Financial Times

Thilanga unlikely to attend SLT AGM

By Lenin Amarawickrama
Thilanga Sumathipala, the controversial chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) now in remand over an alleged immigration offence, won't be chairing SLT's annual general meeting on May 28.

But many in Colombo's business circles wonder whether he would address the company's 7th AGM at the Taj Samudra Hotel through a video facility - from his hospital bed.

The directors are also likely to face questions from SLT's 25,000-plus shareholders as to the status of their chairman.

When The Sunday Times FT asked who would preside at the meeting, a company spokesperson said the chairman will preside but later she corrected herself saying that one of the directors will chair the session. Sumathipala, in remand custody for the past four months on accusations of helping a convict obtain a bogus passport, is undergoing medical treatment at the Merchants ward of the Colombo General Hospital.

Since then the former Sri Lanka Cricket chairman has been regularly joining company board meetings through video/teleconferencing facilities. He is also reportedly instructing his junior officials on matters pertaining to the company by mobile phone.

This may not be the first time a company chairman is conducting business behind bars. A top business analyst, asked whether there have been similar examples overseas, said there should be many other instances. "Shareholders are not concerned about ethics. Studies have shown - as the Enron case proved - that as long as there is a bull run in the stock market, as long as companies do well and share prices are good, stockholders are not bothered about ethics or governance or where their chairman is," he said, in response to whether this is an ethical issue.

Another top commercial lawyer said he believed Sumathipala's actions were legal as the Prison's Ordinance has provision for those in remand custody to conduct their business.

However a senior prisons official said permission to do so must be granted by the relevant magistrate for the use of facilities like vide/teleconferencing or mobile phones. He said that remand prisoners, granted permission by a judge, could also sign cheques in the presence of a jailer.

A senior attorney at the Attorney's General's Department said - as far as he is aware - Sumathipala hasn't got special permission from Court to conduct business activities while in remand.

In a two-page statement in SLT's latest annual report, Sumathipala told shareholders that to maintain the economic momentum, it is vital that the country doesn't return to war.

On future plans, the SLT chairman said the company is undertaking an overhaul of its marketing and sales strategies aimed at projecting an enhanced SLT brand.

Back to Business