Business

President motivates mass movement at ground level to form inclusive government

Published

4 years ago

2022/08/1

Thilina Walpola

Says Sri Lanka can enter new politics after fixing urgent economic issues

By Sanath Nanayakkare

President Ranil Wickramasinghe said on Saturday that Podu Jana Peramuna and UNP politicians should talk to all other political parties including the SJB, JVP and TNA in order to create a mass movement at the ground level to push for an all-party government.

“If our economy slides any further, the country wouldn’t be in existence. Our inflation will increase further. This year our GDP will contract by 7%. That’s a big negative growth number. Next year, with the steps we have taken, the contraction would be about 3%. In the following year, we will be able to achieve 1% surplus in our primary account. I am not saying these to frighten anyone. Solutions for these challenges must be found first. Sri Lanka can enter new politics after finding solutions to its urgent problems at hand,” he said.

The President made these remarks in Kandy on Saturday addressing a group of Podu Jana Peramuna and UNP politicians functioning mainly at local government level.Some excerpts from his speech are as follows.

“Don’t restrict your unity to just two political parties. Take that spirit of unity beyond, and rally round everyone to rebuild the country. If their preferred political parties want to contest elections separately, that’s okay. But you should talk to the people in the villages, tell them the truth and win them over to work together and pull the country out of its economic abyss. Don’t remain silent.”

“As you know, a massive economic pressure emerged in the country. A political change occurred as a result of this economic pressure. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa exited, I became the President and Dinesh Gunawardena took over as Prime Minister. This change occurred because of the economic explosion which stemmed from severe shortages of fuel, fertilizer etc. These unprecedented events motivated the people to start a peaceful struggle against the government. But later on this peaceful struggle (Aragalaya) was taken over by other organizations under the pretext of Aragalaya. For the first time in Sri Lanka, we experienced Fascist terrorism. The LTTE assassinated people by shooting and bombing. Setting fire to houses and book collections was something learnt from Adolf Hitler. Surprisingly, these Fascist groups were joined by many others in the civil society. At such crossroads, I took over the presidency. Although I took it over, the economic burdens of the people have not alleviated. People’s day-to-day issues are still the same. They still live amid shortages of fuel, fertilizer, cooking gas and job insecurity. Also, we lack the capital to carry out development programmes in the villages. Now the question before us is; are we going to reduce the burdens faced by the people or increase them instead?

“Repeating old slogans won’t help us if we don’t find solutions. Some people say that this economic crisis was created because of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s decision to ban the import of chemical fertilizer. The UNP says the crisis came about because we didn’t seek assistance from the IMF in time. The Podu Jana Peramuna says it happened because the previous government took out large loans. Now, what are we going to do? Are we going to debate continuously, or act to resolve the issues together? Debating would be productive if it could bring in a shipment of fuel or fertilizer. Debating would be productive if that could get us USD 50 million funding from the IMF. If that doesn’t happen, no debate will help develop the country. We have now got to this point and one can write books and analyses about them. Some people want to organize processions demanding ‘Ranil Go Home’. I’d like to tell them, please don’t do it. I don’t have a home to go to. If you are willing, bring in a crowd of people to rebuild my torched house. And once I have resettled there, you can go past my house saying, ‘Ranil Go Home’. Otherwise there is no point in asking a man without a home to go home.”

“We are in traditional politics where we point fingers at one another and put the blame on others. But doing so will not help decelerate our high inflation. Doing so will not help increase our GDP. We have to find the money to purchase fuel, and fertilizer for Maha season. That’s the challenge and our politics should be able to enable it, to facilitate it. That’s what we should be doing. As prime minister and finance minister I discussed with the IMF and we found a potential recovery programme. My objective was to reach the IMF staff level agreement in July 2022 and have it approved by the IMF Executive Committee in the beginning of August 2022. Now it will defer till end of August because discussions stalled since July 9. In this backdrop, a staff level agreement could be reached by end of August also because of the holidays of the month. So we would be able to get an IMF facility approved by its Executive Board in September 2022.”

“The political instability delayed the IMF programme. Unless we have consensus among us nobody will lend us any money. Are we going to continue our familiar behavior in politics? We must think anew. The youth first came to the site of Aragalaya insisting on political and economic reforms. I have no debate about it. What the youth insisted on in the first place was very relevant and they need to be accepted. However, later on others took it over and diverted the peaceful protests towards violence.”

“Let’s not think that once we get a facility from the IMF, our problems will go away. The weight of our loans will increase. So how do we repay the loans? To repay our loans, we need more foreign exchange. We need to explore new ways of boosting our external revenue. Modernization of agriculture is one way to do it. Are we going to make policies and implement result-oriented reforms, or are we going to just shout slogans?”

“Politicians of Podu Jana Peramuna and UNP need to understand this and work together. If we don’t do that the country will be ruined and the younger generation will curse us. Today’s challenge before us is; are we going to fall or stand back on our feet. The Parliament is facing this very challenge today. The President, the Cabinet and other organizations are facing it today. How do we face up to this and build a new Sri Lanka? How do we create a stronger middle class? How do we embrace modern agricultural practices to harness the best yield and productivity? How do we pursue an export-oriented economy? That’s the path we should take right now. The economic model that exists today is the one that initiated by President J.R.Jayawardena. I was part of it. Its effectiveness has lasted its time. We can’t go back to those policies or economic models in British or Kandy eras. We must think anew, understand the global market and adapt to it as a country to gain from it. We must modernize our villages. We don’t still have a digital economy and we must establish it. We must take on the responsibility of these initiatives and move on.

Which is better; are we going to the villages with this message as separate political parties or are we going to do it as one unified group of people? Because of your quietude, there is a political vacuum in the villages today. Are we going to let others divide the people? I would never have agreed with setting fire to houses, books and property. We shouldn’t let our political differences destroy our friendships. We should have a new beginning. So as people’s representatives you should carry the message of unity – which is meant to resolve the crisis – to the villages without being quiet. Your best effort would be working at the ground level to create a massive people’s voice to push for the formation of an all-party government. For that you have to reach out to everyone without any political differences.”

President Wickramasinghe also said that a programme would be introduced in two weeks at village level to tackle food insecurity and livelihoods insecurity.

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Business

Ceylon Chamber welcomes IMF review approval, urges continued reform momentum amid external pressures

Published

11 hours ago

2026/05/30

Thilina Walpola

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce welcomes and commends the Government of Sri Lanka on the successful completion and approval of the 5th and 6th Reviews under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme. This milestone enables Sri Lanka to access approximately USD 695 million in financing support, reinforcing confidence in the country’s ongoing economic recovery and reform agenda.

At a time of heightened global uncertainty and external sector pressures arising from the conflict in the Middle East, the Chamber believes this approval sends a strong positive signal to markets, investors, and the private sector. Continued engagement with the IMF programme remains critical to preserving macroeconomic stability, restoring investor confidence, and strengthening Sri Lanka’s external resilience.

The Chamber notes that the IMF review underscores the importance of sustaining structural reforms, including improving the investment climate, enhancing competitiveness, and accelerating infrastructure and institutional reforms that support private sector-led growth.

At the onset of the Middle East crisis, The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce submitted recommendations to the Government addressing several immediate economic and energy-related risks. These recommendations remain highly relevant in managing emerging pressures on the exchange rate, energy costs, and overall external sector stability.

In line with the Ceylon Chamber’s earlier recommendations, the following priority measures are reiterated:

Strengthen and optimize the fuel QR system as a digital platform to improve efficiency and facilitate better targeted support mechanisms for priority groups such as public transport and school transport operators, while maintaining cost-reflective pricing principles.

Continue to ensure clear and consistent communication on the direction of economic policy to further reinforce confidence among businesses and investors, support orderly exchange rate expectations, reduce market uncertainty, and sustain overall macroeconomic stability.

The Ceylon Chamber also emphasises the importance of accelerating reforms that improve Sri Lanka’s competitiveness in trade, investment, tourism, logistics, and digitalisation. Advancing these reforms will be essential to sustain and improve macroeconomic stabilisation and resilience. The Ceylon Chamber has also urged its members to act responsibly during this critical period by supporting measures that preserve economic stability and safeguard Sri Lanka’s long-term interests.

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce remains committed to actively engaging with policymakers and stakeholders in supporting progressive economic reforms, the successful completion of future IMF programme reviews, and Sri Lanka’s transition towards a resilient and competitive economy.

Business

Abans Finance launches maiden debenture issue listing on CSE

Published

11 hours ago

2026/05/30

Thilina Walpola

(Left – Right): Upul Gunasekara, Deputy CEO – Abans Finance PLC (Abans Finance); Danushka De Silva, Director – Abans Finance; Rajeeva Bandaranaike, CEO – Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE); K.J.C. Perera, Chairman – Abans Finance; Thulci Aluwihare, Director – Abans Finance; Nirosh Madawala, CEO of Abans Finance; Ms. Kaushini Laksumanage, Deputy CEO – NDB Investment Bank Ltd; Ms. Nilupa Perera, Chief Regulatory Officer – CSE; Prashad Samantha, Chief Financial Officer – Abans Finance.

Abans Finance PLC (Abans Finance) recently marked the official listing of its maiden 13,384,000 debentures on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) with a bell ringing and market opening ceremony held at the CSE trading floor.

The offer for subscription for the initial issue of ten million (10,000,000) listed, rated, senior, unsecured, redeemable five-year (2026/2031) debentures of LKR 100/- each, was rapidly oversubscribed, having received subscriptions for 13,384,000 debentures for a value of LKR, 1,338,400,000/-, reflecting strong investor confidence in Abans Finance’s strengths and the debt market.

Abans Finance is a licensed non-banking financial institution and subsidiary of the Abans Group and currently operates with nine branches, nine customer centres and four kiosks in addition to the head office, leveraging on the island wide presence of Abans Group to reach customers across the island. Abans Finance services include finance leasing, hire purchase, mortgage loans, personal loans, real estate development and acceptance of time and savings deposits. Founded in 2006, the Abans Finance was also listed on the CSE in 2011 and enjoys a Fitch Credit Rating of A – (lka) Stable Outlook.

Through its first debenture, which carries an “A-” (lka) rating from Fitch Ratings Lanka Limited and was managed by NDB Investment Bank Ltd, Abans Finance aims to expand its asset base, strengthen loan portfolios, grow its presence by leveraging the Abans Group financial ecosystem to drive digital transformation and deliver integrated solutions.

K.J.C. Perera, Chairman of Abans Finance PLC and keynote speaker at the ceremony, remarked upon the company’s debenture issue, commenting “This milestone underscores strong investor confidence in Abans Finance PLC and strengthens our capital base as we advance our strategy for sustainable growth and innovation.”

Delivering his welcome address at the event Rajeeva Bandaranaike, CEO of CSE, remarked upon the debenture listing, stating: “Today’s listing of the debt issue by Abans Finance PLC reflects a broader engagement by companies to use the capital market for their funding requirements. More recently we have seen a fair growth in the primary issuances of debt. In 2024 approximately LKR 95 Bn was from debt. In 2025, LKR 113 Bn was raised through debt – and in 2026 approximately LKR 60 bn was raised through debt.”

2025 saw 22 debt listings including 3 new companies listing on the exchange by way of debt initial public offerings (IPOs) including several firsts in the country from GSS+ debt instruments (Green, Social, Sustainability linked), Shariah compliant debt instruments and High Yield Bonds, with access to investors and brokers facilitated by a fully digitized CSE platform, which can be accessed through CSE’s website and mobile app.

Business

Sun Siyam Pasikudah brings community together for coastal clean-up

Published

11 hours ago

2026/05/30

Thilina Walpola

Sun Siyam Pasikudah, Sri Lanka’s five-star boutique retreat and part of the Privé Collection within Sun Siyam, reinforced its commitment to community and conservation with a beach cleanup along Pasikudah Bay on 08th May 2026. Held under the group-wide Sun Siyam Cares umbrella, guided by “Caring for our People, Nature and Culture”, the morning brought together school students, hotel staff, and in-house guests for hands-on environmental action.

Unlike typical cleanup drives, this initiative placed education at its heart. Students from a local school joined guided sessions on coastal ecosystems, the impact of marine litter on biodiversity, and the role every individual plays in protecting Sri Lanka’s coastline, giving young people from the surrounding community a firsthand understanding of why this bay matters, ecologically, culturally, and economically.

Arshed Refai, General Manager of Sun Siyam Pasikudah, said: “What makes this cleanup different is who we did it with. When a child understands why this bay is worth caring for, its ecology, its beauty, what it means to the families who live here, that knowledge stays with them. That is the most sustainable investment we can make.”

Pasikudah Bay’s shallow, crystal-clear turquoise waters and the Eastern Province’s rich marine and cultural heritage, from centuries-old mosques and kovils to the vibrancy of Kattankudy, make it a coastline worth protecting. Participants spread across the shoreline collecting and sorting waste in line with the resort’s zero-waste management principles, while guests noted the activity deepened their connection to the destination beyond a typical resort experience.

Sun Siyam Pasikudah holds the Travelife Gold Certification across 147 criteria spanning energy, water, wildlife, waste, and community welfare. The resort grows over 38 varieties of fruits, vegetables, and herbs on its organic farm, operates solar-powered installations, has eliminated single-use plastics entirely, and sources locally wherever possible. The Sun Siyam Cares Fund supports CarePhant, backing the care of Kalo, a young elephant at the Elephant Transit Home in Udawalawe, ahead of his return to the wild in 2029.

As part of Sun Siyam Resorts, named Most Influential Sustainable Hotel Group of the Year at the 2025 GO TRAVEL Awards, initiatives like this reflect a sustained, year-round commitment to ensuring tourism on the East Coast is a force for renewal, not depletion. For reservations, visit www.sunsiyam.com/sun-siyam-pasikudah or call 065 205 5555.