US embassy cable - 04COLOMBO1694

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 001694 
 
SIPDIS 
 
USDOC FOR 4530/IEP/ANESA/OSA 
USDOC FOR 3310/USFCS/EPS/IMD 
 
PLEASE PASS TO USDOC DISTDIR ORLANDO, FLORIDA FOR KENETH 
MOURADIAN 
 
E.O.12356: N/A 
TAGS: BBSR, CE, ECONOMICS 
SUBJECT: ICP FOR FISERV CBS WORLDWIDE 
 
REF:(A) USDOC DISDIR ORLANDO, FLORIDA OF JULY 27,2004 
 
1.COUNTRY: SRI LANKA 
2.COUNTRY CODE: 542 
3.CASE NUMBER: NA 
4.REPORT DATE: October 04, 2004 
5.COMPANY NAME: E-W Information Systems(EWIS) 
6.ADDRESS: Methodist Central Building, 252 
  Galle Road, Colombo 3 
7.CONTACT: Sanjeewa Wickramanayake 
8.TITLE: Chairman/CEO 
9.PHONE: 94-11-2338484/4520520 
10.FAX.: 94-11-2447303 
11.EMAIL: ewis@ewisl.net 
WEBSITE: WWW.EWISL.NET 
12.YEAR ESTAB.: 1986 
13.SIZE: Medium 
14.SALES: USD 9.5 Million 
15.EMPLOYEES: 325 
16.MEMBER OF LOCAL CHAMBER: Ceylon Chamber of Commerce 
17.HS CODE/BUSINESS CODE/PRODUCTS AND SERVICES: 
ce 
17. HS CODE/BUSINESS CODE/PRODUCTS AND SERVICES: 
IT Software Solutions, IT hardware Trading, 
Assembling PCs, Consultancy, IT Training, Wireless 
Communication, Internet Service Provider. 
19.FOREIGN SALES: NA 
20.FOREIGN FIRMS REPRESENTED: IBM, HP, Microsoft, 
Lexmark, Computer Associates, Sony, Imation, 
AutoDesk, Cannon. 
21.COMPANY BACKGROUND: E-W Information Systems 
commenced operations in 1986 in response to new 
growth in Information Technology, and was the 
pioneer IBM business partner. The company was 
started by two of Sri Lanka's prominent business 
persons, who also have interests in shipping, 
television, bunkering and other businesses.  The 
company had a change of ownership in 1996, and the 
present Chairman/CEO was an employee of the previous 
owners. EWIS has also collaborated with the Japanese 
Computer Printing Company, Toppan Forms, which now 
owns a twenty percent stake in E-WIS Toppan Forms 
Colombo.  The company has been in the forefront of 
the IT sector and is well informed about IT-related 
ed 
government and private sector projects/plans in the 
country.   The company is headquartered in one of 
Colombo's premier business locations, in very close 
proximity to the US Embassy. The company has also 
regionalized its operations with offices and service 
centers in the Western, Southern, Eastern, Northern, 
Central and North Western regions of the country. 
 
 
22.FINANCIAL/BANK REFERENCE: Hongkong & Shanghai 
Banking Corporation, Sir Baron Jayatilake Mawatha 
Colombo 1. 
 
23.FINANCIAL DATA (2002/2003-USD): Sales 9.6 million, 
Accumulated Profits 200,000.00, Paid up Capital 
425,000. Total Assets 9.3 million. 
 
KEY COMPANY OFFICIALS: Sanjeewa Wickramanayake is 
the Chairman and CEO of the EWIS Group.  Mr. 
Wickramanayake is the major shareholder, with 
Rajendram Christostam being the other shareholder in 
the company.  Mr. Christostam is also the Director 
of Finance for the EWIS Group.  At time of transfer, 
Mr. Wickramanayake paid a sum of U$500,000 to obtain 
n 
ownership of the company.  Six directors comprise 
the EWIS Board and each strategic Business Unit 
(SBU) is under the direction of a General Manager 
who is responsible for the performance of each 
respective SBU. The founders of the company no 
longer have any interest in the firm. 
 
25.TRADE/FINANCIAL REFERENCES: 
 
a)Bank References: Hongkong & Shanghai Banking 
Corporation, Sir Baron 
Jayatilake Mw; Colombo 1 
Tel: 94-11-2446591 
Contact: Ms. Tehani Pilimatalawa 
 
b)Trade References: Sri Lanka Telecom 
 Lotus Road, Colombo 1 
 
 Ministry of Education 
 'Isurupaya' Sri Jayawardenapura 
 Kotte, Battaramulla 
 
 Unilever Ceylon Ltd 
 258, Vincent Perera Mw; 
 Colombo 14 
 
 Colombo Stock Exchange 
 Level 4/5 West Wing 
 World Trade Center 
 Colombo 1 
 
 British American Tobacco 
 178 Srimath Ramanathan Mw; 
 Colombo 15 
 
26.MARKET INFORMATION AND OUTLOOK:  EWIS operates in 
one of the most vibrant and competitive 
product/service sectors in the country.  Being a 
pioneer in the IT industry, EWIS has cultivated 
ted 
strong relationships with both government and 
private sector entities over the years.  The company 
has worked with some of the major blue chip 
companies as well as government agencies in 
implementing IT projects in the country.  EWIS is 
the first IT company in the country to be awarded 
the ISO 9002 certification for marketing and 
servicing, and subsequently obtained the ISO 9001 
quality system.  It has also been awarded numerous 
performance awards from international vendors and 
industry. EWIS has many new projects lined up, and 
is currently negotiating with a US company for 
maintenance and equipment service for an online 
lottery.  It is also looking at collaborating with a 
renowned Indian company to offer business process 
training in Sri Lanka. This is expected to have 
widespread acceptance among the private sector, as 
there is a dearth of trained professionals available 
in the job market.  Partnering with a major mobile 
telecommunications service provider is another 
effort the company currently is pursuing.  The 
potential for the IT industry in Sri Lanka is great. 
Most government agencies and almost all private 
sector organizations have computerized operations. 
The government has initiated computer training in 
approximately 600 government-owned schools and will 
be looking at expanding the project to include more 
schools with donor funding.  The World Bank recently 
allocated $53 million to the GSL for IT, which will 
come under the purview of Information and 
Communication Technology Agency for Sri Lanka 
(ICTA).  The areas for which the funds are earmarked 
are E-Procurement, E-Foreign Employment, E-Pensions 
and E-motoring.  Industry sources disclose that 60- 
70 percent of these projects will require a foreign 
component, which provides scope for American IT 
firms. 
 
27.REPUTATION: Good. 
 
POST EVALUATION: EWIS is a reputable company in the 
IT sector, having secured major projects both in the 
government and private sector corporations. Post 
Commercial Specialist visited the company and had a 
long discussion with the Chairman, Mr. 
Wickramanayake who provided all required information 
without hesitation and also talked in-depth about 
his company's plans and the scope for the IT 
industry in the country.  According to the Chairman 
of the Computer Society in Sri Lanka, EWIS has a 
good reputation in the IT industry in the country 
and is an ethical and well-run business entity.  The 
company also has the financial resources to 
implement large government and private sector IT 
projects.  The company's bankers have stated that 
EWIS has maintained a satisfactory banking 
relationship for over 15 years and is offered credit 
facilities on a secured basis, which is standard 
practice in the local banking sector.  EWIS also has 
good GSL connections irrespective of the party in 
power and maintains good relationships with the 
diplomatic community including donor agencies. 
 
There are no known adverse local, economic, industry 
conditions that will affect a normal business 
relationship with an overseas company. 
 
29.RECOMMENDATION: Embassy has reason to believe EWIS 
is a good business partner for U.S. companies, based 
on our information, discussion with EWIS, its bank 
and the President of the Computer Society of Sri 
Lanka. 
 
The information supplied in this report by Post is 
intended for the sole use of the client.  You are 
requested to honor the trust of these sources by not 
making secondary distribution of the data.  While 
every effort is made to supply current and accurate 
information, Post holds no responsibility of 
liability for any decision based on the content of 
International Company Profile. 
 
LUNSTEAD 
D