| Business |
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Dankotuwa Porcelain gets rights at Asian Games Dankotuwa Porcelain, Sri Lanka's largest exporter of porcelain tableware, has been appointed a "Gold Sponsor" and "official porcelain souvenir" franchise holder for the forthcoming Asian Games in Colombo next month. Athletes from
over 44 countries will be taking part in the games. To commemorate
the event, Dankotuwa Porcelain is manufacturing a range of exquisite
porcelain souvenirs in the form of wall plaques, mugs, dinner sets,
and tea sets edged with gold and bearing the official logo of the
games. Dankotuwa's
presence at the Asian Games is in many ways symbolic of its recent
entry into competitive Asian markets. In the past,
the company has focused primarily on traditional US and European
markets where its porcelain dinnerware was sold under reputed names
such as Macy's, Ralph Lauren and Walt Disney. Now for the first time it will be marketing porcelain dinnerware in Asia using the "Dankotuwa" name, a company statement said. Shippers
seek body against unfair practices They describe
the levying of THC as "an anti-competitive practice" by
carriers but the lines themselves say they are merely trying to
recover stevedoring costs incurred at port terminals. "We say
it is anti-competitive because it is a hidden freight charge,"
said Rohan Masakorala, chairman of the Association of Shippers'
Councils of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka (Ascobips).
"We're
not saying don't charge it. If the lines need to recover costs incurred
in port they should build it into the freight rate and give us an
all-inclusive charge to carry a box from one destination to another."
The THC charged
in Colombo - at $115 per TEU - is the highest in the region. The
Ceylon Association of Ship Agents says they are only recovering
part of the $148 in stevedoring costs they incur on each TEU. The
THC in Indian ports varies between $40 and $65 per TEU while in
Pakistan and Bangladesh it is between $60 and $80 per TEU. Sri Lankan
shippers, especially garment exporters, are demanding that the government
amend the Shipping Agency Lines Act of 1972 to prevent lines from
levying charges other than freight. "The garments
industry is the most vulnerable to the THC," said Masakorala,
the former head of the Sri Lanka Shippers' Council. "They
are helpless as overseas buyers nominate the line on which they
must ship their cargo." This was because buyers in the United
States, Sri Lanka's biggest trading partner, tend to place their
orders from Asian manufacturers in bulk and negotiate volume contracts
with shipping lines at big discounts. Another option
suggested by the Sri Lanka Shippers' Council, and the one that's
being pursued, is to strengthen anti-competition and unfair trade
practice laws. Sri Lanka's
Fair Trading Commission (FTC) ruled against the THC, calling it
an anti-competitive practice, in 1998 on a complaint by the Shippers'
Council. But it lacks the power to enforce its decisions. This may
soon change with the Commerce and Consumer Affairs Ministry planning
to introduce laws in August that would give the FTC more teeth.
The proposed
Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading Authority, that will amalgamate
the FTC and the Internal Trade Department would have more power
to regulate prices of goods and services and give better protection
to consumers, is expected to be put to Cabinet this week and be
passed by parliament in early August. Commerce and
Consumer Affairs Minister Ravi Karunanayake has told the Exporters'
Forum the new act would ensure that the THC becomes part of the
freight rate. "We say
strengthen the FTC Act and let the FTC entertain and investigate
complaints and stop such fixed costs coming in through anti-competition
laws," said Masakorala. "We feel
this should apply to the whole region and that there should be an
independent body, like the FMC in the US, to monitor shipping lines'
unfair trade practices." Masakorala
said the THC was making the island's exports uncompetitive and cost
an estimated Rs. 5 billion annually. "The THC
keeps going upwards," he said. "It is meant to protect
uncompetitive lines." The THC has gone up thrice in the last three years while Colombo port charges have actually gone down, he added. 15
pct SLT stake to be sold in October The proposed
Initial Public Offering (IPO) will be the first listing of a telecom
company on the Colombo Stock Exchange. It also would be the largest
ever in terms of value and number of shares, and boost the capitalisation
of the market significantly. "Following
the listing, SLT will be the most valuable company quoted on the
stock exchange in terms of market capitalisation," a company
statement said. It would also
be the most liquid stock in the market as the proposed offering
may exceed 270 million shares. Sri Lanka Telecom
has an annual turnover of over Rs. 22 billion and employs more than
8,000 people. SLT and DFCC Bank, which will manage the IPO, will
launch an overseas marketing campaign targeting foreign institutional
investors, the company said. SLT and NTT
are at present having talks with an international investment bank
that will work in partnership with DFCC Bank in executing any international
offering, the statement said. The stake on offer is part of the government's 61.5 percent shareholding in SLT. Japan's NTT has a 35 percent stake of SLT and management control. Schoolboy
invents coin machine Thushara Jeewantha,
doing his "A" levels at Padukka Sri Piyarathana College,
won a gold medal for inventing an automatic coin calculation machine
at the International inventors Competition held this year in Geneva.
He emerged a winner from participants from 77 countries. "The specialty
of the new coin calculation machine is that unlike other coin calculation
machines in use, it makes sure coins go into separate boxes in the
machine according to their value and displays the value on the calculator,"
Jeewantha explained while demonstrating the machine at the Finance
Ministry auditorium last week before an audience of bankers and
Rural Economic Affairs Minister. Bandula Gunawardena. The machine
is capable of accepting six types of coins that are in circulation
today namely, 25 and 50 cents and 1,2, 5 and 10 rupees, he said. Jeewantha has
produced the coin calculation machine using metals and other gadgets,
which are commonly found, and it cost him only about Rs. 5000. The
young inventor has shown his capability in the past having won several
awards at the Geneva International Inventors' Competition in 2002,
the presidential awards in 1999 and UNESCO National Awards in 2000.
"Though I got the talent of inventing new things I am short
of funds and other facilities so if somebody can come forward and
sponsor me it will be great," he said at the demonstration.
Govt
tells public sector to file accounts on time The public
sector, which is considered to be the custodian of people's money,
needs to be more accountable and transparent in its dealings and
ensure that its funds are used in a productive and meaningful manner,
Minister of Power and Energy, Karu Jayasuriya said last week. ''Today we
have reached the stage where accountability and transparency have
been lost in public enterprises,'' Minister Jayasuriya told at seminar
on ''Improving Governance in the Public Sector'' organised by the
Ministry of Finance. Jayasuriya
asked all heads of public enterprises to submit audited annual accounts
two months after the end of the financial year on December 31. These annual
reports would be tabled in parliament within five months of their
submission by the respective public enterprises with the aim of
ensuring accountability and transparency in the revitalised public
sector, he said. Sri Lanka's public sector, once the role model
of Asia, has now degenerated owing to political interference, inefficiency
and bad governance, he said. The government
was determined to provide the necessary protection and support to
the Auditor General and his auditors and accountants to prevent
any efforts to interfere with their work, he said. In reviving
the economy after its contraction last year, the public sector needs
to play a vibrant role while acting as a catalyst at this crucial
moment, Jayasuriya said. ''Two years
ago, when we were in the opposition, there were some public accounts
that reached the Public Accounts Committee which were more than
12 years old," he said, adding that these ought to have been
sent either to the museum or the national archives. Jayasuriya
also said that due to the inefficiency and mismanagement of public
money, the lowest strata in the society would be badly affected,
as they are the biggest tax-paying segment in the country. However, the
government is finding ways and means of giving managerial and commercial
freedom for the public sector, which is considered to be the essence
of good governance, he said. Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs,
Ravi Karunanayake told the forum that departmental heads were the
best professionals in the public sector. He said that
only three out of 225 public enterprises have submitted their accounts
before parliament so far. Some of the
profitable public entities such as Sri Lanka Telecom, Ceylon Electricity
Board and SriLankan Airlines have incurred losses due to the inefficiency
and bad governance of the previous government, he said. It is not
practical or prudent to privatise these organisations merely for
the sake of privatising public sector bodies without addressing
the basic problems faced by them, Karunanayake said. "In Singapore,
many public sector entities are making profits because of efficient
management and practice of good governance which we need to follow,"
he said. The Finance
Ministry's Additional Director General of Public Finance, V. Kanagasabapathy
said that good governance in public enterprises was woefully lacking
and financial discipline and accountability was in a sorry state. Kanagasabapathy also said that although there were several profitable organisations in 2000, the total losses of 72 public enterprises were a staggering Rs. 16 billion. Some even depend on the Treasury to pay the salaries of their employees, he added. There has been a total collapse in financial discipline, governance and accountability in the public sector, resulting in a serious erosion of public confidence in the system, he said. Countries with good governance, both in the public and private sector, perform better, he said, adding that donor agencies were willing to support countries and institutions which promote good governance. Pakistan
wants more imports from Lanka Pakistan will
give consideration to the items of vital concern to Sri Lanka, mainly
tea and rubber, in the proposed free trade deal between the two
countries, he told the Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka-Pakistan
Business Council on July 10. He said he
was encouraged by the increase in bilateral trade. While the volume
of imports and exports has gone up the trade value in dollar terms
has not been that much, he said. Under the free
trade pact, there are also possibilities of joint ventures between
companies from both countries. "Already
there are about 16 Pakistani companies who have invested in Sri
Lanka, operating individually or as joint ventures," Qureshi
said. Gulam S. Chatoor,
the new president of the Sri Lanka-Pakistan Business Council, said
exports of Ceylon tea to Pakistan fell to Rs. 455 million last year
from Rs. 591 million in 2000 while exports of coconut products have
remained steady at around Rs. 900 million. |
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