Sumi Moonesinghe’s ‘Big Break’ in business in the Maharaja Organization

by Sumi Moonesinghe as narated to Savitri Rodrigo

I was due some long leave and Susil and I decided to come to Colombo on holiday. Since we had no home of our own at the time, we were warmly welcomed into the homes of our friends Sena Kiridena, a Director of J L Morison Son & Jones, as well as Dr. Seevali Ratwatte and his wife, Cuckoo. Susil and Anura (Bandaranaike) were both good friends with Sena.

Once we landed in Colombo, Susil’s rather large network of friends made sure there was no shortage of lunches, dinners and even teas in between because sometimes fitting in all the social engagements seemed impossible. One of these many dear friends was Killi, who, together with his brother Rajendram Maharaja (or Maha as everyone knew him), had built the Capital Maharaja Group into a formidable group of companies. Killi’s hospitality was unending — from treating us to gastronomic delights in great restaurants to plying us with beautiful gifts. Since I was already funding Ganga, Tara and Susil’s mother, plus managing the home fires, these luxuries were out of our reach on that single salary. For us, these gestures of warm hospitality and friendship therefore were real treats.

One night, while enjoying dinner with Killi at his home on Inner Flower Road with his girlfriend Canice, whom he eventually married, Killi said, “Sumi, why don’t you end your contract in Singapore and come back to work for us?” You could have heard my jaw drop, I was so surprised. But I pulled myself together and said, “But I’m only an electronics engineer, Killi You run a business and you’re asking me to join a business. I know nothing about commerce and industry.”

But then Susil looked at me, smiled and piped in: “Sumi, I can teach you business.” Like I stated, I always trusted Susil to do the right thing for me. I didn’t hesitate and before dinner was done, I agreed to join the Capital Maharaja Group.

This was definitely a turning point in my life – the point when I gave up my academic career and went into the world of commerce, a world I knew nothing about. The prospect didn’t scare me because Susil had promised to hold my hand and guide me. To me this was a strong pillar I could hold on to and move forward.

We returned to Singapore. My priority tasks were to end my contract and start packing up. My brother Ranjith who had also qualified as an engineer accompanied us on our return. We found him a job and delayed our departure until he was settled in.

When I finally handed in my resignation, it was accepted albeit with some sadness because the Singapore Polytechnic had been very happy with my performance in the two-and-a -half years I had been with them. They were also not expecting me to leave before my contract was over.

In the meantime, we also purchased a Peugeot 504, which was the car of choice for any Sri Lankan returning from a stint abroad. The Peugeot 504 had great resale value in Sri Lanka due to a certain amount of prestige attached to the brand as well. We now owned two cars – our Vauxhall Victor 2000 and the newly-acquired Peugeot 504. Susil and I had a moment of mirth about our vehicle acquisitions – in a Sri Lankan context, these two cars would label us back home as prosperous.

This was the second half of 1974 and Sri Lanka was still in a closed economy with imports being scarce. Under Mrs. Bandaranaike’s Government, the country had descended into an economic abyss with food shortages, a rationing environment leading to long queues for basic food, and a policy of ‘Produce or Perish’ being the clarion call. The cost of imports had spiralled and export earnings stagnant; this was exacerbated by a blend of Government mismanagement. Basic necessities were luxuries and knowing this, I remember packing the boots of both cars with plastic Tupperware, bottles and jars which you could hardly find in Sri Lanka.

In the meanwhile, Killi and his brother Maha floated Jones Overseas Limited as part of the Capital Maharaja Group, with a share capital of Rs. 10,000. They gave me a one-third stake in the company. I was appointed Managing Director of Jones Overseas Limited and at 30 years of age, probably the youngest to helm a company within a conglomerate.

Then the wheels began turning and sugar was on top of the agenda.

In January 1975, Susil went to see Mrs. Bandaranaike at the Prime Minister’s Office. He was in the waiting room when he overheard a conversation between her Secretary Dharmasiri Peiris and Mrs. Bandaranaike on the impending visit of the Australian Prime Minister. Dharmasiri suggested that Mrs. Bandaranaike ask the Australian PM for wheat, which was more urgent than sugar, even though sugar was in very short supply. Susil, in his wisdom, knew if there was a shortage of sugar, things wouldn’t bode well for the country. The populace would retaliate. He was at that office with a recipe that could sweeten the sourness that was now eating at the very core of the country’s existence.

Susil sat patiently in the foyer and was finally called in. Without beating about the bush, he said, “The country has a shortage of sugar and things are not boding well for the Government. I can arrange to bring down a representative from Robert Kuok’s office in Singapore to negotiate the purchase of sugar for Sri Lanka.” Whatever her faults, Mrs. Bandaranaike was a woman of action. She knew Susil spoke the truth and immediately agreed to his suggestion.

Now that we got the go-ahead, we quickly contacted Singapore and Robert Kuok sent his brother’s son-in-law Kenneth Yeo to Sri Lanka for negotiations. As Managing Director of Jones Overseas, I was to accompany Kenneth to the meetings that were scheduled with various officials.

Our first meeting was with the Food Commissioner Tom Pathmanathan who, under that Government, was tasked with the purchases of all essential commodities. After that meeting, he arranged for our next meeting with the Secretary of the Trade Ministry, Dr. Jayantha Kelegama, and Director of External Resources Austin Fernando. At all these discussions, Kenneth confirmed that he could supply the quantity of sugar that Sri Lanka required within a month. To the Sri Lankan team, this seemed like plucking fruit out of thin air and I could see they didn’t quite believe him.

In the current environment, this promise was a near impossibility. Loading the consignment alone would take 10 days at the minimum, in addition to the sailing time for a 10,000-tonne vessel which was way more than the month, Kenneth stated. All this information was completely new to me, but I sat there absorbing everything like a sponge.

When we got out of the office, I asked Kenneth how on earth he would meet this impossible deadline. He smiled and said, Being the largest sugar trader in this region, we have many vessels all around in the seas at any given time. All we have to do is divert one towards Sri Lanka.” That made sense to me. We were dealing with the world’s sugar kings after all.

Once we had got the agreement from the Government, the paperwork began. At that time, emails were unheard of and faxes were a thing of the future. We only worked with telexes. I pored over all the contracts, learned ship-loading terms, logistics and every related area in exports, commodities and shipping. Contracts of sale were finalized, with Kenneth Yeo and the Food Commissioner Tom Pathmanathan signing on the dotted line, concluding the sale of 10,000 metric tonnes of white sugar for a total value of USD 12.5 million.

This was the largest transaction the Capital Maharaja Group had made until then, and as one-third shareholder, I got a substantial amount of money as a result. For me, it was like winning a lottery.

Kenneth kept his promise. The sugar arrived at the Colombo Port on time and our first deal was a success.

My next task was at hand. As Managing Director of Jones Overseas I was to expand the Company’s purview in the import and distribution of other essential commodities – rice, flour and even milk powder. Our cold call to 15, Carpenter Street, while we were yet residing in Singapore, had borne fruit after all, because the very large commodity business Jones Overseas built up could only be attributed to the relationship we forged with the Kuok Brothers, specifically Robert Kuok, the ‘Sugar King’ of Asia.

After our very successful sugar deal, Robert Kuok invited Susil and me on an all-expenses-paid visit to Singapore. However, just before we left for Singapore, when we were returning from a visit to Susil’s cousin Dr. Ananda (Jacko) Jayatilleke in Kandy, I began feeling quite nauseous. Despite feeling ill, we made our habitual stop at my parents’ home and just as she saw me my mother immediately said, “You are pregnant Sumi. I can see it in your face. Don’t take any medicine for nausea. It’s a natural process.”

With my mother’s words ringing in my ears and Susil quite excited at the news, an appointment was made with Gynaecologist Professor Henry Nanayakkara. When we went at the allotted time of the appointment however, there were far too many patients waiting to see him. Patience is definitely not one of my virtues. I persuaded Susil to consult Dr. Siva Chinnathamby at Hewa Avenue, Colombo 7. When we met her, she examined me and said everything was fine.

Then I told her about my impending holiday in Singapore. She agreed to let me go but ordered a strict no-exertion holiday as I was yet in my first trimester. “There will be no walkabouts or shopping excursions,” she said strictly. “But I love window shopping and my walks on the quay with Susil,” I grumbled. She was not to be dissuaded and gave us both strict instructions.

When we got into Singapore, Robert Kuok had booked us into the Shangri-La and from the moment we landed, we were treated like royalty. A warm and hospitable man, his friendship extended to meeting his family – his lovely wife Poh-lin and the children who eventually went on to become CEOs of the various companies he owned. I also remember meeting Richard Liu, who was helming the sugar business. Richard and I struck up a strong friendship which would last throughout our lifetimes.

It was he who became my point of contact and my business sounding board, always on hand to hear me out and give me sound words of advice. In fact, in the first year of business, Jones Overseas sold 120,000 tonnes of sugar with the Kuoks winning every single tender floated by the Food Commissioner.

We were always on the lookout for opportunities to grow our commodity business. One of these was a tender announced by the FAO in Rome. The Kuoks wanted me to fly to Rome. I don’t remember if I told them about my pregnancy but, even though I was seven months pregnant, I wasn’t really showing. So I wore clothes a size larger and boarded the flight for Rome. The airline didn’t notice anything either.

In Rome, we stayed at the Excelsior Hotel on Via Venito, which was called the Legend of Rome. One of the city’s most iconic palaces, the hotel promised a truly Roman Emperor experience which, for Susil and me, was truly memorable. We won the tender and I was ecstatic.

(Excerpted from Sumi Moonesinghe’s recently published Memoirs)