Looking beyond: Recessionomics
By Arjuna Mahendran
Snorts of disbelief resounded in some Colombo think tanks last week when it was announced that Sri Lanka had come 61st out of 75 countries surveyed in the latest Global Competitiveness Index (GCI). This outcome was foreseen by some of us with the advantage of an outsider's perspective on the Sri Lanka economy. My hope is that these results will be viewed in a constructive light so as to set right some of the grievous imbalances in our economy and financial markets.
It's a pity that Sri Lanka was included so late in this annual ranking exercise with the likes of Nigeria, Bangladesh and Romania. This in itself reflects the extent of the relegation of this country in the eyes of international investors.
Though we pride ourselves on our per capita income of US$ 800 per annum, this is not sufficient to attract investors.
The World Economic Forum (WEF), which conducts the survey along with the Harvard Centre for International Development, is a pre-eminent gathering of business leaders and politicians. Its guest lists at its annual meetings conducted in late January in the alpine setting of Davos in Switzerland, reads like an international Who's Who.
The likes of Alan Greenspan, Bill Gates, Atal Behari Vajpayee and, more importantly, the Chairmen and CEOs of all major multi-national companies make it a point to attend these meetings. Networking doesn't get much more high-powered than at the Davos meetings (which incidentally are likely to be held in New York next January).
So, Sri Lanka's policy-makers must make it a priority from now on to ascend the ranks of the GCI and demonstrate their desire to make this country attractive to foreign investment. How is this to be done?
The methodology adopted by the Harvard group led by Jeffrey Sachs gives us clues as to how we can improve the perception of Sri Lanka from overseas.
Sachs defines his measure of a country's competitiveness as the capacity to achieve sustained economic growth in the medium-term, i.e. a five-year time horizon.
Capacity to grow is defined by three broad criteria: technology, public institutions and macro-economic stability. Of these three, the last criterion is the weakest, not surprisingly. Even in technology we only rank 59th. Technology is defined as the ability to spur new inventions and to adopt technologies invented in other countries.
This is potentially an area where Sri Lanka can make quick gains with its highly literate workforce and our relatively high quality engineering faculties and technical training institutes. To my mind, the principle bottleneck is our telecommunications infrastructure.
The privatisation of Sri Lanka Telecom has created a private monopoly out of a government monopoly.
SLT hogs its exclusive gateway for international calls and extracts horrendous call charges from users here and abroad. So a call from Singapore to Sri Lanka costs one dollar a minute, while you can call the US from Singapore for as low as ten cents.
This not only increases the costs of doing business abroad for our firms but also deters investment in the whole panoply of Internet- and communications- related businesses for which our English-speaking highly literate workforce is highly suited.
Clearly, a complete revamp of the sector is urgently needed by immediately bringing as many new firms as possible with liberal access to our international telecommunications gateway.
We urgently need technology parks to be established with affordable telecommunications uplinking facilities for local and foreign firms to set up businesses in double quick time. Despite the current lull in global investment in the technology sector, Sri Lanka can yet attract business from the US, Japan and Europe on account of cheaper labour costs here.
Sri Lanka scored better on the micro-economic index called the Current Competitiveness Index, where we were ranked 57 out of 75. This index focuses on the current level of productivity of our firms looking at their degree of managerial sophistication and the quality of the business environment.
To me, the message coming from the difference in our ranking on these two indices is that the Sri Lanka private sector has done very well despite an unfavourable economic policy environment in recent years. So the other focus of future policy is to encourage our private sector by getting the government out of its way.
Finally, the WEF ranking study brings an important point that solving the ethnic war in Sri Lanka is not a panacea for poor economic policy-making.
Much work has to be done in revamping our public and private institutions to the needs of the rapidly evolving global economy. Otherwise Sri Lanka's relegation among the ranks of the world's nations will continue.
A series of attractively-priced packages for Sri Lankans visiting Dubai for business or leisure in November and December this year has been launched by Emirates, through its office in Colombo.
These packages, developed in collaboration with Emirates Holidays, the airline's leisure management company, cost as little as Rs. 41,000 upwards for airfare (Colombo – Dubai return) and accommodation for three nights, inclusive of personalised assistance on arrival, limousine transfers and a complimentary cruise on the Dubai creek, the airline said.
The packages, made possible through a new worldwide stopover package launched by Emirates, also includes an Arabian Adventures Welcome Pack and Shopping Discount Card, and extra baggage allowance of ten kilograms.
A high-powered trade delegation from Pakistan led by Minister of State and Chairman, Export Promotion Bureau, Tariq Ikram visited Sri Lanka recently and concluded deals with at least three Sri Lankan companies.
Three MoUs were signed between East West Foods (Pvt) Ltd and Metco Rice, Karachi, Mackwoods Ltd and ATCO Laboratory (Pvt) Ltd, Karachi, and Mat & Gyn Co. Ltd and Jawa Motorcycles, Karachi. These MoUs will encourage, promote and facilitate effective cooperation with regard to trade, economic and industrial activities between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, FCCISL press release said.
The mission's objective was to identify the areas of cooperation which will be beneficial to both countries, promoting bilateral trade including exports, imports, joint ventures, services and cooperation at government and private level.
"Sri Lanka and Pakistan have been enjoying a very cordial and strong relationship which has helped to foster friendship and exchange of cultural, social and trade ties," said Macky Hashim, President, Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FCCISL) during a meeting organised between the delegation and Sri Lankan firms.
"Leaders of our nations, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, have already, achieved a high degree of success in bringing the people of our two countries much closer and our association have been pleasant since historic times and we will still cherish such cultural, commercial and spiritual affinities," added Ikram, the Pakistani minister and delegation leader.
Arpico counting over sixty nine years in the trade, have been serving the household needs of the people, over the years a press release said. The customer being the priority, Arpico has based their business on a policy of "value for money".
In order to provide customers with the best of both worlds, Arpico now offer a "fresh look at supermarketing" with Arpico Supercenter the answer to the changing needs of today's customers.
You will find everything under one roof, a range of over 15,000 goods, covering all your household needs from vegies, fruits and meats, to toiletries, furniture, giftware, kitchenware, toys, baby items, linen and so much more... to save your valuable time and money!
You will find international standards of quality at a truly affordable price at the Arpico Supercenter at Battaramulla, and now at Dehiwela, for your super convenience.
When we say "experience real supermarketing" Arpico stop short of nothing and customer satisfaction is the underlying benefit. Arpico only sell what is fresh and the best from fruits and vegies to fish, meats, and the dairy/frozen food range. We work only with reputed and reliable suppliers. What's more our specialist staff, in the respective areas, with years of experience behind them are highly efficient and specifically trained so that they ensure nothing but the best to our customers.
Arpico cold rooms and refrigeration units are of the highest standard which are imported from world renowned makers of cold rooms, display cases, chillers etc.
Thereby we sustain the right level of temperature needed by the individual food items and thus prevent harmful bacterial growth. Our 24-hour maintenance and generator - back-up staff constantly monitor, the performance of these equipment which enable us to deliver what we promise.
Commercial Bank recently opened a special Customer Service Outlet at The Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation head office, promising added convenience to the customers of both institutions.
The country's most renowned leaders in banking and insurance joined hands under one roof to provide more convenient financial facilities and services to the general public.
Commercial Bank decided to open a service outlet at the "Rakshana Mandiraya" as a gesture of appreciation of the support given by Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation, over the years, as the bank's largest shareholder. Thus the general public are provided with a unique opportunity of getting their banking and insurance needs fulfilled without any hassle.
HNB opened its first Regional Training Centre in Kandy recently at No.28/12, George E de Silva Mawatha a company release said. The Training Centre was ceremonially declared open by the Managing Director of HNB, Mr. Rienzie T Wijetilleke.
Addressing the gathering Mr Wijetilleke emphasized that the main objective of the Training Centre was to provide Technical Training to Junior Executives, Banking Assistants and Allied Grades. He also stated that several training programmes would commence immediately to develop the above categories of staff members attached to 24 branches in the region and these training programmes effectiveness would be tailored according to the needs of trainees ensuring effectiveness.
Hence, post-training visits will be carried out to ascertain the needs of the trainees and to obtain feed-back from the staff members who undergo training in various fields of activities at the Regional Training Centre, Kandy.
Mr M Machado, Consultant - Training, Mr. Upali De Silva, Senior Deputy General Manager - Administration & Marketing, Mr S J A L Silva, Senior Manager - Training Centre, Kandy and Mr L Galwaduge, Actg. Chief Manager- Training Centre Kandy were also present on this occasion.
Metropolitan, the leading office solutions provider in the country added a new product to its extensive product portfolio with 'Double A'. The company has been in the OA sector for over four decades and has over the years, added good quality consumables to support their business. After extensive research into quality and value, Metropolitan selected 'Double A' as a paper supplier to cater to a market where the need for high quality paper for printing and copying is great.
Almost 15% of paper is wasted owing to paper jams and the low quality of paper is primarily responsible for this wastage. 'Double A' Paper, consists of a moisture control function that allows great re-production and anti-curling qualities, which minimize the paper jams to almost zero. It also has a low dust content, which minimizes printer and copier running costs. The paper is ideal for double sided copying, inkjet printing, laser printing and offset printing. The high smoothness of the paper improves reproduction quality and the heavy sheet enhances smooth run-ability. In addition to these features 'Double A' has a very high brightness rating, which means that the paper is the whitest in Sri Lanka.
Mr. Ainsley De Silva, General Manager, Paper Division, Metropolitan said "Metropolitan is proud to be associated with 'Double A' and we are confident that this product will do well in a market which clearly demands a high-quality product. 'Double A' promises to reduce wastage and cut consumable costs by significant margins." Mr. De Silva also stressed on the service angle and assured customers of a high-quality, value-for-money product backed by a superior service that only Metropolitan provides. Double A is available, freely in Colombo, suburbs and the regions through an extensive distribution network for the convenience of all our customers adds De Silva.
Mobitel has upgraded its Voice Mail Service (VMS) to suit the changing needs of its customer base a press release said. Known to be one of the most intelligent and easy to operate services, VMS helps the customer to access messages even if the phone is switched off. Known as the "Virtual Secretary", Mobitel VMS offers a vast range of services to its customers.
"The services the Voice Mail Service offers include a fax mail service and delayed transmission and message broadcasting, among many other things. Since the customer is kept informed and has access all the time, it is apt to call it the Virtual Secretary", says a company spokesperson. The fax mail service is one of the unique features that Mobitel VMS offers. This enables the customer to receive fax messages into the VMS mailbox, which can later be retrieved from any out source fax line.
Kishu Gomes created history by being elected to head 2 US based Multinational Companies operating in Sri Lanka a press release said. He is the first and the youngest Sri Lankan to be appointed as Managing Director & CE0 for Caltex Lubricants Lanka Limited and Caltex Ceylon Limited. This position has traditionally been held by expatriates since its inception in 1994. He has also been elected to the Asia Pacific Lubricants Leadership Team encompassing all countries within this region, which is another first by a Sri Lankan. When asked about wearing 3 hats at the age of 36, he replied "with the talented team we have developed over the years, I'm very confident"
Kishu Gomes began his career at Coke at a time when it had begun to grow as an underdog in the industry, to bloom into the industry leader and worked his way through positions of increasing responsibility during his 11 year tenure.
In his new role, Kishu Gomes will have the privilege of working with the Board Members of the calibre of Deshamanya Ken Balendra, current CEO of the Bank of Ceylon.
Abans fabulous Triple Bonus Offer ended on October 31, but the Cool & Cool offer has been extended up to November 15, by popular demand a press release said.
Throughout September and October Abans customers have thronged their showrooms to purchase LG Refrigerators and get valuable free home appliances with the products on offer. With the extension of the Cool & Cool offer, Abans customers have till 15th November to make use of this golden opportunity.
Those purchasing any of the three models of refrigerators on offer will be able to choose from a range of valuable home appliances, Water Heaters, Vacuum Cleaners, Table Fans, Jaipan Kitchen Machine, Roaster Oven or Water Filter. They will also be entitled to participate in a Grand Raffle Draw for ten 29" LG Flatron Televisions and Air Tickets to Bangkok for 5 lucky couples.
Abans, the homemakers one-stop-shop have always given their customers a fair deal for quality and value for their requirements of electric and electronic home appliances. Abans carefully select and import only the best internationally trusted quality brands of globally recognized home appliances.
Abans Service Centres are fully geared to undertake service and repairs of products sold by Abans, with competent technical expertise and readily available stock of genuine spares. Abans have earned a reputation in Sri Lanka for quality, integrity and fair trading practices. The products sold at Abans showrooms carry a guarantee of quality plus an efficient and quick after sales service.
Abans are bringing their products within reach of every housewife. Their aim is to help save time and energy and make housekeeping easier with more time for leisure and relaxation at home. Abans Cool & Cool offer is now on at all their showrooms islandwide.
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