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Central Bank accused of sneaking in amendments By Quintus
Perera The accusation
was made by M.A. Sumanthiran, Attorney-at-Law for some of the petitioners
in the Court of Appeal case challenging the decision of the Central
Bank to liquidate Pramuka Bank. The case was taken up last Thursday
and will resume next Thursday. When the case
came up before Appeal Court Judge K. Sripavan, Sumanthiran, said
citizens did not get an opportunity to challenge the Monetary Law
(Amendment) Act No. 32 of 2002, as provided for to the public under
Article 121 of the Constitution "due to the deceitful manner
in which the respondents got certain provisions in it passed in
Parliament." He alleged
that this new section had been smuggled into the existing law without
having it published in the Government Gazette as required by the
Constitution. "This controversial provision had been smuggled
in at the Committee Stage without any notice to the public to challenge
it," he told court. The new amendment was meant to clear a
lacuna in the Banking Act which does not provide for the cancellation
of licences of specialised banks. Sumanthiran said although the validity of this provision may not be challenged in the present proceedings, the utilization of this provision for that very act which made it ad hominem, at least should be disallowed and that "act quashed by certiorari." The lawyer told
court that it was strange that the Monetary Board refused to take
any steps against Pramuka Bank despite the information it had for
two-and-a-half years. Just one month before the cancellation of
the business and two months after the last "cease and desist"
order, it even invited the public to deposit funds in Pramuka Bank. Viran Corea,
a lawyer appearing for another group of petitioners in a similar
case, said there was ample evidence that the Central Bank Governor,
A.S. Jayawardene, Deputy Governor M. Nagahawatte and Ms. P.P. Sirisena,
Director Bank Supervision had resorted to actions in a way that
suggested a high level of corruption. Despite the
fact that their own Central Bank Supervision Report as far back
as 1999 and the other in 2001 which showed serious fraud and irregularities
by Rohan Perera (former managing director) and some members of the
senior management the Governor and the Deputy Governor had failed
to take any steps as required under the Banking Act. Counsel submitted
that now when things have gone out of control they were trying to
liquidate Pramuka because that was the only way they could hide
their failure to do their duty. That was because if another suitable institution was allowed to take over and run Pramuka Bank there would be a likelihood that the corruption of the respondents would be exposed. Saleem Marsoof, P.C. Additional Solicitor General, appearing for the Monetary Board asked for time to furnish some documentary evidence favouring his client. Sri Lanka Insurance Corp increases underwriting ome Sri Lanka Insurance
Corp (SLIC), which is being privatised, reported an increase in
underwriting income last year but a fall in net profit, according
to provisional figures. Net profit
fell to Rs. 753.2 million, after making a provision of Rs. 350 million
for taxation, from Rs. 1.1 billion in 2001 Perera said
SLIC, which has more than 40 percent of the general insurance market
and 35 percent of the life insurance market, had a "reasonably
good year". "The total
underwriting profits on all classes of business amounted to Rs.
99.6 million. Considering the severe challenges faced by the industry
globally as well as locally, this achievement is significant,"
Perera told a press conference. Despite the
unfavourable terms offered by the re-insurers following the Tamil
Tiger terrorist attack on the Katunayake international airport and
in the U.S. in 2001, SLIC continued its policy of re-insuring high
risks with reputed overseas re-insurers, he said. "As a
result, a major portion of the higher income had to be ceded abroad
resulting in a total outflow of Rs. 2.03 billion compared to Rs.
1.3 billion in the year 2001," he said. The government plans to sell a 90 percent stake in SLIC next month and is evaluating bids from three groups, namely Aitken Spence together with Distilleries Co, DFCC Bank together with Commercial Bank and Janashakthi Insurance.
SLT to submit fresh tariff hike proposal By Akhry
Ameer Officials from
the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL)
confirmed that SLT had sought permission to make a fresh proposal
and that the request has been granted. SLT sources
said the fresh proposal would be much more beneficial to its subscribers,
than its previous proposal. Meanwhile SLT's plans to provide an
"always on" fixed fee broadband Internet access is expected
to be launched in April, after the TRCSL announced it had approved
the tariff application. Asymmetrical
Digital Subscriber Lines (ADSL) would initially be launched to subscribers
connected to the Colombo Central, Slave Island, Maradana, Kollupitiya,
Havelock Town, Kotte, Nugegoda and Ratmalana exchanges. The faster
access to the Internet backbone would allow for downloading speeds
of 2Mbps (Megabytes per second) and a 512Kpbs (Kilobyte per second)
uploading speed. The service will be based on a monthly rental charge and will not have any usage charges. The rates for the service are expected to range between Rs. 2,500 and Rs. 6,000 based on the broadband capacity. Hedeki investors plead for lost cash! The determined fight by a group of Pramuka depositors to revive the bank and protect deposits has revived hopes for many others who are clinging on to a slender prospect of recovering money invested in previously failed finance companies! In a letter to this newspaper (and in the hope that it would prompt the Central Bank to act), D.S. Jayasuriya, Secretary of the Association of Depositors of Hedeki Finance and Investment, says that depositors are still waiting for their money after this finance company crashed and was taken over by the Central Bank in 1988. He says a tiny
sum was paid as relief in 1990 and 1999 but a major share from each
deposit was held back. "This crisis has caused a lot of mental
anguish for depositors, a few of whom have already fallen into the
river of no return leaving behind their hard-earned money." Jayasuriya,
echoing a commonly held public view when it comes to punishment
against errant directors, says no action was taken against directors
of this finance company despite laws that clearly provide for heavy
fines or penalties against those who violate Central Bank rules.
Some of these directors are still around operating (other) thriving
companies, he said. Most of the
depositors of Hideki Finance belong to the hand-to-mouth existing
class of people who have toiled hard and invested their EPF and
pension monies with no other income to depend upon. "Even at
this late stage, we appeal to the Central Bank to return the balance
money to depositors," he said adding that the conduct of the
country's main banking regulator left much to be desired by its
inaction against directors. Jayasuriya said that if the Central Bank has a court order against the building (or any asset of Hedeki Finance Ltd) it is time that a forced sale is done and the proceeds given to depositors. Central Bank authorities have in recent times issued warnings to the public against investing in non-registered financial institutions and said in such cases the public would be investing at their own risk. Internet shopping boost to busy Sri Lankans Internet shopping
service, www.shop.lk which was launched recently in Sri Lanka, has
proved to be popular with a large number of busy Sri Lankans, company
officials said. This new website
allows anyone with Internet access to buy a variety of products
on-line and have them delivered to almost any home or office in
Sri Lanka - completely hassle free and with no human interaction
required whatsoever. This online shopping service, designed on the lines of leading international Internet shopping services, was introduced to the Sri Lankan market during the last Christmas season.Many locals have taken advantage of the ease and comfort of ordering merchandise from their own computers. They feel safe with the knowledge that transaction security is guaranteed by the use of an HSBC payment gateway and delivery is undertaken by Federal Express, the officials said. Lanka Bell introduces online stock tracker Lanka Bell recently
introduced BellStock Tracker to all its BellNet Internet Customers.
This innovative service which is linked to the Colombo Stock Exchange
and offers real time trading information. BellStock Tracker was
launched following the heightened interest shown by the general
public in stock trading, as reflected in the three recent IPOs,
the company said. In addition
to real time updates on transactions, BellStock Tracker also provides
users with company snapshots, refresh based market watch which includes
bids, offers, volumes and trades on all securities listed on the
Colombo Stock Exchange as well as the Market Box real time summary
on all market indices. A spokesperson for Lanka Bell speaking with regard to this new service, said that this service is already very popular among many BellNet users, and is one of the many value additions lined up for their subscribers. This service was made possible through a partnership between Lanka Bell and Lanka On Line.
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