| Business |
||||||
|
Scrap iron for
sale Colombo
bourse bounces back He may not
have even been in the country, but young entrepreneur Dhammika Perera
was again the talk of the market after he offloaded a five percent
stake in the bank shortly after its debut. NDBB is the
commercial banking arm of National Development Bank in which Perera
is a director and the second-largest shareholder, with a 10 percent
stake. After commencing
trading at its par value of Rs. 10, the stock climbed as high as
Rs. 23 before ending the day at Rs. 19. NDBB continued
to slide on Friday, finishing the first week at Rs. 18. After falling
for three successive weeks, the All Share Index marked the start
of the second half of the year by climbing 13.2 points to end the
week at 724.6 points. The Blue-chip
Milanka index gained 37 points to close at 1259 points. "There
is no exciting news to direct the market so with that happening
there is no reason for people to start paying higher prices,"
he said. NDB itself
had a strong trading week, gaining Rs. 19 to finish at Rs. 86, while
Richard Pieris and Co, which was again the subject of some heavy
trading, gained Rs. 20 to finish at Rs. 140. Volumes were
also strong, with daily turnover averaging a healthy Rs. 142 million
for the week. This would
assist 60 percent of low and middle-income groups who have no financial
means to upgrade their houses and improve lifestyles, said Rajabdeen
Chairman Nawaz Rajabdeen. Under the new
concept all designs, drawing, layout, supplying of material will
be done by the company while advice on estimates on proposed renovation,
etc. will be provided free of charge. He said the
loan officer will evaluate the repayment ability of the client and
accordingly a 15 percent down payment will be required while 85
percent of the loan will be given by the bank. HNB Deputy
General Manager Chandula Abeywickrama said HNB is the first private
sector bank to introduce housing loans with Rs. 36 billion worth
of loans given so far. "HNB will fully support this venture," he said. The loans range from Rs. 200 000 to Rs. 1 million at different rates of interest. Hakeem against
100% foreign equity in ship agencies He was responding
to concerns raised by the Ceylon Association of Ships' Agents (CASA)
at its annual general meeting last week that the government wants
to allow foreign principals 100 percent equity ownership of shipping
agencies. Shipping lines
can now own only upto 40 percent of their agencies but some big
lines are known to be lobbying the government to allow full ownership,
partly to avoid paying agency fees. Hakeem said
he did not believe the liberalisation of shipping agency business
would result in more foreign investment, more jobs or transfer of
technology, the reasons given in support of allowing lines full
ownership of agencies. But he warned
that CASA would have to be "alive to the challenges ahead"
because most lines were in the red and low freight rates "threaten
the health of some carriers". CASA has strongly
opposed the move to liberalise the agency business. "Our very
existence today is in jeopardy," said Rohan Perera, who took
over as CASA chairman from Pushpa Amarasekara. "We totally
and categorically are not in favour of allowing 100 percent foreign
equity participation in the shipping agency business," Perera
told the AGM. The government
was under pressure to liberalise the agency business from international
lending agencies and because of the need to attract foreign investment,
he said. Since 1992,
when the business was partially liberalised and 40 percent foreign
equity participation allowed, there has been no investment or any
diversification by any of the agencies currently enjoying foreign
equity, he said. "It has
been the 100 percent local companies that have invested their profits
into other areas of industry creating employer wealth and job opportunities,"
Perera said. The Colombo
port had taken action in recent times to improve efficiency and
reduce costs but much more needs to be done to eliminate delays
in vessel berthing and sailing and to compete more effectively with
rival ports, Perera also said. The entry of
a private terminal operator, South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT),
has given Colombo a much-needed boost and brought about a culture
that treats shipowners and agents as their customers. "Competition has had its desired effect and what we now need is for both the SAGT and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority to work together, complementing each other and market collectively towards enhancing the volumes via Colombo," he said. ICIB gets ISO
certificate, marks 15th anniversary ICIB said in
a statement that it is the largest independent professional broker
controlling a premium volume that exceeds Rs. 350 million. "Our strategy
is built around client focus, based on a deep understanding of client
needs and a logical approach to portfolio management," said
ICIB's Joint Managing Director Upali Wickremeratne speaking at a
celebration held to mark these events. ICIB chairman
Ajit Jayaratne said the company was the first insurance broker to
venture into IT and in fact developed its web site as far back as
in 1997. The company currently operates two branches in Galle and Kandy while future plans include further branch expansion. ICIB also handles a large amount of overseas work particularly in the Maldives and Middle East and in fact are pioneers in providing travel insurance. CEAT
launches new tyres The new 9.00-20
and the 10.00-20 tyres have been manufactured to give greater structural
stability for vehicles carrying heavy loads and have an optimised
tread pattern designed for a higher mileage, the company said in
a statement. Speaking at a ceremony attended by over 300 tyre dealers, CEAT's Managing Director Ramesh Ramanathan said the launch of the new range signified the beginning of CEAT's decision to change aggressively in the coming years. He said the response from end users during a pre-launch test-marketing was excellent, and the company also had a very positive response when the first consignment of these tyres was exported to India under the Indo-Lanka Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in April. Cathay adds
extra flight to HK Director-General, Civil Aviation, Lal Liyanaarachchi said Cathay Pacific's decision to increase the number of flights was welcome at a time when Sri Lanka was looking for increased air traffic in and out of the country. United States
opens trade office in South Asia An announcement
by the US Trade Representative [USTR] said the setting up of the
Office of South Asian Affairs carved out of the Office of Asia and
the Pacific reflects the increasing importance of the region to
US economic and national security. Office bearers
of SLAITO The following
members were elected to serve on the committee: Mrs F.C. Farook (Hony. Treasurer), Director Finance, Lanka Vacations Ltd, Chandra Wickremasinghe, Chairman, Connaissance De Ceylan Ltd, Mrs Shiromal Cooray, Managing Director, Jetwing Travels Ltd, Nilmin Nanayakkara, Managing Director, N-Car Travels and Tours Ltd and T.M.F. Packeer, Executive Director, United Holidays (Pvt.) Ltd. Vasantha Leelananda, Managing Director, Walkers Tours Ltd will join the committee as the Immediate Past President. Chemanex reports
Rs. 81 mln profit Poor demand
for commodities required by exporters affected local manufacture,
he said. There was less demand for the company's main product, a bleaching agent for crepe used by the rubber industry, because of poor natural rubber prices. Malaysian firm
in the running for SLT Business Times, a Malaysian newspaper quoted Mahendran as saying the Sri Lankan government will conduct an initial public offering for a 15 percent stake in Sri Lankan Telecom in December this year. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone owns 35 percent in Sri Lanka Telecom while the government holds the remaining 65 percent. He declined to name the Malaysian company.
CTC trains undergrads
|
||||||
Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
