Biz Broadsides - by Rajpal A.

Davaluation diplomats diatribes and devaluation

Devaluation is a bad word then , except for certain kinds of economists, who work from various cocoons in the Central Bank for instance. 

Devaluation never had good connotations for an economy such as ours. Devaluation occurs generally when a country tumbles headlong into debt. Debt ridden countries which have to go on their knees to the World Bank or the IMF, are usually hit on the head with certain conditions of which the main one is that industrialized nations should have untrammelled access to the markets of the debtor nation. But, devaluation has also been perennially one of the conditions that creditor organizations such as the World Bank have been braying for. 

Whenever the World Bank or the IMF extend credit, and a structural adjustment policy is underway — devaluation generally follows, though chronologically the devaluation process may come sometime after the loan has been granted.

The type of financial crunch that Sri Lanka now faces was staring India in the face in the early to mid nineties. After Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, it was known that India had foreign reserves for just two weeks of imports. India had to say goodbye to a proud policy of self reliance, and ask the IMF and the World Bank for a bailout. 

Immediately, the IMF conditions were slapped on India, which among other things, had to devalue its rupee by 25 per cent. But, by devaluing the rupee one gets on the right side of the IMF, and this is what the wallahs of the Central Bank have been trying to tell us — that devaluation is a good recipe. 

But, the latest currency devaluation says that we were not a favoured economy, because if we were, the IMF and the World Bank would have been willing to subsidize the war expenses. This happened for instance, when Egypt supported the American forces in the Gulf War. Suddenly, Hoshni Mubarak and his elite supporters saw that the IMF and the World Bank was willing to write off 25 per cent of the Egyptian debt!

What's also not so stunning ( though it has a stunning effect on the consumers ) is the fact that the grass is being cut from under the collective feet of the people, in one massive flourish. First there are the gas price increases, the slashing of all types of subsidies, whether they deal with fuel, gas or what have you. When India liberalized for instance, the result was the elimination of many subsidies: for example, the cost of chemical fertilizers, was increased by 30% as a result of the cut in farming subsidies. Privatization of public enterprises and nationalized banks was on, with a plan to restrict the scope of the public sector to arms, ammunition, atomic energy, railways and various mining activities. Cancellation of the 1969 anti-monopoly laws were among the other demands that were made by the IMF at that time, and honored by the Indians. 

Dissent towards this regime of economic capitulation of course is almost impossible. Even as I write, there has to be some official in the USA, taking down the name of this writer ( as a writer of diatribes of course! ) , so that he can be placed in a special category of dangerous and the rebellious that the US World Bank and the IMF and the whole collective caboodle can keep a special eye on. ( Of course they'll also pooh pooh this idea officially and say a writer of diatribes is not important.....) Of course, some of these embassies have some of the most aggressive band of US hurrah boys, but that's another story altogether. (Suffice to say that this writer was once called "uncultured'' for saying, at a US embassy party, that Sadaam Hussain's alleged crimes are not all that bad, thereby exonerating him to some extent.) Some of these little anecdotes, which convey the nuances of diplomatic behavior of a superpower, should be repeated sometime in this writer's column in the main paper for those who don't read the Biz pages. 

That'll be nice.) By the way, what's the level of cultural refinement of a diplomat, who calls a guest "uncultured'' just because the guest happens to subscribe to different political views? 

Anyway, that bit of personal digression ( about a devaluing situation in which this writer once happened to be placed in ) is just one of those things in a system that devalues whole currencies, whole cultures, whole countries, whole races plus all that's wholesome in human endeavor. Phew, its sure is easy to call that a diatribe, eh what Mr diplomat? Except it's the truth. Why doesn't any cultured refined diplomat come out and argue this thing out, in public, or preferably on TV — with me or the like minded. We will all be cultured — that's a promise. 

BID2000 for businessmen on the move 

By Akhry Ameer

The Business Information Diary for year 2000 (BID2000) is essentially a management diary with the regular information pages and the diary section. However, its real value is the addition of a business information section listing contact information of over 60,000 businesses registered in Sri Lanka. All three sections are bundled into a diary, 1c.m. thick. The business information section consists of the standard business classification index, a corporate clients index and the business listings by classification. The business listing is a free listing of names of businesses and their contact telephone numbers. Unlike most other directories available in the market, the listing does not confine itself to SLT numbers but, covers all types of operator phone numbers declared by the businesses. A subscription fee is levied by the company for those organizations wishing to list both their physical, email and website addresses.

The company proposes to maintain its unique selling proposition of 1 c.m. thickness despite the growing number of businesses and phone connections through various directory listing strategies and controlled advertising. Currently selling to a retail market, orders have already been placed by various organizations for its next version, the BID2001, to be given as compliments to its customers next year. The product may be purchased in its standard format, or customized for bulk orders with company names and other features.

Market Research Agency (Pvt) Ltd., is a company formed by 3 ex-directory publishing company officers in December 1998 with an aim to exploit the void in business contact information. Other products in development by the company are directories of private loopless fixed telephone operators. They also propose to set up a web-based directory, listing all contact information in the BID together with email and website addresses free of charge as an additional customer benefit.

TRIM in Lanka

Stakeholder Management is becoming a critical complement for innovative management and business re-engineering in high performance companies. The successful management of stakeholder relationships provides an opportunity for organisations to differentiate themselves and gain a significant competitive edge.

Improvements in customer relation, employee commitment and shareholder confidence are the goals of stakeholder management. Additionally, supplier advantage, public image and ''internal service quality" play important roles in an integrated stakeholder management system.

TRIM has been developed recently by Infratest Burke, Germany and is among the leading systems in use across US and Europe with over 1000 ongoing projects across diverse industries such as Automotive, Durable, Banking, Retailing, Courier Services, Airlines and Telecom etc. A key differentiation of TRIM is single-minded focus on business leadership and performance as key result areas of Stakeholder retention efforts.

TRIM is a holistic system that can be used by virtually every company to create. organise and implement a stakeholder management system. It has three modules.

The goals of TRIM are to help companies and organisations:

* Retain all relevant stakeholder groups;

* Leverage of 'word-of-mouth' recommendations from all such stakeholder groups;

* Focus on all improvement efforts on the driving forces of stakeholder relationships;

and

* Improve competitiveness and financial performance.

TRIM is being introduccd in Sri Lanka by Market Behavior Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. (LMBL), which like Infratest Burke, is part of NFO Worldwide, Inc., a leading provider of research-based, marketing information and counsel to the worldwide business community. 

Hayleys Photoprint wins contract

These new systems, manufactured in USA, are to be installed at the Hambantota, Mahamodera and Matara Chest Hospitals, and maintained by Hayleys Photoprint during the warranty period. The value of the contract is Rs5.5 million the company said in a news release. 

"It is very creditable for Hayleys Photoprint to have won this tender, competing with many other suppliers of reputed brands who have been in the field for a considerable period of time," the company's Director/General Manager, Ashan Abeyesundere said.

The x-ray machine supplied under this contract is the PerformX radiographic system, which is manufactured by Control-X Medical of USA. It is acknowledged that this company has a reputation for the highest level of quality, durability and value in diagnostic x-ray imaging systems, Reshan Goonewardene, Assistant Manager of Healthcare Products & Services Department of Hayleys Photoprint Ltd said.

The PerformX x-ray system is equipped with high frequency generators of latest technology which ensures high quality exposures in the full radiographic range. Due to this feature in the machine, any part of the human body could be x-rayed unlike other models which have restrictions, that necessitate scans.

This system is also equipped with a heavy-duty four-way radiographic table which ensures comfortable patient positioning and tube and wall stands to enable lower extremity exposures, Mr Goonewaredene added. 

Hayleys Photoprint Limited was appointed the sole agent in Sri Lanka for Control-X medical products in March this year. The company has been in the medical equipment and consumables business since 1998.

Sapphires at Facets

Gem traders say that Ceylon sapphires will command a premium price at the fair. Fittingly, the theme of facets 2000 will be the padparadscha sapphire, named after the Sanskrit word for lotus and long renowned for its beautiful and extremly rare orange-yellow shade.

Along with a variety of free- sized and caliberated gemstones, Facets 2000 will be the venue to see a wide range of gemstones and diamond jewellery from Sri Lanka as well as from around the region says a news release.

NIBM gets new Director General

He assumed duties on June 1, 2000, succeeding K H Camillus Fernando who retired after serving as its Director General.

N G Kularatne, a senior member of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service was previously the Additional Director and senior consultant to the Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration (SLIDA). 

During his long career in the public service, he has held senior positions including Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Trade, Commerce and Food ad the Ministry of Agricultural Research and Development.

Kularatne graduated from the university of Peradeniya with B.Sc.Hons. in mathematics and statistics and has a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the Postgraduate Institute of Management of Sri Jayawardenapura University and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from University of Ljublijana, Slovenia. He has undergone extensive training in a wide variety of fields, such as management, consultancy, productivity improvement, Japanese style management, gender issues promotion of innovation and training of trainers, in many countries abroad.

His research studies include export promotion villages, farmer pension schemes, computer utilisation in public service, women's affairs and intra regional trade.

Kularatne's appointment will facilitate the restructuring of the NIBM to further strengthen its pioneering and leading role in management development, information technology training, and productivity in Sri Lanka. 

In addition to its consultancy services, NIBM currently offers training programmes in a wide variety of fields at different levels in the fields of management, productivity and information technology. 

NIBM also offers programmes up to Bachelors degree level in MIS in collaboration with the University of Dublin.

Mortein awareness project underway0

The first project is currently underway in Moratuwa and targets low income households who are likely to fall victim to mosquito borne diseases frequently.

The first awareness campaign was held on April 29, at Borupana. A documentary that focuses on controlling the mosquito menace was shown to a large gathering of residents. 

The awareness campaigns were held in neighbourhoods of Kaldemulla, Lakshapathiya, Katubedda, Rawatawatte, Katukurunda and Moratumulla. Cited by community leaders as relevant as successful, the programmes were attended by residents in large numbers.

"We at Reckitt & Colman, as manufacturers and marketers of leading household pest control brands such as Mortein, are glad that we were able to take the concept of cleaner neighbourhoods to the people of our immediate neighbourhood," comments a company spokesman. 

The campaign invites residents to join hands in keeping their own neighbourhoods clean. If each household ensures that their immediate surroundings are kept clean, then it would result in the entire neighbourhood being clean.

According to Reckitt & Colman sources the awareness programme was successful because the company invited participation from community leaders and a community based organisation with grassroots links such as Sarvodaya.

Most community leaders believe that the neighbourhoods would benefit from this kind of programme " and with community participation and heightened awareness levels, we were able to extend a gesture of goodwill to the people of Moratuwa," added company sources.

Ambuja Cements celebrate 'Quality Week'

Manager Technical Services for Ambuja Cements, Jayantha Bandara, said that due to the scarcity of raw material, inferior quality of bricks and environmental restrictions, the usage of cement blocks had increased, thus making them an integral part of the construction industry.

It was with this in mind that Ambuja Cements decided to focus on this segment. "We identified block manufacturers from five different areas as participants in this programme," said Bandara. 

He also said that Ambuja's team of engineers, together with himself, spent an entire day with each block manufacturer, advising them on the correct procedure of block casting when making blocks. 

In addition, each block maker was provided with cement for a curing tank which is an essential prerequisite in block making, as it improves both quality and strength. 

"In a bid to further facilitate the efforts of the block manufacturers, we even went to the extent of giving them press publicity in the Sinhala newspapers, as well as providing them with attractive signage for their shops," added Bandara. The block manufacturers who benefited from this programme were S D Priyantha of Avissawella, Ajith Sisira Kumara of Badalgama, Sisira Wijeysinghe of Kalutara South, Premasiri of Hikkaduwa and Sunny Gunawardene of Gampola.

"Ambuja Cements will continue to assist the block manufacturers by involving them in future programmes of this nature as well," said Bandara. All those interested in improving the quality of their cement blocks could contact Ambuja Cements for free advice, he added.

LB Finance in Negombo

The Negombo branch will offer the full range of LB Finance' principal lines of business from the acceptance of deposits, leasing, hire purchase, real estate development marketing services, mortgage loans, pawn banking to letters of guarantee. 

The company will open several new branches in identified key districts in the near future. 

The services offered through these branches will provide the rural population with the means to improve their businesses thereby making a contribution to the socioeconomic development of the country.

iOM Lanka brings eBusiness with Sun Systems

SunSystems, from Systems Union, which will effectively manage the collection and delivery of information between the employee, customers and suppliers via the web, will now be available to organisations through iOM.

Entering the market, in Singapore in 1979, iOM has grown and operates in Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, India, the UK, USA and now in Sri Lanka. 

The company also has ongoing projects in Europe, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia and Hong Kong. 

Specialising in integrated e-commerce systems with FRP solutions, iOM has implemented solutions to over 450 customers around the globe.

iOM's International Support Centre located in Sri Lanka, provides electronic customer support to sister companies in Singapore, Thailand and India, while concurrently providing on-line support to customers located in Europe and the US.

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