Business
Capital Maharaja Group celebrates achievements with Annual Group Review and Executive of The Year awards
The Capital Maharaja Group (CMG) celebrated its achievements in supporting Sri Lanka’s economic and social progress during turbulent times, with the Group Review and 43rd Executive Of The Year awards ceremony at Stein Studios in Ratmalana on Friday, June 16.
The Chairman of the Capital Maharaja Group, Mr. Sashi Rajamahendran, congratulated the entire CMG Family of executives and employees for their innovation and rapid responses in the face of the most daunting challenges over the past three years.
“We have a considerable legacy of achievements, which encompasses numerous subsidiaries and diverse fields. We also have a notable standing in Sri Lanka’s corporate landscape, and an unwavering commitment to staff development and significant contribution to society. It is this great spirit that makes our Group a formidable force in Sri Lanka and across the globe. We will push forward, we will keep rising and we will lead. We know of no other way,” Mr. Rajamahendran said.
The Capital Maharaja Group is one of Sri Lanka’s best known private sector conglomerates that is just seven years short of celebrating a century since its formation by Subramaniam Mahadevan and Sinnathamby Rajandram in 1930. It is today an integral thread in the fabric of Sri Lankan life with its diverse array of products and services that include FMCG, packaging, agriculture, shipping, education, power, communications, technology, PVC piping, manufacturing, Ceylon Tea, leisure, and the country’s largest media organization.
CMG’s community development arm, the Gammadda Movement, is a globally recognized initiative that is also Sri Lanka’s largest rural development programme.Chethana Liyanage, Director Talent Management at CMG and the CEO of the Maharaja Institute of Management was named the Executive of the Year. Chethana joined the Group as a news anchor in 1995 and has enjoyed notable career growth with CMG. The coveted award has over the decades been won by prominent persons who went on to play major roles in Sri Lanka’s economic progress, as well as at CMG.
India’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Gopal Bagley, who was the Chief Guest, spoke on the rapid advancement of technology that is sweeping the world and has been embraced by India. He noted that technology will aid Sri Lanka in bridging the gaps in productivity and that Sri Lanka’s immediate neighbor and longtime partner India was ever-willing to assist.
“There are two types of people. Those who live in the present fearing for the future and the others who live in the present shaping the future. This talented pool of people at CMG is an example of the resources that Sri Lanka has,” High Commissioner Bagley added.
All of the night’s speakers paid tribute to the memory of the Late Mr. R. Rajamahendran, the Group’s Chairman who passed away during this period.Mr. Sunil Kanojia, Group Director and Chief Executive Officer of CMG, gave a comprehensive review of the achievements of the Group over the last four years.
“While we were still trying to grapple with the new world order caused by nature’s fury, political instability and economic woes that threw the entire supply chain out of gear, God took away our Chairman Mr. R. Rajamahendran who was guiding us until his last breath. But my expectations were more than justified in view of the sterling performance of the executives during the past years of unprecedented turbulence, and who proved to be our strongest pillar of strength,” said Mr. Kanojia.
A number of other important awards were also presented. They included the ‘RR Awards’, named after CMG’s late Chairman Mr. R. Rajamahendran, which were won by:
2020 – ICL Brands Pvt Ltd
2021 – S-lon Lanka (Pvt) Ltd
2022 – Harcros Chemicals (Pvt) Ltd
2023 – Tuffline Ltd
The ‘Achievers Awards’, for other notable accomplishments by CMG executives, were presented to:
Prashanthaka Hettiarachchi from A.F. Jones Exporters Private Ltd
Sampath Gunathilake from Harrisons Chemicals (Pvt) Ltd
Vindana Prasad Karunaratne from News 1st
Conall Beekmeyer from Canice Creations International
Channa Perera from Tuffline Ltd
The Executive Of The Year was chosen from among eight finalists:
Saman Perera – Group IT
Nalaka Seneviratne – Group Finance
Ravi Gamage – Group HR
Roshan Watawala – News 1st
Quintin Dissanayake – A.F. Jones Exporters Private Ltd
Nalin Jayawardhana – Kevilton Electrical Products (Pvt) Ltd
Varatharajah Sathananthan – Tuffline Ltd
Chethana Liyanage – Maharaja Institute of Management
The ceremony, which was held after a lapse of three years due to Covid and last year’s political and social uncertainty, was attended by a number of notable ambassadors, high commissioners and other members of the diplomatic community, together with several of Sri Lanka’s prominent entrepreneurs.
HNB FINANCE PLC has strengthened its Board with the appointment of four Independent Non-Executive Directors, effective September 8, 2026.
The new directors are Renuke Wijayawardhane, Shanti Gnanapragasam, Nabiha Mohamed and Dr. Thisuri Wanniarachchi, who collectively bring extensive experience in financial regulation, banking, risk management, corporate finance, investment strategy, development finance and public policy.
Wijayawardhane, an Attorney-at-Law and capital market professional, retired in July 2025 as Chief Regulatory Officer of the Colombo Stock Exchange after more than 31 years with the Exchange. His experience covers securities regulation, corporate governance, market infrastructure and compliance.
Gnanapragasam has over four decades of banking experience spanning treasury, risk management, credit and trade finance. She currently serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Cargills Bank, Wealth Trust and Vision Fund Lanka.
Mohamed is a corporate finance and investment professional who previously served as Lead Transaction Advisor at the State-Owned Enterprise Restructuring Unit of the Ministry of Finance, where she led five divestiture transactions worth over US$600 million.
Dr. Wanniarachchi brings over a decade of experience in development finance, institutional reform and social protection, including work with the World Bank and the Government of Sri Lanka.
Prime Lands Residencies PLC has completed and officially handed over The Palace Gampaha, described as the largest planned gated residential community in Gampaha, to its homeowners.
The development, which commenced construction in 2021, is located two kilometres from Gampaha town and 100 metres from the Colombo-Kandy main road.
Spread across 13.5 acres, The Palace Gampaha comprises 480 two- and three-bedroom apartments in a ground-plus-three-floor development, with prices starting from Rs. 27.5 million.
The project allocates about 80% of its land to landscaped areas and common facilities, while the remaining 20% is used for apartment development. Facilities include a swimming pool, gymnasium, clubhouse, library, community kitchen, laundry, mini-mart and a daycare centre managed by the Lyceum Group.
The fully gated community also incorporates solar power for common areas, underground electricity cabling and a sewage treatment plant with water recycling facilities.
Prime Residencies said all statutory approvals required for the handover had been secured, including certifications from the Condominium Management Authority and registration of the Condominium Plan and Deed of Declaration.
Prime Group Chairman Premalal Brahmanage said the project reflected the company’s vision of creating large-scale residential communities designed to enhance the quality of life of Sri Lankan families.
The project is the latest addition to Prime Group’s portfolio of more than 70 gated community and apartment developments.
Sri Lanka’s Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC) sector is losing ground despite the expansion of the industry in several regional markets, Sri Lanka Association of NVOCC Agents (SLANA) Chairperson Swabha Wickramasinghe said.
Wickramasinghe, re-elected for a third consecutive term at SLANA’s ninth Annual General Meeting last week said the continued difficulty in collecting Colombo Terminal Handling Charges (THC) as a separate land-based cost was among the key challenges facing the industry.
She said the practice placed Sri Lanka at a competitive disadvantage as principals consider the overall economics of operating through Colombo.
“When Sri Lanka becomes less commercially attractive compared with other regional destinations, the consequences eventually reach our members,” she said.
Wickramasinghe said a committee had been proposed at a recent meeting with the Minister and Deputy Minister to evaluate the THC issue, urging the authorities to expedite its appointment and review.
She also called for an early solution to the problem of uncleared salt containers at the Port of Colombo, which has resulted in delays in releasing empty containers.
With more than 75 NVOCC lines operating in Sri Lanka, she stressed the sector’s importance to regional trade, particularly links with India and China.
Ports Minister Anura Karunathilaka said Sri Lanka should expand regional business while exploring areas such as bunkering, freight forwarding and e-commerce logistics.
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