With the third general election in four years concluded yesterday, the business community which has taken the brunt of economic instability pointed out that for economic growth in the country the resumption of the peace process and the clarity in the declaration of economic policies of whichever government that comes into power was of primary importance.

Speaking to The Sunday Leader, Chairman, J-Biz, Mahendra Amarasuriya, stated, "What we expect foremost from the government elect is the resumption of the peace process, without which the country cannot move forward."

A statement released by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) endorses this view, stating, "A lasting peace is essential if Sri Lanka were to attract the level of investment necessary for accelerated growth leading to full and gainful employment. Thus the CCC believes that the existing ceasefire must be maintained and built upon so that a just and permanent solution is found to the country’s ethnic problem."

"The economic policy has to be very clearly declared with regard to every aspect of the economy, whether it is open, closed or mixed. Whatever government that comes into power must put forward a six-year plan for all sectors," said Amarasuriya.

However, the President, Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL), Nihal Abeysekera expressed confidence in the present economic policies in place, stating, "There must be continuity of the policies adopted. If a complete turn around in economic policies were introduced, this would lead to the wastage of funds expended to bring the country to this level. The macro-economic policies that have been adopted so far have triggered off the high growth in the economy." Abeysekera was skeptical on a mixed economic policy, stating that one must be careful in adopting such, since if it means the restriction of exports, this would result in hampering the expansion of the local market.

In order to address the mounting problems faced by the country, such as unemployment, Amarasuriya said, "A growth rate of 8% to 10% must be maintained during the next 10 years for a sustainable growth in the economy."

Another aspect that needs immediate attention is the improvement of infrastructure in the country. Amarasuriya suggested a time definite plan for a more organised and target-based implementation of various development projects. "If the Colombo-Katunayake and Colombo-Kandy expressways and the southern highway can be completed within the next six years, this will put the country on the fast track for development," he said.

"The development of the southern port should be pursued, since the Colombo port is fast reaching a point of saturation," said Amarasuriya, adding that instead of being dependent on foreign aid and grants for the implementation of these infrastructure projects, the use of Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) or projects on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis should be pursued.

Amarasuriya also stressed on the stringent implementation of the Fiscal Responsibility Act to ensure fiscal discipline, which is crucial for the economic and social well-being of the country. The CCC states that this is particularly important in view of the high indebtedness of the country. "The Chamber believes that urgent steps must be taken to reduce public debt and the budget deficit," Amarasuriya said.

The CCC states, "Controlling inflation is important from many aspects. It will keep the cost of production stable, help improve the standard of living of the people and enable to keep the interest rates low. The stability of the exchange rate is critical if inflation is to be controlled. Low interest rates, low inflation and a stable exchange rate would provide an environment conducive to much needed investment be it local or foreign."

Speaking to The Sunday Leader, Chairman, Chamber of Construction Industries (CCI), Surath Wickremasinghe, reiterated the need for speedy implementation of infrastructure development projects and construction. "The elected government must immediately kick-start the construction industry by implementing the projects where the funds have already been committed by the multilateral agencies and donor countries," he said.

Business magazine LMD says in its April issue that "not surprisingly, there’s more bad news as far as business confidence is concerned." The LMD-ACNielsen Business Confidence Index (BCI) slumped by a further 12 points — from 138 in February to 126 in March. The BCI has fallen by an alarming 52 basis points since President Kumaratunga prorogued parliament on November 4. It is now 26 points below the psychological barrier of 152 (the 11-month low in July last year) — thanks to "political squabbling and an election that few wanted," the magazine reports.

A spokesperson for LMD says, "As we said last month, the nation’s only gauge of business confidence is destined to fall even further — until, that is, there is even a semblance of political stability." According to the journal, "The prospect of yet another hung parliament was uppermost on the minds of the business community last month — and it followed that confidence took a beating in the process."

The "investment climate in the country" is now being viewed somewhat negatively, with only 42% of those polled stating that prospects are either "good" or "fair" (almost 90% said so in November, whilst over 50% were positive last month). Those who feel that the climate is "poor" now account for as much as 50% of ACNielsen’s sample — down from only 10% five months ago.

The medium-term economic outlook, too, is being viewed with caution, LMD notes. Only 19% of those surveyed expect "the economy, in general, to improve in the coming 12 months" — down from almost 60% November 2003. The only good news last month was that a clear majority of business people (60%) acknowledged that their "company’s business" (or sales volumes) increased from 12 months ago — but in February, only 42% said so.

MANY issues came up at the general election. It is high time that the politicians and the political party in power and in the opposition work towards the development of the country as a whole without any party politics and providing fair play and justice to the citizens of the country.

Election manifestos although well publicised have hitherto been confined to the elections and once in power all these are forgotten. Therefore political stability, economic development, a new culture, ethics, morality, integrity, performance evaluation, meritocracy, law and order, simplicity, and financial discipline are considered essential elements to govern the country.

For a party that is elected with a majority to stay in power and govern, it is essential that the constitution should provide stability to the party and its leadership. The present proportional representation scheme while being beneficial for the smaller parties, does not provide the bigger parties a fair opportunity to obtain an absolute majority.

Further the election of parliamentarians on a district basis has resulted in the electorates and the voters been left high and dry as there is no single responsibility on one elected member to be responsible to his electorate.

The parliamentarians have a gigantic task in canvassing votes and require tonnes of money which also leads to corruption. Therefore the much awaited amendments to the constitution have to be given priority if the country is to be ruled by a stable government with authority for the benefit of the people. The abolishment of the executive presidency and giving the power to parliament is a long awaited decision that has to be now put into action to have a stable and democratic government.

Economic development could only take place in a stable political climate. This would mean that peace has to be achieved not only in the north and east but in the south as well if the country is to progress forward. The need for consensus of the two major parties and the minority communities on a common policy has to be agreed as this is important to both major political parties to take the country forward. This should be void of party politics and politicians should place the country first.

The major policies of free economy should stay unchanged while the main dispute on the privatisation of some of the main state institutions should be considered on their merits rather than on hurried foreign advice or to earn a quick buck by its sale. Economic development should not only be limited to the stock market or to the Colombo District but will have to be spread throughout the country.

This would mean that investors should be encouraged to go to the outstations on a similar basis to the 200 garment factories programme which is today the only major industrial development in the rural sector and for the BOI to undertake this task from a central point acting as a one stop shop rather than breaking themselves  into zones without having the management, resources nor the infrastructure to undertake decentralisation on such a gigantic scale.

Privatisation of state industries seems to be a controversial issue as the state institutions that are left behind such as banks, electricity and water supply are essentials in an underdeveloped country such as Sri Lanka with the rural population being in the majority. These institutions have been built with the sweat and toil of the founders and those who worked thereafter and have enabled many a small man and villages to develop.

In the case of state banks, the owners are the people of the country who have placed their money in deposit and these deposits are far in excess of the paltry share capital of the banks and the government has a duty to safeguard these deposits and the public would be more confident with the government ownership rather than foreign or local private sector.

Most of these deposits come from the rural sector and this has to be kept in mind by the government. In fact the big businessmen are using the funds in the rural sector for their business activities confined only to the major cities or the Western Province.

The main reason for the failure of the public sector is mismanagement due to political interference and the Singapore experience of ownership with the government and separate management should be implemented as an urgent basis without making the people to once again suffer for the ills of the politicians. This should apply to all state institutions such as the banks, port, lotteries, BOI, EDB, fisheries, electricity, water and many more which are all presently ruined by political interference.

Strict accountability should be enforced so that the chairmen and the board of directors will be responsible for the operations and will be liable for any mismanagement. Also an organisation similar to the SEC the guardian for quoted companies should be set up to monitor all state sector organisations and they should for a start submit half yearly and yearly accounts within three months of the respective periods and thereafter on a quarterly basis similar to quoted companies.

Here again the political influence should be removed including that from the Treasury and other ministries which has been the bane of the public sector in Sri Lanka. The appointments to these boards should be on predetermined criteria where competent persons are appointed and not political stooges or candidates who have lost the elections.

These radical changes should enable the state sector to be on a level playing field with the private sector and to be rid of political influence thus making these institutions to be properly managed and be viable.

A new political culture based on the main objective of serving the people rather than the politicians taking the power into their hands after elections and serving themselves and their immediate henchmen should be done away with. Honesty, integrity, the code of conduct, maintenance of law and order and accountability are important principles they should adhere to. Also, waste and corruption should be immediately brought under strict control and all those given responsibility should be accountable and be liable for penal action for mismanagement.

This has been discussed at various forums and hence an important item in the agenda of any incoming government should be to have the ideal size between 20 to 25 members keeping in mind the capabilities, responsibilities, accountability and cost.

The incoming government should restrict the cabinet of ministers to 20 but should not definitely exceed 25. A similar amount of deputies should be appointed. The total of ministers and deputies should be 40 and not exceed 50.

Another matter of concern is the salaries, allowances and fringe benefits enjoyed by ministers, deputies and MPs. Politicians should not make use of various allowances and misuse facilities but should be given a fixed salary inclusive of all fringe benefits and allowances which is accountable.

It is estimated that each minister costs the government around Rs. 500,000 to Rs. 1 million per month, a deputy Rs. 300,000 to Rs. 500,000 per month and MPs Rs. 100,000 to 250,000 per month.

Hence, it is of utmost importance to have a control on the public money spent on those elected by the people of this country.

The salaries should be predetermined together with the allowances and perks applicable. The total package applicable to ministers including salary, vehicle, petrol, telephone, housing, security and other perks should not exceed Rs. 150,000 per month.

They should be entitled to only one vehicle and for petrol an allowance not exceeding  Rs. 25,000, telephone not exceeding 15,000 will be applicable. All these to be included in  the salary package of Rs 150,000 per month. Any amounts in excess will have to be met by the ministers from their personal funds.

For deputy ministers the total payment for salaries and benefits such as vehicle, housing, security, including all allowances and benefits should not exceed Rs. 100,000 per month.

No special secretaries should be provided other than one private secretary who should not be in any way related to the minister and should have the necessary qualifications to handle the work.

This control of expenditure should be applicable down the line and the members salaries and allowances should be adjusted so that they will receive an all inclusive salary plus all allowances and benefits upto a maximum of Rs. 50,000 per month. This will enable the rulers of this country to set an example to the people who have elected them to this high office.

There should also be strict control on ministers using public property and vehicles from ministries and government corporations. The habit of providing vehicles and housing belonging to corporations, to members of parliament and their supporters should be stopped immediately. Any one found flouting the rules should be liable for severe punishment such as loss of office.

All recruitment to the government and public corporations and fully or majority owned government companies should not in any way be political appointments and all vacancies should be advertised and filled with competent persons. This will place the principle of merit uppermost and provide the youth of this country with aspirations for the future.

The appointment of secretaries to ministries should again be on merit and the public service should be devoid of political interference. This would mean that the ministers will set the policy and the implementation will be the responsibility of the  public service through the secretaries of ministries.

A half yearly review should be done by a high level committee appointed from senior persons to review the performance, income and expenditure and other efficiency and productivity related matters and their report published. Any irregularities to be gone into and severe penalties and action taken which should result in disqualification or removal from the respective posts held where found guilty.

The government should be the policy maker and also provide the necessary infrastructure to the private sector which is termed the engine of growth. Roads, telephones, industrial estates, water, electricity supplies, port and airport development, transport, railways are some of the main sectors that government should give priority and also seek foreign and domestic investment for developing these sectors.

The creation of new industries and employment is essential for growth of the economy. If we are to be a major exporter then we need to be competitive in the global market place. Productivity, skill development of our people, experienced senior and junior managers, fuel and electricity at competitive prices, land and buildings for industry, environmental protection and an efficient organisation to provide the necessary services to the private sector investors are paramount.

Power generation at competitive prices and the need to urgently set up a coal fired power plant should receive the urgent attention of the government.

If we are to be competitive in the global market place, then we have to move from literacy of 90% which created low value jobs to develop the skills to 90% to go into higher value industry and job markets. Immediate measures should be taken to set up in each area English and IT teaching centers. These could be located in all schools and the facilities of the school taken after school hours to commence the classes.

This type of project should not incur large costs for the overheads as at present but give priority to get people who could directly handle the job such as teachers from Sri Lanka or abroad on contract basis as has been done successfully by many countries including our neighbour Maldives. The government should be committed and should have field staff who could supervise and monitor effectively to ensure proper delivery.

Such useful and immediate action will give confidence to our youth that the government has taken action to deliver the goods. Action should also be taken to improve the English of those who are in employment and those undergraduates in universities so that they would also benefit.

Technical colleges with foreign collaboration should be set up on a priority basis so that it would provide a fast track to transfer skills and technology  to our youth. For the managerial excellence we should have a more Post Graduate MBA awarding institutes to be set up by government and private sector or a combination of both. We should follow the Indian example of having institutes of technology and management in each district.

Immediate measures should be taken to provide all A/L qualified youth with an opportunity to follow a degree course to upgrade our educational standards. For this purpose we could again follow the example of India to have affiliate colleges to well established local universities and conduct coaching for the university exams. This would immediately enable thousands of youth who did not have an opportunity to enter university to fulfill their dreams.

The government should also work out a scheme to pay their fees for education similar to other university students who gain direct admission to universities and enjoy free education as otherwise it will be a total discrimination. Also universities should concentrate on courses that will be in demand.

The performance of all universities to be reviewed half yearly and annually and this should also take into consideration the number of graduates produced in the different disciplines and compare with those who find employment and those unemployed and with other universities. This will also create competition amongst the universities and university colleges and raise the standards automatically.

The standards of education and discipline in schools should also be raised with immediate effect. The English and IT will enable students to go into the global world and reach the knowledge economy.

The farming community is today the biggest sectors in Sri Lanka and has to be given the highest priority as they are the most neglected at present.

Agriculture although considered important by successive governments has still not reached a satisfactory stage of development. One of the most important aspects in agriculture is the marketing of the produce at the correct price and to at least cover their costs which to a great extent has not been achieved. The government should get the private sector involved and provide them with incentives to play an active role in the marketing.

This will also enable them to get more closely involved with the farmers from the cultivation, manuring, quality, management practices, marketing and give a new boost to the farming community. Cold rooms and modern technology will give fresh life to the vegetable growers. Also the example of Thailand to grow fruits on large scale with foreign participation for export should be explored. This have been successful for pineapple, mangoes, papaya, banana and other fruits which should be given priority.

The government should encourage and protect these crops which are adversely affected due to man-made destruction of village expansion, new housing, setting up industrial estates and illegal land take over. There are also examples of threats due to unwise government decisions like making use of duty concessions in the FTA for promoting the palm oil industry with detrimental effects to the coconut growers.

Export of coconut items from Sri Lanka are on the negative list of the FTA with India and not palm oil as this is not grown in large quantities in Sri Lanka. The private sector should be given all the encouragement for the development of these major tree crops. New plantations should be opened up and land allocated for this purpose to maintain the production due to loss from the earlier mentioned man-made hazards.

This is one of the growth sectors and the government will have to set up the necessary infrastructure to have sufficient number of computer engineers and programmers for this market. A minimum of 500 to 1,000 graduates passing out annually is required if we are to catch up on India and attract large investors in this sector to set up in Sri Lanka.

In addition, call centers are another area where lower qualified persons in larger numbers could gain jobs. This means we are now justifying our earlier statement to make our youth more skilful and upgrade them to this higher level of skills.

This would be the industry that will gain most from the peace in the country as given a stable political climate foreign investors and tourists will come in large numbers. This will have an impact in all provinces of the country including the north east where tourism has been abandoned for the last so many years. The east coast will be the major tourist attraction during the off season and this will be a big boost for the economy in the east

Further there will be many investments from both local and foreign investors in this region. With this growth, tourism is bound to become the main foreign exchange earner for Sri Lanka within a short period of time. Also, the tourist industry will generate thousands of jobs both directly and indirectly. The local handicraft industry too will get a big boost and rural industries will come into prominence again.

This is indeed a big question mark and after having the best laws in South Asia, the implementation seems to be a big question mark. Again here the politicians should take the blame and keep their hands off so that the laws and the law enforcement agencies could do their job of work. Any interference of the police or the judiciary should be severely dealt with.

A simple example is the road rules in this country. Discipline is at a very low ebb. Today the situation is such that either if you do the right thing or speak the truth, this will only probably put you at the risk of losing your life. This is the unfortunate situation to which our country has fallen into.  So can we at least now make a determined bid to get rid of these ills.

Bribery and corruption have also taken a very prominent and notorious place in our country. Even the authority set up for this purpose is not functioning. We should give the highest priority to get these matters straightened out as otherwise this would be a great crime perpetrated by the rulers on the citizens of this country.

The stakeholders of this country are its citizens. They have appointed their representatives to parliament to do service to the people. If they do not perform this function then they have no right to be there. Therefore, it is the firm belief of the people that the representatives elected to parliament will get rid of all wrong doings and bring prosperity to the country and not serve only themselves as they have done for the last 56 years.

What we need today is honest, simple parliamentarians who care for the people and their electorate and assist the government to run without corruption and interference. It is not only peace that the people need but the peace dividends which should flow to the people and not to a few pockets as happened during the past.

Let us discipline our politicians and make them understand their role and work for the development of our country to bring back the past glories of Sri Lanka to glitter once again as the ‘Pearl of the Indian Ocean.’

The official inauguration of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Yarlpanam (CCIY) was held at the chamber auditorium in Jaffna recently with the participation of a large number of businessmen, academics, public sector officials and representatives of the Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCISL) and Embassy of Sweden in Colombo.

Chairman, CCIY, M Ramathasan said that the newly formed chamber would be the voice of the business community in Jaffna and it has finally filled a much needed vacuum in the district.

Ramathasan said that it was FCCISL which came to support the business community in Jaffna in early 2001 just two weeks after cessation of hostilities between the LTTE and the government. "An eight-member delegation led by then President, FCCISL, Macky Hashim visited Jaffna at a time that nobody even thought of visiting Jaffna and stayed for two days talking to the business community and various organisations in and around Jaffna regarding the problems faced by the business community," he said.

The FCCISL delegation then met the former Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Refugees Minister, Jayalath Jayawardane and submitted a memorandum of 22 important matters to be addressed immediately to improve the business environment in Jaffna and to facilitate north and south business relationships.

The opening of the A9 Road, the lifting of the fishing ban and the increase of sea cargo transportation between Colombo, Trincomalee and Jaffna were some of the points that were mentioned in the submission.

Ramathasan said that thanks to FCCISL intervention, the CCIY has been the focal point of the business community in Jaffna. Many institutions including government ministries and authorities consult CCIY on matters of development planning and implementation.

The FCCISL has supported CCIY with project staff, office equipment, foreign expertise to build up the service base and lobbying capacity and the project is in progress and will continue till 2006.

Deputy Head, Mission and First Secretary, Asa Heijne who was the chief guest said that the Embassy of Sweden was happy to have supported the FCCISL initiative to build up representative capacity of regional chamber bodies in order to create more dynamic private sector at regional level.

Senior Vice president, FCCISL, Nawaz Rajabdeen, mentioned that FCCISL is committed to overall private sector development in Sri Lanka covering all regions and sectors on an integrated and comprehensive private sector development project.

Secretary General, FCCISL Samantha Abeywickrama, who mobilised donor support for regional chamber development in Sri Lanka stated that their objective is to harness the development potential in the regions through the involvement of the local private sector to create investment and employment opportunities in the respective regions.

The inauguration was given wide publicity in Jaffna and was attended by over 100 eminent people from the business community, academic institutions and public sector organisations. The representatives of the university of Jaffna, international and local NGO staff based in Jaffna, government representatives and Vice President, FCCISL, Kosala Wickramanayake attended the meeting.

Ceylon Tobacco Company (CTC) last Friday was awarded the ‘Social Responsibility Reporting’ and ‘Best Annual Report in the Food and Beverage Sector’ awards at the annual awards presentation of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL).

"Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR is nothing new at CTC," said CEO and Managing Director, CTC, Paul Hiltermann, commenting on the achievement of winning the ‘Social Responsibility Reporting’ award.

"The annual report team needs to be congratulated for the tremendous effort put in to enable the company to receive this prestigious award. The team worked towards incorporating many projects which were commissioned during the accounting period in the annual report of 2002" he added.

CTC created history in Sri Lanka by winning the first ever ‘Social Responsibility Reporting’ award.

The ICASL, the country’s national accountancy body this year announced the new category of ‘Social Responsibility Reporting’ — a special independent award to be presented at the awards ceremony for best annual reports. The 18-member panel of judges evaluated the annual reports of 2002-2003 for social responsibility reporting or triple bottom line reporting.

CTC’s annual report 2002 for which this award was presented was titled ‘Focusing Externally, Responding Responsibly’ and colourfully exhibited many of the CSR projects commissioned over the last couple of years.

The President, ICASL, speaking at the ceremony said there appears to be a growing feeling in the community that organisations should be accountable not only for their financial performance, but also for their environmental and community for social and ethical performance.

The CTC annual report 2002 was produces by Bates Strategic Alliance.

Expressing confidence in the monetary policy adopted so far, Governor, Central Bank of Sri Lanka, A.S. Jayawardena commenting on the ‘Economic Prospects and Monetary Programme for 2004’ report released by the bank last week told The Sunday Leader, "We feel that there is no need for a change in the monetary policy. At the moment there will be no expansion or contraction in the policy."

The report states that the monetary policy in 2004 would continue to focus on maintaining price stability, while providing adequate liquidity to meet credit growth to support economic activity.

The monetary policy measures of the Central Bank, particularly its interest rate policy, would be based on a careful assessment of current and future inflation and other macro economic parameters.

The independently floating exchange rate regime will continue, facilitating the concentration of monetary management on containing inflation.

With the expectation of a continued improvement in domestic macro economic conditions, an improvement in the international economic environment and favorable weather conditions, domestic economic activity is expected to grow at a slightly faster rate than in 2003. Accordingly, real economic growth is expected to improve by at least 6% in 2004.

On the production side, all three sectors (i.e. services, industry and agriculture) are expected to contribute to this projected economic growth.

On the demand side too, all three major categories, consumption, investment and exports, are expected to contribute to the growth in 2004.

Investment expenditure is expected to rise in 2004 to around 24-25% of GDP, as a result of improved business confidence, better performance of equity markets, lower interest rates, higher levels of foreign investment and increased public investment.

Following the relatively rapid decline experienced in 2003, inflation as measured by the Sri Lanka Consumers Price Index (SLCPI) and the Colombo Consumers Price Index (CCPI) is expected to be around 4-6% in 2004 with continued prudent monetary policy and improved fiscal policy.

However, the implicit price index (i.e. the GDP deflator) is expected to be slightly higher at around 7%, reflecting the impact of wage increases in 2004.

According to the revised estimates, the budget deficit is projected to decline to 7.3% of GDP in 2004 from 7.8% in 2003 mainly due to a reduction in expenditure. In financing the deficit, about 42% of the resource requirement is expected from foreign sources and privatisation proceeds and the balance from domestic sources.

The international economic environment is expected to improve further in 2004 with increased world economic growth, continuing low inflation and low interest rates.

The Balance Of Payments (BOP) of the country is expected to show a surplus for the fourth consecutive year, with a consequent increase in the country’s external reserves and a reduction in the pressure on exchange rates.

Export growth is expected to continue in 2004 at a rate of above 8% (in US dollar terms), while imports are estimated to grow at a rate of about 11%.

Accordingly, the trade deficit is likely to rise slightly in 2004 as a percentage of GDP, from 8.3% to 8.9%. Accordingly, the current account deficit as a percentage of GDP is expected to widen from 1% in 2003 to 2.6% in 2004.

However, the expected improvement in the capital account mainly through foreign programme and project related inflows, privatisation proceeds, and foreign investments would be more than sufficient to finance the current account deficit, resulting in a surplus in the overall BOP by about US$ 180 million. Accordingly, gross official reserves of the country would reach a level sufficient to cover about 4.3 months of imports while the total external reserves would be sufficient to cover about six months of imports.

Based on the projections for economic growth and inflation indicated earlier, the desirable growth in money supply in 2004 has been projected at 13.5%.

This monetary target is compatible with the overall macroeconomic requirement to facilitate the declining trend in inflation and support the expected economic growth. Accordingly, it is expected that credit to the private sector would grow by around 15.4% in 2004.

In order to achieve the projected macro economic and monetary developments, continuation of the peace process and the political stability in the country are essential.

Also, meeting the fiscal targets, restructuring of public corporations, and receipt of expected foreign capital flows as well as implementation of economic reforms have to be fulfilled to reach the projected developments in the economy.

Digital Workflow Automation System is a product of TATA Consultancy Services (TCS) of India, which is Asia’s largest software development and services company and one of the first to develop and introduce e-government programme in India. TCS in alliance with Advantage Technologies Pvt. Ltd., a local IT services company in Sri Lanka that is headed by Chairperson, Abans Group, Abans Pestonjee had successfully launched the e-governance programme in the Prime Minister’s office and now launched it in the Education Ministry, one of the largest ministries of the government of Sri Lanka.

The system was launched at the Education Ministry by Human Resource Development, Education and Cultural Affairs Minister, Dr. Karunasena Kodituwakku and by Secretary, Human Resource Development, Education and Cultural Affairs Ministry, V. K. Nanyakkara on March 18 by processing the first electronic files of the ministry.

While addressing the meeting Dr. Karunasena Kodituwakku, said "Implementing the Digital Workflow Automation System in the Ministry would address long standing problems at the Ministry like the loss of correspondences, lack of information, delay in files processing by electronic filling and their electronic movement. This would also bring in transparency within the Ministry."

He also explained the need of such initiatives which will enhance the productivity within the government, prioritise the work and reduce the paperwork and thereby bring down the bureaucratic delays which facilitates serving all the stake holders like teachers, students and parents who interact with the Ministry on various issues and grievances in a faster and transparent way.

The Digital Workflow Automation System was launched in the Prime Minister’s office on February 6 by Prime Minister’s Secretary, Bradman Weerakoon. Speaking on this occasion he said he was extremely satisfied with the system and used the same regularly to clear the files on-line. He also said the system is very user friendly, very simple to learn and provides extensive features with which he can monitor the entire work being carried out in the Ministry by a click of a button.

Among other host of features of the system, he said that there would be drastic reduction of the manual movement of the employees to various officials’ cabins carrying big files, which will enhance productivity and employees can prioritise their work.

TCS is the world leading information technology consulting, services, and business process outsourcing organisation that envisioned and pioneered the adoption of the flexible global business practices that today enable companies to operate more efficiently and produce more value.

Suntel Limited crossed a significant threshold by recording a net profit of Rs. 505 million for the financial year ended December 31, 2003. This reflects a 150% improvement of the result of Rs. 200 recorded for the previous year.

As in previous years, 2003 was also an extremely volatile year for the telecommunications sector and for Suntel. International gateway operations were liberalised by the end of February and following this, international tariffs dropped by around 65-70% overnight. This resulted in lower international revenues for the last three quarters. The company also refrained from effecting a tariff increase during 2003.

However, through its successful loyalty programme, high service levels and ongoing cost reduction programme the company was successfully able to reach similar levels of EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxation, Depreciation and Amortisations) as in the previous year. Reductions in interest rates over the year reduced debt servicing costs significantly and increased the company’s bottom-line to Rs. 505 million, which is an increase of Rs. 305 million over the net profit achieve in 2002.

It should be noted that though the company has completed two successive years of significant profitability, it still requires a further one to two years of similar results to recover the accumulated losses carried forward on its balance sheet.

The company continues to be concerned with the regulatory environment and the manner in which key decisions are handled. Suntel has consistently spoken in favour of deregulation provided that the deregulation process paves the way for a level playing field for all operators. The company hopes that conditions will improve within the regulatory environment in anticipation of the expansion plans it has for the later part of 2004.

Suntel wishes to reiterate that the only way in which high quality telecommunications services will be rolled out throughout the country is if operators who have made significant investments in Sri Lanka are given the possibility and a level playing field to further the telecommunication infrastructure in the country.

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the largest and the fastest growing international professional accounting body, is celebrating its centenary this year. At a press briefing held in Colombo, ACCA Sri Lanka announced that their centenary celebrations will be held in nearly 30 countries during 2004, with a grand conclusion in London on November 30, coinciding with the anniversary of ACCA. Celebrations commenced in Hong Kong early this year, and the Sri Lankan celebrations are scheduled for April 26. The theme for ACCA celebrations is ‘Responsibility.’

Founded in London by just eight accountants, today ACCA is a truly global professional accounting body with over 320,000 members and students in 160 countries.

President, ACCA Sri Lanka, Ajith Tudawe said, "In an increasingly globalising corporate environment, boundaries are fast diminishing and technology is bringing in sweeping changes; no one can predict for sure what the next 100 years would be. But we can assure that the core values of ACCA such as transparency and responsibility will remain relevant for ever."

By remaining loyal to these core values ACCA has provided rewarding careers for many thousands, around the world and will continue to do so for the next 100 years, he further added.

Official Sri Lankan celebrations will start in grand style with a breakfast seminar on the theme ‘Corporate Social Responsibility; Is There A Business Case?’ This will be held at the Colombo Hilton on April 26.

Head (Social and Environmental Issues), ACCA, Rachel Jackson and Senior Environmental Engineer, World Bank, Dr. Sumith Pilapitiya will preside at the seminar. Various aspects pertaining to the corporate world with regard social and environmental issues will be addressed.

This will be followed by a workshop on the importance of ‘Environmental, Social and Sustainable Reporting,’ a concept pioneered by ACCA a decade ago and launched in Sri Lanka for the first time in November 2003. This workshop will help to educate the corporate world on the different aspects of reporting and relating it to their own environments. Workshop will also be held at the same venue from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tickets for this workshop will be available from early April.

ACCA Sri Lanka office is also hosting a gala event on April 26 at the Grand Ballroom, Colombo Hilton with the patronage of President, ACCA, Sam Wong and Chief Executive Officer, ACCA, Allen Blewitt. Sri Lankan corporate leaders and VlPs will join hands with ACCA to celebrate its centenary.

Speaking at the media briefing, Manager, ACCA Sri Lanka, Ajitha Perera said, "Our association with ACCA goes back 66 years. Sri Lankan members were first recognised by ACCA in 1938. From those very early days we have strictly adhered to the core values of ACCA and that has given unparalleled confidence to students, the corporate world and the society at large."

This was well evident by the 33% increase in the student intake we experienced in 2003 and the ever growing employer accreditations by ACCA Sri Lanka, she further said.

Over the years the imposition of various bureaucratic rules and regulations of service in our public service has taken a tremendous toll on talent and performance in the public enterprises. Furthermore, rewarding of mediocrity has resulted in alienating the top achievers. This has resulted in a considerable drop in the service delivery to the public. On the other hand the politicians have only looked to acquire a situation which gave them maximum control of the enterprise finances. The bureaucrats on the other hand, have looked to acquire a situation to retain their own positions, above all keeping maximum control on the purse strings but without actually clashing headlong with the minister. Generally in the first year or two of a new administration an uneasy truce is called while each side adapts to the new situation and sometimes high calibre civil servants are replaced for non compliance, often to be succeeded by politically fervent figures as a ‘gift’ for past services.

Out of all this comes a generally settled service that has had very little economic relevance and social benefit and above all a lack of professionalism and discipline in the management of the enterprise.

The importance of planning, decision making in public corporations, and also the need for the adoption of adequate techniques underpinned by sound professionalism and a base of economics and capability are vital to regain the lost public confidence and for performance to become similar to that of the private enterprises functioning in a similar context. In the past because of the acute and different socio-economic situations at various times various methods have been adopted in the process of planning. Some countries have a highly centralised form of planning emanating from a ‘think tank’ at the national level creating a situation of implementation only at the corporation level.

Then some developing countries widely use the decentralised planning methodologies, which usually results in a bottom up type of planning — i.e. regional and enterprise level, working upwards to a coordinated national plan. However between these two extremes there are a number of methods of coordinating macro-level planning. There is a need today to ensure that the planning process is conducted with a high degree of professionalism and that all the modern techniques and tools of planning, including economic forecasting, market analysis, feasibility studies, etc., are adequately employed.

Needless to say, this implies that skilled manpower needs to be employed, trained, and developed. Micro-planning envisages planning within the enterprises, i.e. financial planning, personnel planning, marketing and so on. Owing to a lack of professionalism, training and infrastructural facilities, sustained effort in all these planning areas is insufficient and hardly practiced.

There is a great diversity in structural forms, which public corporations had assumed over the years. Among the structural forms are:

• Departmental undertakings run directly by government;

• Companies registered under normal Company Law;

• Statutory corporations and authorities established under acts of parliament;

• Enterprises run by local bodies;

The patterns and forms certainly influence managerial efficiency of organisations, but they do not however constitute a panacea for all managerial ills. What is far too important to be left out is the system of operation, that is the relationship between the state and the enterprises, the working relationship between management, labour, the acceptance of common goals and objectives and a total understanding of the process of management at all levels. The various enterprises need to be however backed by the highest levels of professional and managerial competence.

The establishment of business enterprises on a public basis necessitates the grant of adequate autonomy to the enterprises for management of their affairs. Our public sector operate under considerable constraints and over centralised controls, hence, it makes it very difficult for them to develop internal self-reliance and an entrepreneurial skill and spirit. However in some situations excessive decentralisation and an excess of autonomy have also lead to problems of communication and cash flow.

It is widely accepted and recognised that managerial efficiencies in most public enterprises depends to a large extent on the level of autonomy permitted. Autonomy however, cannot and should not be totally unrestricted. We have had situations where heads of government boards instead of using the bank overdraft for organisational development have used the cash to buy expensive cars. It is very necessary that the interest of the investor (usually the state) and the overall public (voter) interest should be adequately safeguarded. For this purpose, while according autonomy to the enterprises, there is a strong case (need) for systems of accountability for public authorities. These could take the form of:

• The publication of full information about the affairs of the company, financial, production, achievement of targets, profitability productivity and accumulation of surpluses;

• The right of the authorities to be associated with major capital investment decisions, particularly where the funds for such investments come from the Treasury;

• The need to coordinate at central levels the activities of different public sector enterprises in order to ensure the harmonious correlation between micro-plans and national macro-plans.

Autonomy and accountability are two of the most sensitive issues in the management of public enterprises. Today there is a definite need for the establishment of an adequate supervisory authority and, where this authority is lacking, to bring about improvement in performance and to deal with shortfalls. Such authority should undertake periodic appraisals with reference to pre-determined objectives and goals. Such authority should be a ministry, a control bureau or a regional organisation. However, to function effectively the authority need to have an adequate reporting system and be capable of auditing performance in a professional manner.

Firstly, we must examine the question of performance in public enterprises and the manner in which it can be fairly assessed. Performance of a public enterprise cannot be adjudicated solely on considerations of profit-making, a yardstick used in the classical private-enterprise system. Since public enterprises have been established to discharge a variety of objectives, the assessment of performance needs to have reference to the fulfillment of these objectives. There is always considerable debate about the relationship between financial profitability and social profitability.

The achievement of social profitability involves the calculation of the impact of the enterprise on the achievement of national goals such as creation of employment, import substitution, foreign exchange earnings. There has been a tendency (and this has certainly been the case in Sri Lanka) to run public enterprises at a considerable loss. These losses are however being financed annually by the state budget. Thereby becoming heavy burdens on the taxpayer and citizen. Thus, whether financial or social objectives are sought, effectiveness of management must be assured and, in particular, optimum utilisation of capacities, higher productivity, and the most important need is to eliminate waste. What is necessary is to make our public sector management aware that they need to make conscious decisions with full knowledge of the consequences.

On the other hand it is normally accepted that there must be some degree of protection of public sector industries, particularly during their gestation period. The policy of protection would enable infant industries to grow and to gain strength. However, an absolute protection could tend to breed inefficiencies of the systems, and the ‘take it or leave it’ attitude of the management like in some of our utilities could be encouraged further. However, this can be avoided in three ways:

• By insisting that public enterprises should seek export markets, and test their quality and price in competitive international markets;

• By establishing competitive situations within the internal market;

• By allowing at appropriate times importation of foreign goods, mainly for the purpose of generating a degree of competition for achieving good standards.

In the final analysis the size of the public sector as it is today, and the strategic nature of its products, makes it far too important to the economic social and political life of the country to be left entirely free to the minister, bureaucrats and the Treasury alone. But at the same time it is important for the minister to appoint competent professionals and them give them the flexibility in the running of their enterprises in order to achieve set targets; the control should be through evaluation of performance on an ex-post facto basis rather than of the process.

Fitch Ratings Lanka (FRL) has affirmed the SL AAA (Triple A) national rating assigned for the implied long-term unsecured senior debt of National Savings Bank (NSB).

SL AAA long-term rating denotes a very low expectation of credit risk. The rating indicates a very strong capacity for timely payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.

NSB’s rating reflects the low credit risk nature of the bank’s activities, state ownership and the explicit state guarantee on deposits. NSB is the third largest bank in Sri Lanka in terms of assets, but commands a dominant position in the deposit mobilisation market. Consequently the bank exerts some influence as a ‘price-setter’ in deposit mobilisation. The majority of NSB assets (83%) are in government securities and loans secured on cash deposits, with wholesale lending and retail lending making up the remainder.

The bank has been a vehicle to mobilise retail savings, which in turn was largely used to finance the government budget deficit. However, its survival over the longer term, as a viable institution, would necessitate widening its scope of activities. Going forward the key challenge for NSB would be to transform itself to engage in wider banking activities and build internal capacity to operate in a commercial manner. It would be particularly important to develop essential risk management skills, given its relatively high exposure to market risk (i.e. the high exposure to long duration Treasury bonds and rupee loans with fixed interest rates).

NSB’s overall financial performance in 2003 compares well, with its peers, largely due to minimal loan loss provisions by virtue of its high exposure to government securities as well as comparatively lower operating overheads in relation to its asset base. The bank’s pre-tax Return On Assets (ROA) was 2.9%, in 2003. NSB’s tier 1 capital and total capital ratio was 41% largely due to its high exposure to government securities. However the core equity/assets was relatively low at 5.6% as at December 2003

NSB was established in 1972 under an act of parliament, by amalgamating the Ceylon Savings Bank (1832), the Post Office Savings Bank (1885), the savings certificates of the postmaster general (1938) and the National Savings Movement (1942). Savings mobilisation has been NSB’s mainstay, but has ventured into financing residential housing and wholesale lending largely to financial institutions.

Fitch Ratings Lanka Ltd. is a joint venture between Fitch Ratings, USA, International Finance Corporation Washington, Central Bank of Sri Lanka and several other leading local financial institutions. Fitch Ratings USA is one of the three global full service credit rating agencies and rates over 85 sovereign nations, 7,600 structured finance ratings, 2,900 international banks and financial institutions. Fitch Ratings Inc. has over 90 years experience in credit analysis and a combined analytical and professional staff of more than 1,400 many of whom possess over 10 years of specialised industry experience.

People’s Leasing Company Limited (PLC) recently announced the issue of ‘SLA’ rated Lease Backed Trust Certificates (LBTCs) to the value of Rs. 500 million. The transaction which is being managed by Capital Alliance Holdings Limited has been assigned a ‘SLA’ rating by Fitch Ratings Lanka Limited. This indicates a very high credit quality. This is the first time a lease backed note issue has been rated in Sri Lanka.

According to Fitch Ratings, this rating reflects the instrument’s safety features as well as the inherent strengths of PLC. High level of automation and lean staffing has enabled People’s Leasing to maintain one of the highest profitability ratios in the industry.

The transaction is being structured and placed by Capital Alliance Holdings Limited and is one of a series of lease backed securities to be issued by PLC. The trustee for the transaction is Deutsche Bank AG and the legal documentation was done by F. J. & G. De Saram.

Issuance of rated LBTCs was identified by PLC as a method by which the company can pledge its future lease receipts and fund its new leases. Having raised over Rs. 2.2 billion through previous transactions, it is now proposed to raise a further Rs. 500 million from this transaction.

At the onset of the transaction, a trust named ‘People’s Leasing Trust — Nine’ is established. This trust will not have other ancillary businesses and will be governed by the Trust Deed. PLC will pledge the contracts to the trust that will, in turn, issue LBTCs collateralised by the contracts.

The proceeds from the LBTCs would be onward lent to PLC, which will continue to service the leases. The key features of this structure is that the cashflow of time pledged pool of leases is used to pay off the investors thus giving added security to this instrument.

PLC is a specialised leasing company, which commenced operations in 1996 as a fully owned subsidiary of People’s Bank, which is the second largest bank in Sri Lanka. PLC was formed to carry out leasing finance for the customers of People’s Bank. Currently PLC has a network of 12 branches in major cities in the country with a customer base of over 16,000. All branches are linked on-line to the head office with sophisticated computer system. PLC has become the market leader, in terms of the volume of new business generated during the financial year 2003.

In 1996 PLC became a participative credit institution for the Indian Line of Credit through the People’s Bank. Under the credit line long term credit is extended to purchase capital goods of Indian origin. Utilising the credit line over the last few years PLC has become the dominant player in financing of vehicles engaged in public transport segment which represent a 40% in PLC’s portfolio.

One key feature of People’s Leasing is that over the years it has been targeted the passenger bus transportation sector in Sri Lanka, which has been plagued for several years due to under investment. This sector now accounts for around 40% of the business of PLC.

PLC’s total revenue for financial year 2003 has increased by 38% to Rs. 2,014 million whilst income has increased by 51% to Rs. 844 million.

The net profit increased by 100% to Rs. 153 million after making aggressive provisions of Rs. 140 million and its total asset base as at end-March 2003 stood at Rs. 5,637 million. Furthermore non-performing leases in PLC’s portfolio amounted to a mere 3.7% which is among the lowest in the industry.

The issue is structured and placed by Capital Alliance Holdings Limited, which specialises in debt securities, fund management, corporate finance and money market activities. Having started operations in 2000 the group has been involved in many corporate finance transactions and is also an active player in the government securities market through Capital Alliance Limited, a primary dealer appointed by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

Nations Trust Bank Ltd. (NTB) has structured its first US dollar denominated Floating Rate Note (FRN) for one of Sri Lanka’s largest exporters — Brandix Lanka Ltd. This is one of the initial steps that the company will be taking in its efforts to diversify funding by exploring further access to financial markets and new financial instruments. The initial FRN for US$ 1,500,000 has been bench-marked to the three month LIBOR rate and is issued for a tenor of 12 months.

NTB will actively look at new investors mainly comprising those clients who are RFCA, NRFC and FCBU account holders, with savings and fixed deposits. Possibly for the first time in the country, private and institutional foreign currency investors will be able to purchase the FRN on an outright basis and hold till maturity, or alternatively, invest in short-term US dollar denominated repo investments that would start with maturities from one week onwards. Such investments could be pledged as collateral for rupee borrowings by clients if required according to prevalent regulations.

"We were impressed with the way Nations Trust Bank was able to offer a flexible and innovative solution to our funding requirements. We hope that initiatives of this nature will give further momentum to capital market development in the country," said Group Finance Director, Brandix Lanka Ltd., Trevine Jayasekera.

Recently, Brandix was recognised as ‘The Most Outstanding Exporter of the Year’ for its overall contribution to the Sri Lankan economy in terms of foreign exchange earnings, employment generation, value addition and product innovation.

During a short period NTB has built a track record as a significant player in structuring and placing debt on account of customers, and successfully used this as an entry strategy to establish profitable relationships with large customers. "Structuring this transaction for Brandix demonstrates that we are able to customise, using value added products," said CEO/Director, NTB, Moksevi Prelis.

CIMA has made a major contribution to an innovative study on the causes of corporate success and failure by producing the ‘Strategic Scorecard.’

CIMA is playing a key role in improving corporate governance by joining forces with IFAC (International Federation of Accountants) to release an original report on the emerging concept of enterprise governance. The published report, ‘Enterprise Governance: Getting the Balance Right’ will include an in-depth analysis of corporate successes and failures in 27 case studies in 10 countries. This leads to several valuable conclusions about the causes of each example/case.

As part of this report, CIMA has produced a ‘Strategic Scorecard’ to address the strategic oversight gap and avoid the sort of strategic failures that were apparent in the case studies.

The ‘Strategic Scorecard’ is a pragmatic means of addressing the strategic oversight gap. It has four basic elements: strategic position (information for the board, no decision points), strategic options (how the board considers decision points on change), strategic implementation (measuring how well the strategy is being implemented, and strategic risks (what can go wrong and what must go right?).

Chairman, IFAC’s Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee and Chairman, CIMA Technical Committee, Bill Connell said, "The ‘Strategic Scorecard’ is a pragmatic tool to assist boards to have an oversight of a company’s strategic process; deal with strategic choice and transformational change; give a true and fair view of a company’s strategic position and progress; and track actions in, and outputs from, the strategic process, but not the detailed content."

Deutsche Bank signed a partner bank agreement with Sampath Bank that will allow Deutsche Bank’s corporate customers greater access to Deutsche Bank cash management services in Sri Lanka via Sampath Bank’s extensive branch network. This alliance provides better geographic coverage and allows Deutsche Bank’s customers, using db-direct internet, Deutsche Bank’s electronic banking platform, to have countrywide access to value-added cash management. Financing facilities will also be made available through Sampath Bank to the dealers and distributors of these customers, which will result in improved working capital management.

A prominent information technology leader in the local financial services industry, Sampath Bank has a strongly established presence in the Sri Lankan market with 64 branches located throughout the country. Through Sampath Bank’s extensive real time on-line branch network, Deutsche Bank’s customers will enjoy access to cash and cheque collections services island-wide. This translates into faster turnaround time for cheque clearing and cash/cheque pick up. Details of such transactions executed via Sampath Bank will be available to customers through db-direct internet.

"We look forward to the collaboration with Deutsche Bank as we see this as a cross selling opportunity to offer our services, particularly the provision of dealer financing, to another target customer segment," said Managing Director and CEO, Sampath Bank, Anil Amarasuriya. "Additionally, with more transactional volumes moving through our branch network, we will be able to optimise our online capabilities."

"By working closely with Sampath Bank, we are able to delve deep into the customer’s financial value chain, thereby enhancing the efficiency of our cash management services. This in turn translates into improved cash flow and convenience for the customers and their dealers," said Chief Country Officer and Head of Cash Management in Sri Lanka, Deutsche Bank, Stefan Mahrdt.

"Combining the strength of Deutsche Bank’s global cash management capabilities with the extensive network of the well established Sampath Bank provides our customers with powerful tools that they can use to better address their daily business needs," added Asia Pacific Head for Global Cash Management for Corporates, Deutsche Bank, Jimmy Yap.

Deutsche Bank offers its 13 million clients unparalleled financial services in 76 countries throughout the world and competes to be the leading global provider of financial solutions for demanding clients creating exceptional value for its shareholders and people.

Deutsche Bank ranks among the global leaders in corporate banking and securities, transaction banking, asset management, and private wealth management, and has a significant private and business banking franchise in Germany and other selected countries in continental Europe.

Nichimen Corporation and Nissho Iwai Corporation, two of the top 10 trading companies in Japan with offices and principal business centers worldwide, announced their group merger effective April 1.

The major step towards this business integration was started in April 1, 2003. Initially the two corporations reinforced a number of initiatives, including in-house restructuring with the aim of ensuring maximum efficiency. As at September 30, 2003 Nichimen had 7,120 employees whilst Nissho Iwai had 10,997 employees.

The two corporations have also selected a new group name and group symbol as well as a new operating structure, thus fortifying solidarity and realising a new type of trading company in both name and substance. These two corporations will change its name to ‘SoJitz Corporation’ and will identify itself as the SoJitz Group.

The name ‘Sojitz’ is composed of two parts. The Japanese word ‘so’ symbolises the strong partnership between the companies, its customers and society. The Japanese word ‘jitz’ symbolises the efforts to become a corporate group characterised by dynamic energy and a source of great power. Together, ‘sojitz’ embodies the group’s commitment and dedication to secure sustained growth in concert with our customers and to realise a bright and prosperous future. The group symbol is a dynamic image of two arrows soaring skywards, extending beyond the earth’s horizon. ‘Sojitz blue,’ the color of the symbol represents the trust the group is working to garner from its customers and society and global efforts to pursue business with speed and innovation.

This integration will allow continued flexibility, promote optimum business portfolios, and establish an optimal organisation through rationalisation and reorganisation.

The newly emerged company falls into the category of general trading company with a capital of JY 107,184 million and will be head-quartered in Tokyo. The chairman of the new entity is Masaki Hashikawa and Akio Dobashi will function as the president/CEO.

The new company will have nine main business divisions comprising machinery and aerospace, energy and mineral resources, chemicals and plastics, construction and urban development, forest products and building materials, general commodities and consumer business, textiles and new business development group.

Forty seven employees who have worked at the Commercial Bank of Ceylon Ltd. for 25 years were honoured at a special ceremony organised by the bank recently.

The employees honoured this year were those who had joined the bank in 1978. They were rewarded for the contribution to Commercial Bank’s emergence as one of the country’s top performing corporates.

Congratulating these employees, Chairman, Commercial Bank, Mahendra Amarasuriya said, "Over the last decade Commercial Bank has witnessed tremendous growth, beyond the dreams of any one of us. Our staff has worked with great dedication and contributed immensely in achieving this growth."

"Employees have to change their mindset to keep pace with latest trends in the business environment and best practices especially at a time when we are expanding our presence within the region," he said. Amarasuriya also acknowledged the role played by the families of members of the long serving employees. "Their support and encouragement have enabled these recipients to provide a high degree of service to the bank," he said.

Managing Director, Commercial Bank, Amitha Gooneratne said the staff has made an invaluable contribution towards the progress of the bank. The bank has reached a position of excellence, enjoying an unrivalled position as the "best managed bank" in Sri Lanka and also forging ahead of many local and multinational companies, he said.