Prima here during good and bad times -Ranil

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is shown a crystal replica of the Prima flour mill at Trincomalee by PCL Chairman Primus Chen at the 25th anniversary commemoration ceremony. (Pic. by Ranjith Perera)

Prima's entry into Sri Lanka way back in 1977 heralded the first major foreign direct investment in South Asia, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said. "Prima has been with us during good times as well as bad times," he said at the 25th anniversary celebrations of Prima Ceylon Ltd (PCL) held recently.

Addressing corporate leaders, dealers and business partners of PCL as well as a top delegation from Singapore led by State Minister of Defense Cedrik Foo, the premier said that any other investor would have pulled out of Sri Lanka given the kind of uncertainty it has gone through (due to the conflict).

"Sri Lanka must thank Prima for staying and weathering the stormy period."
Prima's mill in Sri Lanka is the largest flour mill in the world and a symbol in the region. The company began with an initial investment of $ 61 million and has now invested a total of $ 231 million, being the biggest foreign investment in Sri Lanka.
Prima Chairman Premus Chen said that with the dawn of peace in the country, Sri Lanka is going to be a very conducive place for investment.

However, he said Sri Lanka has a few challenges like reducing costs, taxes, improving infrastructure, etc. to ensure greater interest as an investment destination

US$ cheques to be cleared faster
US dollar cheques and drafts will be cleared faster with the launch last week of a new clearing system operated by Lanka Clear (Pvt) Ltd, whose shareholders are the Central Bank and commercial banks.

The system has not only increased the efficiency of cheque clearing but made it more cost-effective as well. Depositors can now avoid foreign bank handling charges that range from $5-25 per cheque or draft. A US dollar cheque drawn on a local bank will now be cleared and the funds made available in four days under the new system, compared with a minimum of two weeks or more earlier.

The system handles US dollar cheques and drafts issued by commercial banks in Sri Lanka payable to Sri Lankan individuals and US dollar cheques and drafts issued by banks or exchange houses abroad drawn on commercial banks here.

The time to clear a rupee cheque, which is about 3-7 days, has also been cut down by six hours. Around 160,000 cheques are sent for clearance daily with a peak of around 200,000 on Mondays under the previous system.

"We envisage there will be at least 500 to 1,000 cheques per day under the US dollar clearing. But it can improve further with the relaxation of exchange control regulations," said R.B. Ekanayake, Chairman of Lanka Clear (Pvt) Ltd.

"At the moment each bank will take its own settlement risk. That is why a four-day realisation period is necessary. In the case of somebody defaulting you have time to take it out of the clearing and settle it."

All commercial banks in Sri Lanka that are members of the Clearing House are eligible to be a participating bank in the US dollar clearing system. However, only 14 banks have joined so far.

The new system cannot yet clear other currencies and instruments owing to the comparative lack of volume. "The whole idea is to make a start and get used to the system. Expanding it or developing it further will be much easier," said Parama Dharmawardene, Deputy General Manager of Sampath Bank which has been appointed the Settlement Bank for the US Dollar clearing system for the first year. (RC)

Local travel agents honoured
Ten of the country's leading travel agencies were honoured by Galileo, one of the world's most widely used Global Distribution Systems (GDS) for airline reservations, ticketing and other travel products, at the second Galileo Awards in Sri Lanka recently. The Awards of Excellence recognise the efforts and progress made by travel agencies in servicing their clientele by using the sophisticated and innovative 'point-and-click' products developed and marketed by Galileo.

Gold, silver and bronze awards of excellence for 2001 were won by Hemas Travels, NCar Travels and Mackinnons Travels. The other award winners for the year were Travel World, Gabo Travels, George Steuarts Travel International, Atlas Lanka, Classic Travel, The Traveller Global and American Express Travel Related Services.

Lanka Bell's operating profits up
Lanka Bell, which recently launched its Internet Service, 'BellNet' announced a 37 percent increase in gross revenues and an increase of 36 percent in net revenues during the first five months of the current fiscal year.

A company statement attributed this to the re-structuring of Lanka Bell's Sales, Marketing and Customer Service Departments at the beginning of this fiscal year, in order to increase the focus on its target market and position itself as the most effective telecommunications niche player.

"This move, coupled with effective cost management practices has resulted in an increase in the company's operating profits by 45 percent during this period."
The first and only Wireless Local Loop operator to launch its service in Jaffna via its Satellite Solution "BellSat", Lanka Bell has now evolved into a fully fledged communications solutions provider with its Voice, Dedicated Data, Broadband, Internet and Pre-Paid services.

Lanka Bell Managing Director Joey V. Mendoza said the increase in revenue which in turn has consolidated the company's cash reserves will enable the company to make bigger investments in its network infrastructure and result in the introduction of new telecommunication services to the Sri Lankan market.

Netherlands, Hungary delegation meets Lankan exporters
An eight-member trade delegation from the Netherlands and Hungary organised by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Trade Promotion Office (SLTPO), met representatives of 25 Sri Lankan companies recently.

The delegation was organised by the EDB to visit the Intrad 2002 Export Exhibition and Investor Forum in early September and to meet the Sri Lankan exporters. The buyers were mainly interested in functional design products (rubber and plastic), health and beauty care products, natural organic health products and ayurvedic products, fashion garments and leather garments, coir carpets, textiles, ceramics, gift items, furniture and coconut shell products.

One to one-business meetings were arranged by the EDB for the delegation with Sri Lankan exporters and manufacturers.

Sprinkler irrigation system to onion farmers
By Sinniah Gurunathan from Trincomalee
The sprinkler irrigation system introduced among the onion cultivators in Nilaveli in the Trincomalee district by the Hatton National Bank (HNB) in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Brown and Company Ltd has proved a success in doubling the yield per acre from 10 to 20 cwt, HNB Trincomalee Manager A.V. Beeadle said.

In addition to the beautiful beaches in Nilaveli that attract thousands of local and foreign tourists the region's soil is highly fertile for onion cultivation. Onion cultivators at present adopt traditional irrigation methods by pumping water from the well for their onion crops through small channels.

This method reduces the space to cultivate onions. Benefits derived from the sprinkler irrigation system introduced from this season are maximum utilisation of cultivable land, reducing the cost of irrigation and manual weeding, less pests and diseases, minimises the wastage of fertilizer and agro-chemical by seepage, minimising the pollution of ground water and minimum utilisation of ground water, agricultural sources said.

Beeadle said there is a big demand for the sprinkler irrigation system among farmers. "Due to the peaceful environment prevailing now Colombo-based private companies have come forward to market their sprinkler irrigation system at a competitive price among the farmers in Nilaveli," he said.

The HNB, pioneers in financing Nilaveli farmers for the past 20 years which includes the conflict period, now plans to offer financial aid to these farmers to cultivate onions in more than 100 acres during the next season in January 2003. Farmers are also planning to grow other crops such as brinjal, cabbage, beetroot and carrot during the next season under the sprinkler irrigation system.

Seminar on FTA
The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce is organising a seminar on the proposed Sri Lanka-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on October 10 at the chamber auditorium to discuss the products and the concessions proposed under the agreement.

The presenters and panelists are from the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, the Sri Lanka Tea Board, National Planning Department, Sri Lanka Export Development Board and product leaders from the business community.

Referring to the FTA, the chamber said the latest strategy in finding new markets and expanding exports is to enter into bilateral agreements to exchange tariff concessions for those products which could be liberated.

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