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

Ganu Denu

This Avurudhu, NDB Bank (NDB) will open its doors for its customers to engage in this grand ganu denu tradition with special banking hours at NDB branches islandwide.

All branches will function on April 14 for Avurudhu Ganu Denu transactions. The 7-day banking branches will be open throughout the holiday season.

In addition to this, all branches will be open on April 10. Saturday banking will take place at the Piliyandala, Nugegoda and Pelawatta branches on April 11.

In addition the Bank will make a “timeless” gesture by offering wall clocks and elegant wristwatches to all its savings and fixed deposit account holders. New and existing customers opening savings accounts or deposits for a period of six months will receive   branded wristwatches or wall clocks.

NDB is one of the largest private sector commercial banks in the country, with a strong capital base and high profitability. The “AA” credit rating of NDB by Fitch Ratings Lanka Ltd, further affirms its strong financial profile, sound asset quality and firm capital position. It has a 40 strong branch network.

Holiday banking

To enable its customers to access basic banking services during the long weekend preceding the forthcoming Sinhala & Hindu New Year and also to facilitate various customer transactions usually taking place in the run up to the New Year, Hatton National Bank (HNB) has decided to open its Customer Centres throughout the country, on April 10 (Good Friday) as well as on April 11, 2009 for limited customer transactions.

 Under these Special Holiday/Week-end Banking Arrangements,  customers will be able to access most of the basic banking services such as  opening of accounts,  cheque deposits, cash deposits and withdrawals, encashment of inward remittances including remittances through Money Gram service and many other Front Office functions and services.