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Business

Common S. Asian approach on key exports
South Asia countries should adopt a unified approach for key industries such as textiles and strengthen domestic financial sectors and protectionist mechanisms such as anti-dumping laws, a new report on the region has said.

They should intensify their regional integration to strengthen their position in the world economy, according to The South Asia Development and Co-operation report 2001/02 prepared by the Delhi-based think tank RIS.

South Asia economies should adopt a cautious approach towards capital account convertibility, the report also said. In order to meet the challenges thrown up by the World Trade Organisation (WTO), South Asian countries should adopt an integrated approach and long-term strategy for textiles and garments, it said.

They should strengthen the institutional basis of the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), foster a healthy domestic banking and insurance sector and strengthen their competition policy, anti-dumping measures, and legal expertise, it said.

The report was released in Colombo last week by Nihal Rodrigo, the foreign ministry secretary. Dr. Nagesh Kumar, deputy director general, RIS, New Delhi, and the principal author of the report made a presentation of its salient features. Dr. Saman Kelegama Executive Director of the Institute for Policy Studies, also spoke at the launch.

The report advocates that South Asia should seek the restoration of the 0.7 percent target of Official Development Assistance, the reform of International Monetary Fund conditionalities and the international regulation of credit rating agencies. These countries should also seek to curb speculative capital movements by the imposition of a transactions tax, have national regulations on short-term capital movements, set up regional funds and revive appropriate exchange rate regimes, it said.

On the trade front, the report asks South Asian countries to diversify their export structure in favour of more knowledge intensive products. The challenges also include increasing value addition in traditional exports such as tea, coffee, basmati and other bulk commodities; preparing the textiles and garment industry to face the post-Multi Fibre Agreement scenario; and being prepared to deal with the emerging environment and health related non-tariff barriers in developed countries, the report said.

Exporters reservations over budget
The Exporters' Association of Sri Lanka, while generally praising the budget, however, says the export community is disappointed that it did not merit any mention in the budget, despite the severe crisis facing the export sector in the last nine months.

Association chairman A.S.M. Muzzammil said last year exports dropped by 13 percent or US$ 650 million from the previous year with a worldwide recession, increasing internal costs and the power crises contributing to the decline.
"The decline indicates that export companies are tottering, redundancies are being created and more importantly, the markets are being eroded. Some of these problems are irreversible and it would need a long time and much money to regain lost ground," he said in a statement.

The removal of the NSL will benefit exporters whilst the introduction of the debit tax and the one percent levy on imports are likely to impact negatively on the competitiveness of Sri Lankan exports in world markets. It is hoped that VAT would be better managed and would remove some of the finance and administrative problems faced by exporters under the GST scheme, the statement noted.

Despite these concerns, Muzzammil said the most important issue of building investor confidence through an environment of political and economic stability has been further consolidated in the budget. "Other issues such as de-bureacratisation, simplification of procedures, removing inequities and reducing transaction costs have also been addressed to some extent and would contribute to confidence building," he added.

Jaffna goes digital with Fujifilm
Residents in northern Sri Lanka have received a state-of-the-art photo processing and printing facility with the installation of a Fujifilm digital minilab in Jaffna by the Hayleys group.

Sri Digital Colour Lab at 14, Sri Vangadesan Veedi, Nawalar Road, is the first operator of a digital minilab in the north with the acquisition of a Fujifilm Frontier 350 minilab, the company said.

The 12th Fujifilm digital minilab installed in Sri Lanka, the Frontier 350 in Jaffna is capable of producing high quality photographic prints from numerous sources, including conventional negative film, slide film, digital cameras, floppy disks, CDs, zip disks as well as the Internet.

Commenting on Fujifilm's entry into Jaffna, Hayleys Consumer Director Rizvi Zaheed said: "Jaffna has been deprived of basic amenities for many years. We are happy that the opening of a digital minilab will contribute at least in a small way, towards redressing this."

Proprietor of Sri Digital Colour Lab Mr. Veerasingham Sritharan said the people of Jaffna would now be able to experience the difference of quality digital printing. "The quality of the Fujifilm digital minilabs's output is second to none, and the after sales service of Hayleys is excellent," he said.

Non-repayment of loans
Due to heavy lobbying by chambers against the sale of properties of commercial and industrial establishments by commercial banks the auction of properties for non- repayment of loans under the Recovery of Loans by Banks (Special Provisions) Act No. 4 of 1990 by the state banks have been stopped for six months.

The Act was enacted not only to safeguard the depositors but also ensure a stable financial system. We saw in the recent past the fall of non-bank financial institutions with depositors losing all their life savings.

The Central Bank had to intervene and help with massive loans to revive these institutions and make sure the depositors received at least part of their deposits.
The economy may be in shambles because the world economy is in recession and also because of mismanagement of the former regime. But have the monies granted to these institutions been monitored?

We are aware that such monies loaned have been misused, spent on weddings of children of company directors, wasted on construction of swimming pools and on purchase of property.

Loans were also given generously to friends of politicians without adequate security.
Knowing that loans can be written off, businessmen don't make an effort to repay the loans.

A friend of mine had obtained a loan from a state bank and his first question was whether the loan could be written off as the Central Bank had guaranteed the loan.
If a company is in dire straits it could go before a sick industries board and help may be given to revive it case by case and not give blanket cover for all and sundry.
I hope the lobbing of the chambers would not influence the deputy finance minister, as the chief lobbyist who appeared before him is the head of the Industrial Board and the others are holding high government posts.

There may be a move by the lobbyist to transfer the deposits to private commercial banks.

The government and the Central Bank should safeguard the deposits of the people by introducing the depositors' insurance scheme and force the commercial banks to fulfil their commitments. The depositors should form a financial depositors' society to safeguard their monies.
M.F. Hamid,
Moratuwa

TextCENTRIC introduces first ebook reader mobile device
TextCENTRIC Technologies, a company that specialises in producing, managing and delivering digital content for corporations and e-education teaching and learning environments, has introduced the first e-book reader mobile device in Sri Lanka with a newly formed partnership with Cytale SA, the French-based producer of CyBook Pro, a sophisticated eBook reader.

A company statement said an announcement to this effect was made during a recent eLearning seminar hosted by TextCENTRIC in Colombo. The portable and lightweight Cybook Pro eBook reader relies on a unique software platform to download, read and exchange information.

Mobile professionals can use the reader to access information online and digest digital content from remote distances using the reader's built-in forms of communication.

Current Cybook Pro users include an auditing service that accesses hundreds of pages of standards and procedures from remote industrial sites, a university avoiding the possibility of overloading students with heavy textbooks by giving them CyBook Pros to hold all their class textbooks in digital form, and a Fire Department that updates and downloads maps of hazardous industrial sites on their CyBook Pros.
"We are happy to welcome Text CENTRIC into our network of partners throughout the world who are bringing content and expertise to the project we believe in: digital reading on a 'book that never ends'," said Cytale CEO, Olivier Pujol.

"The Cytale partnership represents TextCENTRIC's ability to develop, support and help manage digital content for delivery over a new-technology and mobile-learning channel such as the CyBook Pro," added Text CENTRIC CEO Gordon Freedman.
"This is a great step into the next generation of publishing, as we facilitate the delivery of digital content to end-users that enables them to enhance and interact with a publisher's core content in new and exciting ways."

Web site with textile quota exchange
EZ Portals.com (Pvt) Ltd has set up a business portal web site called EZapparel, HYPERLINK "http://www.ezbiz.lk", that provides information on the apparel sector and an on-line quota exchange.

Chairman of EZ Portals, Prakash Mirchandani said that this service features local, regional and global apparel news and the latest developments concerning major buyers, brands and markets.

It also features a career matching service where both candidates and companies looking for quality talent can list themselves, Mirchandani said. The company makes arrangements to match interested business parties as well.

Crucial information such as the latest US and Canadian textile quota figures and press releases from the various associations and governmental agencies can now be read on-line, he said.

EZapparel also contains an on-line quota exchange where those with a need for a quota can list their requirements and browse the site for those who have quotas. Once the match is made the company will put the parties in touch.

"This will help to save time and money," Mirchandani said. EZapparel was designed and built completely in-house by a Sri Lankan team at EZ Portals.com.

Midas touch for HSBC's credit cardholders
HSBC credit cardholders who made purchases from Abdeen Jewellers during the last 'Sensational Savings' period, put together by HSBC for the benefit of its credit card customers, were given the chance to take part in a lucky draw that would entitle them to win gold sovereigns.

The bank said the draw took place at the Abdeen Jewellers' Majestic City outlet. The lucky winners were Mr. D.D.J.A. Venetius, Ms. Binara Mahamood, Ms. A. Perera, and Mr. R.H. Ivan Ranasinghe.

The most recent 'Sensational Savings' promotion allows HSBC's credit card customers the chance of getting amazing discounts at a range of hotels operated by Aitken Spence, Jetwing and Keells chains as well as at various merchant outlets.

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