HNB Finance PLC has been honoured with two prestigious accolades at the CMA Excellence in Integrated Reporting Awards 2025, reaffirming the company’s commitment to transparency, good governance, and integrated business performance.

At this year’s ceremony, HNB Finance PLC was awarded Second Runner Up – joint in the category of “Best Integrated Report , Finance and Leasing Sector”, and also received a Merit Award in recognition of its continued efforts to enhance reporting quality and strengthen stakeholder communication.

The CMA Excellence in Integrated Reporting Awards, organised annually by the Institute of Certified Management Accountants (CMA) of Sri Lanka, acknowledge organisations that demonstrate superior financial reporting standards aligned with global best practices. Winners are assessed on key criteria such as financial performance and strategic management, corporate governance and compliance, innovation and digital transformation, sustainability practices, and professional excellence.

Chaminda Prabhath, Managing Director/CEO of HNB Finance PLC, commented on the recognition, “These awards reaffirm our commitment to upholding the highest standards of integrated reporting and transparent financial disclosure. At HNB Finance, we remain focused on delivering sustainable long-term value through robust governance frameworks, prudent financial management, and continuous innovation. The acknowledgement by CMA Sri Lanka reflects the disciplined efforts of our teams across the organization and motivates us to further enhance our reporting quality, strengthen ESG integration, and reinforce our stakeholder centric approach.”

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has reaffirmed its long-standing commitment to advancing women’s empowerment and financial inclusion, by partnering with the National Credit Guarantee Institution Limited (NCGIL) as a Participating Shareholder Institution (PSI) in the newly introduced ‘Liya Shakthi’ credit guarantee scheme, designed to support women-led enterprises across Sri Lanka.

The operational launch of the scheme was marked by the handover of the first loan registration at Commercial Bank’s Head Office recently, symbolising a key step in broadening access to finance for women entrepreneurs.

Representing Commercial Bank at the event were Mithila Shyamini, Assistant General Manager – Personal Banking, Malika De Silva, Senior Manager – Development Credit Department, and Chathura Dilshan, Executive Officer of the Department. The National Credit Guarantee Institution was represented by Jude Fernando, Chief Executive Officer, and Eranjana Chandradasa, Manager-Guarantee Administration.

‘Liya Shakthi’ is a credit guarantee product introduced by the NCGIL to facilitate greater access to financing for women-led Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) that possess viable business models and sound repayment capacity but lack adequate collateral to secure traditional bank loans. Through NCGIL’s credit guarantee mechanism, Commercial Bank will be able to extend credit to a wider segment of women entrepreneurs, furthering its mission to drive inclusive economic growth.

A guest lecture organised by the Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA) on Thursday brought together leading economists who cautioned that the rapid acceleration of artificial intelligence (AI), without parallel investments in inclusive digital infrastructure and labour-market reforms, could deepen inequality and leave significant sections of Sri Lanka’s workforce at risk.

Delivering the keynote address, Jonah Rexer, Economist at the World Bank, noted that while South Asia continues to rank among the fastest-growing emerging-market regions, the gap between labour-force growth and the pace of job creation remains unusually wide. Sri Lanka’s post-crisis recovery has stabilised macroeconomic indicators, he said, but fundamental employment challenges persist.

Rexer highlighted that the rise of AI introduces a new dimension of disruption. His research shows that approximately 20% of jobs in South Asia are currently exposed to AI — primarily in higher-skilled sectors such as ICT, finance and business-process management (BPM). With Sri Lanka’s early adoption of generative AI already at around 10%, higher than most emerging markets, he warned that labour-market impacts may materialise sooner than expected.

He described a “twin pressure point” emerging in Sri Lanka, where AI-driven displacement threatens sectors traditionally relied upon to absorb young, educated workers — particularly export-oriented IT and BPM industries. At the same time, Sri Lanka’s longstanding trade-protection regime, characterised by heavy tariffs on intermediate inputs and limited labour mobility, continues to constrain competitiveness and hinders the structural transformation needed to translate technological and trade gains into broad-based employment opportunities.

A parallel presentation by Vagisha Gunasekara, Country Economist at UNDP, underscored the risk that digital-public infrastructure (DPI) and trade liberalisation could reinforce existing inequalities if access, mobility and capacity constraints are not addressed from the outset. She emphasised that only 37% of adults in Sri Lanka are internet users, with significant numbers of households still offline. Digital literacy, computer skills and device ownership remain low, particularly among women, rural communities and persons with disabilities.

“AI and trade can be powerful drivers of transformation in Sri Lanka,” Gunasekara said. “But only if we ensure that everyone has the opportunity to participate. We must change who is in the digital queue before opening the gate wide.” She stressed that without targeted investments in digital access, skills development, labour mobility and SME competitiveness, the benefits of AI and trade reforms will likely accrue to a narrow, urban and digitally connected segment of society.