Macro economic indicators keep foreign investors away

By Dinali Goonewardene

The Colombo bourse notched a Rs. 81 mn turnover last Monday, despite trading being limited to an hour as the wide area network linking brokers to the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) failed, disconnecting five brokers.

The five brokers were later asked to operate from the CSE back up site.

The highs of Monday were on account of 7.3 mn shares of Asian Hotels traded at Rs 6.25.

However, the link failed again on Tuesday and Thursday and trading was restricted to one hour and an hour and forty five minutes respectively.

The stock market contains a high quantum of value at present. "Net asset value is high although profit growth is poor," Head of research CT Smith's stockbrokers, Rajiv Casie Chitty said.

Companies have shown resilience and are doing well, despite the ethnic conflict and Asian crisis. We believe valuations are cheap at present, analysts attached to Forbes ABN Amro said.

Analysts predicted, the first quarter results coming out will not be impressive.

GDP and corporate earnings are expected to drop due to the economy slowing down and the down turn in the tea industry, Head of research John Keels Nanda Nair, said.

First quarter results are believed to have been factored into the prevailing share prices.

However, second and third quarter results are expected to improve.

The tourism industry has seen a high occupancy during the winter season and is expected to perform well, Mr. Casie Chitty said.

Plantations will fare badly, while banks are not expected to have much growth owing to the downturn in the economy and resultant crunch in demand for credit.

Newcomers to the banking industry, The Nations Trust Bank commenced trading last Monday at Rs. 17 per share and has now settled at Rs. 14.25.

Activity levels in the market remain low and are not indicative of any particular trend, NDBS Stockbrokers said.

Foreign interest in the market is dwindling and over Rs. 700 mn has gone out of the market this year, they revealed.

Foreign investors are kept at bay by macro economic uncertainty, with the budget deficit rising from 7.9 per cent to 9.2 per cent in 1998, Forbes ABN Amro said.

While this trend is an indicative of very high spending, this year being an election year will see increased spending, they forecast.

However, analysts at Asia Capital believe that speculation of Presidential and Parliamentary elections ahead of schedule is dampening sentiment further.

Sri Lanka continues to lag behind regional markets, which have rallied up to pre-crisis levels.

India is however propped up by domestic players and foreign presence amounts to just 3% of turnover, brokers said.

The size of the Sri Lankan market and its relative ill-liquidity precludes large scale investment of foreign funds.

Most debenture issues are trading at a low ebb. There is a general perception that interest rates will rise by the year end, NDBS Stock Brokers said, explaining the resultant low prices.

A large proportion of debentures were taken up by captive sources and the market for debt continues to be thin.

'Technology Offers' booklet from ITI

The Industrial Technology Institute (ITI) successor to the Ceylon Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research (CISIR) recently released the Institute's "Technology Offers" booklet in Sinhala and Tamil. The English version of the booklet had been made available to the public from May last year.

The printing of the booklets in Sinhala and Tamil were funded by the Integrated Rural Development Project - Matara which functions within the purview of the Regional Development Division of the Ministry of Plan Implementation and Parliamentary Affairs.

The funds were solicited for the Institute via the Swedish Embassy. SIDA by Charitha Ratwatte, Managing Director of the Sri Lanka Business Development Centre.

The "Technology Offers" booklet carries concise accounts of 106 technologies developed by the Institute said Dr. Nirmala M. Pieris, Head of the Corporate Services Division of the ITI. These technologies are suitable for transfer to Micro and Small and Medium Enterprises. Some of these technologies have already been transferred to industry and have now been successfully commercialised.

However there are many more which await transfer and commercialization. The technologies offered are in areas of food products, herbal products, mineral products, wood and paper products, essential oils and energy devices.

Food products that constitute the largest number of offers can be further classified into cashew products, cereal based products, daily products, confectionery, coconut products, fruit and vegetable products, soup mixes and other miscellaneous products.

Each technology offer provides information on the major raw materials, equipment, approximate cost of the investment, the technology transfer price and the assistance the Institute will provide before and after the Technology transfer.

The Sinhala and Tamil booklets are on sale at Rs 100 per copy. English version at Rs 150 and could be bought from the Information Services Centre of the Institute located at 363, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7.

DFCC gives new tips to Hambantota businessmen

Thirty Hambantota self-made entrepreneurs were given tips on basic entrepreneurial skills by DFCC Bank officials during a recently conducted seminar

Small and medium businessmen learnt the art of efficient decision making, man management and survival in a competitive business environment.

The workshop conducted in Sinhala helped the participants to clearly identify their business area and charter its development, progress through the adoption of productivity measures and plan the future of their businesses, Corporate Communication Executive, DFCC, Tharaka Ranwala, told The Sunday Times Business.

Topics covered included financial management, plans for building business, human resource management, and legal aspects.

Written and aural tests were conducted daily after the seminar to enable participants to ask questions connected with day to day problems.

Most participants said they did not know how to keep their accounts, suffered many losses, and also were cheated by their employees, due to the lack of knowledge of management skills.

Participant Sumith Amarawickrema, a poultry farmer said his staff were pilferring the poultry feed on the sly as he didn't have proper inventory control.

"This won't happen again, now we know to keep a track of stocks, profit and loss accounts, which we learnt at the seminar," he said.

Another participant, Samarajeewa Liyanage, an agro farmer said he got the idea of making lime pickle products. At present, he grows lime for bulk sales and now felt it was lucrative to market lime based products.

The participants also got the opportunity to interact, and build contacts to help each other in their businesses.

The seminar was organised by the Hambantota Entrepreneur Service Centre, an arm of the Hambantota Chamber of Commerce (HCC).

HCC selected DFCC Bank for the two-week residential workshop with the task of structuring the program and conducting the workshop using resource personnel drawn from the bank

Adobe Acrobat helps move to screen

Adobe officially marked its existence in Sri Lanka last week following its strategic focus on Asia by setting up shop with Kent Productions.

Today where most operations and organisations are moving from paper based to screen based systems, companies like Microsoft, Sun, Lucent, Linux and Adobe make this transition possible.

Adobe has been in the local market for a while, and many graphic artists and publishers use one or more of these packages in their daily work.

Packages such as PhotoShop, Illustrator, PageMaker have been very popular among graphic artists and artists to be.

Adobe has now introduced updated versions of these software which promise to be even more user friendly.

Adobe Acrobat is another package that is gaining an ever-increasing audience everyday. On average, 70,000 Adobe Acrobat Readers are downloaded daily, Managing Director Adobe Systems South Asia, Loh Tech Heng said

Mr. Heng said a communicating barrier among many organisations was the use of different computers and equal number of applications.

Compatibility has become a serious problem, but with a platform such as Adobe Acrobat this problem can be overcome to a great extent.

Adobe Acrobat also solves the limited space problem, because the files are in a highly compressed form.

Kent is also working with the Vocational Training Institute of Sri Lanka to introduce Sylvan Pro Metric, an internationally recognised testing system, Kent Productions GM Supem de Silva said.

The system will test an individual's ability to work with 90 percent of the world's software.

It will be conducted in real time on the net and the results will be issued almost immediately.

For instance, an individual sitting for an exam will have to book a time in advance, get to the testing centre, download the assignment and answer it then and there. The supervisor based at the head office USA will keep an eye on the individual through a web cam to assure that the individual does not get assistance in answering the assignment.

Driving licence in computer

A scheme which tests individual's ability to work with some of the basic desktop computer applications has been introduced by the Association of Computer Trianing Organisations (ACTOS).

Individuals who take the exam will be issued a document known as the Sri Lanka Computer Driving Licence (SLCDL) by the National Apprentices and Industrial Training Authority (NAITA) who will also conduct the tests.

Officials claim that the SLCDL will be an islandwide qualification that would enable people to demonstrate their competency in personal computer skills.

The test consists of six modules including popular packages such as Word, Excel, Internet and e - mail and other applications. The SLCDL will only be issued when all modules have been completed successfully.

SLCDL is open to anyone regardless of age, experience or technical knowledge. They claim the program is designed to accommodate participants without prior computer knowledge.

Though some of the basic criteria are still being worked out officials said the scheme had already been implemented and individuals accredited.

This initiative would set standards in computer competency and will be a platform to assess the capabilities of the individual, CINTEC chairman Professor Samaranayake said.

But, some individuals and industry officials say this is just another moneymaking scheme for the many computer-training centers.

"Another course with a different name, that is all it is," said a computer student who claims to have already spent a large sum of money to keep up with the technological race.

Others said that these organizations should first set standards for the mushrooming computer training industry who claim that they provide a quality educational service.

Angel takes over Caltex

SINGAPORE: Robert J. Angel has been named Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Caltex Corporation, it was announced today by Texaco Inc. and Chevron Corp., shareholders of the refining and marketing joint venture, which operates in 60 countries.

Angel, whose appointment is effective July 1, replaces David J. Law-Smith, who has elected early retirement following a distinguished 38-year career at Caltex. Angel has been Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Engen Ltd., a South Africa-based integrated oil company and a market leader in the region.

In a related move, Senior Vice President Jock McKenzie, 52, has also been named Chief Operating Officer, reporting to the Chairman, effective July 1.

Commenting on Angel's appointment, Texaco Senior Vice President Glenn F. Tilton and Chevron Vice President Lloyd Elkins, directors on the Caltex board, said in a joint statement, "Rob Angel is one of the most dynamic and highly-regarded leaders in the energy industry, with a proven track record in leading change and serving as a catalyst for growth. He possesses both the vision and the leadership skills to successfully move Caltex into the next century. Under his leadership, Caltex will be well-positioned to build on its present competitive position throughout its region of operations".

"Hello...hello, are you Y2K compatible?"

Q. What are the areas that you would be looking at when compiling a Y2K audit?

A. For any telecommunications operator there are two main areas. One is the switches, which is a very large processor these days, and the other is billing system.

Switches are very much a real time problem. At the end of this year if the switch fails because the processor is not recognising the year 2000, then everybody who picks up the telephone to make a call will not have access.

The billing system is also part of the problem as it receives information from these processors. The billing system not only provides money to the employees of the company, but also provides money for the business etc. So it is a very very significant part.

Q. What are the other areas?

A. Well I mean , we are effectively looking at all areas. But the others would be, for instance what we would call the transport system or the transmission network. The method of actually getting or interconnecting the switches and the various parts of the communications network and that includes the inter operability between the other telecom providers as well as the incumbent supplier.

Q. Have you visited any of the operators, and what remedial steps have they taken so far?

A. I have visited SLT (Sri Lanka Telecom). Initially, all operators should have an inventory, which SLT has done. SLT has obviously done a considerable amount of work, in that respect.

They have also compiled a complete inventory of every piece of equipment they have. Obviously a lot of that equipment will have to be completely transparent to Y2K. If the equipment is not compliant then its a matter of identifying which piece of equipment requires to be upgraded or changed and tested.

SLT appears to have put together a comprehensive package, which is being rolled out across the company.

By that I mean that it is a document that states what exactly is required, what has to be done by individuals to achieve compliance.

So on that face of it would appear that they have been fairly accurate, but they still have work to do.

After reading some of their information, it would appear they were originally trying to be compliant by the end of last year, but we have to be very optimistic and they are looking at being compliant by June this year. From the information I gained yesterday it looks they would achieve that.

Q. Has SLT complied with the basic criterias?

A. Yes, they have covered all areas and I think they have done a considerable amount of work with regard to achieving compliance in all those areas.

I suppose the billing system will probably be the most significant factor at the moment, which they are in the process of completely changing.

Obviously the one that exists currently is not compliant and as well as perhaps that it (the billing system) is an old system.

So it is an ideal opportunity to change it before the due date. That is due to be completed within the next month, but obviously that is a very significant component for SLT.

Q. Are these three criteria limited to fixed access operators or do they apply to the whole telecom industry?

A. It would apply across any operator and it does not matter whether they are wireless operators, fixed line operators, or mobile operators, it applies to all.

Q. What about pages and mobile phones?

A. Well again they are all dependent on switches. Alternately, which again is a processor based piece of equipment , and it would not be the first time that I have come across an operator who actually bought equipment within the last year and an actual fact that the piece of equipment was not compliant.

Now to my way of thinking any supplier of equipment within the last two years should supply compliant equipment and if it is not compliant then as far as I am concerned they should bear the cost and not the customer.

I have come across an instance were a piece of equipment, in fact a paging system had been supplied just about a year ago and they were trying to charge the particular company US$ 60,000 to upgrade the system. I managed to stop them doing that.

Q. So what is your itinerary here, will you be conducting on site audits?

A. We will be visiting Lanka Bell and Suntel and again go through a similar process like SLT.

Apart from looking at their inventory, I will be looking at how they have structured their programme to achieve compliance and exactly where they are currently in their programme and really what their deadline is for achieving compliance.

Q: What about the other operators?

A: A three-day workshop commenced last Thursday to which all the operators are been invited along with some people from the banks as well.

So hopefully, it will be an ideal opportunity to, as we would say have a level-playing field.

Its an opportunity for me to get a view of how I see a programme rolling out, what people should be doing, how you can go back testing equipment and it also an ideal opportunity for all the operators to come together and actually sharing information.

Q. Is the Y2K audit going to be mostly based on paper work, is there a check list with you?

A. Yes, I am not here to physically check the coding in the processors or I am not an expert in hands on testing of equipment.

It is more to advice and guide and give assistance, bearing in mind that we are in the run down to the millennium and try and sort of in that respect fill any gap that operators have over here.

And if I am unable to answer any questions particularly at the workshop then at least I have access to vast amount of information back in the UK and I can make contact and get that appropriate information here.

Q. You wouldn't be visiting the paging operators..?

A. There is not a programme to visit, I mean partially because of the time, three days are taken up by the workshop and that was not programmed. But there are methods which they can test like CPE.

Q: CPE?

A. CPE (customer premise equipment) is one of the areas of emphasis of an audit.

To give a little background of UK, we are now in a situation where we provide a lot of lines to companies whether they be banks, manufacturing industry, whoever, we provide lines, but the customer whether they be residential customers or a business provides their own equipment.

In this instance it is down to that customer in that case to see that their equipment is compliant.

BT was very pro active in the early days, sending letters out to those customers to make them aware of what BT was doing, but we are only responsible for our piece of the network.

If you provide your own piece of equipment it is upto you to do something about it. At the end of the day if they have a problem, don't blame us.

Now that is something that I am trying to promote while I am here. The customer has to think for himself anyway, but if we have a similar situation here where in November suddenly you have a PABX that has been supplied by SLT for instance, that is non compliant. And it is too late to do anything about it. It certainly an area of focus.

Q. Does SLT's list include all these equipment as SLT now allows customers to supply their own equipment?

A. The inventory that I saw was missing a few items or there were a few grey areas shall we say. Which was actually quiet useful and the fact that I was there. One or two items from an initial inventory I saw, I think it was just an over citing of what they have produced for me to see as compared to what they actually had in hand.

So it is not a fault on their part.

But the point being here is that we have a very complex network back in UK , very complex structures. And if you are coming here where to a large degree some of the networks are simpler, so having that background information, it is easier to advice and assist. I think one of the main areas of contention is testing.

It is a matter of all getting a piece of compliant equipment and maybe seeing the suppliers test results or whatever.

But it is actually having that installed in your network and for you to say, well how do I know this is compliant.

Testing is one of the major problems, because in the most part you cannot test equipment in the live environment. It has to be tested off line.

Q. Well actually how do you test these lines, have you just got to take the manufacturers word for it?

A. It is very easy to say it is that. One of the major problems is that even if you could test, doesn't matter if they were supplied by one supplier or many and do you go ahead and test every switch in the live environment?

It is a very very long job, very time consuming, use a lot of resources, and logically an unnecessary process. And the answer is probably no you wouldn't, you wouldn't check every switch.

You would check every 5th or the 10th switch and you could check all those switches and all of them might work fine and you cannot guarantee that the one switch you did not check may have an embedded chip somewhere or may have a fault on it, but for the most part is not going to cause any problem.

Because the date changes and fires a particular pointer off and causes the problem.

So there is that inherent background, what do you do, do you test everything? Do you test one?

I think one of the points you have to realise is that most of the switch providers are very large switch providers, they carry a global weight on their shoulders, they have a name. If they say that their switches are compliant with all the testing they have done in their own environment then I think we could be fairly assured that they will work in reality.

Q. Have you seen SLT's contingency plans?

A. I have actually not had the chance to go through them in detail, but they do have contingency for Y2K.

This is positive step and that is something that I had been looking to discuss with the two wireless local loop (WLL) operators.

The contingency plan not only looks at the network, but it should look at the resources.

It is all very well saying we have got this contingency plan and we can operate the network by doing xyz.

But if you have not got the people how are you going to do it?

How are yours going to get the people in? If the phones don't work how are you going to get people into those exchanges in the head office?

Q. Has SLT addressed the international network?

A. That is part and parcel of what they are doing at the moment. Next week as part of the programme here I am actually going to be doing some spot checks on the three operators, so that will be an interesting part of the two week programme.

There has been all sorts of international meeting taking place run by the ITU (International Telecom Union).

It would appear that if they (SLT) had been very much involved in they would know of these that are going on.

But they have certainly done a lot of work to achieve that.

Q. How long will the sector have if they do not achieve compliance by June?

A. in a way that is like closing the door after the horse is bolted.

At the moment I feel happy that they will meet their date.

All of the suppliers and particularly the switch providers have made plans themselves on how they are going to roll out compliance. At the moment it is all focused on June.

So I have a reasonable amount of confidence that they will achieve that.

But obviously without actually spending a lot more time specifically with that operator, I cannot say.

To a certain degree, you have to rely on their honesty on how the programme is going.

They owe it to themselves and their customers to make sure that they stick to the date or they make best endeavours. As an absolute backstop the end of September really ought to be an absolute final date. Which gives time for stability in the network before we get to the new millennium. And in fact one of the things that I stressed is that an initiating a freeze around about the end of October.

In other words, no form of upgrading should be done on the networks.

I recommended SLT do that as well.

Q. Will you be giving a report on the status of the telecom sector to the TRC?

A. I thing that is probably what I will end up doing any way. So that there is a review from my side as to the status and obviously to the TRC.

Lanka: a value addition centre for SA exports

Sri Lanka's lucrative money spinner the apparel sector has great potential to penetrate the South African market.

Most of South Africa's garments are bought from European markets that in turn, buy from Sri Lanka. This has made garments a costly commodity in South Africa, he said.

He feels that South Africa and Sri Lanka should trade directly, which would be beneficial to all concerned.

South Africa might prove to be an alternative market for the Sri Lankan garment industry. This could help to develop a healthy and stable market as garments account for over 60 percent of the country's GDP.

Other export revenue areas which can be developed is the tea and tourism industry, he said.

'Ceylon tea is a household name in South Africa, so most South Africans will be loyal to the brand name,' he said.

This is because of the high quality and affordability of Ceylon tea.

'For the last 200 years or more, Sri Lanka has been the tea producing source for South Africa, he said.

But what about the potential dangers looming ahead with COMESA (Common Markets for Eastern and Southern Africa) agreement?

Despite the recent agreement I feel South Africa would continue to buy and perhaps increase the quantity of tea bought from Sri Lanka, so long as it is still affordable purely for its quality, he said.

South Africa's per capita income is over US$ 3000. They are also great tea drinkers and this will ensure a market for Ceylon tea, he said.

At present most of South Africa's tea and garments are bought from the United Kingdom and Europe.

"Why do you keep selling to the UK and Europe," he questioned.

In terms of tourism, he said that since Emirates owns part of Air Lanka and the fact that Emirates and South African Airlines have a common agreement, the three airlines should work together to bring South African tourists to Sri Lanka.

"We also have about 300 South African tourists going to Male every week. They can visit Sri Lanka too, we should arrange such a package," the Commissioner said.

He said the main purpose of his visit to Sri Lanka was to build a better trade relationship between the two countries.

South Africa was unable to have direct communications in the past because of its apartheid policies. But now the economy is opening up and the economy looks very active the High Commissioner said.

He said the two countries should strive to build long-term ties because, when economic ties between the two countries increase there is an understanding between South African people and the Sri Lankan people.

"I am the person promoting this concept of Indian Ocean remunerative for regional corporation. Sri Lanka is a member of the Indian Ocean countries so we want to do more on this issue, we want a momentum built up," he said.

Trade figures between the countries amount to just a fraction.

'I am here to address this issue and invite four Sri Lankan businessmen to South Africa at the expense of the South African government'.

They hope this initiative would help develop trade ties between the two countries.

The delegation could either sell to or buy from South Africa.

Sri Lankans have developed a very high taste in good things, and we have what they want," he said.

South Africa is able to supply a variety of goods like wines, gold and diamonds, canned foods, consumer goods and technology to Sri Lanka.

Other products can also be brought here, value added and resold to neighbouring countries. The idea we had initially was to make Sri Lanka a value addition base of South Africa. It could, give a chance to be a very important base,' he said.

The High Commissioner was optimistic about the free trade agreement with India and felt it was a very good opportunity for Sri Lanka to develop on the idea of being a value addition base for South African goods.

He also said that since Sri Lanka was strategically located, the agreement would be a success.

High Commissioner Jerry Matsila paid his last visit to Sri Lanka as his term comes to an end next month.

This is more like a farewell visit for me. I like to say "good bye to my friends and perhaps create a better understanding between the two countries", he said.

SEC projects for 1999

The Securities & Exchange Commission established a Market Development and Training Division in 1994. Its establishment was a result of the responsibility placed on the SEC by the enabling legislation, to foster capital market development and to ensure that professional standards are maintanied in such market. In furtherance of this objective the SEC through the Market Development and Training Division formulated and conducted a number of programmes for market participants and also encouraged and sponsored the setting up of organisations to operate programmes for persons who are interested in pursuing a career in the Securities industry.

The SEC also conducted awarness campaigns to educate the public on the Stock Market. These campaigns were mainly targeted at school children and potential investors with emphasis being on the rural and non-urban population who had limited access to information on the Capital market.

School Seminars:

The SEC has identified that the Advanced Level School Children and Commerce Teachers are a key target group in the creating awareness of the securities market in Sri Lanka.

The SEC in 1998, conducted seminars for the benefit of Advanced Level students and teachers in the areas of the Western Province and a majority of the Southern Province. In 1999, it will conduct seminars in all other educational districts of Sri Lanka. i.e. Uva, Sabaragamuwa, North Western, Western & Central Province.

A total of 45-50 seminars will be conducted to educate the teachers and students who have a very little or no exposure to the subject. It is estimated that a total of 5,000 students and 1,000 teachers will benefit from our training programmes.

Seminars for University Students:

The SEC will conduct at least seven seminars on the practical aspects of the capital market for the student bodies of universities offering finance and management. It is proposed to conduct seminars in the Universities of Colombo, Sabaragamuwa, Mihintale, Kandy, Kelaniya, Sri Jayewardenepura and Ruhuna. It is estimated that at least 1,000 students from these seven Universities will benefit from this programme.

Publications

The SEC has published a Sinhala booklet on the Capital Market of Sri Lanka. An additional 20,000 copies will be printed and distributed mainly to school children and the public. This publication at present is the only comprehensive booklet available on the securities market.

This booklet will have to be updated during the year to keep a breast of market development.

A Tamil translation of this booklet will also be published and distributed in the North Eastern province for the benefit of Advanced Level teachers and students in the course of 1999.

Fund transfer from Bartercard

Bartercard has initiated a world first in Australia by signing an agreement with the National Australian Bank (NAB) to launch a new Electronic Fund Transfer at Point of Sale (EFTPOS) service from March 1999, the company's local franchise holder, Bartercard Lanka has announced.

All Bartercard merchants in Australia with an NAB EFTPOS terminal will be able to accept a customer's plastic Bartercard and swipe it to complete a barter transaction as with a normal credit card, the company said.

With the introduction of this new system Bartercard members will have the ability to trade goods and services more conveniently as a result of a substantial reduction in paperwork associated with existing transactions.This is a trail blazing exercise for a non-bank institution which reinforces Bartercard's standing as the world leader in customer service innovation," said Johnny De Saram, Managing Director of Bartercard Lanka.

The international network of Bartercard operates in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Thailand, Hong Kong, Canada, Malaysia and Sri Lanka with over 26,000 businesses in the trading network.Established in October 1996, Bartercard Lanka is a BOI approved venture involving the Golden Key Credit Card Co., a member of the Ceylinco Group, the People's Venture Investment Co., a People's Bank subsidiary, Equity Investments Lanka (Equill), an associate of Commercial Bank of Ceylon, Bartercard International of Australia, Marased (Pvt) Ltd., and R A Associates.

More ships use IT tech

The largest maritime IT surveys ever conducted shows that shipping companies are embracing IT technology as a way to communicate with and manage their fleets while they are at sea.

Three hundred and thirty-eight companies in 46 countries with control over 5000 ships took part in the Inmarsat Communications at Sea Report, which shows ever more wide- spread use of ship management software.

These findings confirm Inmarsat's own projections, which shows that data will soon replace telex as the standard for ship to shore satellite communications.

Finn Frandsen, secretary general, BIMCO (The Baltic and International Maritime Council), said: "The maritime industry has erroneously had a reputation for being reluctant in some cases to adopt high-tech solutions. Here is a case where Inmarsat is documenting that shipowners are indeed aggressively pursuing IT applications for their operations."

Far from the shipping industry lagging behind in the IT revolution, the findings show that three quarters of ships already have modern PCs on-board, more than half of which are Pentiums.

Shell Gas Lanka back to deposit voucher

Shell Gas Lanka re-introduced an enhanced deposit voucher for issue by the company's distributors with all new cylinder sales last January. Not only will this voucher serve as a proof of purchase, it will also serve the customers as a guarantee on the correct price paid for a new cylinder.

When purchasing a new domestic cylinder, the price paid will include the deposit together with the cost of gas or a full cylinder. The deposit price for a domestic cylinder is Rs. 2,300.

Taking into consideration the customer's convenience, new cylinders can now be purchased through the company's distributors. Subject to availability, the customers may need to register with the distributor closest to them.

The company apologises for the current restraints placed on the sale of new cylinders. With the completion of the import and storage facility at Kerawalapitiya by the end of this year, these restrictions will be lifted. Two hundred and eighty thousand cylinders will be imported this year and introduced into the market systematically.

New SLIM President's three objectives

"Today's Marketers must be leaders not mere managers," says Deepal Sooriyaarachchi the new President of the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing, the national body of Marketing (SLIM). SLIM was founded in 1970 and was incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1980.

Today it has over 2000 marketing professionals as its members. The immediate past president of the institute is Shanti Nadaraja. SLIM operates as the SAARC secretariat of the Asia Pacific Marketing Federation.

Mr. Sooriyaarachchi is the group planning manager of Eagle Insurance Company and has almost two decades of experience in different aspects of marketing. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing U K, a chartered marketer and a holder of an MBA from the Post Graduate Institute of Jayewardene University.

He has worked in Sales Advertising Marketing as well as in Human Resource Development. He is among the few Sri Lankan Marketers to have served in the UNDP. He served for UNDP in Nepal in the area of customer care and marketing management development in the tourism sector.

He also serves as a council member of the National Authority for Teacher Education (NATE) the policy making body for teacher education. A trainer, teacher and an effective communicator, Deepal has contributed to the spreading of the concept of marketing specially in Sinhala.

The new president's focus for the coming year will revolve round three key areas. They are positioning the institute at national level, providing meaningful programmes to the membership and to strengthening the financial position of the institute.

The new office bearers of the institute are: Rienzie Martinez of Hutchinson Telecom (VP) Nalin Attygalle of Ceylon Agro Industries (VP) Taslim Rahaman of Metropolitan Agencies (Secretary) Gerald F C de Seram of CIC Paints (Asst Secreatary ) Anil Ratnayake of Delmege Paints (Treasurer).

The Executive committee members are: Ravi Bamunusinghe of MBL, Sarath Fernando of Hatton National Bank, V S Srikantha of United Tractors, Nishan Navaratne of Package Care Ltd, Harith Perera of Hemas Marketing, Darshana Senerath of Richard Pieris Distributors, Nimal Weerasekara of Family Planning Association, Anil Goonathilake of Central Finance Company Ltd, Rizwan Jaldeen of Mountain Hawk Enterprise ( Pvt.), Nalaka Godahewa.

IFC and LOFAC to expand export factoring

Lanka Orix Factors Limited (LOFAC) signed an investment agreement recently with International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group. Under this agreement, IFC will provide a US $1.5 mn foreign currency loan and also invest in a 15% stake of LOFAC's equity.

While the equity investment will help LOFAC to diversify its shareholding, the foreign currency loan will enable LOFAC to develop its export factoring operations which it has already commenced. This new service will benefit the country's dynamic export sector.

Exporters in Asia are persistently looking to develop their exports in markets outside the region, especially to Western Europe and North America.

However, more and more importers in these regions are demanding open account terms rather than L/Cs as the former offers more flexibility.

This exposes the exporters, especially those of developing countries, to high credit risks. Export factoring is an ideal financial service which enables the exporters to cover this risk and yet exploit opportunities offered in the international trade.

Rashad Kaldany, IFC Director for South and Southeast Asia, noted that export diversification is the key to Sri Lanka's future economic performance and that export factoring has been shown worldwide to be a very effective way to assist export oriented entities to grow.

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