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Allianz,
Zurich, Swiss Re others to form terrorism risks insurer The new company, named Special Risk Insurance and Reinsurance Luxembourg S.A. (SRIR), will provide limited coverage for physical loss or damage to insured properties and has a total committed capital of 500 million euros, said Zurich. Zurich said policies offered would only cover damage to property resulting directly from an act of terrorism and will be focused on Europe. Coverage will be limited to 275 million euros for such damage within a 600-meter (660-yard) radius of the covered property. Business interruption and liability losses will not be insured. Zurich Financial Services, XL Capital Ltd, Swiss Re, Hannover Re and Allianz each hold stakes of 18.2 percent in SRIR, while SCOR holds 9.1 percent. The company will operate independently of its founders with separate management and underwriting teams based in Luxembourg. SRIR plans to start underwriting business during the second quarter of 2002, subject to approval by the regulatory authority in Luxembourg. The concerted move by the European insurers follows the unprecedented damages and heightened risks caused by the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
But the sales tax, currently at three percent, may be raised to compensate for the revenue losses, he told parliament on Thursday. Lee, who is also the finance minister and head of the central bank, is chairman of a high-level committee tasked with recommending ways of making Singapore's economy more competitive. Analysts said his remarks were a hint of some of the recommendations that are expected when the committee announces its report next month.Lee said Singapore must keep pace with other countries that have cut corporate and income taxes in a bid to attract foreign investors as well as top foreign workers. "In short, we have to bring our direct tax rates down to encourage more investments, to grow the economy and ultimately, which is most important for us, to create good, well-paying jobs for Singaporeans," he said. Tax cuts would also benefit local entrepreneurs, Lee said. He did not give the level of the reductions, but the GK Goh research house in a recent report estimated that corporate taxes could drop from the current 24.5 percent to 22.5 percent. Singapore's highest personal income tax bracket of 26 percent could fall to 22 percent, the Business Times said. Lee also said Singaporeans should expect changes in the state-managed pension fund and wage policies. The city state, which is recovering from its worst recession since independence in 1965, is facing tough economic challenges from emerging countries such as China and Malaysia. University
lecturer releases book on 'Economic Disaster' The chief guest was former vice chancellor Professor W. D. Lakshman and the guest speaker was Dr. S.S.Colombage, former Director of Statistics at Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Among other present at the ceremony were Dr. Saman Kelegama, President Sri Lanka Economics Association and Executive Director of Institute of Policy Studies, Dr. S.M.P Senanayake, Head of Department of Economics, University of Colombo and Dr. Neville Karunathilake, former Governor, Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Speakers were of the general opinion that Dr. Abeyratne's book was most welcome at a time when there was a severe dearth of books written in Sinhala on economic issues. Dr. Abeyratne, in his analysis of the Sri Lankan Economy points out that Sri Lanka, which was a stable economy in Asia, 50 years ago had 'gone downhill' since then mainly due to two factors - faulty economic policies and unhealthy political ethics in the country. FTZ
association office bearers
FCCISL unit for regional development in regions It also wants to support the development of Regional Chambers of Commerce and Industry in the country, the FCCISL said in a statement. "The regional private sector is rather informal and disorganised by nature," it said. "Due to this, there is a sense of 'backwardness' in the regional private sector often leading to isolation." Government policy makers too often find it difficult to get a suitable "representative" from the private sector in most regional areas for advice and consultation, the statement said. The interaction between the private sector and the public sector in Colombo was healthy but at the regional level was poor, it said. "The regional authorities do not seem to be consulting the regional private sector as much as it happens in Colombo," it said. "The public-private dialogue is poor. When it comes to lobbying at the regional level by the private sector, that too is very ineffective mainly due to the disorganised nature of the regional private sector and also due to lack of expertise." The linkage between the regional level private sector and the national private sector is not a very strong one and needs further strengthening and enhancement, the FCCISL said. The new regional development unit meets a long-felt need for a dedicated unit to further facilitate, promote and strengthen the regional private sector, it said. It was formed with the support of donors agencies. The FCCISL is the apex organisation for over 35 chambers and trade associations in the metropolitan, district and provincial level with a combined membership of over 10,000 businesses comprising of sole proprietors, partnerships, private limited liability companies and public quoted companies. FCCISL has been actively promoting the expansion of the chamber movement into the districts and provinces over the last decade, the statement said. All 13 regional
chambers of commerce and industry of the country are member-bodies
of FCCISL and most of them have been promoted and formed by FCCISL.
It is currently planning to set up a few more District Chambers
of Commerce and Industry in places like Baticaloa, Nuwara Eliya,
Kalutara, Vavuniya, and Puttalam. The FCCISL has recognized the importance given to regional development by the new government by establishing separate zonal ministries to overlook the development efforts of various regions, it said. "The establishment of the regional development unit is a parallel and complementary step towards the government's effort of regional development," it said. Top
status for APIIT degree This validation
has been made possible through collaborative efforts of APIIT Lanka,
APIIT Malaysia and the Staffordshire University, U K, complemented
by the quality of academic achievement of the students in the first
and second year examinations. The external examiners in the UK, who check each and every examination paper from Sri Lanka and Malaysia, are particularly impressed by the quality of answers and the presentation style that appears consistently in all the papers. This, of course, has to be attributed to the quality of the staff at APIIT Sri Lanka." |
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