business Sri Lanka

Chandula Abeywickrema joins the Board of Continental Insurance Lanka with effect from 1st January 2021 in the capacity of non-executive Independent Director Counting over 30 years of experience, Chandula is an internationally recognized expert in Financial Inclusion, retail and development banking in Asia and is a respected commercial banker, currently serving as the Chairman of the Banking With The Poor Network, the Asia’s largest microfinance network is the advisor on financial inclusion to Asian Bankers Association.

Rotary Sri Lanka & Maldives, under the leadership of District Governor 2019-20 Sebastian Karunakaran, has achieved many an accolade and recognition for an outstanding year.

With Rotary providing assistance and support to various causes globally and being the sole service organization holding a permanent seat in the UN General Assembly, with over 1.2 million members in 200 plus countries, the Rotary District 3220 – Sri Lanka & Maldives attained one of the highest accolades by winning the Public Image Social Media Award for 2019-20.

District Governor 2019-20 and leading Sri Lankan business personality Sebastian Karunakaran was awarded the prestigious honour in recognition for enhancing Rotary’s image in Sri Lanka & Maldives.

“This is a great recognition and encouragement for all our fellow Rotarians for successfully carrying out worthy service projects worth over Rs 650 million despite trying times during the pandemic,” Karunakaran said upon receiving the award.

Among the notable projects in the past year were a Cervical Cancer Elimination Awareness program, Congenital Heart Disease surgery for 300 children, Cleft Palate Corrective Surgery for Children, Haemo-Dialysis Machines for hospitals, the Ayati Project in partnership with local corporates, Skin Bank for Burn patients and the Covid-19 Response Project in addition to numerous other projects by Rotary Clubs.

For his pivotal role, District Public Image Chairman Dinesh Kumar, Chief Executive Officer of a leading Group received the ‘Rotarian of the Year 2019-2020’ award.

“It was a challenging year that has never been experienced before. It was with great enthusiasm that Rotary, as a team, drove innovative projects, along with media exposure, surpassing Rs 95 million. I sincerely appreciate the unstinted assistance provided by various celebrities including Sunil Perera of the Gypsies, Irangani Serasinghe, Alston Koch and our Rukshan Perera,” Dinesh Kumar said.

Rs 120 million worth of projects in combating Covid-19 were conducted by Rotary with Rs 90 million spent on state of the art laboratory equipment including Nucleic Acid Extraction and PCR Systems handed over to the Medical Research Institute in a novel initiative in Sri Lanka and saw due recognition from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The Annual Regional Awards for 2019-2020 was held virtually for the first time in the history of rotary- with India as the host and it was attended by over a 1000 key leaders of Rotary International as well as world-class speakers including Rotary International President Holger Knaack and the Rotary Foundation Chairman K R Ravindran.

The Rotary applauds the efforts of a multidisciplinary professional team of the District Public Image Committee constituting of Pradeep Amirthanayagam (Advisor), Dinesh Kumar (Chairman), Haroon Careem, Thushari Bandara, Marshad Barny, Amjad Yoosuf, Prem Mohandas, Nadira Adamaly, Ravinathas Raguraam and Bernadine Jayasinghe.

As Sri Lanka opens its doors to the world once more, Sri Lanka Tourism has implemented several measures to ensure that the island getaway is as safe as possible for international guests. A medical insurance scheme is a key element of the many safety nets put in place. To provide this service, People’s Insurance, a part of Sri Lanka’s largest financial services groups has entered an agreement with the Sri Lanka Tourism to be the exclusive insurance provider for all inbound tourists.

Following the guidelines set by the Sri Lanka Tourism, this mandatory insurance scheme is offered to international tourists applying for an online tourist visa, non-Sri Lankan passport holders, dual citizen passport holders, Sri Lankan citizens travelling with foreign or dual passport holders, as well as business visa holders.

People’s Insurance will provide a medical cover for 30 days for international visitors with effect from the day of arrival with the provision to extend the validity period of the policy for next 60 days with an additional premium. Adding to the convenience of visitors, extensions, claims and settlements can be initiated through an online portal.

The policy covers hospitalization, quarantine hotel charges and expenses for procedures which will prevent the spread of COVID-19 if the individual becomes infected with COVID-19 or becomes a close contact of an infected patient during their stay in Sri Lanka. As an added safety blanket, this insurance cover from People’s Insurance is supported by strong reinsurers from the Lloyds reinsurance market.

In light of this development, the Chairman of People’s Insurance, Isuru Balapatabendi had this to say, “Considering the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, People’s Insurance takes great pride in being the service provider to facilitate the medical insurance scheme.”

Kimarli Fernando, Chairperson of Sri Lanka Tourism also voiced her thoughts, “Following the tourism pilot project which we conducted over the past few months, we learnt that it is vital to have a strong state-backed insurance company to handle the insurance requirements of inbound visitors. I am grateful to the entire team at People’s Insurance for working together with us to implement this program and because of this, Sri Lanka is on its way to becoming one of the safest destinations, regardless of the ongoing pandemic,”

The Annual General Meeting of the Computer Society of Sri Lanka (CSSL) was held on 26th January 2021, and the new executive council for the year 2021 was duly elected. Damith Hettihewa, Managing Director, Nimbus Cloud Lanka, was elected as the President, whilst Dr Ajantha Athukorale, Deputy Director, University of Colombo School of Computing, was elected as the Vice President.

Damith Hettihewa

The other elected members of the Executive Council are Secretary Dr Parakum Pathirana (Head of Information Security and Compliance LOLC Group), Treasurer Heshan Karunarathne (Director Business Development CodeGen International), Assistant Secretary Commodore Janaka Gunaseela (Dean of the Faculty of Computing, General Sir John Kotelawala University), Assistant Treasurer

Rasantha Hettithanthrige (Senior General Manager Engineering & Operations, Mobitel), Student Counsellor HemindaJayaweera (COO, Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology), Publication Secretary Indika De Zoysa (Vice President, Huawei Technologies), and Council Members Prabath S. Wickramaratne (Vice President / Head of Operations and Head of Information Technology, Deutsche Bank AG) S. Shageevan (CIO, Esoft Metro Campus), Dr Prasad Samarasinghe (Managing Director Lanka Bell) and Dr AdeeshaWijayasiri (Lecturer, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Moratuwa).

Damith Hettihewa is a well-known industry personality with more than 25 years of ICT industry experience in both the public and private sectors. He has been a leading industry contributor as CEO of ICTA, FITIS, and Informatics.

CSSL President paid tribute to CSSL founder President Dr R.B. Ekanayake. Damith Hettihewa outlined his vision for the Computer Society of Sri Lanka in 2021 and highlighted the priorities for the year under the three-tier pillars of CSSL Vision, namely Value Creator, ICT Frontier, and Community voice.

CSSL is committed to fostering standards and professionalism amongst the country’s ICT professionals and adopted the CSSL Code of Conduct for Executive council members at the AGM 2020. CSSL’s code of conduct further strengthens the CSSL Code of Ethics framework, which was adopted by CSSL in 2017.

Unilever Sri Lanka, one of the country’s largest fast-moving consumer goods companies, was recently adjudged the No. 1 Employer for the ninth consecutive year, in a university-wide survey conducted by Nielsen.

The Employer of Choice survey is conducted annually amongst a student base comprising undergraduates from both local and private Universities, across all streams including management, science and engineering faculties. Undergraduate respondents provide scores for attributes such as close engagement with the company, the career opportunities provided, the large investments made into undergraduate programmes and similarities between companies and their future goals, for which Unilever Sri Lanka was scored highest.

This accolade reinforces Unilever Sri Lanka’s commitment towards providing a platform for young leaders to work with similar minds and nurture their purposefulness through the work they do. Hajar Alafifi, Chairperson & Managing Director, Unilever Sri Lanka said, “We believe wholeheartedly in talent development, whether it be at Unilever or within Sri Lanka. Talent, like gems, shines brighter the more one polishes them. We remain committed to supporting academic institutions and undergraduates by co-creating impactful learning initiatives that match university skills with job-market needs, fulfilling requirements fit for the future of work.”

Ananya Sabharwal, Director Human Resources, Unilever Sri Lanka said, “We take sincere pride in being recognised time and again as the employer of choice. At Unilever Sri Lanka, we have an unwavering commitment towards building future leaders. Our university programmes for students echo all these sentiments and we are humbled by our interventions being recognised as best practices in talent attraction and development.”

Unilever Sri Lanka has developed several innovative programs to attract the best talent in the island, including the Unilever Student Ambassador Program – SPARKS, which invites them to become ambassadors for Unilever within their campuses. The Unilever Future Leaders Program, the Unilever Leaders Internship program, the Unilever Challenge, the Industrial Trainee programme and NextGen – Customer Development Internship Programme – all act as the main channels of entry to Unilever. Furthermore, the company has also carried out a host of campus focussed projects and engagement initiatives, reaching over 9,000 students through guest lectures, teaching sessions, and industry exposure interventions. Unilever has also been hosting the Youth Forum for the last 7 years, and this year, it was held virtually, engaging the participation of over 400 students.

People’s Bank recently agreed with Ceylinco Life Insurance Ltd to offer People’s Bank LANKAQR Payment acceptance solution to Ceylinco Life Policyholders. The agreement to offer this service was exchanged between People’s Bank Chairman Sujeewa Rajapakse and Ceylinco Life Executive Chairman R. Renganathan at Ceylinco Life Tower recently.

The philanthropic and good citizenship commitments of Ceylinco Life were recognised by the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) recently which presented the life insurance leader with a Silver award in the ‘CSR Brand of the Year’ category at the 2020 Brand Excellence Awards.

Ceylinco Life won this award for the Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives the Company completed in 2019. These included the construction of seven classrooms, the conduct of 12 ‘Waidya Hamuwa’ free health camps, donation of a High Dependency Unit (HDU) in the Teaching Hospital Kandy – the fifth such donation by the Company – and the maintenance of the previously donated HDUs as part of its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the UN for 2030.

Commenting on this accolade, Ceylinco Life General Manager – Marketing Samitha Hemachandra said: “Our corporate social responsibility initiatives are motivated by a deep-rooted sense of obligation to respond to community needs, rather than as a brand-building strategy. Nevertheless, we appreciate the independent assessment of the impact of these initiatives that form the basis for the SLIM award, and see it as further encouragement to continue to look for opportunities for good corporate citizenship.”

The evaluation criteria for the ‘CSR Brand of the Year’ accolade included an analysis of the connection between the Corporate brand and CSR brand’s intent and purpose; the link between the brand’s vision and mission in relation to its CSR activities; the strategic link between CSR initiatives and brand intent; the impact of the initiatives and how it was communicated to stakeholders, employee engagement with initiatives, and internal marketing activities.

Ceylinco Life ticked all the boxes in the evaluation criteria by establishing a strong connection between its corporate brand and its CSR initiatives in the areas of Health and Education aligned with goal numbers three and four of the UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030; engaging employees at all levels across the branch network and head office and logging 5000 plus man-hours in initiating, conducting, monitoring and completing its 2019 CSR initiatives; creating a positive impact on 2,616schoolchildren, 3,042 health-camp beneficiaries of whom some had not previously experienced a western medical check-up, and on more than 1,700 HDU patients who were treated at the donated facility in the year of assessment.

Overall, Ceylinco Life’s support to the nation and its needy communities is reflected in the 146,000 people benefitted by the health camps programme over the years, the 84 classroom buildings the Company has donated to date, the five HDUs and numerous other donations of essential medical equipment to government hospitals and donations last year to support the battle against the spread of COVID-19.

Award winning Social media agency TAC carried out a social media & digital marketing training for young entrepreneurs as a part of their integrated digital responsibility policy to empower ore sectors of the Lankan economy.

The program was conducted by Head of Operations of TAC, Artheeshayan Segarajasingam, a young GenZ himself, recognized the vitality of empowering young entrepreneurs with the required knowledge to connect with their audiences effectively. He further added: “The main challenge non-tech entrepreneurs face when trying out social & digital media is, they burn their fingers by wasting too much ad money for poor results. By proper targeting and appropriate content strategies the best result for a brand can truly be achieved”

This was carried out for the HACK-X 2020 which is an inter-university startup challenge organised by the Industrial Management Science Students’ Association of University of Kelaniya. Over 90 young tech entrepreneurs were supported through this initiative. Artheeshayan further added that with Covid19 further showing the need for digital adoption and adaptation of digital marketing, a true Digital economy only becomes possible when the basic essentials of digital marketing are grasped by the entrepreneurs. With Covid19 pushing more entrepreneurs to take the digital route and making the customers rely on digital platforms more now than ever before, digital marketing has become more of a survival skill and not a nice to have extra skill.

TAC is open for collaboration with colleges and universities as a part of their Digital Responsibility strategy to empower more stakeholders of the Lankan economy to be successful.

Colombo Dockyard previously a part of the port commission was owned by Sri Lanka Ports Authority which was offered to a Japanese company called Onomichi Dockyard where 51 % ownership was transferred lot stock and barrel with two docks and fully equipped and skilled workforce with fully-fledged workshops in the eighties to a close to 3.5 million dollars by then UNP government.

When the share transfer took place, there was no lease agreement for the 13-acre portland with assets which was later given at Rs 2 million per month by the government of CBK when Ashcroft was the Minister, for 30 years extendable to 60 years.

It was a real bargain for the Japanese investor but Sri Lanka benefited by having a pioneer shipbuilding industry developed to an unprecedented scale under Sri Lankan Top management with Japanese overseeing the operations

The property belonging to SLPA was never sold neither ownership transferred to Japanese but a simple lease agreement with the port is in place

Similarly, the Government should first form a private-public partnership for ECT and offer shares to port workers like the same way Colombo Dockyard did during the tenure of DBW as the President when the writer was the CEO /MD who met him personally with the leader of UNP led trade union Similarly, the Adani group can be given 49% with a management contract like Onomichi which is charging around $400,000 per month to pay salaries of Japanese staff -four in full

During DBW’s time, the writer met him personally and convinced that the 10% of the shares of the Dockyard shall be vested to workers as stipulated in the investment agreement which was carried out using shares owned by banks.

Today Dockyard has become an internationally known efficiently run shipbuilding yard placing them in an envious position in Asia

As far as I know, there were no irregular transactions underhand though there were speculations 700 million dollars to be paid by Adani Group to be transferred which can be called either a Premium or Key Money to the Treasury for national needs during this difficult times where 10% shares can be offered to port workers free and some more to local investors.

Adani can manage like dockyard does and take away their 49% profit without deducting initial 700,000 $ investment but they can bring much-needed transhipment business from India SAGT and CICT are run in the same way but Port workers are protesting against ECT privatization because they will lose additional income usually earn by underhand methods like the way they carry out every operation in the port today wherein 10 or more locations where containers of goods pass-thru at the checking points, the drawer of side cupboard of the tally clerk or security is left open where they expect Rs. 100 to be dropped by clearing agents.

TV stations should spend more time and money to run programmes for people to enjoy rather than show press conferences by monks and trade unions.

The writer is the ex CEO Colombo Dockyard and CEO Walkers Colombo Shipyard.

The 26th Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka – Korea Business Council (SLKBC) of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce was held last week via MS Teams and Priyantha Mendis, Managing Director, Alpha Tours (Pvt) Ltd (General Sales Agent for Korean Air in Sri Lanka & Maldives) was re - elected as the President of the Council for the year 2020/2021.

John Shiran Dissanayake – Chairman, Transmarine (Pvt) Ltd and MShamil Mendis-Chairman/ Managing Director, Spear International (Pvt) Ltd. were elected as Vice Presidents of the Council.

Mahen Kariyawasan served as the Immediate Past President and the founder President Prof. Lakshman Watawala serve as an honorary member.

Woonjin Jeong, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Sri Lanka said: “As Ambassador of Korea, strengthening the commercial ties between the nations in harmony with the national policy is among his top priorities. It is noteworthy that amid this pandemic, Sri Lanka was the first South Asian country which held a nationwide election and Korea was the first country in the world to hold a nationwide election successfully.”

“The global economy including the Sri Lankan economy has experienced a negative impact since the covid-19 pandemic. Businesses have incurred grave losses due to the travel restrictions, disruptions in global supply chains and the imposition of numerous lockdowns. At this juncture, he will do the best to help achieve the economic goals of Sri Lanka together with the Sri Lanka-Korea business council members.

His belief that the Sri Lankan economy will bounce back by attracting new foreign investors as it has shown strength and resilience in spite of past setbacks. Sri Lanka has great potential for growth and provides ample business opportunities with its strategic location, natural resources and high quality human resources which are very complimentary with the capital and technology of Korea. Strengthening the economic cooperation is thus vital to unlock the economic potential of Sri Lanka.

“I invite Korean investors to explore opportunities especially in the key sectors including agriculture, renewable energy, infrastructure, LNG, digital economy and so on. There is more potential for the business opportunities to expand between our two countries,” he said.

Mendis, President of SLKBC said: “The present Bilateral Trade between Sri Lanka and Korea is around USD 400 Million mainly in favor of Korea. Anyway, for the past 15 years Korean Government has offered employment opportunities to our youth on Manufacturing, Construction and fisheries sectors in Korea. At present there are around 30,000 Sri Lankans living in Korea, the biggest concentration of SL expatriate employees after Middle East.”

“But compared to ME & other countries the earning capacity & living standards much higher in Korea. So in short Korean Government is helping SL in a big way to earn much needed Foreign exchange to the country today. Also over 100 SL students are studying in Korean Universities many of them on scholarships given by Korean Government.”

Abans Ltd, Ceyline Shipping Ltd, Senok Trade Combine (Pvt) Ltd, Shipping & Cargo Logistics (Pvt) Ltd and Southern Tea Producers (Pvt) Ltd were elected from the membership to serve on the Executive Committee of the Council.

Further details regarding membership of the Council could be obtained from the Secretariat of the Sri Lanka – Korea Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

A collection of COVID-19 stories compiled by Sarvodaya’s Shanthi Sena Sansadaya was launched recently as a part of an initiative supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka and the European Union’s Service for Foreign Policy Instruments.

The launch took place at the Homagama Divisional Secretariat in the presence of Pradeep Yasrathne, District Secretary – Colombo; Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne, President of Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement; Dulani Sirisena, SDG Integration Specialist, UNDP in Sri Lanka; and Fabrizio Senesi, Deputy Head of Cooperation, Delegation of the European Union to Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne, President of Sarvodaya Movement addressing the gathering

The book is an archive of memories and experiences of diverse communities across Sri Lanka during the lockdown, featuring the stories of real people collected on the ground by representatives of civil society organization (CSO), Sarvodaya Sansadaya. This collection of stories is part of a wider project by UNDP funded by the European Union to prevent violent extremism in the Asian region by addressing its root causes, promoting tolerance and respect for diversity, and empowering CSOs to strengthen social cohesion and communal harmony.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought unforeseen development challenges and socio-economic impacts, leaving many communities unexpectedly vulnerable. With the growing fear and suspicion around those exposed to the virus as well as discrimination, a new obstacle had arisen causing an increase in communal tensions and disharmony.

In-light of this, Sarvodaya Shanthi Sena together with UNDP in Sri Lanka and with the support of the European Union, launched a series of online dialogues with 10 district level Civil Society Leaders’ Committees consisting of religious, community, women and youth leaders in areas severely affected bythe coronavirus outbreak.

These dialogues enabled communities to share firsthand experiences of hardships and challenges during COVID-19. Engaging with a diverse range of experts, a knowledge sharing platform was developed covering areas of sociology, media, history and medical guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19 within their communities. The initiative aimed to foster greater understanding of social issues and strengthen communal trust.

Commenting on the initiative, Ravindra Kandage, Executive Director, Sarvodaya Sansadaya stated, “Many faced the pandemic situation with resilience and courage, while some remained dejected. This collection of stories of real-life experiences of fellow Sri Lankans were made available to us by a group of religious, community and youth leaders elected from 10 districts in the country. These are stories of hardships, communities coming together, resilience, hope and grief.”

Entrepreneurs faced immense difficulties during this time of crisis with many losing their source of income to cater to their daily needs. The wider initiative also assisted young entrepreneurs in rebuilding their businesses to better sustain them for the future. Through an open call, 102 entrepreneurs were selected to undergo training on business planning, management and development, and thereafter received financial grants to restore their businesses. Among these entrepreneurs were women, persons with disabilities and widows from diverse communities across Sri Lanka.

Frank Hess, Head of Cooperation, EU in Sri Lanka stated, “In Sri Lanka, as elsewhere, these efforts aim to build and strengthen the resilience of at-risk communities while playing a key role in supporting local responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. This prioritization reflects the EU’s call for pandemic response measures which take into account the needs of those most at risk of marginalization and stigmatization and other forms of discrimination. Now, more than ever, we support efforts to build inclusive societies that effect institutional responses and behavioral change.”

Sharing his thoughts on the initiative, Robert Juhkam, Resident Representative of UNDP in Sri Lanka in a foreword to the book further stated, “The community dialogues brought out stories of vulnerabilities and resilience due to COVID-19 and yet, were overtaken by empowering stories of inter-communal harmony and entrepreneurial journeys of joy and success. With a strong message of togetherness at its heart, this compilation of life stories and experiences serve as a powerful resource, to help reflect, empathize and empower communities to navigate challenging times with solidarity.”

District level launches of the COVID-19 story booklet have also been scheduled in the coming months in Galle, Colombo, Kandy, Kalutara, Puttalam, Anuradhapura, Trincomalee, Gampaha and Matale with the support of religious leaders,district officials, media personnel, civil society leaders and community participants.

Fonterra has pioneered three cutting-edge technologies to drive sustainable improvement in milk quality from “rapid chilling technology” to instantly preserve milk, “milk fingerprinting” screening that ensures milk supplied is of the highest quality, to the company’s own end-to-end “traceability” system that makes the entire journey of raw milk to finished product completely transparent.

Milk collection and cold chain infrastructure are often perceived as the most challenging link in the dairy farming supply chain. A key challenge faced by milk collectors is milking-to-chilling time. Fonterra installed rapid chilling technology, the first of its kind in Sri Lanka to reduce the risk of quality deterioration. This allows the instant chilling of milk to 4°C in seconds - a safe way to preserve milk faster and closer to the farmers who supply it.

The Milk Collection Centres play a critical role in terms of quality testing and screening of milk. Fonterra pioneered the use of ‘milk fingerprinting technology’ in Sri Lanka across all its milk chilling centres to ensure that the quality and integrity of milk supplied is intact. This equipment is one of the most advanced of its kind in the world and is Sri Lanka’s most stringent form of raw milk screening in use today.

While firm steps are taken to ensure milk is of the highest quality, Fonterra believes it is vital to have complete visibility of milk back to its source. The company introduced a world-class electronic traceability system in Sri Lanka which can track milk used for its Anchor and Anchor Newdale fresh dairy products, with 100% documented traceability to the farmer. This provides Fonterra’s on-farm support team with the opportunity to work with farmers to further uplift their on-farm quality practices.

“Such advanced supply chain technologies help us ensure that the best milk is supplied from our farmers and made into the highest quality dairy products for our consumers,” said Managing Director of Fonterra Brands Lanka, Vidya Sivaraja.“These efforts are reviewed by a New Zealand milk quality team through an annual audit conducted on-ground, to ensure that we meet globally acceptable standards in everything we do.”

The U.S.-funded Sri Lanka@100 initiative, a private sector-led program to help mid-sized firms grow their businesses, will host a webinar titled ‘Enhancing Business Reach: Access to Finance, Markets and Technology’ on February 2, at 11:00 am Sri Lanka Time.

The webinar, the first in a series planned for 2021, will provide businesses with actionable ideas and practical suggestions while bringing together business partners and experts who have a “can-do” attitude to speak on a wide range of subjects. The United States is funding the Sri Lanka@100 initiative through USAID.

Curated by leading global strategy consulting firm Stax―the implementing partner for SL@100―the webinar will consist of a fireside chat followed by three simultaneous breakout sessions on topics of vital importance to small- & medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The fireside chat will be with Dr Ratna Sahay, the International Monetary Fund’s Deputy Director of Monetary and Capital Markets.

Highlighting the importance of events such as these, USAID Mission Director Reed Aeschliman stated, “SMEs play a vital role in the economy, and their importance in the post-COVID recovery process can’t be overstated.”

The fireside chat will be followed by three breakout sessions featuring a variety of industry experts, addressing specific themes and providing practical tips.

The ‘Access to Finance – Avenues to Raise Capital’ breakout session will feature Sidath Kalyanaratne, CFA, a Director at Assetline Capital, Deputy General Manager of New Initiatives and Head of Risk and Research at David Pieris Holdings. Also in this panel, representatives from the Palladium Group―Orzu Matyakubova, Team Lead and Jaikanth Sivasamy, Director of Operations―will discuss COVID-specific financing options.

In the ‘Access to Markets – Opportunities in Neighboring Markets’ session, leading Economist & International Consultant Anushka Wijesinha will discuss trade trends and opportunities in the South Asian region, with particular focus on India―based on his recent paper, “Opportunity next door: An Analysis of India market entry strategies of Sri Lankan firms.”

The third breakout session, entitled ‘Access to Technology – Increasing Use of ICT by SMEs’ will feature Helani Galpaya, CEO of think tank LIRNEasia, who will discuss the findings from a recent island-wide survey on ICT usage by SMEs.

Fitch Ratings has revised the National Long-Term Ratings of Sri Lankan financial institutions following the recalibration of the agency’s Sri Lankan national rating scale.

The recalibration is to reflect changes in the relative creditworthiness among Sri Lankan issuers following Fitch’s downgrade of the sovereign rating to ‘CCC’ from ‘B-’/Negative on 27 November 2020.

National scale ratings are a risk ranking of issuers in a particular market designed to help local investors differentiate risk. Sri Lanka’s national scale ratings are denoted by the unique identifier ‘(lka)’.

The National Ratings of the Sri Lankan financial institutions consider their creditworthiness relative to other issuers in the country. The recalibration of the Sri Lankan National Rating scale has resulted in the revision of the National Long-Term Ratings of the following Sri Lankan financial institutions:

Banks: Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC (CB) to ‘AA-(lka)’/Stable from ‘AA+(lka)’/Negative, Hatton National Bank PLC (HNB) to ‘AA-(lka)’/Stable from ‘AA+(lka)’/Negative, Cargills Bank Limited to ‘AA-(lka)’/Stable from ‘A+(lka)’/Stable,

Non-Bank Financial Institutions: CBC Finance LTD to ‘A(lka)’/Stable from ‘AA-(lka)’/Negative, HNB Finance PLC to ‘A(lka)’/Stable from ‘AA-(lka)’/Negative, Richard Pieris Finance Limited to ‘AA-(lka)’/Stable from ‘A-(lka)’/Stable, Singer Finance (Lanka) PLC to ‘A+(lka)’/Stable from ‘BBB(lka)’/Stable, Abans Finance PLC to ‘A(lka)’/Rating Watch Evolving (RWE) from ‘BB+(lka)’/RWE and AMW Capital Leasing And Finance PLC to ‘AA-(lka)’/Negative from ‘BBB-(lka)’/Negative.

The Certificates of Conformity (COC) for the Cinnamon Life office tower and ‘The Suites’ residential tower have been obtained. This will enable hand-over of the residential apartments and office tower to commence, on a staggered basis, from the fourth quarter of 2020/21 onwards.

JKH Group EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) excluding the Leisure industry group stood at Rs. 5.22 billion during the third quarter of the year under review, which is a 5% increase against the previous year [2019/20 Q3: Rs.4.99 billion].

Despite the isolation measures adopted by the authorities due to the second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak in early October 2020, which caused a slowdown in business activity and dampened consumer sentiment, the subsequent gradual easing of restrictions enabled the businesses across the Group to recover to near-normal levels by December, except for Leisure.

The Supermarket business continued its positive momentum with overall revenue and EBITDA recording growth over the previous year driven by the contribution from new outlets, despite the closure or limited operations of outlets in certain isolated areas.

The Insurance business continued its recovery momentum recording encouraging growth in all its channels of distribution, amidst a challenging environment.

The year-on-year comparison of the Transportation industry group is distorted, primarily since the comparative quarter of the previous year had above-average profitability in the Bunkering business on account of a transition to low sulphur fuel oil (LSFO), well ahead of the competition.

The pace of construction at ‘Cinnamon Life’ continued to gain momentum during the latter part of the quarter despite the disruptions due to the second wave. The business continues to closely monitor the evolving ground situation and resultant impacts on the overall timelines of the hotel and the shopping mall.

The overall performance and volumes in the Frozen Confectionery, Beverage and Convenience Foods businesses demonstrated a pick-up towards December once activity in the country returned to more normalised levels, although the performance for the quarter was hampered due to the onset of the second wave of C-19.

The Maldivian Resorts segment demonstrated an encouraging performance following the opening of the airport in the Maldives in mid-July, with occupancy increasing to 53 per cent in December, resulting in the segment recording a positive EBITDA for the quarter.

The Leisure businesses in Sri Lanka continued to be impacted by the pandemic due to the closure of the airport and lower revenue from dining and banqueting due to the outbreak of the second wave.

Dhanusha Marine Lanka Exports (Private) Limited one of the largest exporters in the Boat& Ship Building Industry in Sri Lanka exported their first 20-meter multi-day fishing vessel ‘FV OCEAN HARVEST,’ for Ocean Harvest Ltd in Mauritius which successfully sailed to Mauritius recently.

Dhanusha Marine multi day fishing vessels consist of a communication and navigational equipment, refrigerator system, generator, chilled bath and bait hold to maintain the quality of fish obtained which will allow the fishermen to sell their quality fish harvest to local and international markets. The company has contributed to Sri Lanka’s exports by generating foreign exchange over USD 1 million revenue per annum over the past few years while creating more than 150 employment opportunities.

The fourth boat building factory of Dhanusha Marine located at Payagala, opened in September 2020. “Under these Rs. 300 million investments we hope to manufacture17 meter to 24 meter fishing and multipurpose vessels for the local as well as international markets and also create more than 100 new employment opportunities.”

Many infrastructural obstacles such as the narrow by-road leading to the factory and road way across the railway track and transportation to the Beruwala fishing harbour for launching were dealt with and overcome in launching this vessel”, an official from Dhanusha Marine said.

GAC Sri Lanka has welcomed the newest and largest addition to its fleet of support vessels, the Anchor Handling Tug Yevin.

She joins the company’s fleet of 12 vessels which includes tugs, crew and supply boats, the largest in the country. Her manoeuvrability and versatility enable GAC Sri Lanka to undertake the most complex operations for a global clientele, in accordance with the highest international standards. Yevin is part of the company’s ambitious growth plan to meet the increasing demand for offshore services.

The tug can operate under tough conditions, both in open waters and within port limits under the supervision of a handpicked experienced crew and has the endurance to operate well over 45 days at sea without a port call.

Yevin will be used for towing, salvage, rescue and firefighting operations as well as other marine services such as bulk delivery of freshwater and lubricants. Her superior towing strength and handling allow her to serve large vessels calling all commercial ports of Sri Lanka.

“We are proud of this addition which boosts our fleet’s operational capabilities, allowing us to better serve our customers with a full spectrum of offshore services,” says Director/CEO of GAC Sri Lanka, Ravi Edirisinghe.

“Yevin is fully equipped to serve ships plying the busy sea lanes off Galle, Colombo and Hambantota, and supports the country’s aspirations of becoming a maritime hub in the region.”

Formed in 1991 as a joint venture between GAC and McLarens Group, GAC Sri Lanka is the only agent established in all four commercial ports in the country.

The Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA) will form a new company to administer the East Container Terminal which will be developed as a transhipment hub said State Minister for Money & Capital Market and State Enterprise Reforms Ajith Nivard Cabraal.

The SLPA will keep 51% stake while Adani Group India along with Japanese company will retain the balance 49% and will be stakeholders in the proposed new company,” he said at a special press conference on Tuesday.

He said that Adani Group from India would be a key player in this. The ECT terminal would have around 70% transhipment business to India through them. Japan will invest in the technology aspect.

He disclosed that in the Hambantota Port deal signed by the previous government ceded total operational ownership to the Port. It was handed over for 98 years to China and the Sri Lankan government was only entitled to lease rental.

“Under this ECT agreement, SLPA not only gets the controlling stake (51%) but also gets 51% profits. SLPA is getting this 51% profit without investing a single cent!”

He said 2020 was a bad year not only due to the C-109 pandemic but due to other issues as well. Exports fell, Sri Lanka lost around USD 3.5 billion revenue from tourism and also due to economic mismanagement of the previous government Sri Lanka had to find around USD 4.6 billion for international debt servicing.

Cabraal said that towards the latter part of the year the economy would recover. The government has put right several financial fundamentals.

Foreign remittance have increased and tourism is limping back to a ‘new normal’. Local enterprises have recommenced businesses mainly due to the Central Bank offering moratoria and low-interest rates. Stock market activity has picked up. There is a upsurge in exports. The Hambantota economic zones, and the Colombo Port City would bring about new FDI.

“With these positive sentiments, we expect the rupee to be stable around Rs. 185 against the US dollar soon.”

He said that it’s surprising to note that with these positive economic sentiments an international rating downgrade was stamped on Sri Lanka. “However Sri Lanka is not keen on international borrowings to fulfil its USD 4.6 billion debt obligation this year and would look at other financial tools to honour the debt.”

A research report published by HSBC Global Research last December expects Sri Lankan GDP to grow by 7% y-o-y in 2021, largely due to base effects since they estimated a 5% drop in GDP during 2020, new President of the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) Nandika Buddhipala told the 62nd AGM at Kingsbury Hotel on Tuesday.

This report predicted that Sri Lanka should bounce back impressively. This will be the biggest upgrade to their forecasts. Mainland China, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Korea, as well as Sri Lanka, have seen among the fastest increase in shipments, with others lagging the recovery.

The CBSL policy rate cut by 250 bps, bringing down Standard Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) to 5.50% has been fully transmitted through lending rates easing off by 280 bps during the same period. They are of the view that public debt sustainability is amongst the biggest risks for Sri Lanka for the next five years.

Rating agencies including Fitch and Moody’s predict growth. Fitch in September 2020 estimated GDP growth for 2021 as 4.7%, whereas for 2020 they estimated a negative growth of 3.7%. Moody’s on September 29, 2020, estimated GDP growth in 2021 to be 3.6% whereas in 2020 they estimated negative growth of 3.2%. All rating reports expressed their concerns regarding Lankan debt sustainability and the government revenue collection target.

The Sri Lankan economy was gradually recovering from the severe impact of the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks in 2019 when the country was hit with the global pandemic.

The situation was made worse with increasing numbers of Sri Lankan employees overseas wanting to return home. The government was forced to limit imports to save the outflow of USD. The country has a considerable amount of loan repayments during the year 2020 and moving forward.

Buddhipala said that as a strategy to face the difficult situation the Central Bank introduced many measures. The regulator acted to reduce interest rates, enhance market liquidity, manage foreign exchange flows, maintain exchange rate stability, preserve international reserves, maintain the financial system stability, enhance credit flows, and ensure uninterrupted currency operations.

“Lower interest rates reduced the burden on entrepreneurs who were facing various difficulties, while announced debt moratoria and working capital loan schemes provided concessions to businesses and individuals.”

In recognition that education lays the foundation for a successful life, Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) marked International Day of Education by celebrating educational advancements in the plantation sector.

According to the most recent data from the Ministry of Education, between 2018 and 2019, a total of 48 new schools were established with almost 10,000 students enrolling from the estate sector.

Post-privatization of tea plantations in 1992, the Planters’ Association of Ceylon noted that there had been consistent improvement in terms of investment into educational services across estates. According to the School Census Report published by the Ministry of Education, there was a 5.09% increase in the enrollment of students in the sector between 2018 and 2019. Additionally, there was a 6.03% increase in the number of schools within the same period.

The capacity of plantation sector schools has expanded dramatically, with the Ministry of Education reporting an increase of 715 teachers employed in only one year.

The Student-Teacher Ratio (STR) in schools within estates also recorded impressive improvements, standing at 15.1 in 2019 (School Census Report) – suggesting greater individual attention and assistance for students. This is a significant improvement when compared with the national Student-Teacher Ratio of 16.5 in the same year, implying a narrowing gap in the quality of education available to estate sector communities relative to the rest of the island.

“Education provides a firm foundation for development and we must ensure that every child and youth are given the necessary support and guidance to complete their educational journey. We thank the Government of Sri Lanka for playing a vital role in providing free access to education and much-needed facilities for students residing in RPC estates,” noted the Chairman of the Planters’ Association of Ceylon, Bhathiya Bulumulla.

According to a World Bank report, the greatest improvement in educational attainment over the years has been in the estate sector.

This dramatic improvement was complemented by advancements in higher education as well – the proportion of students who completed O/Ls improved from 7 to 9% in the estate sector.

RPCs also credit advances in educational attainment to the solid academic foundation provided by their Early Childhood Development (ECD) program which is currently funded by member companies across 223 centres for the benefit of over 30,000 children each year.

The Plantation Human Development Trust – a tripartite organization composed of RPCs, trade unions, and the government – instil the values of education in young children through Childhood Development Centers.

“It is no secret that youth between the ages of 15-24 are leaving the estate sector for blue-collared jobs in cities, which has contributed to the labour shortage in the industry. To rectify this situation, we need to ensure that there is the dignity of work in the plantations. One way to achieve this vital objective is to encourage innovation and expand access to education to catalyze a new vision for our industry,” Bulumulla asserted.

The Gas Works Street and the Gas Paha Junction (Gaslamp post with a cluster of five gas lamps) still stands as a unique part of Colombo’s historic legacy. From powering the first gas lamps ever to be installed in the country to building an inimitable footprint in the Sri Lankan energy sector is a daunting task spanning over 150 years.

For Litro Gas, it has been a significant journey that defines the growth of the LPG sector in the country.

The country’s premier supplier of LPG stands tall as the key stakeholder of the transformation that led to the utilization of LPG as a mainstream energy source. Back when gas lamps were the norm and gas-powered tram cars were a common sight, the Ceylon Gas & Water Co, precursor of Litro Gas, managed what was then a highly developed network of LPG supply in the city of Colombo, delivered up to Ratmalana.

Chairman Litro, Anil Koswatte.

Throughout the years, Ceylon Gas & Water Co went through many phases of growth which culminated with the entry of Royal Dutch Shell - Shell Gas Lanka as a globally recognized world leader in energy. With it came access to global know-how and expertise that would benefit the LPG industry in the country.

In 2010, when Litro Gas came into being, the market was ready for exceptional growth and expansion.

“Litro Gas has a unique legacy that has been a part of Sri Lanka’s history during 150 years of its journey,” says Anil Koswatte, Chairman and CEO of Litro Gas Lanka Ltd, “That legacy has been an integral part of Sri Lanka’s energy history, establishing LPG as a mainstream energy of choice for Sri Lankans.”

“Throughout the years, we have experienced steady growth, managing to keep our prices competitive, passing on a great economic benefit to our customers – even when global LPG prices have risen. We have maintained our value proposition to customers while delivering on our pledges to our stakeholders.”

“As underlined in the “Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour” presented by H.E. The President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and in keeping with the directives of the Presidential Task Force to uplift the living standard of the people, ensuring that the price of essential commodities such as LPG is stabilized is a key area to be considered”, he adds. The household use of LPG broad-based around thirty-two years ago - increased demand for LPG in the country set the stage for Litro Gas to emerge as the national LPG provider.

Litro Gas maintains a robust and seamless service of supply throughout the island; along with the Company’s state of the art storage and filling facility at Kerawalapitiya which is recognized as one of Asia’s largest filling plants. Litro Gas also operates a cylinder refurbishment, cylinder requalification and bulk customer LPG delivery hub in Mabima, Sapugaskanda.

Further, the Company manages a storage facility in Hambantota, giving it an edge in managing an efficient system of LPG delivery across the country.

The Company owns a network of 42 distributors, approximately 14,000 point-of-sale locations and 1,500 home delivery hubs who meet the energy needs of the country.

Today, Litro Gas plays a key role in fueling the country’s economic drive as the leader in the LPG sector with over 76% market share. The company generates a turnover of Rs 45 billion, providing LPG for over 4 million households across Sri Lanka while powering up commercial and industrial sectors as well.

Driven by innovation, Litro Gas Lanka launched a specially designed Home Delivery Mobile App that enables customers to connect seamlessly for their gas deliveries – an easy four-digit helpline (1311) for island-wide home delivery has also been introduced which benefits customers to meet their LPG requirements conveniently and swiftly.

Paving the pathway for the growth and expansion of LPG in Sri Lanka has been a historic achievement, one that has evolved over 150 years.

The Litro Gas journey continues, says Koswatte, to a future of unlimited possibilities.

Belluna Co. Ltd Japan announces that with effect from January 13, 2021, Asia Capital PLC will not act as the local coordinating partner in the 447 Luna Tower project at Union Place, Colombo 02. Asia Capital PLC was the local partner facilitating the project on behalf of Belluna Co. Ltd Japan.

447 Luna Tower is solely funded and fully owned by Belluna Lanka, the local subsidiary of Belluna Co. Japan. The project is one of the few equity funded real estate developments in the country which is not dependent on pre-sales or project financing.

Commenting on the progress of the project, Hiroshi Yasuno, Director, Union Place Apartments (Pvt.) Ltd said “447 Luna Tower is a fully equity funded project of Belluna Co. Japan. Construction on the tower was continuing as scheduled and was in its finishing stages when it was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the curfew imposed in Sri Lanka and the subsequent social distancing regulations imposed on construction sites. However, we wish to reassure our clients that construction is progressing, and Belluna Co. Japan is committed to handing over the landmark development in 2021.”

Belluna Co. Japan is a conglomerate listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and a significant player in the global hospitality and real estate industry with projects spanning across the Maldives, Myanmar and USA. Belluna Co. Japan has already proven its long-term commitment to the Sri Lankan property market by investing USD 175 Million across four projects in the country. Their hotel property, Le Grand in Galle was their first investment in Sri Lanka which was completed in 2018, and their on-going hotel project is a 300-room city hotel on Marine Drive which is set for completion in 2021.

MillenniumIT ESP – one of Sri Lanka’s leading Systems Integrator and Information Systems providers – completed its silver jubilee anniversary on Sunday, January 3, 2021.

In lieu of this celebratory milestone, MillenniumIT ESP organized a town hall event (MiTown Hall) that could be attended virtually by their members of staff, partners and clients, with a selected few been invited to attend the physical event held at their head office following all COVID-19 guidelines and precautionary measures advised by the Government. In addition, the wider public and their larger ecosystem were allowed to join the festivities online through live streaming via the company’s official YouTube channel (MillenniumIT ESP).

In addition to following traditional customary rituals, the company also appreciated and celebrated their 25-year long-standing employees Sajeevani Perera, Assistant Manager – Finance and Madhura Perera, Head of Managed Services and Customer Support, who were presented with a special Service Award in grateful appreciation of their commitment to the company. Sajeevani and Madhura were also the chief invitees for the company’s 25th-anniversary cake cutting ceremony.

Sajeevani Perera and Madhura Perera cutting the cake.

Other lined up event items consisted of MillenniumIT ESP’s 25-year legacy story been shared in the form of a thoughtful video, acted out by the company’s employees and showcasing MillenniumIT ESP’s journey thus far – 25 years of togetherness, 25 years of happiness, 25 years of serving, 25 years of sharing, 25 years of trust, 25 years of making dreams come true, 25 beautiful years, 25 years of reimagining and reinventing. Additional celebratory videos included testimonials from long-lasting clients of over 20 years, current employees’ one-word thoughts of what MillenniumIT ESP stands for today, and the most cheered, dance virus attack video ‘MiAhasa Yata’.

MillenniumIT ESP is a subsidiary of Ambeon Holdings PLC, a conglomerate reputed for its market dominance in the areas of financial services, manufacturing, real estate, technology and strategic investments.

The company is one of Sri Lanka’s leading Information Systems solution providers delivering IT solutions to several industries; including Banks and Finance Companies, Telecommunications, Apparel and Manufacturing, Healthcare, Leisure, Construction, Transport, Agriculture, Government, Public Sector and other leading conglomerates. Solutions provided by MillenniumIT ESP include Core Infrastructure, Enterprise Applications, Cyber Security, Smart Buildings and Operations, Managed Services, Intelligent Automation and Data, and Cloud.

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has moved up to second place in the latest ‘LMD 100’ after a solid performance in 2019-20 saw the Bank achieving the No 2 spot in the two principal rankings – Turnover and Profit – to reaffirm its position as one of the country’s strongest business entities.

Commercial Bank is once again the highest-ranked bank in the Top 10 of this prestigious list of corporate giants, is ahead of many diversified conglomerates and has the distinction of being ranked among the Top 10 every year since the ranking was first published in respect of 1993-94.

The LMD’s primary ranking is based on turnover, but the magazine also ranks companies by sector as well as by total assets, profit after tax, shareholders’ funds, market capitalisation, earnings per share, dividends per share and many other performance indicators.

Commenting on the Bank’s ascent to No 2 in the LMD 100, Commercial Bank Managing Director Mr S. Renganathan said: “The year of assessment for this ranking was a difficult one, even though it preceded the COVID-19 pandemic. Impairment provisioning had begun moving up, and business sentiment was affected by several factors including the Easter Sunday attacks.

To be ranked the second best-performing corporate entity in the country overall is, therefore, an extraordinary achievement that reflects the intrinsic strength of Commercial Bank and its team.”

The LMD 100 ranking encompasses many of the country’s leading conglomerates, telcos, retail giants, insurers and other sector leaders, as well as listed banks.

The largest private sector commercial bank and third largest bank in Sri Lanka, the Commercial Bank Group ended 2019 with the performance milestone of gross income surpassing Rs 150 billion for the first time, while at Bank level, Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC reported PBT of Rs 22.339 billion and PAT of Rs 17.025 billion.

The first Sri Lankan Bank to be listed among the Top 1000 Banks of the World and the only Sri Lankan bank to be so listed for 10 years consecutively, Commercial Bank, which won more than 25 international and local awards in 2020, operates a network of 268 branches and 885 ATMs in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka’s most innovative private sector bank HNB PLC, partnered with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to promote the Colombo-leg of ‘Rata Purama LANKA QR’ campaign at Diyatha Uyana, to raise awareness and encourage the public towards cashless payments.

Having already linked LANKA QR to its digital payment app HNB SOLO, the bank was among other financial institutions and telecommunication partners in joining efforts to make cashless QR-code based payments the standard for mobile phones and digital payments countrywide, in moving towards a cashless and digitally-savvy Sri Lanka.

“We are entering a new era of financial technology, where almost all of our daily transactions will require no physical banknotes, but just a smartphone and internet connection with our bank account integrated to a digital payment app.

The Central Bank’s national directive for banks and financial institutions to adopt and integrate LANKA QR into their existing digital payment solutions has prompted an aggressive onboarding of merchants to the new payment solution across the country.

With our extensive customer base, SOLO is no doubt a significant contributor to this innovative initiative,” HNB Deputy General Manager – Retail and SME Banking, Sanjay Wijemanne said.

The Colombo-leg of the ‘Rata Purama LANKA QR’ campaign raised awareness regarding SOLO’s many facilities, including zero human interaction, efficiency, and eliminate risks that influenced many vendors to come on board.

Since its launch in 2019, SOLO has witnessed a consistently growing customer base, with HNB continuously working to improve the app’s features and functionality by refining its user interface, enabling customers to experience intuitive easy-to-use and versatile QR-based payments.

Users have the option of completing transactions via the app while avoiding the exchange of cash or cards. The app also provides the option of digitally storing all payment instruments, including VISA, MASTER debit and credit cards, and any bank account connected to the JustPay payment echo system.

As for merchants, SOLO provides the convenience of digital transactions via the affordable, easy and widely-adaptable QR code, a significantly cost-effective option when compared to alternative payment solutions available in the market.

The LANKA QR system allows banks, financial institutions and telecommunication service providers to facilitate fast, secure and affordable digital payments to any merchant or service provider through their digital payment app or platform.

LANKA QR is a common Quick Response (QR) code standard developed by the Central Bank.

In consultation with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC), the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has issued a set of guidelines on best practices for Stockbroker Firms which are required to be adopted and implemented with immediate effect.

The guideline was approved by the SEC Commission on January 13, 2021 and was presented to the leadership of Stockbroker Firms which were unanimously accepted.

Under these guidelines, as requested by the Stockbroker Firms, a 3-month grace period will be provided for the implementation of a guideline on sharing of brokerage commission with Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs), which has been capped at 30% in order to maintain consistency within the industry.

As per the approved guidelines, prior to extending credit facilities to a client, the Stockbroker Firm is required to assess the client’s credit worthiness. Steps should be taken to determine the buying power of each client, having assessed the credit worthiness of the client taking into consideration the Value at Risk Margin of each security.

The Stockbroker Firms have also been instructed to extend the Online Trading Platform to clients who have not opted for it with a viewer facility in order to view the Statement of Accounts, portfolio positions etc.

The firms are also required to send fortnightly notifications to the clients via electronic means, notifying the outstanding balances and ensure that records of such communications are retained. The Firm is also expected to obtain acknowledgements from the clients on a random basis to verify the receipt of Statement of Accounts, especially from clients who have carried out high volumes.

Further, the Stockbroker firms are required to maintain client instructions in relation to the orders received from clients in compliance with CSE’s Stockbroker Rules. The guidelines require the Stockbroker Firms to segregate the key duties and functions of the individuals acting in the capacity of Compliance Officer and Head of Finance within the Firm.

The guidance document also carries a list of tasks that are required to be carried out by the Compliance Officer who is also assigned with the additional task of ensuring that the Stockbroker Firm complies with the guidelines.

Additionally, the Stockbroker Firms are now required to appoint a competent person to carry out the functions in relation to Information Technology (IT) and ensure that necessary IT infrastructure is available within the Firm and are also expected to ensure RIAs have been allocated to every client. In the event a client is transferred to a different RIA within the Firm, the Firm must ensure that the Know Your Client (KYC) procedures are verified by the subsequent RIA.

The Stockbroker Firms have also been instructed to implement necessary measures to monitor the Sector and Security exposure on a daily basis and conduct stress testing at least weekly to test the risk exposure levels that they may be exposed to and to ensure that they have adequate liquidity to address the stressed conditions.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) has observed that unsolicited messages purporting to be stock tips/ investment advice with respect to listed companies are being circulated through short message service(SMS), websites and social media platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter,YouTube etc.

The SEC notes that these messages have been directed towards investors and the general public, recommending to deal in particular stocks of listed companies,indicating target prices and providing misleading/false information relating to listed companies and inducing them to deal in such stocks a release from SEC said.

The SEC has taken serious note of these developments and wishes to point out that the circulation of such misleading information is not only detrimental to the interests of the investors but also adversely affects the integrity of the securities market. Some of these messages would tantamount to market manipulation.

Accordingly, all investors and the general public are hereby advised/cautioned not to rely on such unsolicited stock tips/investment advice circulated through bulk SMS,websites and social media platforms. All investors are further advised to engage in appropriate due diligence and to obtain advice from Registered Investment Advisors when dealing in the securities market.

Accordingly, all investors and the general public are hereby advised/cautioned not to rely on such unsolicited stock tips/investment advice circulated through bulk SMS, websites and social media platforms.

All investors are further advised to engage in appropriate due diligence and to obtain advice from Registered Investment Advisors when dealing in the securities market.

Commercial relationship between Sri Lanka and Singapore has fluctuated over the last five years, however, despite the COVID -19 pandemic situations; Sri Lanka has performed considerably well and Sri Lanka’s total exports to Singapore was valued at nearly USD 85 million in 2020 upto November.

Foreign direct investment into Sri Lanka from Singapore was valued at USD 97 million in 2019, ranking at 5th largest FDI investor in Sri Lanka. Over 100 Singaporean businesses operate in Sri Lanka. Speaking at a webinar, organised by Sri Lanka Export Development Board, Nalika Kodikara Counsellor (Commercial), High Commission of Sri Lanka, Singapore said, “They are involved in a number of sectors across the economy, including manufacturing and infrastructure development.”

Moreover, Kodikara said that new normal opportunities have emerged in the areas of E - commerce, innovations and Agri -business sectors. Commenting on Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA), Kodikara said FDI is the most immediate outcome expected through SLSFTA .Almost 90% of the outflow of FDI from Singapore is mainly concentrated in countries which negotiated FTAs with Singapore bilaterally and regionally.

Under the SLSFTA, for FDIs, priority sectors identified by BOI includes manufacturing –Pharmaceutical, Aquaculture, Prawn farming, Electrical and electronics , ICT, Hospitality and Tourism , Agriculture and Food processing , Construction and infrastructure and etc.

Singapore is Sri Lanka’s fourth largest source of imports. Sri Lanka’s main exports to Singapore are mineral fuel and oils, textiles, alcoholic beverages, Ceylon Tea, sea food and precious and semi-precious stones.

The best solution to re-open the Rs. billion invested Oluvil harbour and providing a solution to the sand shortage for the construction industry is to dredge sea sand from the Harbor said Secretary CCI, Eng. Col. Nissanka N. Wijeratne.

This is a dual purpose mission but sadly despite several representations made to the past and present government nothing is happening,” he said.

With tourism opening up, Air Astana the flag carrier of Kazakhstan, based in Almaty will launch direct flights to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport soon.

The airline will first operate charter flights starting from February 6 to MRIA and then will launch scheduled flights. They will operate an A-321 flight for Sri Lanka operations.

The airline operates scheduled, domestic and international services on 64 routes from its main hub, Almaty International Airport, and from its secondary hub, Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport. (SS)

 Minister of Energy, Udaya Gammanpila reiterated the assurance of energy security and self sufficiency of Energy requirements in the country while addressing the employees of Lanka IOC at their head office on January 26, 2021 in presence of Secretary- Ministry of Energy .K D R Olga and Additional secretary Chaminda Hettiarachi.

In line with the national policy of “Saubagya Dakma” (‘Vistas of Prosperity and Splendor’), the Minister further elaborated the plan of making Sri Lanka as the energy hub of Asia and improving the existing energy mix by enhancing the contribution of renewable and clean energy and expediting exploration of natural gas besides developing new and revamping existing refinery for producing Euro VI compliant Fuels. He also emphasized the transformation of countries’ energy mix towards renewable energy by way of facilitating and implementing the projects towards the wind energy, solar energy etc.

Manoj Gupta, MD Lanka IOC appreciated the vision of the Energy Minister in taking forward the decisions that bring more investments into the country and are required for enhancing the energy security of the country in a most cost effective manner.

The Minister facilitated many employees for their outstanding contribution during last year and urged all employees to appreciate the contribution of their parents, company and the society at large in their life. The minister felicitated employees who excelled in their respective departments and interacted with the employees at length. He also requested all employees to submit their views on the weaknesses in the system and the suggestions to overcome such weaknesses for further improvement and development of energy infrastructure of the country.

LIOC is the integral part of energy infrastructure. The Minister appreciated the contribution of Lanka IOC to the national energy security and fulfilling the energy needs of the customers with innovative solutions and latest technologies.

The lull in the apartment sector will pick up while the construction boom which was evident six years ago will re commence despite the economic downturn from the COVID-19 pandemic, President, Chamber of Construction Industry (CCI) Eng. Maj. Ranjith Gunatilleke said.

In an interview with ‘Daily News Business’ on the sidelines 17th annual Build SL Housing and Construction International Expo launch which will be held from May 14 to 16 2021, at BMICH he said that the current low interest rates have resulted in people moving out of ‘depositing money in fixed deposits’ and other banking products and are looking for new options. “For this segment, buying an apartment is in their top list.”

However due to the C-19 pandemic economic slowdown and the oversupply of apartments in the pre C-19 period era the current apartments that are on sale would be soon sold specially in the mid-market segment. Builders would soon re start construing new apartments and hence this sector will be reactivated. Secondly the ongoing mega infrastructure projects which were put on hold in the last 5 years have already started and payments that were delayed were also paid by the government to construction companies.

“The Government have already approved over 10,000 km of new roads and upgrading of old roads. All the contracts in this area would come to local firms increasing their business.”

In addition, highway extension projects, port and airport and other infrastructure projects help to reactivate the construction sector which was in a very bad state in the past few years. He however said that the construction costs would be very high because of the lack of skilled and unskilled labor. This would be further aggravated due to the fact that construction companies would not be able to ‘import labour’ from overseas due to C-19 health restrictions.

The incorrect methods of sand extracting too are an issue for the construction industry he said. In addition, the high cost of imported building materials too would add to the costs of the construction industry. Asked if the current tourism downturn would have a negative impact on the construction industry he said that tourism is picking up and hoteliers would re-invest sooner or later.

Sri Lanka should seriously look at recommending the extracting of sea sand for the construction industry Secretary General, Chief Executive Officer. Chamber of Construction Industry, Eng. Col. Nissanka N. Wijeratne said.

He said that the total sand requirement for Sri Lanka is 23 million cubic meters per annum. Out of this around 9 million could be extracted sustainably from river beds. In addition around 4 million cubic meters of sand is extracted from cursing rock. “This avenue can be increased but due to environment constraints it is not possible.”

Another one million is currently extracted from sea mainly sourced from Muthurajawela. The balance is sourced from over dredging river beds which has a negative impact on the environment. He said that while sea sand is cheaper it’s also a myth that sea sand is harmful for construction. I can safely guarantee that construction made using sea sand will last for at least 150 years!”

One of Sri Lanka’s leading Corporate Sustainability Consultancy, The Carbon Consulting Company (CCC) was recognised by the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) at the recently concluded Brand Excellence Awards for 2020.

Competing in the SME Division against a pool of well-known competitors, the environmentally focused social enterprise was able to clearly establish the stellar performance of its corporate brand, and demonstrate the role that its strategic marketing initiatives played in achieving its success.

“On taking over CCC during the early days, it soon became very evident that the focus on proper branding and marketing communication had not been given due consideration in the overall business plan” says Director and Chief Executive Officer Sanith de S. Wijeyeratne. “From our humble roots, we have grown into a regional player with significant clients and projects across the globe, and much of this success is the result of long-term strategic marketing initiatives.” Recognised for pioneering the concepts of Carbon and Water Footprinting and Offsetting in Sri Lanka, CCC has an enviable portfolio of clients, several of whom have gone on to win global accolades for their environmental sustainability efforts. Today, CCC works across a broad range of services, ranging from developing corporate sustainability strategy, environmental auditing, facilitating environmental certifications and managing planned reforestation projects.

Head of Operations of CCC Kanishka Jayasinghe stated, “In addition to our team’s expert technical knowhow, Sustainability MarComms have always been an intrinsic part of our service offering. This has provided our clients with a means to leverage their green credentials for increased industry recognition and to set themselves apart from competition, on top of the operational cost savings identified through our audits and assessments.”

“DSI Tyres” made history winning three coveted awards at SLIM Brand Excellence - 2020, Bronze Awards in ‘Product Brand of the Year category and Local Brand of the Year category and Silver in SLIM DIGI’s 2.0.

The SLIM Brand Excellence which has the widest recognition as the most competitive and celebrative brand awards ceremony in Sri Lanka, was recently held at the BMICH.

Last year DSI Tyres received the gold award in “The turnaround brand of the year” category.

In a move to improve customers’ convenience, DSI Tyres introduced a home visit tyre fixing service upon online orders; a step forward from general sales procedure, in addition to a newly developed, attractive user friendly web site - www.dsityre.lk. Both these measures resulted in popularity and trust of the brand.

Today DSI Tyres has become a household name as the company is keen to customers’ requirements and continuously improving the quality of their products through research and developments while promoting the brand in an echo friendly manner. All these moves contributed to their latest achievements. Due to continuously maintaining products quality and customer care in international standards DSI Tyres has earned a name overseas as well. With a successful track record of over 37 years, DSI Tyres exports tyres to over 75 countries. “It is a pleasure that our efforts are recognized in this way,” said Kavinda Rajapaksa, Director DSI Tyres. The company claims a large market share in the local market selling a wide range of tyres and tubes for motorcycles, bicycles and three wheelers.