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Entrepreneur
of the Year 2001 Awards He said the prime objective of this programme was to honour Sri Lanka's best entrepreneurs. Organising Committee Chairman Tissa Jayaweera said that this annual event recognises overall entrepreneurial skills manifested by corporate achievement in extra large, large, medium, small and micro enterprises at provincial and national level covering all types of business activities. This motivates Sri Lanka's entrepreneurs to optimise their entrepreneurial skills while reaching the highest levels of corporate achievement from the village to the national level. The awards are in five categories: micro with an investment of up to Rs. 50,000: small between Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 200,0000: medium between Rs. 2 million and Rs. 20 million: large from Rs. 20 million to Rs. 50 million and extra large which is over Rs. 50 million. A platinum trophy will be given to the national entrepreneur of the year, while there will be two gold trophies, five silver, ten bronze, 15 merit certificates at national level and nine gold, silver, bronze and merit trophies at the provincial level. ODEL managing director Ms. Otara Chandiram, who was judged entrepreneur of the year 2000 who is also a member of the judging panel said that it was a great honour and encouragement to her business and urged entrepreneurs to participate in the programme. tips to triumph
in trade Dream you may, but if you did not inherit a business and have been doing something other than business all your life, not knowing where to begin is the major stumbling block in your path to entrepreneurship. What you need is, to borrow words of Kipling, to "dream and not make dreams your master." That is, you need to take action to make your dream come true. Easy to say, did I hear you mutter under your breath? Yes. It is easy to say but so very hard to do. Especially when self-doubts raise their ugly heads and ask difficult questions: Do I have what it takes to succeed in the business world? What if I fail? What am I letting myself in for? That is not the end of it. Once you conquer your own devils, there are more practical questions to answer. People keep talking of good business opportunities. How do you find one for yourself? If you find an opportunity, how can you tell if it is a good one? A business requires finance. How can you get money and from where? How much money do you need anyway? And you will have to find a market for your business. How do you do that? How do you find customers? How do you promote your business? Then, there is business planning and cashflows; balance sheets and profit statements. What do you know of all this?
Is that how you feel? Still you want to go into business for yourself? Why not? We admire your spirit. Do not be discouraged. We will be there to guide you. That is the objective of this new column titled "A Business @ Home" We mean to provide articles to help people like you who are dreaming of going into business on their own. Business is a strange country. You have to learn the language of business and it's customs and practices. All you need to be is sharp and alert. You also need to be ready to learn. And once you get started, you will find your way through. So, back to square one, where do we begin? Over the next few weeks we will help you grapple with the following issues: - Are you an
entrepreneur? What does it take to succeed in business? - Finance and
financial statements (for non-accountants). To make this column as interactive as possible, please give me a call on 074-304100 or email your issues and concerns to btimes@wijeya.lk. The writer started her career as an accountant at Burah, Hathy and Company, joined Coopers and Lybrand (now Pricewaterhouse Coopers) as an Accountant and Consultant, and has worked in C&L offices in Colombo and Wellington, New Zealand. She obtained her Masters in Business Administration from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow with specialisations in Strategic Management, Management Consultancy and Organisational Change and Development. She is currently Managing Editor of Athwela Vyaparika Sangarawa(Athwela Business Journal), a Sinhala management monthly targeting small and medium sized business operators. HNB's
spanking new building goes against global trends "The board decided we needed a building. We were going to build it in such a way that it would meet our requirements for the next 20 years.'' Although HNB will not occupy the whole building when it moves in later this year, Wijetilleke says the bank's diversification into new areas - such as insurance and brokering - will create demands for space in the future. But by deciding
to build a new head office, HNB appears to be swimming against a
global trend. Around the world - and especially in western economies
- banks are moving not to build or buy the buildings they occupy,
but to sell them. The strategy is designed to free up capital, provide greater strategic flexibility and allow them to concentrate on their core activity - managing money. HNB's experience demonstrates the dangers of meddling in the construction business. The budget for
the building has blown out by Rs. 500 million to a current cost
of Rs. 4 billion, thanks to the appreciation in the US dollar. Not bucking
trends "But taking the Sri Lanka context, we have still not come to that radical change that is taking place in the western banking environment," he said. "People still continue to come to the banks. If you go to any bank lobby in the morning ... despite the ATM services, despite all the telephone services, there are still people coming into the lobbies of the banks.'' In this environment, he argues that HNB's 23-storey headquarters will add a new dimension to its face-to-face customer service. "Even for servicing the personal relationship, we feel that a fair amount of space - prestigious, good space - is necessary." And with a large neon sign on its roof, the building will give HNB a landmark on the Colombo skyline. "I feel that, especially for Colombo, this [building] would be a good skyline for that part of Colombo. There are a lot of tall buildings in [the Fort] parts of Colombo so in this part it will be very nice. "Even people flying into the airport will be able to look down and they will know this is the best bank in the country. That also matters for us.'' Sampath saga Sampath claimed that by breaching the 30 percent threshold, HNB/Stassen was required under the Takeovers and Mergers Code to make an announcement to the market or make a mandatory offer to Sampath's remaining shareholders. Following an
investigation, the Securities Exchange Commission agreed. "We have
been advised by two or three of the most eminent legal counsel in
this country. They have told us that we have done the right thing,''
Wijetilleke said. But Mr. Wijetilleke
is not concerned. "Although we are not getting any immediate
return I'm happy to tell you the investment has now appreciated,"
he said. But incidents like the Sampath saga have not helped HNB's reputation in the market. There have also been murmurs about it writing off favourable loans for its own shareholders. However, Wijetilleke
dismisses the suggestion. "We have
lent within the permitted parameters. If there is an allegation
that we have done something outside the rules that is certainly
not so.'' As evidence of HNB's strong reputation in the market,
Wijetilleke points to strong growth in deposits, the warm response
of shareholders at the group's recent annual general meeting and
the accolades the bank consistently receives for its annual report. "We have not fared so well [in the first quarter]," he said. "But we certainly have done well with controlling the build-up of the non-performing advances. Fortunately the interest rates have been fairly satisfactory and encouraging so that our cost of funds has not been reflected so badly on our investments. All in all I expect this year to be a good year for us from the point of view of the recent past.'' Wijetilleke is one the leading figures in the Sri Lankan business community, having been at the helm of HNB since 1988. Inevitably, thoughts are now turning to what happens when he leaves. "I have a very strong team of people who are ready to take over after my retirement," he said. "I myself
have trained our people. There is absolutely no problem with succession.'' But one thing
is certain - if he does return to the workforce it will be in the
private sector. "I hope to spend my retirement quietly. There
are no other business plans right now but I'm under pressure from
the government areas and organizations.
Master Divers chairman Ariyaseela Wickremanayake has made a mandatory offer to minority shareholders of Pelwatte Sugar to buy their shares at Rs. 8.25 a share after he acquired a majority stake in the company and triggered provisions in the Take-overs and Mergers Code. Investor Srinath Perera has written to the SEC pointing out that Rule 31 (3) of the Code stipulates that the offer shall not be less than the highest price paid by parties making the offer within the preceding 12 months. Appendix V of the offer document which details Pelwatte shares bought by Wickremanayake between April 29, 2001 and April 29, 2002 indicates that he bought parcels of 4,000 shares, 6,600 shares and 1,400 shares at Rs. 8.50 per share on December 10, 2001, Perera has said. He has asked the SEC to direct Master Divers to raise its bid to Rs. 8.50 from Rs. 8.25 a share. NERD
sets up "manufacturing excellence centre" According to engineer Kumara Perera, Head of Techno Marketing of the NERD Centre, CME will design, manufacture and provide training facilities of international standard in the sphere of die and mould making in order to reach its goal of becoming a centre of excellence for designing and manufacturing precision components. It will undertake high precision die and mould making in selected areas while helping the local die and mould making industry to help produce goods of international standard by providing the necessary technological support. "A recent survey conducted by the Centre indicated that nearly 90 percent of the demand in the country is for high precision, high quality dies and moulds but the leading local die and mould manufacturers are incapable of meeting this demand. They meet only 30 percent of the market needs and we wanted to fill this void," Perera said. Most of the small and medium industries in the trade are unable to tap the high-end market available for die and mould as they are handicapped in their effort to expand the range of products and improve quality due to lack of technical know-how, skilled manpower, modern tools, machines and testing facilities. Our centre provides them with a simple solution. China, Germany, India, Italy, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, UK and USA supply nearly 55 percent of the annual demand for dies and moulds in Sri Lanka at a comparatively higher cost. NERD's CME plans to reduce this high cost involved in importing necessary dies and moulds by manufacturing moulds like high precision multi-injection moulds, extrusion moulds, rubber pressure and injected rubber . oulds, moulds
for glass industry and press tools and other precision components.
"It is a compact city car ideal for working ladies and housewives," said Dr. Lawrence Perera, Chairman of Transmec Holdings Pvt Ltd and an automobile engineer by profession. Transmec is a company that has diversified into areas such as transportation solutions, power generation and e-commerce. The MICRO has a modern and futuristic look which would be enticing especially to the younger generation. It has a spacious interior and the easily repairable body offers good crash protection. The car costs around Rs. 350,000 and therefore is quite affordable and economical especially for a family earning an average income. "We could call it the Peoples' Car," Perera said proudly. "We have already received some orders," he said. The customers are also provided with the option of choosing the combination of colours they prefer. The company
plans to invest a total of Rs 600 million in a manufacturing plant
at Mathugama. It would employ 700 people and manufacture 600 cars
a month. The MICRO is an aerodynamically designed, ultra-light modern city car, with seating for five and a simple yet technologically advanced resin transfer moulding composite body. It is lightweight and easy to repair, he said. Describing some
of the technical aspects of the vehicle, he said that presently
the car works on automatic gears and has a rear-wheel drive while
dual-fuel consumption is also possible. "The environmentally
friendly engine, which is of Italian origin, is also suitable for
unleaded fuel and has an excellent fuel consumption." The best
fuel consumption is 22 km per litre, he added. "We hired foreign expertise from UK, Italy and Malaysia for this purpose and our team has worked hard to come up with the best solution. We have sometimes worked 16 hours a day to complete this project." Certain components required for manufacturing the car have been imported, he added. The company would have island-wide distributors for spare parts. The first deliveries of the car are expected towards end-2004. |
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