Saturday 7 November 2015

SL urged to improve investment climate with transparency and good governance

Dramatic hike in new vehicle registrations in 2015

By Hiran H.Senewiratne

Sri Lanka requires to improve the investment climate with transparency and good governance for businesses to flourish. If not the economy will suffer immense fiscal pressures, Carmudi Sri Lanka Managing Director Firaz Markar said.

"The wider macro-economic factors, such as steady GDP growth, access to low cost credit, and a rising level of affluence within major demographics of Sri Lankan society, have combined to generate an unprecedented level of growth within the Sri Lankan automotive industry in the recent past , Markar told a media conference in Colombo on Thursday.

Sri Lanka’s pioneering online vehicle retailer, Carmudi.lk, released a ground-breaking new research white paper detailing the recent performance of the Sri Lankan automotive industry and an in-depth analysis into key trends in vehicle financing.

Among the key findings of the Carmudi white paper was the dramatic increase in registrations of new vehicles in 2015, which hit an all-time high of 4,990 vehicles in August 2015, as compared with the previous year, Markar said.

He said small cars, hybrids and full-electric vehicles were found to have displayed a rapid increase in popularity among Sri Lankan consumers in 2015.

"This is boosted by the volatility in state regulatory and import policy, which may be having a notable impact on demand as consumers look to secure the best possible deal on their purchases, he said.
Analyzing historical data, the newly released Carmudi.lk white paper, titled ‘Car Financing in Sri Lanka’, offers valuable insights into the overall performance of the vehicle retail industry.

Markar said there is today a considerable amount of debate with regard to the current levels of demand for vehicles in Sri Lanka and regulations are needed to effectively cope with such demand in a manner that is beneficial to all stakeholders.

"In that context, the release of this report is a timely development that we hope will shed some light on the current dynamics in Sri Lanka’s automotive industry and hopefully contribute towards the formation of an effective discussion on regulatory policy and other salient issues that are informed by hard facts, he said.

Markar noted that potential changes to vehicle taxation policies and a reversal on downward interest rate momentum could tip the balance of vehicle financing in favour of an alternate model where consumers may be forced to take on a larger proportion of the total cost of the vehicle, potentially signalling a shift in conditions for finance companies and banks.

"Recent events resulting in vehicle values going up have definitely affected the market. 

We see lower sales in vehicles since news broke of this increase. Interest rate changes are not expected to affect the market drastically due to it being a very nominal increase thus far.

"We will continue to monitor the market over the next month or so as dealers adopt a wait and see approach towards vehicle buyer intent, Markar added.
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Nestlé Lanka announces ‘stable growth’ of 8.6% for Jan - Sept 2015

Nestlé Lanka PLC, a leading Nutrition, Health and Wellness Company in Sri Lanka, posted revenue of LKR 27.1 billion for the nine months period ending 30 September 2015 recording a growth of 8.6% vs previous year. The company reported a net profit of LKR 3.5 billion, a growth of 9.8% for the same period.

For Q3 2015, the company delivered revenue of LKR 8.8 billion and net profit of LKR 1.0 billion, indicating steady performance and enhanced investment behind its brands.

The third quarter of the year saw Nestlé Lanka reaffirm its position as a leading company in Sri Lanka, and was ranked amongst the top 15 business entities in Sri Lanka by the ‘Business Today TOP 25’, based on its financial performance during 2014-2015.

"The steady performance delivered by our company in the first 9 months of 2015, is a result of the trust our consumers repose on the quality and safety of our products. We once again reaffirmed our position as a leading and respected company, committed to enhancing the quality of life of the people of Sri Lanka, through our strong brands and rural development initiatives," said Shivani Hegde, Managing Director of Nestlé Lanka PLC.

As a leading Nutrition, Health and Wellness provider, Nestlé Lanka continued its focus on encouraging physical activity and an active lifestyle, and offering specialized milk-based nutrition for different stages of life. Products like Milo ready to drink, Nestomalt malted food drink, Nespray growing up milks, and the recently launched Nespray Nutri Up ready to drink, promote the goodness of locally procured Sri Lankan milk fortified with nutrients like Iron and Vitamins, leveraging Nestlé’s global expertise in nutrition. This was supported with the company’s continued commitment towards developing the Dairy Industry, as the largest private sector collector of local fresh milk in Sri Lanka.

The company also rolled out a large multi-brand wellness initiative, ‘Choose Wellness Choose Nestlé’, offering consumers a range of wellness solutions to promote a healthy and balanced lifestyle. The campaign also incorporates the Nestlé ‘Choose Wellness’ van that is travelling island-wide, providing free nutrition counselling and health checks to consumers. (Nestlé Lanka)
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