As per the recent agreement with Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), the country’s telecom giant is entrusted to develop and maintain a communication network for Union Assurance Limited (UAL), a reputed financial institution in Sri Lanka. The communication network will connect UAL’s Central Office in Colombo and its branch network of over 40 offices to handle both voice and data.

Commenting on the agreement, UAL CEO Sarath Wickramanayake observed, "this state-of-the-art infrastructure will enable UAL to be more competitive in terms of speed and efficiency and is part of our vision for the future when we will be even more passionately pursuing excellence in customer service. SLT is our chosen service provider because of their islandwide coverage. We opted for SLT since we want to offer the best to our customers and be competitive. We have a long and extremely cordial relationship with SLT and are happy to be associated with them in this venture."

The agreement was signed by Sarath Wickramanayake and Shuhei Anan, CEO SLT. "SLT is privileged to provide total communication solutions to a leading Sri Lankan financial institution like UAL. Being the premier telecom service provider with a far-reaching network, SLT will be able to bear all the communication needs of UAL. We will be providing UAL with all their voice and data communication requirements throughout Sri Lanka. SLT can confidently support UAL in this endeavour with a range of technologies: starting from legacy Frame Relay to forthcoming technologies like IP-VPN, ADSL with fast downloading speeds to supersede the ISDN services, from copper based last mile connection to fibre optics and even VSAT solutions to reach difficult terrain", said Anan.

[Photo shows Sarath Wickramanayake, Chief Executive Officer of the Union Assurance Limited and Mr. Shuhei Anan, Chief Executive of the SLT exchanging the agreements]

UAL is a composite insurer with a wide portfolio of Life and General business, including personal insurance. Now in its fifteenth year of operations the company was established at the time the private sector was permitted to enter the insurance industry with the enactment of the Control of Insurance (Amendment) Act No. 42 of 1986. Committed to pursuing the highest standards of service and security, UAL is backed by the corporate strength of the John Keells Group, Aitken Spence & Co. and Carson Cumberbatch & Co. Ltd. The company’s shareholder base is further strengthened by the 15% stake of IFC (International Finance Corporation), the private sector financial arm of the World Bank.

The company has an extensive network of 44 branches islandwide, including Jaffna, Trincomalee, Batticoloa, Vavuniya and Ampara, to meet the needs of its corporate and individual clientele and is supported by an experienced and qualified staff, many of whom are professionals in various disciplines. UAL’s commitment to operate efficiently and cost-effectively is supported by the introduction of state-of-the-art Information Technology initiatives that have given them the edge in terms of speed and efficiency. The company is now looking at alternative distribution channels and strategic business opportunities.

UAL’s profitability and net asset base are indicators of its financial stability and strength, which places it firmly among the best private insurance service providers in Sri Lanka. All activities are pursued with a commitment to fulfil its vision of being the most efficient, secure and profitable insurer in Sri Lanka.

SLT is the premier telecom service provider in the country and has a customer base of 750,000.

SLT’s services range from basic voice to advance data transmission services which include Internet services both on leased lines and dial up, data circuits, frame relay solutions and total solutions of combinations of multiple services.

SLT’s 100% digital switching and transport network supported by national and international telecommunication links, serves as the foundation for telecommunication infrastructure in the country. Its fully digital transmission network consists of optical fibre rings and a digital microwave transmission system. Currently SLT operates 432 telephone exchanges.

International connectivity of SLT is on three digital satellite earth stations supplemented by two digital undersea cables. Year ending December 31, 2001, the company recorded Rs. 22 billion of total operating revenue.

(Press Release)