- Foreign
investors interested in re-starting KKS cement
works
Lanka Cement Ltd. the
owners of the Kankesanturai cement works is
looking forward to foreign investor participation
to re-activate the long dormant factory in ``the
near future,'' the company's chairman has said in
its just published annual report for the year
ended Dec. 31, 1997.The
company's chairman, Mr. M.A.G.D. Hemachandra,
said that several foreign investors have shown
interest in rehabilitating the Kankesanturai
factory. They were following this up as they
hoped to re-commission the factory as early as
possible. (full story)
- Haycarb ups
authorised capital, issues 1 for 6 bonus
Haycarb Ltd., Sri
Lanka's pioneer manufacturer of activated carbon
from coconut shell charcoal, has summoned an
extraordinary general meeting on October 12 to
consider a resolution increasing its authorised
capital from Rs. 200 million to Rs. 500 million. (full story)
- Is
liberalization a prerequisite for foreign
investment?
Is the high level of
foreign investment in East Asia the result of
liberalization? It appears as if the importance
of liberalization has been exaggerated when we
consider the following facts. The first is that
while East Asian countries have liberalized their
financial sector, they have not fully liberalized
the other sectors. Some of them maintain high
tariffs and import restrictions. The weighted
mean tariff on all imported products in Thailand
for instance was 41.5 per cent in 1993 which was
even higher than that of Sri Lanka - 23.0 per
cent. Further, countries like South Korea had
rigid import restrictions on goods which competed
with their industries. (full text)
- CF Venture
fund moves from agro bias
CF Venture Fund Ltd.
has achieved a modest net profit after tax of Rs.
10.3 million during the financial year ended
March 31, 1998, up from Rs. 6.3 million earned
the previous year, mainly from interest income
generated by short-term investment, the company's
chairman, Mr. Chandra Wijenaike has reported.
The Hatton National Bank and Central Finance and
its associates are the major shareholders of the
CF Venture Fund Ltd. The company has either
controlling stakes or major holdings in over a
dozen non-quoted companies dealing in aquarium
fish, prawn culture, rubberised coir, barbecue
briquettes, computer software, recycled
papercraft and coconut cream. It is also involved
in setting up a 2.5 MW mini hydro project in
Watawala due to be commissioned early next year. (full story)
- JKH gets two
places on UML board
Two nominees of John
Keells Holdings (JKH) which now owns a 26% stake
in United Motors Ltd. (UML) have been appointed
to the board of directors of that company.A company announcement said that the JKH
nominees are Messrs. Ken. Balendra and Vivendra
Lintotawela. Also, Mr. A. Saruhashi of the
Mitsubishi Motors' international sales office
succeeds Mr. K. Okamoto as the Mitsubishi nominee
on the UML board. (full story)
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- Singer to make
seventh bonus issue since 1982 quotation
Singer (Sri Lanka) Ltd.
has summoned an extraordinary general meeting on
Oct. 22 to consider a resolution to capitalize
Rs. 52.2 million from its share premium account
to make a bonus share issue of three new ordinary
shares for every eleven held.Singer, which is among the leading
quoted companies with an excellent track record
on bonus issues, has made six such scrip issues
since the company got a quotation on the Colombo
Stock Exchange in 1982. This is the seventh. (full
story)
- Tea estates
feel bite of labour shortage
Nuwara Eliya - The boom
in Sri Lanka's tea industry could turn into gloom
if steps are not quickly taken to overcome an
impending labour shortage, experts here have
warned.Behind the
looming crisis is the disillusionment of the
Tamils of Indian origin, who form the bulk of the
estate labour, to break free from the virtual
bondage of the past 200 years and venture out of
the plantations in search of greener pastures.
"It is a question of
dignity and self - respect," says Dr. W. W.
D. Modder, the enlightened director of the Tea
Research Institute of Sri Lanka (TRI) at
Talawakelle, about 30 km from this hill resort,
nestling in the lap of lush green tea gardens.
"We have to restore the
dignity of the tea plucker and provide him with
good living and working conditions. It has to be
comparable to the conditions outside the
industry," he said. (full story)
- Whither
the productivity Drive
The Minister of
Industrial Development wants to introduce
''productivity'' as a subject to the school
curriculum. As a nation we are economically
slapdash. We do not do our work with the proper
care and attention. We do not plan our work or
our time. This applies to our political leaders
as well as bureaucrats. Now we have to refer to
auspicious times before commencing work in the
public sector. In developed countries the
emphasis is on doing well, whatever one is
engaged in doing, whether one is a street
sweeper, a garbage collector or a worker in the
production line of a factory. We are also a
wasteful nation, wasting not only our time but
also our resources. (full text)
- NDB opens
sixth branch at Ratnapura
The National
Development Bank (NDB) last week opened its sixth
provincial branch at Ratnapura as part of a
vigorous branch expansion programme.``I am excited about the prospect of
bringing specialized project lending to
Sabaragamuwa entrepreneurs. We particularly hope
to fill the need for cash flow based funding for
thriving local industries like gem cutting, tea
and rubber products,'' said Mr. Keerthi Liyanage,
the manager of the new branch located in the hart
of Ratnapura town.
NDB Chairman Nimal Sandaratne
and Director/CEO Ranjit Fernando were present on
the occasion of the branch opening which was
preceded by a seminar organised by the
Sabaragamuwa Chamber of Commerce at which senior
NDB officials participated. (full story)
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