Business

Breaking free from conventional investment paths; How to make your money work harder

Published

5 months ago

2025/07/30

Understanding Where Your Money Goes and How Businesses Grow

Picture this: You have some extra money sitting in your drawer, while across town, an established manufacturing company with a solid track record desperately needs funds to expand their operations and hire more workers. How do these two needs meet? Welcome to the fascinating world of capital markets – Sri Lanka’s financial matchmaking service.

What Exactly Are Capital Markets?

Think of capital markets as giant marketplaces where money changes hands. Just like in an ordinary marketplace, companies come to capital markets to “buy” money (through borrowing or selling shares), while people with extra cash come to “sell” their money (by investing) in exchange for returns.

In simple terms, capital markets help channel money from people who have it (savers and investors) to people who need it (businesses and governments) to grow and create jobs.

Breaking Free from the Middleman: Why Direct Investment Matters

It is the general consensus that the depositing your hard-earned money in a bank is the safest option, what’s with the collective financial trauma Sri Lankans have gone through via experiences like the Golden Key Scandal and the Sakvithi Debacle.

For years, the journey of your money looked like this: You earn money → deposit it in a bank → bank lends it to businesses → bank keeps most of the profit. In fact, according to the Economic Financial Review 2024, published by The Central Bank of Sri Lanka, showed that deposits, collectively racked up to an amount of Rupees 17,969.4 billion which accounted for 81% of the banking industry’s total liabilities and equity at the end of 2024. This reveals how there is a massive deposit concentration in the economy created by the overwhelming confidence in the banking sector. It is obvious that Sri Lankans understand the vitality of the banks and that they provide essential services, keep our money safe, and fund countless businesses. Essentially, they have become the backbone of Sri Lanka’s financial system.

However, this system has natural limitations. Banks must be careful with depositors’ money, so they’re selective about who gets loans. Interest rates stay high because banks need to cover their costs and risks. Many promising small businesses get turned away simply because they don’t fit standard lending criteria.

The Bottom Line is that Banks have served Sri Lanka well and continue to play a crucial role. But very little of your bank savings are used for the overall development of the country. So where do we go from here?

The Game Changer: Direct Connection to Funds via The Capital Market

Enter capital markets with a revolutionary idea: “Why not let savers and borrowers deal directly with each other?” Essentially cutting out of the middleman which simply means “removing the go-between.”

Moving away from the role of banks, capital markets offer something additional: the power for ordinary people to directly participate in building the economy while growing their own wealth. It’s not about choosing sides – it’s about having more financial freedom and opportunities.

Instead of your money sitting in a bank that decides who gets it, you can now directly choose to invest in companies you believe in. It’s like buying directly from the farmer instead of going through multiple middlemen.

Two Roads to Raising Money: Equity vs Debt

When companies need money, they have two main paths in capital markets:

When it comes to the ownership in terms of Equity, the ownership dilutes with each share issue but in terms of debt . the holder retains the ownership. In equity shareholders receive a share of their profits and losses but in debt, the holder has no claim on profit and losses

The Ownership Route: Equity Markets

Imagine you and your friends want to start a restaurant. Instead of borrowing money, you decide to sell small pieces of ownership to raise funds. This is exactly what happens in equity markets. Companies sell shares, which represent small pieces of ownership, to the public to raise capital. When you buy shares, you become a part-owner of the company, and if the company performs well, your shares become more valuable. Additionally, you might receive dividends, which are your share of the company’s profits distributed to shareholders.

The Lending Route: Debt Markets

Sometimes companies prefer to borrow money rather than give away ownership, which is where debt markets come in. In this scenario, companies issue IOUs called bonds or debentures to raise funds. When you buy these securities, you’re essentially lending money to the company, and they promise to pay you back with interest over a specified period. You receive regular interest payments throughout the loan term until they repay the full principal amount. Think of it like this: if equity is like having a business partner, debt is like being a money lender with a written promise of repayment.

Things That Set Apart; Equity Vs Debt

Ownership – When it comes to equity financing, ownership is diluted as shares are sold to investors. However, in debt financing, the debt holder retains ownership.

Profit/Loss Sharing – In equity financing, shareholders receive a share of profits and losses, as opposed to debt financing in which lenders have no claim on profits or losses

To be Continued

by Securities and Exchange Commission of

Sri Lanka

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Business

HNB Assurance Recognized with Merit Award at the Great HR Awards 2025

Published

8 hours ago

2025/12/14

Thilina Walpola

Team HNBA at the Great HR Awards

HNB Assurance PLC was recognized at the Great HR Awards 2025, receiving the Merit Award in the Finance, Insurance, Real Estate, and Investment sector. This recognition reflects the company’s continued commitment to strengthening its people strategy, nurturing a progressive culture, leveraging technology and maintaining strong industrial relations.

Sharing his thoughts on this accomplishment, Lasitha Wimalarathne, Executive Director / Chief Executive Officer of HNB Assurance PLC, stated, “This recognition reiterates our belief that people are the true drivers of our success. Over the years, we have invested significantly in building an environment where our teams feel inspired and supported to deliver their best. As we continue to grow as one of Sri Lanka’s best insurance companies, this award reflects our ongoing efforts to build a workplace where both our people and our business can thrive. My sincere thanks go out to our HR team for continuously driving these initiatives.”

Commenting on the award, Navin Rupasinghe, Head of HR / DGM at HNB Assurance PLC, said, “Our people-first philosophy shapes every HR initiative we design, from strengthening learning pathways and leadership development to enhancing employee well-being and engagement. This recognition validates our ongoing efforts to build a workplace culture grounded in trust, inclusivity and performance. As we look ahead, we remain committed to evolving our HR practices to meet the expectations of our people and the future of work. My sincere thanks to the CIPM for this recignition.”

Business

MullenLowe Sri Lanka named Creative Agency of the Year in South Asia

Published

8 hours ago

2025/12/14

Thilina Walpola

MullenLowe Sri Lanka has been awarded Gold as the Rest of South Asia’s Creative Agency of the Year at the Campaign Agency of the Year Awards 2025, held recently at Mumbai’s ITC Maratha Hotel. The accolade marks a landmark year for the agency, driven by breakthrough ideas, ambitious brands, and a surge in economic activity.

Campaign Agency of the Year – South Asia 2025 (Rest of South Asia – Creative Agency) awarded to MullenLowe Sri Lanka

Guided by a clear creative vision and extensive category expertise across 111 brands in 33 sectors, MullenLowe strengthened its position through strategic leadership appointments, talent acquisition, and the integration of AI-enabled tools. These initiatives created an environment where creativity, learning, and commercial impact worked in tandem, supporting long-standing client relationships and consistent new business momentum.

Thayalan Bartlett, Executive Chairman, said, “Our growth is rooted in a people-first, creative-centred culture. By attracting top talent and focusing on continuous upskilling, we have enriched both our creative and strategic capabilities.”

The agency’s innovation was further enhanced by Fever, its AI-enabled production studio, and LoweGo, a subscription-based design unit, enabling faster and more scalable solutions for modern marketers. Training programs, including an international AI workshop in Baku for top creative minds, helped unify teams around technology-driven creativity, leading to MullenLowe’s highest Effie points haul in a decade.

Harendra Uyanage, Senior Vice President and Executive Creative Director, added, “This recognition celebrates a team that constantly stretches its creative boundaries, transforming every brief into opportunity.”

The win adds to a series of recent accolades, including Most Effective Agency of the Year at the 2024 Effie Awards, and multiple awards at Dragons of Sri Lanka and SLIM Digis 2025, cementing MullenLowe’s vision to become Sri Lanka’s most commercially impactful creative company by 2030.

Business

ComBank named Sri Lanka’s Best Trade Finance Bank at Euromoney Awards 2025

Published

8 hours ago

2025/12/14

Thilina Walpola

Com Bank honoured for outstanding support to Sri Lanka’s trade sector

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC was named Sri Lanka’s Best Trade Finance Bank at the prestigious Euromoney Transaction Banking Awards 2025, in recognition of the Bank’s strong performance and continued contribution to supporting Sri Lanka’s export and import sectors.

This global recognition from Euromoney, a leading authority in financial markets, celebrates institutions that demonstrate innovation, leadership, and measurable impact in transaction banking across cash management, payments, trade finance, and technology. Commercial Bank is Sri Lanka’s clear market leader in trade finance, commanding a 21% share in exports and a 14.26% share in imports, demonstrating its strong presence across both segments.

In 2024, the Bank supported over US$ 5 billion in trade transactions, underscoring its unmatched role in enabling the flow of goods, services, and foreign exchange. Its leadership has also been recognised regionally by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which named Commercial Bank its Leading Partner Bank in Sri Lanka for the fourth consecutive year under the Trade and Supply Chain Finance Programme.

At the forefront of Commercial Bank’s recent innovations is ComBank TradeLink, Sri Lanka’s first fully integrated, end-to-end digital trade finance platform. The system brings all trade finance operations – from Letters of Credit to export collections and shipping guarantees – into one secure online interface, providing customers real-time visibility, faster processing, and paperless convenience. This digitalisation drive has redefined the client experience, reduced manual processes and improved turnaround times across thousands of transactions.

The Bank’s commitment to advancing Sri Lanka’s trade sector extends beyond technology. Through initiatives such as the ComBank Trade Club, which facilitates connections between buyers and suppliers both locally and internationally, and ComBank LEAP | GlobalLinker, a digital business networking platform for SMEs, the Bank is actively building bridges between Sri Lankan entrepreneurs and global markets. Its Diribala Exporter Development Programme further empowers micro, small, and medium enterprises to become export-ready, providing access to expert guidance, training, and financial support.

Reflecting on the award, Commercial Bank said the recognition from Euromoney was a tribute to the trust placed in the Bank by Sri Lanka’s exporters and importers, and to the dedication of its trade finance teams who continue to innovate and deliver excellence in a rapidly evolving global landscape.

As Sri Lanka’s largest private sector bank and the first to surpass US$ 1 billion in market capitalisation, Commercial Bank continues to lead in supporting national trade, driving digital transformation, and shaping a more inclusive and resilient export economy, the Bank said.

Commercial Bank was the first bank in the country to be listed among the Top 1000 Banks of the World, and has the highest Tier I capital base among all Sri Lankan banks. The Bank is the largest private sector lender in Sri Lanka and the largest lender to the country’s SME sector. Commercial Bank is also a leader in digital innovation and is Sri Lanka’s first 100% carbon-neutral bank.

Commercial Bank operates a network of strategically located branches and automated machines island-wide, and has the widest international footprint among Sri Lankan banks, with 20 branches in Bangladesh, a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a majority stake in the Maldives, a microfinance company in Myanmar, and a representative office in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The Bank’s fully owned subsidiaries, CBC Finance Ltd. and Commercial Insurance Brokers (Pvt) Limited, also deliver a range of financial services via their own branch networks.