Hayleys PLC has appointed Ruwan Waidyaratne as Managing Director of Hayleys Advantis Ltd., encompassing group companies in transportation and cargo logistics, from April 1 succeeding M. O. Raban who retired.
A former Chairman of the Sri Lanka Freight Forwarders Association (SLFFA) Mr. Waidyaratne joined Hayleys Advantis in 1985 and was appointed Director to one of its subsidiaries in 1996.
He has served as a Director of Hayleys Advantis since July 2002, and was appointed its Deputy Managing Director in January 2010.
“The Transportation sector has been a consistent and important contributor to the revenue and profit of Hayleys, and Ruwan has been a key member of the Hayleys Advantis team for more than two decades,” Hayleys Chairman Mohan Pandithage said in a statement announcing the new appointment. “His in-depth knowledge of the business will be most valuable to the Group, to the GMC and to the future plans of Hayleys.”
GSP+ withdrawal doesn’t hurt garment exports as seen by Jan. figures
Earnings from exports in January 2011 grew by 72.4 % year-on-year, to $813 million led by significant increases in exports of textile and garments – from Europe despite the withdrawal of GSP+ concessions - and rubber products.
In comparison to January 2008, exports have increased by 47.3 %. Expenditure on imports increased by 21.3 % to $1,501 million in January 2011, mainly due to increases in imports of motor vehicles, electrical equipment and transport equipment. Accordingly, the trade deficit in January 2011 contracted by 10.2 %, year-on-year, to $688 million, the Central Bank said last week.
The largest contribution to the growth in exports in January was from the industrial sector, reflecting increases in all major categories of industrial exports.
Continuing the increasing trend observed since the withdrawal of the GSP+ scheme in August 2010, earnings from textile and garments exports increased by 121.9 % to $385 million in January 2011, reflecting a 143.5 % increase to the EU and 95.8 % increase to the US. Exports of rubber products increased by 118.7 %t, year-on-year, reflecting higher levels of domestic value addition, particularly in the form of solid tyres and rubber gloves. Other key categories of industrial exports such as food, beverages and tobacco, machinery and equipment and petroleum based products also performed well in January 2011, the Bank said.
Earnings from agricultural exports grew by 28.9 % recording a healthy growth in all major sub sectors mainly due to higher prices. The average export prices of tea and rubber remained high at %4.79 per kg and $4.89 per kg, respectively. However, rubber export volumes declined mainly due to tightened supply as well as the increased demand from the domestic industries for the manufacture of rubber based products.
Expenditure on imports of intermediate goods increased by 15.7 % in January. The average import price of crude oil increased by 22.6 % to $95.33 per barrel in January though import volume declined. Imports of textiles increased by 55.2 % in January, indicating a better outlook for the garment industry.
Expenditure on fertilizer imports also increased in January mainly due to higher import volumes. Expenditure on imports of consumer goods increased significantly in January led by non-food consumer goods, particularly, motor vehicles and electrical equipment. Import expenditure on food and drink also increased with the upward trend in food prices of sugar, wheat grain and milk products in the international market.
The Bank said that workers’ remittances in January rose by 20.1 % to $377 million over that of 2010. The gross official reserves continued to remain above the targeted level and stood at $6.7 billion by end February 2011.
Aitken Spence estate declared ‘Best Child Development Centre’
Gulugahakanda Estate managed by Aitken Spence Plantation Managements Ltd. won the title of ‘All Island Best Child Development Centre’ for ‘Outstanding Achievements in Quality Services in Child Development Centres’ for the year 2010.
The competition was organized by the Plantation Human Development Trust (PHDT) and the finals were held at the Gulugahkanda estate on March 19 with the annual competition attracting 437 participants from across Sri Lanka, the company said in a statement
When choosing the winner the decision of the PHDT was based on areas such as the activities children were involved in, pre-school education the children received and the quality of Child Development Centre records maintained. At present the Child Development Centre at Gulagahakanda Estate has 27 children below the age of 5 under their care. All activities done at the crèche are in line with the National Early Childhood Development Guidelines and are frequently monitored by PHDT, the company said.
“The management of Gulagahakanda Estate encourages estate worker’s children to attend the Child Development Centre. The estate workers themselves have a very high sense of confidence in the Gulugahakanda Estate Management and its Child Development Officer. We have been monitoring their child care activities in which they maintain very high standards. They are winners of this category because of their sheer commitment towards community development,” said Lal Perera Regional Director of PHDT.
Amana Takaful’s technical awareness session for customers
Amana Takaful, as part of its continuing efforts to provide a redefinition of service and also bring about a participatory relationship, recently hosted some of its key clients for a technical awareness session on the value of insurance and how best to assess their risks.
“We want to educate our clients on the principles of insurance and also ensure that they insure correctly. We have found that clients tend to pay more than what they should be and also at times, not know what they are truly covered for,” said Adel Hashim, General Manager Sales and Marketing, Amana Takaful PLC, in a statement issued by the company.
Clients were taken through the various documentations involved in covering risks and delved into the complexities of non-notor insurance. Opportunity was given to clarify concerns on policy conditions and clauses on a one-to-one basis with the technical experts.
“Unlike motor insurance, non-motor insurance covers a vast area and many are unaware of the property to be insured and the types of risks a business is exposed to. Insurance is a complex product and you have to be sure that you are covered adequately enough not to be taken by surprise in the event of a claim. As such, we wanted to educate our customers so that our relationship is enhanced through partnership and mutual gain,” noted Kester Amarasinhe, Head of Technical – General Underwriting.
Birth on board
SriLankan flight
A baby boy was born on board Sri Lankan Airlines’ flight number UL 266 from Riyadh to Colombo on March 31 and the crew on board assisted in the delivery on board the aircraft, the airline said.
SriLankan’s Head of Service Delivery G.T. Jeyaseelan said he was ‘pleased’ that the cabin crew handled the situation perfectly despite the extraordinary circumstances. “There was no disruption to the flight which arrived in Colombo on schedule, and most of the 310 passengers were unaware of what had taken place until shortly before landing,” he said in a statement.
SriLankan cabin crew took charge of the child and its mother who was in shock, and prepared bedding for her in the cabin to make her comfortable. They were joined by another passenger, a midwife from Canada, whose experience was invaluable, the statement added.
Manager In-flight Service Delivery Rashmore Ferdinands said: “Our cabin crew is renowned for their professionalism, as well as their caring, warmth, and friendliness. They bathed the new born baby and kept him warm in infants clothing from other passengers travelling with infants, and took care of the mother perfectly as well.”
When the aircraft touched down at Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport, it was met by a full medical crew who whisked mother and baby off to hospital.
SriLankan Air Taxi begins flights to Nuwara Eliya
SriLankan Airlines air taxi service launched their operations to Nuwara Eliya last week with a team of distinguished passengers on board their first charter flight to the destination. The flight which takes just 30 minutes to reach Nuwara Eliya from Colombo and flies over some of the most breathtakingly beautiful landscapes of the hill country carried a team from the Swire Group in Hong Kong and their partners James Finlay Group in Colombo. The team from Hong Kong joined their colleagues in Colombo to visit James Finlay estates in Nuwara Eliya. The passengers included Guy Bradley, CEO Swire Properties; James Hughes-Hallett, Chairman Swire Group and former Chairman Cathay Pacific Airlines; Naresh Ratwatte, Chairman Finlay Tea Estates and Dhayan Madawala, CEO Finlay Tea Estates.
Illiquid stocks call the shots at the Colombo bourse
Stockmarket Review
By Elton Ebert
A basket of illiquid stocks was in orbit on Thursday, creating an element of excitement at the Colombo bourse.
Singalanka caved in from its peak of Rs.4090 to Rs 2121. Kalamazoo was traded at Rs 2430 while Hunters was at Rs 2075. Lanka Ashok which has been trading at varying levels ended the week at Rs.3350 while Cold Stores moved up to Rs 820.
Colombo Pharmacy however was further on the upside. Another strategic move was effected by Royal Ceramics (RCL) when it bought over EverPaint & Chemical Industries which was retailing ‘Colorbrite’ products. It may be part of the diversification plan of the new board. Many are wondering:
What would be Dhammika Perera-controlled RCL’s next move? In the hotels sector, Emagewise was successful in increasing its stake in Citrus Leisure to 35% on Wednesday with purchases close to three million shares. The warrants were also traded in substantial quantities. Sierra Cables, Piramal Glass, PC House and Vallibel Power were also keenly supported. There may be increased activity by the retail segment because of the long spell of holidays with the markets closed after Monday and Tuesday (April 11/12) and re-opening on Monday, April 18.
Price bands: The price bands on Pelwatte Sugar and Guardian Capital Partners were removed on Friday
Directors: Dr Indrajit Coomaraswamy was appointed a Non-Executive Independent Director at Tokyo Cement Co; Sanjeev Rajaratnam was appointed a Non Executive Director at Lankem Developments while Mahinda Saranapala was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Kelani Cables.
The All Share Price Index closed at 7413.87, 36.65 or .04% better than last week, while the Milanka was just three points lower than last week closing at 7021.22. The turnover was Rs 8 billion was slightly lower than last week’s figure of Rs 9 billion.
Getting air space policy right vital : CA
By Sunimalee Dias
Sri Lanka’s aviation industry requires the right policy in place with open skies, new regulations and efficiency in a bid to catch up on regional business without losing it.
“If aviation policy is not right there won’t be space for others to come in,” Civil Aviation Director General H.M.C. Nimalsiri said. He was speaking on the topic of “Air Services and Regulatory Development” organized by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in Colombo this week.
He explained that today with airlines competing on frequencies there was a need to give into such requests without which it may not be possible for these to cater to the requirements expected by the country. In addition to bringing in new regulations an open skies policy is also required, Mr. Nimalsiri asserted.
Currently there are 62 Aviation Services Agreements (ASA) signed with Sri Lanka with only six operating under the open skies policy namely Kuwait, Malaysia, Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand and the US.
It was pointed out that the government should give necessary freedom to airlines to operate to Colombo without controlling their frequencies, fares or rates, code shares with airlines without which it was not possible to exist in the air.
The Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) is set to add two parallel runways in a bid to cut on fuel and become more competitive.
Further, a boost to regulations are set to come up with Colombo looking at ratifying the Montreal Convention that will ensure airlines will avoid passenger liability negligence.
In addition, they will also be ratifying the Cape Town Convention on the use of mobile equipment and safeguard the interest of all parties in the aircraft.
Plans are also underway to bring in additional consumer protection laws within the aviation sector, the Director General stated.
Meanwhile with South India today increasing its airport connections it was observed, “If we lose business now creating it later would be too late, like the Malaysia airport.”
South India Today has four international airports coming up very fast in Bangalore and Hyderabad.
Passenger performance that was gradually declining until 2009 is now picking up and is likely to exceed 6.5 million this year. At present, the BIA is capable of handling only 6.5 million passengers.
The BIA is currently looking for investors to set up a multi storey car park and an airport hotel at the airport, Airport and Aviation Services official Johanne Jayaratne said speaking on the subject of “Airport Development”.
He noted that the building housing SriLankan Catering will be converted to a passenger terminal.
At present, the airport boasts of 24 star class rooms with required facilities at the BIA’s Terminal Transit Hotel while an airport taxi service will also be in place by the end of this year.
Further, the Duty Free area will have increased variety with refurbishments and re-doing of the layout to be carried out while 8000 sq. ft. will be added to the existing area.
A proposed tax-free shopping arcade is also to be set up while the runway will be increased to 75 metres in width to accommodate any possible A380 flights.
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