LMD releases State sector rankings

Thursday, 3 July 2014 03:02 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The nation’s public sector enterprises have, for the first time, been ranked on the basis of public perceptions – by multinational research firm TNS, for leading business magazine LMD. In its July Cover Story, the magazine also reports on the latest financials of Sri Lanka’s State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). The survey assesses the reputation of SOEs among the general public – it produces the personality traits of and perceptions associated with the nation’s State entities. SriLankan Airlines takes first place in the exclusive rankings of Sri Lanka’s state sector enterprises, with an index of 87, while People’s Bank comes in as a close runner-up with a score of 84.

It is followed by National Savings Bank (NSB) in third place (82 points), Airport & Aviation Services (81), and Bank of Ceylon (BOC) and Sri Jayewardenepura General Hospital in joint-fifth place (with 80 points each). LMD observes that “of those who selected SriLankan Airlines as their preferred SOE, 59% describe the national carrier as being ‘progressive,’ while 58% say the airline is ‘popular.’ In addition, 49% believe that SriLankan Airlines is ‘punctual’ – an especially important feature, given the industry that it operates in.” And according to the magazine, People’s Bank’s leading attribute is its ‘approachable nature,’ according to 59% of the 310 respondents spoken to by TNS Lanka. “The ‘pulse of the people’ is also viewed as a ‘progressive’ state entity, in the eyes of 55% of those interviewed by the survey team.” BOC benefits from a widespread network which renders it as ‘approachable’ to the masses, LMD reports: “Despite its long-standing history, the bank is viewed as a ‘progressive’ enterprise. For the record, Brand Finance valued the BOC brand – in LMD’s Brands Annual – at Rs. 30.8 billion recently. Moreover, BOC was the only SOE to grace the 2013 Most Respected rankings’ Hall of Fame – i.e. the top 20.” LMD is the flagship of Media Services, which announced that the July edition of the magazine has been released to leading supermarkets and bookstores across the island. For more on the magazine’s state sector rankings, visit its website (www.LMD.lk).