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Bairaha Farms shines for Sri Lanka at FMCG Asia Awards for their Recipe Book in Braille ESG Initiative of the Year

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Bairaha Farms PLC, the pioneer chicken processor in Sri Lanka for over four decades, shone bright at the FMCG Asia Awards, being honored as the winner of the Environmental Social Governance Initiative of the Year in Sri Lanka for 2021.

For the first time in Sri Lanka, a recipe book of chicken recipes written in braille was launched to help the blind people in the country enjoy a zest for reading and cooking in a format they can understand.

Through promoting the book and its mission to reach the blind, the company achieved great results during this campaign. Their social media pages also gained considerable attention from the local market.

Apart from being the first braille recipe book launched in the country, it boasts of being able to promote the joys of cooking in a more inclusive way. This initiative was a success since its launch in Sri Lanka.

Bairaha Farms PLC also went the extra mile by donating braille books to all 18 schools for the blind across the country.

Due to the pandemic, it was not able to personally deliver the books. Instead, it was sent via courier in branded gift-wrapped boxes with notes written in braille.

The project focused on how to ensure that the entire country’s population enjoyed the benefit of making tasty meals with its products—and that included people who cannot see.

The company was faced with the question “How do we take the product right to our consumers through their heart?” It did not want to let any segment of the market be left unsatisfied and wanted the topic of inclusion to be a part of its project.

For this remarkable effort, Bairaha Farms PLC received the ESG Initiative of the Year – Sri Lanka award in the recently concluded FMCG Asia Awards hosted by Retail Asia.

The awards programme celebrates the most outstanding companies in Asia Pacific’s FMCG industry that have shown exemplary performance with their innovative products and initiatives.

Through its social media campaign, the company was able to achieve promising results and was warmly received by the local market.

The first highlighted achievement noted by the judging panel was that a total of 96,000 people were reached by the social media campaign. In addition, it was able to tally a total of 97,000 video views during the campaign and attained 53,842 post clicks from its social media sites.

As for its main social media page, an increase of an additional 6,000 followers was recorded. This was noted as the second highest achievement of the company. Significantly, the Bairaha video was the most viewed in a single day during the literacy month back in September.

Lastly, the company sealed the award by being able to reach 0.5% of the total population of Sri Lanka.



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Business

AIA delivers strong first half results in 2026; double-digit growth across key financial metrics

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The Board of AIA Group Limited (the “Company”) is pleased to announce the Group’s financial results for the six months ended 30 June 2026. Growth rates are shown on a constant exchange rate basis unless otherwise stated:

New business performance and embedded value

Value of new business (VONB) of US$3,212 million, up 10 per cent overall and 14 per cent excluding Thailand(1)

Record high annualised operating ROEV of 18.0 per cent, up from 15.8 per cent in full year 2025

EV Equity of US$83.4 billion, up 6 per cent per share over the first half on an actual exchange rate basis

IFRS earnings

Operating profit after tax (OPAT) of US$4,163 million, up 13 per cent per share

AIA now expects to exceed OPAT per share CAGR target of 9 to 11 per cent from 2023 to 2026(2)

Record high annualised operating ROE of 17.5 per cent, up from 15.5 per cent in full year 2025

Cash generation and capital returns

Underlying free surplus generation (UFSG) of US$3,935 million, increased by 10 per cent per share

Net free surplus generation (net FSG) of US$2,758 million, up 12 per cent per share

US$3.6 billion returned to shareholders in the first half through dividend and share buy-back

Interim dividend increased by 10 per cent to 53.90 Hong Kong cents per share

Lee Yuan Siong, AIA’s Group Chief Executive and President, said:

“AIA has delivered another strong performance in the first half of 2026, with double-digit growth across our key financial metrics, while continuing to return substantial capital to shareholders. VONB reached a record high of US$3.2 billion with growth across all distribution channels, and all reportable segments excluding Thailand. The Group has achieved 17 per cent CAGR since the first half of 2023(3), demonstrating consistently strong demand for AIA’s professional advice and differentiated products.

“At the core of our unrivalled distribution platform is our market-leading Premier Agency. I am delighted that AIA has once again been ranked the number one Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) multinational company globally. We have held this position for a record 12 consecutive years and we have more than double the number of MDRT members of our nearest competitor. In the first half of 2026, our Premier Agency achieved strong VONB growth of 11 per cent excluding Thailand(1). Our extensive network of strategic distribution partners further expands our market reach and generated an 18 per cent increase in VONB, supported by very strong performance in both the bancassurance and independent financial adviser (IFA) and broker channels.

“Strong new business, together with disciplined management of our in-force portfolio, has supported sustained growth in recurring earnings with OPAT per share up by 13 per cent in the first half. As a result, we expect to exceed our 9 to 11 per cent OPAT per share CAGR target for 2023 to 2026(2). UFSG, the Group’s core measure of operating cash generation, increased by 10 per cent per share. After allowing for new business investment, net FSG increased by 12 per cent per share. In accordance with our prudent, sustainable and progressive dividend policy, the Board has declared a 10 per cent increase in the interim dividend to 53.90 Hong Kong cents per share. These achievements demonstrate that our financial strategy is working as intended.

“Asia remains the most compelling growth opportunity for life and health insurance. Powerful structural tailwinds across the region continue to create substantial demand for our professional advice and differentiated products and underpin the exceptional long-term prospects for AIA’s business. I am confident that AIA’s disciplined execution of our strategic priorities will continue to deliver long-term sustainable value for all our stakeholders.”

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British Council Sri Lanka launches soft skills workshops to elevate learning and empower communication

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The British Council team answering questions on Corporate English Solutions from leading corporates about professional development skills courses

The British Council Sri Lanka has launched Corporate English Solutions (CES), tailored to the Sri Lankan corporate and education ecosystem, aimed at helping organisations strengthen workplace communication and professional development.

The launch event took place recently at the NH Collection, Colombo 3, gathering corporate partners, clients and education stakeholders throughout the country.

CES extends the British Council’s long-standing work in English language education and teacher training into a dedicated offering for the corporate sector. The launch introduced two new components to the British Council’s presence in Sri Lanka such as public workshops and teacher training programmes, open to learners and educators beyond the organisation’s existing corporate and academic partners. Guests at the event were shown a short video introducing Corporate English Solutions before the formal proceedings began.

Talal Meer, British Council Regional Business Development Director, South Asia, welcomed guests and introduced the British Council’s team in Sri Lanka. In his remarks, Meer set out the scope of the CES launch, covering the introduction of public workshops in Sri Lanka, the rollout of teacher training programmes, and an overview of the CES product portfolio. Meer’s role covers educational partnerships in the South Asia region, and his address framed the Sri Lanka launch within the British Council’s broader regional strategy.

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Ogilvy Group tops award tally at ‘Dragons of Sri Lanka’ 2026

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Ogilvy Group Sri Lanka delivered a standout performance at the recently concluded Dragons of Sri Lanka 2026 Awards, securing a total of nine awards comprising two Gold Dragons, one Silver Dragon and six Black Dragons, among the festival’s highest overall award tallies. Gold Dragon wins for Phoenix Ogilvy and Ogilvy Digital, together with the seven additional recognitions across multiple categories, highlighted Ogilvy’s ability to combine creativity, strategic thinking and commercial effectiveness to deliver business results.

Organised by the 4As Sri Lanka, the third edition of Dragons of Sri Lanka shortlisted more than 50 agencies and corporates, making it one of the country’s most competitive marketing communications awards. These local awards, along with the chapters in Malaysia and Pakistan are part of the Dragons of Asia platform, one of the region’s leading programmes for marketing communications effectiveness, with entries being judged on strategy, originality, execution and measurable results.

Ogilvy Digital accounted for eight awards in total, including a Gold Dragon in the Business & Trade Marketing category, and a Silver Dragon in the Innovative Idea or Concept category. The Agency additionally received six Black Dragons across the categories of Innovative Idea or Concept, Business & Trade Marketing, Content Creation, Small Budget, Event or Experiential, and Brand Trial or Sales Generation.

Commenting on the achievement, Sajith Weerasinghe, Chief Operating Officer of Ogilvy Digital, said, “These recognitions reflect the breadth of capabilities we’ve built across strategy, creative, content, experience design, technology and performance marketing. The fact that the work was recognised across so many different disciplines demonstrates our ability to apply creativity to a wide range of business challenges and objectives. We’re proud that this achievement spans multiple clients, categories and types of work, reflecting both the versatility of our people and our commitment to delivering results.”

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