Flour
crisis triggers row between minister, Prima
By
Hiran Senewiratne
A government minister has threatened to allow cooperatives
and the private trade to import duty free flour if a flour shortage
triggered by Prima Ceylon Ltd is allowed to happen once again.
"The government
will allow cooperatives and others to import flour without the compulsory
10 percent duty if these shortages are created again," said
Cooperatives Minister A.R.M. Abdul Cader.
An acute shortage
of flour across the country two weeks ago sparked a major row between
Cader and Prima amid accusations that the recently-privatised flour
producer was manipulating the market to maintain its monopoly position.
"Prima
is bluffing. They are trying to keep the monopoly in their hand,"
Cader told The Sunday Times Business, a week after the shortage
eased and stocks started appearing in the market.
He said this
is the second time Prima created an artificial flour shortage. While
the flour stocks are getting back to normal, some cooperatives are
still experiencing a shortage, officials said.
Cader said
Prima should give first preference to local co-operatives in the
distribution process.
However, Prima
General Manager Lin Hsin Hui dismissed the allegations saying his
company had to slow down production for three weeks for annual maintenance
purposes.
He maintained
that repeated public announcements by the minister of a shortage
aggravated the situation. Hui said Prima had advised all dealers
to maintain two weeks buffer stocks due to the maintenance issue
so that there would be a free flow of flour in the market.
"This
time many co-operatives and agents failed to maintain a buffer stock
resulting in the crisis."
Parakrama Dassanayake,
President of the Bakers' Association, said the shortage created
problems for bakeries. He said credit problems for co-operatives
and dealers resulted in buffer stocks not being maintained.
NDB
1st half profit up 63 pct to Rs. 543m
The NDB Group reported a 63 percent rise in its first half
profit after tax to Rs. 543 million compared with Rs. 334 million
in the same period last year.
The bank said
its provision for credit losses rose 82 percent to Rs. 149 million
in the six months ended June 30 compared with the first six months
of the last financial year. Provisions were made in excess of Central
Bank minimum requirements, a bank statement said.
Provision for
the fall in the value of dealing and investment securities was up
138 percent to Rs. 13 million, over the same period, the bank statement
said.
"In a
difficult operating environment, with interest rates declining and
business activity subdued, the bank was able to maintain its level
of net interest income through focused treasury management,"
it said.
Nexus
goes hi-tech, offers new products
The Nexus Network's annual get-together
was recently held at the Keells Hall, Glennie Street, with the loyalty
programme's achievements being presented to the gathering.
The highlight
of this evening was the launch of three new products using advanced
technology and promotions with the main focus of adding value to
the Nexus cardholders and assisting the network establishments,
a John Keells group statement said.
The products
are the Nexus Points Inquiry which enables Nexus card holders to
check their personal Nexus account of collected points by visiting
the Nexus web site (www.mynexuscard.com), the CRM (Data warehousing)
which gives an opportunity to network establishments to understand
the customer purchase patterns and Nexgift (a target promotion for
Nexus cardholders) offering two more benefits in addition to Nexus
Points!
This special
programme will enable the customer, within a period of one year
(August - July 2003) to shop at 10 different establishments and
collect more rewards. The unique programme is designed to track
the customers' purchases at these outlets and then inform them via
email or SMS prior to achieving the target and immediately after
achieving the target.
Global
leadership centre launches regional office
The Centre
For Global Leadership Inc (CGLI), one of the few organisations in
the world focused on developing leaders and managers in the private
and public sector, recently launched its South Asian regional office
in Sri Lanka at Guildford Crescent, Colombo.
According to
CGLI South Asian Region President Gerard Muthukumara, the main objective
of the centre is to provide ongoing consulting, training and executive
education services to front and middle level managers in both sectors.
He said Sri Lanka needs good leaders and should be globally competitive
to improve its overseas image.
The regional
office in Colombo will be run by an advisory board consisting of
dignitaries which include Alfie David a former Sri Lankan ambassador
while the regional co-ordinators are trade counsellor H. Stephan
and International counsellor Jagath Shah.
CGLI is planning
a regional conference for policy makers, decision makers, senior
managers and potential investors on October 10 and 11 with the main
speaker being Prof. S. Erevelles of the University of California.
CGLI was established
three years ago in USA with a presence in North America, Latin America,
Middle East, South and South East Asia.
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