News

BOI to supply power to FTZ investors

"We want to see if we can give our own captive power to our investors - for the BOI to have own power plants," he said in an interview. 

"There's no point in promoting investment if you can't give a 24-hour power supply," he added.

He said his immediate priority as BOI chief would be to "put our house in order". 

The BOI wants to see all its investment zones functioning well and ensure a good service to existing customers.

"It has been proved all over the world that your best source of future investments are existing investors," he said.

The BOI has 11 industrial zones around the country. Eighty percent of Sri Lankan industrial exports are done by BOI-approved projects.

"That shows the size of our activities," Mahendran said. "We're the pre-eminent provider of infrastructure facilities for industry."

Some shortcomings had been noted in BOI investment zones such as effluents seeping into wells and faulty streetlights. 

"There has been some neglect of some of our older facilities in Katunayake, Biyagama and Koggala," Mahendran said. "There's been more emphasis on new zones such as Wathupitiwala, Mirigama and Malwatta."

The emphasis would be on improving housing and transport for workers and infrastructure such as power and water supply for employers, he said. The BOI was aware of the problems that could be caused by workers having poor living conditions. 

This could give rise to social tensions between employees and employers and lead to trade union agitation, he said.

The short-term investment promotion strategy would be to focus on attracting investors from the region. "Our best bet would be India, the Middle East and South East Asia in the short-term - that will be the key focus for the next six months," Mahendran said. In the longer-term, the broader promotion strategy would include some revamping of the BOI to make it a more pro-active organisation, he said.

"We want to have investment promotion officers in the BOI who will have a portfolio of clients, say 10-15 entrepreneurs, like in banks," Mahendran said. "Instead of them (investors) coming to the BOI, we'll go out to them."

This means hiring more staff at the higher levels of the organisation.

The BOI incentive structure, now seen as complicated and difficult to understand, will be simplified.

Revolution in tea manufacture

By Brian Tissera

Chris Corea from the group's Management Information Systems (MIS) division, responsible for the innovation, said the new product would change the whole process of tea making and put it on par with comparable hi-tech process management.

The new system has the ability to control the temperature and humidity in both the withering and fermentation processes. Initially green tea leaves are withered by subjecting them to pre-set humidity and temperature conditions.

In order to obtain "made tea" of a superior quality it is essential that the green tea does not get burnt due to excessive hot air. Similarly fermentation should also take place under controlled temperature and humidity conditions and should be terminated at the right point of time in order to achieve the desired characteristics of the finished product.

The new system eliminates the human factor in controlling temperature and humidity and instead achieves the required standards through a computer controlled monitoring facility which is highlighted through an alarm system and also keeps workers alert even through the night, Corea said.

The system is installed at a central location such as the factory office and each withering trough and "dhool" table is monitored individually. The system is pre-set to required values and the alarms are generated through the computer and delivered verbally through a voice synthesizer and amplifier, with for example a sharp voice saying " dhool five fermented " or " trough six too hot ".

The system also provides for reports to be made available in the form of printouts of temperature graphs, etc. and serves as an aid for less skilled tea makers to produce better tea.

Corea said the system was tested in the Keells group tea factories and is now in use there. The company is also planning to market the system in major tea producing markets around the world and has already received encouraging responses to initial inquiries.

Affno to build new trade portal 

The new portal will improve on the existing Trade Net facility and allow Sri Lankan companies not only to showcase their products but also to sell them on-line.

Dr. Lalith Gamage, Executive Director of EDB and Managing Director/CEO of the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology said their aim was to promote the use of e-business among Sri Lankan companies and demonstrate the power of the Internet.

Affno CEO, Suren Kannangara said the trade portal will enable companies to track their sales and the status of their orders as well as provide the latest trade news. They will also get comprehensive reports on the pattern of visitors who have shown an interest in their products.

Sri Lanka as a preferred destination for investment

The workshop, which will be meant for a target audience of foreign and local entrepreneurs, business conglomerates and chambers of commerce, should be held after the budget, the chamber said in a letter to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

It has suggested that the theme of the workshop be, "The Regional Perspectives of Global Competition".

The forum could be an ideal platform to announce government initiatives to restore peace, introduce economic reforms and de-regulation, to enhance the island's competitiveness as a regional investment and trade destination and to unveil the new policy and incentive package to promote investment and trade. 

The chamber also suggested that the government hold an export promotion exhibition and launch the National Competitiveness Initiative during the workshop.

Fergasam gets ISO 9002

Fergasam was established in 1967 and caters mainly to the high-end market in the US and the UK. The company recently took to the manufacture of lingerie, a lucrative emerging market, the statement said.

Hayleys Group launches Industrial Solutions

Hayleys Industrial Solutions (HIS), which is to be formally launched in January 2002, will comprise five business units — Pigments, Industrial Raw Materials, Print Needs, Power Generation and Industrial Lighting and Projects — encompassing a wide spectrum of industrial activity in which the Hayleys Group has been involved for many years, the company said in a press release.

The new grouping will represent several top international brands, including Philips and Philips Lighting, Volvo Penta, Bayer, Cabot, Conqueror, Coates, Fuji, DyStar, Haarmann & Reimer and Stork Textile Printing.

Explaining the rationale for the structuring of Hayleys Industrial Solutions, Hayleys Group Management Committee member Richard Ebell said: "The demands of today's environment present challenges that call for a shift in focus and emphasis. This is what HIS is about — bringing together infrastructure, special needs-oriented products and services, delivered by skilled people with a broad range of capabilities to support a wide spectrum of industrial activity."