"More winning chances"

Arpico Finance Co. Ltd. established in 1951 is one of the pioneering financial institutions in Sri Lanka, built on a solid foundation comprising corporate principles and core values which have defined, directed and distinguished its character, course and career as a leading edge, trend setting financial force: first and the foremost in the field for 50 years with a wide spectrum of specialized products and services that including Leasing, Hire Purchase, Trade and Personal Loans, Real Estate and Fixed Deposits.

Arpico Finance Fixed Deposits are especially noteworthy for their unmatched flexibility in accommodating the particular requirements of customers, offering depositors a safe, sure, solid investment yielding rich returns, plus a superlative standard of prompt, professional and personalized service a popular combination that has attracted the patronage of a rapidly growing blue chip portfolio of individual and institutional investors.

The minimum deposit amount accepted is Rs. 10,000/=. Investors are assured of an interest rate of as much as 16% per annum. Deposits in units of Rs. 10,000/= and multiples thereof may be re-deposited at the end of two years at the current interest rates prevailing in the market.

The Gold Plus Fixed Deposit Scheme offers depositors an excellent chance of winning one or more of the above prizes.

New services from Lufthansa Cargo 

The main advantages of "Live-td" are the following:

* Fastest possible and reliable transportation on their time definite service td.Flash, including all the advantages of a td.service.

* Continuous attention to animal shipments by skilled animal co-ordination staff, in order to ensure the best possible quality at all times.

* A close co-operation with the animal station at Frankfurt Airport and its professional staff. 

* Guarantee of 100% Money Back maximum up to US$ 10,000.00.

The customized time-definite transportation solutions Cool/td, Fresh/td, Smooth/td, Safe/td 1, Safe/td 2 and Care/td were launched globally between February and June 2000. 

The figures for January to May 200] were again 28 percent higher than for the same period in the preceding year. 

In some cases completely new customer segments were opened up. Many companies from hightech industries such as computers, telecommunications and semi-conductors have turned to Safe/td 2, the Service Package for theft-endangered goods. Lufthansa Cargo conducts a particularly intensive dialog with pharmaceutical companies that use Cool/td. Over the past nine months, three working forums were held on the subject, during which the further development of the product was discussed. A new combination was already introduced in January: Cool/td has also been bookable since then as td.Flash.

An extended to-door option will soon be available in the case of Fresh/td: via the partner Nagel Airfreight Shipments that arrive in Frankfurt can be delivered straight to the customer's premises with a time-definite guarantee.

Janashakthi Insurance launches Prathamadara

Janashakthi Insurance Company has launched Prathamadara, an innovative hospital cash plan that takes not only hospital expenses into account but also supplements your loss of income during the period of hospitalization. Janashakthi points out that Prathamadara is not a mere medical insurance policy which re-imburses what you spend on a hospital stay but pays a fixed sum each consecutive day spent in hospital except the first 3 days up to a maximum of 90 days. This is simply because the company understands that you stand to lose your income when you are hospitalized. Hence Prathamadara offers a unique benefit that puts you at ease, no matter what specialized medical attention you need.

"Medical attention is a need no one can ignore," says Mr. Adel Hashim, Marketing Manager of Janashakthi Insurance Co., "But high hospital and medical costs can be an obstacle to obtaining the right treatment. Many people are hesitant when it comes to medical care for this reason. 

With Prathamadara, hospital stays and medical bills are not a headache - our cash payment helps you to re-imburse almost all your hospital bills and related expenses."

From now on you have no bothers with calculations and preparations - you decide how much your re-imbursement should be and the most convenient cash flow to you. Just fill a simple questionnaire and for a very attractive premium you'll be a happy holder of a Prathamadara policy.

Leading Indian Real Estate Developer to Change the face of Horana

This BOI approved project is estimated to be an investment of Rs 680 million for the first phase.

Speaking at the launch of PERTH PARADISE, Mr. J. L. Dhar the Chief Executive Officer and President of Ansal Group, India said that they had identified Horana for their township due to the fact that BOI is developing 450 acres of an Export Processing Zone, just 2 k.m. from PERTH PARADISE as well as the governments proposal of widening roads connecting Ratnapura, Ingiriya, Horana, Panadura, Kottawa and Colombo. 

Apart from the fact that Horana is a well established and growing Industrial town with necessary infrastructure available and is an apt answer for the easing out the growing population of Colombo.

Mr. V.K. Ramakrishnan Director of M/S Housing and Construction Lanka Pvt. Ltd (A subsidiary of Ansal Housing and Construction Ltd., India) said that PERTH PARADISE would be developed in three stages with nearly 200 acres to be developed in phase 1 in two years time. "The first phase is to have 200 no's built up houses and can vary according to demand."

Ansal Group's whose expertise lies in constructing townships, residential condominiums, power plants, railway viaducts, cellular grain silos, irrigation projects, expressways and highways, country homes, club chains and hotels has spread its wings world over and have dominating presence in Iraq, Thailand, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Iran and Nepal where they have completed several projects both presidential and commercial.

SBL – new boost to equity markets

Here is a list of frequently asked questions on SBL with responses provided by the CSE.

What is stock lending and borrowing (SBL)?

The term stock lending means "a collateralised loan of securities for a limited period of time." More specifically it is the transfer of securities by the lender to the borrower with an agreement by the borrower to return them in due course with identical securities. In securities lending, the legal title of a security is transferred from a lender to a borrower. 

However, the lender retains the benefits of ownership except the voting rights. The borrower is entitled to utilise the securities as required but is liable to the lender for benefits (e.g. dividends, interest, bonus or rights, etc.)

Why should one lend / borrow?

The lender and the borrower stand to benefit by lending and borrowing securities. Some of the benefits that borrowers and lenders could derive by engaging in SBL are listed below. 

What are the benefits by lending shares?

Additional fee based income on dormant as sets
Protection through collateral monitored daily
Entitlement to ownership rights except vot ing
Right to recall on demand if agreed by the borrower
No alteration to portfolio strategy

Why borrow?

Ownership rights to securities without out right purchase
Profit from a falling market
Hedge against market volatility
No need to block the entire capital in a sin gle security

Who can participate in stock borrowing/ lending?

Lenders
Borrowers
Participants of the CDS who are eligible to enter into SBL transactions
CDS will act as the facilitator for SBL transactions

Who are the approved intermediaries / eligible participants?

"Eligible participants" are those participants of the CDS who meet with the criteria laid down by the CDS to be appointed as eligible participants for SBL. A list of eligible participants could be obtained from the CDS on request and is available on the CSE website. Lenders and borrowers could engage in SBL only through an eligible participant. Currently Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, Deutsche Bank and Sampath Bank are eligible participants.

Can any security be lent or borrowed?

No. Only shares of companies that are included in the Milanka Price Index (MPI) can be used for SBL purposes. The maximum amount that could be lent or borrowed at any given time is limited to 10% of the issued capital of the company.

How does the stock lending and borrowing mechanism operate?

1. The lender and the borrower will enter into an agreement with the participant for the purpose of SBL.

2. The period of a SBL agreement shall not exceed six months.

3. Consequent to an agreement the lender would have to submit a request to the CDS, through the participant to transfer the securities to the special account of the participant maintained in the CDS exclusively for SBL purposes.

4. Subsequently the securities will be transferred to the borrower's CDS account from the participant's CDS account.

5. The borrower will have the legal title to the securities. However, all corporate benefits shall be passed on to the lender except the voting rights. The borrower is free to deal or dispose of the securities thereafter. The Borrower is liable to return all dividends, interest, rights and bonuses to the lender. If the lender wishes to exercise the voting rights he/she has to recall the securities subject to the provisions of the agreement.

6. The borrower should offer his participant collateral to the required percentage of the market value of the securities borrowed in the form prescribed by the CDS and maintain the required minimum levels as stipulated by the CDS during the time of borrowing. The minimum level prescribed by CDS currently is 120% of the market value.

7. The participant should also make a deposit with the CDS amounting to the required percentage of the market value of the securities lent in the form prescribed by the CDS. Currently the prescribed percentage is 10% of the market value.

8. The return of securities should be done according to the terms and conditions of the agreement and the rules governing SBL.

What guarantee does the lender receive for his shares?

The borrower has to deposit collateral which could be cash, bank guarantees, government securities, certificates of deposit or securities quoted in the Milanka Price Index (MPI) of the CSE, with the participant. In case the borrower fails to return the securities, he becomes a defaulter. 

The participant will liquidate the collateral deposited with him and purchase equivalent securities from the market along with any corporate benefits and return same to the lender. In the event of default, the participant is liable for making good the loss caused to the lender. The borrower cannot discharge his liabilities of returning the equivalent securities through payment in cash except in instances where the security is suspended or de-listed.

Is any type of collateral accepted?

Only the following types of collateral can be deposited with the participant.

Types of collateral:

• Cash
• Irrevocable bank guarantees
• Government securities
• Quoted securities (In the MPI)
• Certificates of deposits

What other rules relate to maintenance of col- lateral?

Borrowers would have to offer participants collateral up to a minimum value of the market value of the securities lent. This minimum value may be subject to change and would be determined by the CDS.

Participants are required to hold the collateral on behalf of the lender and also maintain the value of the collateral as specified in the SBL Rules.

Securities borrowed and the collateral offered would have to be marked to market on a daily basis by the participant.

Participants would have to ensure that the value of the collateral shall not be less than the minimum stipulated value. If the value of the collateral falls below the minimum stipulated value, the participant is required to immediately make a request in writing to deposit additional collateral. Such additional collateral would have to be deposited by the borrower before the expiry of two market days from the date of the written notice.

Participants have the absolute discretion to liquidate the collateral in the following instances.

Borrower's failure to replenish the collateral to the minimum specified level within 2 market days from the date of receiving written notice.

Borrower's failure to return the securities and corporate benefits on the due date of return. Any short fall subsequent to the liquidation of collateral will be recovered from the bor rower.

The agreement will specify the procedure to be adopted with regard to the income generated from the collateral.

How will the securities be returned to the lender?

The return of securities will take place through the participant's special account in the CDS to the lender's account in the CDS.

Will the return of securities be guaranteed?

The participant guarantees the return of equivalent securities along with the corporate benefits to the lender.

In the event the borrower fails to return the securities or corporate benefits, the participant will be liable to return the securities and all corporate benefits by liquidating the collateral. Further the participant would also be entitled to take any action deemed appropriate against the defaulting borrower to make good its loss.

A separate procedure applies in the event of the borrowed securities being suspended or de-listed.

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