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SriLankan
Airlines to promote MICE tourism According to
the SLCB, the marketing arm of the Tourist Board, the country has
played host to approximately 100 international conferences and meetings.
MICE tourism alone is expected to bring earnings of up to $ 3.77
million for the current year in events originated or assisted by
the SLCB. SriLankan Airlines
has packaged together an array of features ranging from meeting
facilities, convention centres, diverse locations, 'theme meeting'
concepts, special airfares, value added airport and inflight services
towards promoting MICE tourism. The airline
is also stepping up strategies to promote this segment by establishing
a special unit to handle MICE tourism, a dedicated web page, distribution
of special brochures through overseas offices, promotions, etc. Officials of
the SLCB said that India is a potential target market for enhanced
growth and that it has a memorandum of understanding with India's
chamber of commerce which has over 30,000 members to promote the
country. Marketing efforts of SLCB include regular selected joint
presentations to its membership. The SLCB is also a member of an
international conventions association whereby it has access to an
extensive database of potential MICE tourists. Some of the promotions
so far conducted in Hyderabad, Delhi and Mumbai have seen a rise
in this segment of traffic from India with leading corporate companies
and associations making use of the opportunity. Officials also
added that the country is competing with other aggressive Asian
countries in the region such as Malaysia, Macau and Thailand with
a fraction of the advertising budgets of these countries. According to SriLankan Airlines, Asia has been the second largest destination for international meetings during the period 1999-2001. Last year there were over 42,000 foreign arrivals in Sri Lanka on MICE tourism. One of the key upcoming MICE tourism events here is the proposed visit of 200 American CEO's on a golf tour. -(AA) John
Keells concludes Lanka Marine deal On Tuesday
at the office of Treasury Secretary Charitha Ratwatte, agreements
were executed between the government, JKH, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation
(CPC) and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) concluding the deal. The conglomerate
said it was selected as the successful bidder for LMSL following
a competitive bidding process conducted by the government through
the Public Enterprise Reform Commission (PERC) to identify an investor
to purchase and develop LMSL into a world-class supplier of marine
fuels. LMSL, which
was a subsidiary of the CPC, is at present the sole supplier of
marine fuels in Sri Lanka. The company recorded a turnover in excess
of Rs. 3 billion for the year ended 31st March 2002. LMSL, now a
subsidiary of the JKH Group, owns an 8.5- acre facility with a storage
capacity of over 28,000 MT and is connected by pipeline to the Port
of Colombo. It has two barges that operate within the Port of Colombo for delivery of marine fuel to vessels. Rohan
Tudawe appointed chairman at Colombo Land The Colombo
Land and Development Co (CLDC) is the first ever joint venture in
property development between the state [UDA] and the private sector.
The group comprises
three subsidiaries namely Liberty Holdings [Pvt] Ltd. [incorporating
the Liberty Plaza Shopping Mall and the People's Park Complex in
Pettah], Urban Developers [Pvt] Ltd. and Agrispice [Pvt] Ltd. Tudawe is the
CLDC's first non-UDA chairman to be appointed . The new chairman
in addition to being chairman and managing director of Tudawe Brothers
Ltd, functions as a Board Member of the International Federation
of Asian and Western Pacific Contractors' Association [IFAWPCA]
and as a council member of the Chamber of Construction Industry. He has been the past chairman of the National Construction Association of Sri Lanka and has also served as a council member of the Institute of Engineers of Sri Lanka. New
software tool The system,
designed jointly by e-Futures and Mediasolv, provides the NOR with
the ability to monitor and evaluate development projects throughout
the country, the companies said in a joint statement. It can also
create a system of accountability for officials at the national,
provincial and the divisional secretariat (AGA division) level,
and facilitate greater public accountability and awareness of the
progress of the government's key activities as well as better disbursement
of foreign aid. The system
also has an advanced divisional problem identification database,
which provides graphical representation and analysis of problems
and issues. In the second phase of the project, the NOR intends to provide public access to the system through a web site in order to give real-time and up-to-date information on government development projects and programmes. CEAT
rolls into grader and forklift tyre market Branded "CEAT" and "Altura", this range of tyres are for motor graders, payloaders, backho loaders and forklifts, which are used for ground levelling, loading and excavation work, the company announced this week. Asia's
Bill Gates impressed with Lankan skills Murthy, Chairman
and chief mentor of one of India's IT success stories, Infosys Technologies
Ltd of Bangalore, was in Colombo to address the 14th Anniversary
Convention on "Banking in Transition - Issues and Challenges"
organised by the Association of Professional Bankers. He was also
a special invitee at the Trincomalee Industrial fair. Speaking on
"Technology-enabled banks in the e-Age", he identified
increased competition, falling spreads and growing customer expectations
as the key drivers of change in the e-Age. He said these drivers
have given rise to new challenges where customer loyalty is no longer
'a given'. Murthy termed
today's banking needs as "Martini" banking where customers
require to be fully serviced through all delivery channels, anywhere,
anytime. Retail customer needs is moving into a one-stop shop that
can provide personal financial services such as personal loans,
credit cards, insurance, etc; private banking in areas like portfolio
management; and electronic bill presentment and payment services.
Corporates on the other hand are looking for cash management, advisory
services, automated bulk payments, etc. In closing
his address he also laid emphasis on people involvement to drive
the initiatives taken by the bank forward. Murthy told a separate
news conference that the friendliness and interactive skills of
Sri Lankans are qualities that need to be regarded as assets and
observed that Indians "would do well to acquire" them.
The Infosys chairman also praised the quick-decision making practices
he had observed here. Infosys Technologies was established over two decades ago and today is a multi-national with over 10,000 employees and offices in 15 countries. Infosys' reported total revenues of $545 million in the year to March 2002. The success of Infosys has placed Murthy as one of the "25 most influential global executives" of Time magazine. Concerns
and constraints in the spice export trade The decline
of this sector began with the change of policy on land ownership
and estate management in the 1960s. Though several subsidy and other
schemes have been offered to increase growth in this segment, Sri
Lanka has not made use of the full potential in this trade. Singapore is
the largest exporter of value-added spices from Asia, though the
country does not grow any crops. Depending on its geographical location
which is ideally suited for imports from Indonesia, Malaysia and
China, the country re-exports products after adding value to Europe
and North America. Similarly,
Sri Lanka is situated ideally adjacent to India, Pakistan, Nepal
and Bangladesh so that it could access material from those countries
for value-addition together with its own spice crops. The country
is also quite accessible from Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia where
it could access further material to add value to its spice crops,
making it probably the best single location in Asia for value-addition
of spices or other agricultural crops. It seems that
the country does not have any strategies for developing this industry
on a long or short-term basis. All development-oriented incentives
are mostly focused on cushioning small-scale growers for the short
term and not on sustaining this sector on a long-term basis. The growth
of the industry is constrained by the lack of consistency in raw
material supplies and in general policy. Due to this
reason, there is no large scale investment in this sector. For example,
imports of other commodities needed for value-addition or imports
to meet the shortfall in local supplies to fulfil international
commitments have been periodically controlled and changed. This
has affected long-term relations with international buyers and the
country has lost credibility as a reliable quality supply source. Sri Lanka was
once well-known for producing quality spices with high essential
oil yields, which are the main flavoring components. Over the years,
while the quality of Sri Lankan products has dropped, global food
sanitation controls and quality standards have improved significantly. Most local
organisations which are involved in these areas of Quality Control,
Standardisation and Certification, still use parameters which are
totally outdated or they are unaware of the current requirements. Sri Lanka was
a signatory to the GATT Agreement of the World Trade Organisation
where the minimum sanitary levels of all commodities have been specifically
laid down. Most exports from Sri Lanka are below these standards
and will face tremendous pressure once the mandatory dates are in
place and we are unable to meet these norms. No steps have
been taken to educate relevant parties in regard to these matters
and focus all resources to overcome this problem. The current
practice of exporting products of various qualities, e.g. light
pepper berries for the essential oil market, will have an effect
on the long-term progress of Sri Lanka's spice exports. Minimum quality
standards for exports, which though politically unpopular will cater
to the long term interests of the country and help everybody in
the trade, must be put in place urgently. |
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