Wayamba's sex enhancer advert under probe

It is being reported that the sex-enhancing drug promoted by Sri Lanka Cricket’s Wayamba team at the recent Champions League in South Africa, has come under fire from the Indian Consumer Guidance Society which has filed legal cases against advertisements of the drug.

Sri Lanka Cricket accepted 300,000 dollars (Rs 30 million) from an Indian company pharmaceutical company producing the controversial drug called Musli Power Xtra which has been branded a sex promoting drug.

To defend itself Sri Lanka Cricket called it a “health product”.

According to the Hindu newspaper, the states of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh have come into focus for selling and advertising the drug with a reference to the Drug and Magic Remedies Act.

According to the Hindu the advertisements promoting the Musli Power drug were dubbed as “deceptive” and making the public get carried away by such enticements. They have called on advertisers to refrain from placing such advertisements.

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Indian Bank gets nod for branch in Jaffna

NEW DELHI: State-owned Indian Bank has got approval from the Reserve Bank India to open a branch in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, and expects the branch to be functional by the end of December. "We have just got licence from RBI for opening a branch in Jaffna and we are in process of seeking approval from the Sri Lankan authorities for the same," Indian Bank Chairman and Managing Director T M Bhasin said after inaugurating its 1,800th branch Noida (UP).



Currently, it has a branch in Colombo . Besides, it also has a branch in Singapore.



The Sri Lankan authorities has assured the bank that clearances would be expedited, he said, adding, "we hope make the Jaffna branch operational by the end of December this year or early January."



The Chennai-based bank has started scouting for suitable space in the city.



The bank is also exploring possibility of opening a branch at Kandy, he said.



Talking about its domestic foot-print, Bhasin said that the bank plans to open another 100 branches in the next 5 months across the country.



By the end of March 2011, the total branch network of the bank would go up to Rs 1,900 from the current level of 1,800, he said.



For the first quarter ended June, 2010, Indian Bank recorded an 11 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 368.15 crore. It had a net profit of Rs 331.66 crore during the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal.



The bank also reported an 11.07 per cent increase in its total income in the first quarter at Rs 2,477.25 crore compared to Rs 2,230.39 crore. 

Source : Economic Times of India

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Lanka hailed as destination for Film Producers by Movie 'Location Guide'

Sri Lanka has earned a rave review as a destination for movie and broadcast productions in the 2011 edition of The Location Guide, the film industry's bible for selecting movie and commercial production locales.

The latest edition of The Location Guide featured a separate "Focus" on Sri Lanka, highlighting the island's natural beauty, a film-friendly government and its reasonable production costs. The Guide noted Sri Lanka's wildlife parks, central-highlands tea plantations, miles of pristine beaches and the colonial architecture found.

"Dubbed the Pearl of the Indian Ocean, my feeling is that Sri Lanka deserves this title and there is no question that it has great locations for filming and excellent production values with crew rates which would have to be considered the most competitive in the region," Murray Ashton, the founder of the London-based The Location Guide, wrote in the latest edition.

"If you need to film anything remotely associated with the tropics, then you are in the right place."

The annual guide has provided film and production companies, directors and producers with essential information and location contacts for filming worldwide since 1998.

Sri Lanka boasts an impressive history of filmmaking. It was the setting for such memorable movies as Bridge on the River Kwai, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Jungle Book and Tarzan the Ape Man.

"When you visit Sri Lanka, it is plain to see why the world's best directors chose it as a location," The Location Guide states.

Natural Beauty is just one advantage Sri Lanka offers filmmakers. The Guide also noted the abundance of talent in Sri Lanka, where 300 commercials were filmed in 2009. "The production community is also made of around 700 film professionals working across all production categories," the guide stated.

While in Sri Lanka, Ashton was assisted by Gopi Darmaratnam of Sri Lankan film actor Ravindra Randeniya's company, The Film Team (Pvt) Ltd. Driver Anton Gomes drove Ashton nearly 3,000 kilometers around Sri Lanka in order to complete his report.

The lack of red tape for production companies and a lack of film unions are other huge pluses for Sri Lanka, according to the guide. Sri Lanka recently established a 235-acre tele-cinema studio facility, the guide states, and the government and recently re-elected President Mahinda Rajapaksa "strongly support the film and television industries."

Relatively few film permits are required, and those needed to film in government or historic buildings, or for street scenes, are easy to obtain with a minimum of paperwork, the guide adds.

"Sri Lanka can be considered film-friendly as government institutions increasingly realize the importance the role of filming plays in the promotion of tourism to the country," it states.

"I am pleased that The Location Guide sees a bright future for the film industry in Sri Lanka," said Jaliya Wickramasuriya, Sri Lanka's ambassador to the United States. "Sri Lanka has a rich tradition of hosting a variety of film projects over the years, and we have the facilities that will make our country a world leader in film production."

"When You Visit Sri Lanka, It Is Plain to See Why the World's Best Directors Chose It as a Location," -- Editor

SOURCE Embassy of Sri Lanka

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Central Bank maintains policy rates unchanged

In its latest monetary policy review, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has decided to keep policy rates unchanged. Accordingly, the Repurchase rate and the Reverse Repurchase rate of the Central Bank would remain at 7.25 per cent and 9.00 per cent, respectively.

Economic growth remains robust and broad based with all sectors contributing to the expansion of output.  Credit flows continue to rebound with credit to the private sector from commercial banks growing on a year on year basis by 12.8 per cent in August 2010, further reinforcing the growth prospects.  At the same time, year on year growth in broad money remains moderate at 13.9 per cent in August. 

The successful issue of the 10-year international sovereign bond on 27 September at a comparatively lower coupon rate of 6.25 per cent and attracting an order book of more than 6 times the value of the bond reflects the improved investor confidence in the economy.  Gross international reserves further increased with the receipt of the fifth tranche of the IMF-SBA facility and the proceeds of the international sovereign bond.

 Inflation, as measured by the year on year change in the Colombo Consumers’ Price Index (2002=100) increased in September to 5.8 per cent from 5 per cent in August.  However, inflation is expected to remain subdued over the coming months.

The release of the next regular statement on monetary policy will be on 16 November 2010.

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Linde offers to acquire major stake in Ceylon Oxygen

Linde AG on Saturday announced an offer to acquire all the shares in privately-held Ceylon Oxygen Limited in Sri Lanka, and the acceptance of the offer by the major shareholder, Europium Limited (a member of the private equity group, Actis), in respect of 95.4 percent of the shares in  Ceylon Oxygen.  The offer, which has become unconditional, will close on 12 November 2010, after which Linde intends to acquire the outstanding minority shares held by shareholders who have not accepted the offer under relevant Sri Lankan legislation to give it 100 percent ownership of Ceylon Oxygen.

Established in 1936, Ceylon Oxygen Limited is headquartered in Colombo, and is the leading medical and industrial gases player in Sri Lanka. It is the only company that owns and operates an air separation plant in the country.

"The Linde Group is a global leader in gases and engineering, and Asia is a key growth market for the Group. The investment in Ceylon Oxygen will expand Linde’s footprint in emerging markets in Asia, and provides the opportunity for us to tap into and participate in the long-term growth prospects in Sri Lanka. Working with Ceylon Oxygen’s experienced management team, we intend to build on and strengthen the company’s solid market position,” said Mr Sanjiv Lamba, Regional Business Unit Head for Linde South & East Asia.

Mr Niran Pieris, Chief Executive Officer of Ceylon Oxygen Limited, said, "We are very proud of our association with Actis – especially for their belief in our management team and their commitment to the long-term growth of Ceylon Oxygen. Today is the start of an exciting future for Ceylon Oxygen. As a member of The Linde Group, we will be able to leverage on Linde’s innovations built over 130 years, technological expertise and strong market position in South & East Asia to accelerate our expansion plans and serve an even wider set of customers.”

Ceylon Oxygen Limited employs approximately 160 staff and has two manufacturing sites in Sapugaskande and Colombo, as well as four depots in Galle, Ratnapura, Kurunegala and Anuradhapura. It produces liquid nitrogen and liquid oxygen at its Sapugaskande air separation unit, and its facility in Colombo houses a liquid carbon dioxide plant, a dry ice plant, a dissolved acetylene plant and a nitrous oxide plant.  

Ceylon Oxygen Limited was incorporated in 1936 in Sri Lanka. Since its inception, Ceylon Oxygen Limited has been in the forefront of providing medical and industrial gases in the country. It offers an extensive product range that includes oxygen, dissolved acetylene, nitrogen, dry air, compressed air, breathing air, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, dry ice and other gas mixtures which are manufactured at its own plant. It has an international standard laboratory which enables its specialists to test the purity of its gases, and ensure consistency in quality, quantity and reliability.


The Linde Group is a world leading gases and engineering company with almost 48,000 employees working in more than 100 countries worldwide. In the 2009 financial year it achieved sales of EUR 11.2 billion. The strategy of The Linde Group is geared towards sustainable earnings-based growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services.
Linde acts responsibly towards its shareholders, business partners, employees, society and the environment – in every one of its business areas, regions and locations across the globe. Linde is committed to technologies and products that unite the goals of customer value and sustainable development.

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Tata Motors plans small car to take on Alto

MUMBAI: Tata Motors is planning to launch a new car that will be positioned between the Nano and the Indica.
“This is a widespace that needs to be addressed,” said Carl Peter Forster at the launch of the company’s first cross-over vehicle, Aria.
With the launch of this small car, Tata Motors will take on the Maruti-Suzuki Alto, currently the largest selling hatchback in the Indian market.
It is expected to be launched by early 2012 and powered by an 800cc engine, said people familiar with the development.
“It will be a completely indigenised product made by Tata Motors and work on the car is currently underway. Vendors have been approached for specific components for the new car,” said this person.
For Tata Motors this is a logical move, as the auto major is looking to have products at every price point. Currently the Tata Motors car portfolio includes the Nano, Indica, Indigo, Manza, Sumo, Safari and the Aria.
The Aria is Tata Motors’ most ambitious launch in the premium segment. Priced at Rs 1.3 million - Rs 1.6 million (ex-showroom Mumbai), it will take on Toyota Innova and the Mahindra Xylo in the crossover space.

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Conducive biz climate vital to double per capita income

By Azhar Razak

The Sri Lankan government should lay out a very conducive business environment to attract greater private sector investment, if the island is to achieve its ambitious medium term per capita income target, a top official says.

According to the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, Dr. Anura Ekanayake, the government’s target of doubling the present per capita income by the year 2015 would be wholly dependent on investments made by the private sector since the public sector would not be able to afford a spurt in investments while keeping up to its medium-term fiscal targets.

“In order to achieve the government’s economic target of doubling per capita income from the present US $2,000 to US $4,000, the country would need to achieve a sustained Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of at least 8-10 percent for the next five years. This requires the present average Investment Ratio to GDP of approximately 25 percent, (excluding year 2009) being increased to 40 percent by the year 2015,” Dr Ekanayake said.

Therefore, he is of the candid view that if the Investment Ratio is to be increased, the required growth would have to come from the private sector as the public sector, which has a target of reducing the budget deficit in the medium term, would find it harder to make larger investments.

“If the government tries to increase its investment, it will only bloat the budget deficit. Therefore, investments from the private sector will be vital to achieve the per-capita income growth target and thus, a more conducive business environment would be imperative to attract such a growth spurt in private investments,” he said.

Dr Ekanayake was speaking on the 23rd ‘Sanvada’ (Dialogue) programme on the topic of ‘Investment Dilemma: What can be done?’ organised by the Pathfinder Foundation held at the BMICH recently.

From Left : Chanuka Wattegama, Dr. Sirimal Abeyratne, Dr. Anura Ekanayake and Gayathri Gunaruwan

The theme of the programme was on ‘Pre-budget’ while other speakers on the panel included Dr. Sirimal Abeyratne, Professor of Economics at the University of Colombo, Chanuka Wattegama, Senior Researcher, Telecom and IT sectors at LirneAsia and Gayathri Gunaruwan, Senior Economist at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC).

Meanwhile, according to officials, the CCC, which had recently submitted its policy recommendations and taxation proposals to the government in view of the 2011 budget being prepared, has urged the government to concentrate on facilitating investment, export promotion, developing financial markets, public sector reforms and setting out the long overdue tax policy reforms.

“The laying of a more conducive business environment so that the private sector would be able to increase their participation in the economy is vital at this juncture. We should take many cues from the globally recognised indexes such as the Ease of doing business Index and Index of Economic Freedom where we have been more regularly falling,” stressed Dr Sirimal Abeyratne while delivering a presentation on the topic of “Budget 2011 on the Road to Economic Miracle’.

This year’s ease of doing business Index rankings showed that Sri Lanka has slipped eight places from the 97th position it held in Year 2009 to 105th position in the year 2010.

Dr Abeyratne also identified the importance of implementing several economic reforms that are immediately needed since sustaining higher growth rates for longer periods would remain a huge challenge given the present scenario.

If the government tries to increase its investment, it will only bloat the budget deficit. Therefore, investments from the private sector will be vital to achieve the per-capita income growth target and thus, a more conducive business environment would be imperative to attract such a growth spurt in private investments

“What we need is a two-fold mission. That is to create a global hub in naval, aviation, commerce, energy and knowledge while at the same time we should also nurture local entrepreneurs to conquer the world. But, for this to happen, a reform process is required in our development strategy, regulatory framework and the macroeconomic order,” he said.
He also criticised the authorities for not putting greater emphasis on the loss making major public enterprises which accumulate massive losses each year.
“The five monsters, CPC, CEB, Water Board, CGR, and CTB are making enormous losses each year. Although authorities have identified this issue for a long time and even mentioned it in the Annual Report of the Ministry of Finance and Planning in 2008, it is still unknown as to what measures they have taken to specifically address this issue from then onwards,” he pointed out.
He argued that their major problems lie in the heavy reliance on the government budget for recurrent expenditure while not reaping any dividends to the government.
“The five monsters have been continuously running on heavy public enterprise debts that are mainly owed to the state owned banks and they have a tendency for unusual accumulation of ‘circular debt’ such as each enterprise owing monies to one another,” he highlighted.
Dr Abeyratne also recommended that the current development strategy should be changed to picking winners, government assistance being provided to support sectors that are draining taxes (and not which are paying taxes) and the regulatory framework being vastly improved.
The Sanvada programme is aimed at critical analysis and debate on proposed or likely legislative initiative impacting the economy and the society of Sri Lanka.
The mission of the Foundation is to play a catalytic role in changing attitudes of legislators, government officials, civil society groups, and the general public towards the role of government in the economy and society, markets, the globalisation process and private initiatives through research, information dissemination, action and dialogue.

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