Business
ComBank undertakes to reforest 100 hectares in Kandegama, Polonnaruwa
A 100-hectare swath of degraded habitat belonging to the Kandegama forest in the Dimbulagala range of the Polonnaruwa District is to be reforested by the Commercial Bank of Ceylon under the latest environment-linked commitment of Sri Lanka’s benchmark private bank.The area, which is home to elephants, leopards, deer, and porcupine and is also climatically significant, is to be restored under this project in collaboration with the Forest Department.
Forests in the North-East area of the country have a catalytic effect on the North-East monsoon and the reforestation of Kandegama is expected to improve rainfall stability in the region in addition to paving the way for other environmental benefits including climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation, and habitat improvement, the Bank said.
“We are determined to ensure that the current economic challenges do not side-track our commitments to chosen nationally-important causes,” Commercial Bank Managing Director/CEO Sanath Manatunge said. “As the only Bank in Sri Lanka to achieve 100% carbon neutral status and as a Bank which is committed to preserve the environment, Commercial Bank is very pleased to join hands with Forests Department for this reforestation project. With this project, Commercial Bank continues its support to Sri Lanka’s efforts to increase its forest cover and conserve habitats.”
He noted that Sri Lanka has pledged to increase its forest cover up to 32% by 2030 under the 2015 Paris Agreement of the United Nations and the country also plans to restore 200,000 hectares of deforested and degraded forest by 2030 in response to the Bonn Challenge which seeks to bring 350 million hectares of landscapes into restoration, globally.
The Kandegama forest occupies an area of 600 hectares. The dominant vegetation of the forest is scrub and bushes such as ‘Hinguru’ and ‘Babila’ and invasive plants. Scattered stands of large trees such as ‘Madan,’‘Mayila’ and ‘Kon’ offer refuge to its wildlife.
The reforestation project funded by the Bank envisages the planting and maintaining of 62,500 seedlings of local species and extends to reducing the danger of forest fires by 95% by removing invasive flora such as ‘Mana’ and ‘Illuk’ grass that hinder the growth of other plants and are susceptible to forest fires during the dry season. This will also aid natural regeneration and control cattle grazing.
Funds provided by Commercial Bank will be used to conduct a land survey and map out the 100 ha of forest under the purview of the project, a study of its vegetation to understand the effects of other activities on species composition and density, the clearing of strips to the width of 5m and planting of seedlings, establishment of fire lines for fire control by removing ground vegetation up to a 10m strip around the plantation area to avoid external fires spreading to the forest land, fertilising and watering during prolonged drought periods, maintaining and monitoring the forest land and fire belt for a period of three years, and the performance of annual sample surveys.
The Bank’s CSR Trust also focuses on marine conservation under its environmental initiatives. Recent such initiatives of the Bank include support to the Koggala Mangrove Restoration and Conservation Project. The Bank has funded the planting of a belt of 2,000 mangrove plants and 750 mangrove associates around a little island in the Koggala Lake, along with 500 terrestrial plants on the island. Commercial Bank has also provided financial assistance to plant 1,000 mangrove trees along the Mannar coastal belt and to clean-up the beach area.
Sri Lanka’s first 100% carbon neutral bank, 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 12 years consecutively, Commercial Bank operates a network of 268 branches and 940 automated machines in Sri Lanka. Commercial Bank is the largest lender to Sri Lanka’s SME sector and is a leader in digital innovation in the country’s Banking sector. The Bank’s overseas operations encompass Bangladesh, where the Bank operates 19 outlets; Myanmar, where it has a Microfinance company in Nay Pyi Taw; and the Maldives, where the Bank has a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a majority stake.
Sri Lanka Insurance Life (SLIC Life), the nation’s largest and strongest Life Insurer, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Sameera Dharmasena as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective 22nd September 2026.
Dr. Dharmasena is a distinguished insurance professional with over 21 years of experience in the Sri Lankan insurance industry, having held senior leadership positions across several leading insurance companies affiliated with some of Sri Lanka’s largest business conglomerates. His extensive career spans both local and multinational insurance environments, bringing together broad industry expertise, strategic leadership and a strong commitment to the advancement of the insurance profession.
By Hiran H. Senewiratne
The CSE yesterday indicated mixed reactions as the oil price hike and other external and internal factors moved the All Share Price Index on a downward trajectory.
The All Share Price Index went down by 18.26 points, while the S and P SL20 declined by 1.19 points.
Turnover stood at Rs 1.3 billion with five crossings. Those crossings were: Pickme crossed 500,000 shares to the tune of Rs 77.5 million; its shares traded at Rs 155, Lanka IOC 542,000 shares crossed for Rs 70 million; its shares traded at Rs 130, Access Engineering 800,000 shares crossed to the tune of Rs 64 million; its shares traded at Rs 80, Dipped Products 1 million shares crossed to the tune of Rs 63 million; its shares sold at Rs 52 and Sampath Bank 450,000 shares crossed for Rs 63 million; its shares sold at Rs 140.
In the retail market companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were; Pickme Rs 134 million (854,000 shares traded), Cal Found Rs 110 million (8.5 million shares traded), Dipped Products Rs 109 million (1.8 million shares traded), Access Engineering Rs 80 (999,000 shares traded), Kotagala Plantations Rs 50 million (6.2 million shares traded), JKH Rs 44 million (2.3 million shares traded) and Sampath Bank Rs 28 million (199,000 shares traded). During the day 46 million share volumes changed hands in 10696 transactions.
It is said that transport sector related counters, especially Pickme, led the market. Further manufacturing sector counters, especially JKH and Dipped Products, also performed well. Banking sector counters, especially Sampath Bank, performed significantly.
Meanwhile, People’s Leasing & Finance announced that its debenture issue to raise up to Rs 10 billion was oversubscribed after receiving applications exceeding Rs 10 billion , closing the issue on September 23.
Colombo Dockyard disclosed share dealings by director-related entity Senthilverl Holdings, which purchased and sold 17,086 shares at Rs 119 and Rs 122 each, on September 22.
Yesterday the rupee was quoted at Rs 330.00/80 to the US dollar in the spot market from Rs 329.50/75 the previous day, while bond yields edged up slightly, dealers said.
First Energy SL (Pvt) Ltd has won two awards at the Sri Lanka Clean Energy Week Leadership Awards 2026 for a building-integrated solar installation at the new People’s Bank head office in Colombo. The awards were presented on 21 August 2026 at Hotel Marino, Colombo, during Sri Lanka Clean Energy Week, an industry event organised by SolarQuarter.
The company received Project of the Year: Building-Integrated Solar (BIPV) and Technology Innovation of the Year: Building-Integrated Solar (BIPV). Both awards were made for the same project.
The installation sits at the top of the bank’s 24-storey head office, where solar modules form a waterproof architectural roof over a terrace more than 75 metres above street level. First Energy says it is the first system of its nature in Sri Lanka.
Conventional rooftop solar is mounted onto a finished building. In a building-integrated system the modules are the building element itself. Here the array takes the place of what would otherwise have been a solid pergola roof, and has to keep rain out as well as generate electricity.
The architectural design called for a pergola with a set spacing and a particular quality of filtered light on the terrace below. Standard solar modules are made in fixed sizes with minimum light passthrough, and none suited the design. The modules were therefore fully custom-made to the architectural requirements, featuring both custom dimensions and a reduced cell density, allowing part of the daylight to pass through to the terrace.
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