Business
Smart measures to combat corruption urgently needed: Dr. Rohan Pethiyagoda
By Ifham Nizam
The government should adopt smarter preventative measures to combat corruption and protect public resources, urged Dr. Rohan Pethiyagoda, a well-respected authority on governance and corruption.
He stressed the importance of proactive reforms in governance and procurement systems, advocating for greater transparency and fairness in public sector dealings.
In thought-provoking comments made while delivering the prestigious S R Kottegoda Oration recently Pethiyagoda, known for his insightful critiques of governance, laid bare the complex, multifaceted nature of corruption that hampers the nation’s progress, stressing the urgent need for systemic reforms to address the issue.
He explained the deep-rooted issues of systemic corruption in Sri Lanka, particularly within the country’s infrastructure projects and regulatory frameworks.
Pethiyagoda began by examining the nature of corruption, which he argued extends far beyond bribery to include monopolistic practices, procurement irregularities and inefficiencies caused by bureaucratic mismanagement.
Pethiyagoda added: ‘A prime example is the longstanding contract between Sri Lankan Airlines and Airbus, a deal that effectively locked the national carrier into an arrangement with limited competition, notably from Boeing. Despite evidence of bribery and the subsequent four-billion-dollar fine levied by the European Union, the Sri Lankan government failed to secure any restitution from the scandal.
‘There are also the dangers posed by monopolies and regulatory malpractices. A case of corruption is the recent agreement with VFS Global—a private company handling electronic travel authorizations. There was an exorbitant fee structure in the deal. As a result, funds meant for Sri Lanka were being siphoned off overseas, further draining the nation’s resources.
Pethiyagoda also scrutinized the country’s procurement systems, particularly pointing out how tenders are often rigged through fixed specifications that favor certain companies. “In technical specifications, minor adjustments can disqualify major manufacturers, essentially ensuring that only the bribing companies win the contract, he explained.
A particularly startling example he raised was the controversial wind power deal awarded to the Adani Group of India. According to Pethiyagoda, the Sri Lankan government paid an inflated price for wind power, which would lead to an additional cost of USD 1.35 billion over 20 years, compared to a much more affordable local tender.
“The government creates regulatory barriers that fuel corruption, he added. “Take the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA), for example. Delays in approving medical equipment parts not only waste resources but cause unnecessary suffering and even deaths.”
Pethiyagoda contended that the failure to tackle corruption lies not only with individual politicians but with the country’s broken systems. He stressed that while political leadership may strive for integrity, these efforts are insufficient unless systemic reforms are introduced. “Corruption cannot be tackled with crime and punishment alone,” he said. “We need to proactively identify and stop corruption before it even occurs.”
Drawing from his own experiences, Pethiyagoda recounted a personal incident during his tenure as a youthful director of biomedical engineering at the Ministry of Health in Sri Lanka. He shared a disturbing example of how radiographers at the National Cancer Institute had misused cobalt radiation therapy machines to irradiate gemstones instead of treating patients, which led to innocent people being misled. Despite a prosecution, the case ultimately fell apart due to legal loopholes, highlighting how corruption in Sri Lanka often slips through the cracks of the legal system.
The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), in collaboration with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka), has embarked on a significant initiative to introduce the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) for listed entities in Sri Lanka. This move is expected to transform the way financial data is submitted, analyzed, and disseminated within the capital market.
XBRL is a global standard for digital reporting, specifically for financial business data. XBRL is the universal language for business data reporting and standardizes communication of financial reporting. It enhances data accuracy, simplifies reporting, and allows for more effective analysis and faster comparison of financial information by businesses, regulators, researchers, investors, and other stakeholders.
The primary objective of this initiative is to streamline the submission of financial and non-financial information of listed companies set out in the Interim Financial Statements and Annual Reports by listed companies in compliance with the XBRL taxonomy, ensuring a more efficient and effective dissemination of financial data to the market. The XBRL taxonomy would be developed jointly with CA Sri Lanka and SEC.
The CSE formally marked the beginning of this journey by signing a contract agreement with Microvista Technologies (Pvt) Ltd, India on 9th April 2025, to develop the XBRL system. Microvista Technologies (Pvt) Ltd is a leading compliance platform provider in India possessing extensive experience in XBRL based financial reporting implementations. A demonstration of the proposed system was held at the CSE premises for 30 selected listed companies, representing the banking, insurance, and other sectors. This session provided companies with a first look at the system’s interface and functionality, followed by a Q&A forum to gather initial feedback. The CSE will conduct awareness sessions for Listed Entities through a structured engagement framework.
CSE intends to adopt a phased approach for the implementation of XBRL based financial reporting. In phase one, CSE plans to convert Interim Financial Statements into XBRL based digital financial reporting in early 2026. Upon successful adaptation of phase one by the listed companies, the CSE envisions expanding the scope of XBRL based financial reporting to Annual Reports by 2027 and the submission of Sustainability Reports by 2028.
The adoption of XBRL brings a multitude of benefits to listed entities and market stakeholders. Built-in validation tools help identify inconsistencies or omissions, while the automated system facilitates faster and streamlined financial reporting. Tagged data can be reused across multiple platforms and reports, reducing duplication in data entry and significantly lowering compliance costs.
The implementation of XBRL supports transparency and increases capital market efficiency by helping users of business and financial information locate relevant details. For example, companies reporting under a common taxonomy provide specific details that are immediately comparable by investors and analysts in investment decision-making. XBRL enables listed companies to switch resources away from costly manual processes, typically involving time-consuming comparison, assembly and re-entry of data. Instead, they are able to redirect more effort on analysis, supported by software, which can validate and manipulate XBRL information.
Compared to manual data entry and analysis, XBRL would increase the accuracy of information and enable more value-added analysis, review, and decision-making. It also enhances data analytics capabilities for both regulators and investors, while improving accessibility to a wider pool of international investors through cross-border comparability. XBRL filing provides a reduction in total costs over the long term. This can benefit the organization in various ways, such as improved investor relations, investor coverage, and access to capital markets. Since, XBRL is a widely accepted filing approach adopted by many jurisdictions, many foreign portfolio investors are already used to XBRL formats. As such, they would prefer financial statements published in XBRL for their analytical purposes.
This strategic initiative by the CSE reinforces their shared commitment to modernizing financial reporting infrastructure and aligning Sri Lanka’s capital market with international best practices in transparency, accuracy, and accessibility.
Investor sentiment at the CSE became more positive yesterday and the market moved to a very healthy position due to external market factors.Investors were more optimistic about the government’s efforts succeeding in negotiating with the US authorities to get a concessionary arrangement from US’ reciprocal tariff increase of 46 percent on US exports, market analysts said.
Amid those developments both indices moved upwards. The All Share Price Index moved up by 155 points, while the S and P SL20 rose by 38.9 points. Turnover stood at Rs 2.4 billion with seven crossings.
Those crossings were reported in JKH which crossed 8 million shares to the tune of Rs 160 million; its shares traded at Rs 20, Hemas Holdings 500,000 shares crossed to the tune of Rs 60.2 million and its shares sold at 120.50, Access Engineering 1.5 million shares crossed for Rs 60 million; its shares traded at Rs 40, Agarapathana Plantations 2.5 million shares crossed for Rs 41.2 million; its shares traded at Rs 16.50, Lanka IOC 300,000 shares crossed to the tune of Rs 39 million; its shares traded at Rs 130, Commercial Bank 212,000 shares crossed for Rs 29.1 million; its shares traded at Rs 137 and LB Finance 220,000 shares crossed for Rs 20.4 million; its shares sold at Rs 93.
In the retail market top six companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were; Sunshine Holdings Rs 177 million (7.6 million shares traded), JKH Rs 123 million (6.1 million shares traded), Swisstec Rs 116 million (2.3 million shares traded), Access Engineering Rs 100 million (2.1 million shares traded) Agarapathana Plantations Rs 100 million (6.1 million shares traded) and Hemas Holdings Rs 96 million (804,000 shares traded).During the day 125 million shares volumes changed hands in 17000 transactions.
It is said that manufacturing sector counters led the market, especially with JKH, while services sector and plantations sector counters performed well too.
Yesterday, the rupee opened stronger at Rs 299.60/80 to the US dollar in the spot market dealers said, while bond yields continued to fall.
The expectation of some sort of resolution to the US- China trade conflict was contributing to the positive momentum, dealers said.
Excess liquidity was also coming back to the market, after a festival drawdown.
A bond maturing on 15.12.2026 was quoted at 8.90/9.00 and closed at 8.85/98 percent down from 8.88/9.00 percent Wednesday.
By Hiran H Senewiratne
Business
Uber supported economic growth in Sri Lanka with LKR 160 billion of economic activity in 2024: Report
Uber has released findings from its 2024 Sri Lanka Economic Impact Report, compiled by global policy research firm Public First. The report highlights how Uber and Uber Eats together contributed LKR 160 billion in economic activity last year—underscoring their growing role in delivering flexible earning opportunities, expanding access to safer, affordable transportation, and helping local businesses reach more customers.
Uber has transformed the way people travel and order food, groceries and more, over the last few years. By making transportation and delivery services safer and accessible, the company has helped generate economic growth at a time when Sri Lanka has been emerging from financial uncertainty.
Uber’s operations are fueling far-reaching economic benefits across Sri Lanka. In 2024, the platform generated LKR 338 billion in consumer surplus and LKR 16 billion in added tourism value, while drivers and delivery partners reinvested LKR 660 million into local maintenance services. These figures reflect how Uber’s ecosystem is stimulating secondary markets and enabling value far beyond the digital space.
Complementing this economic uplift, Uber has empowered drivers with more stable incomes, and given 70% of them a crucial buffer during tough times. Uber Eats helped local merchants generate LKR 3.6 billion in new business, while affordable transport options allowed thousands of users to save time, budget, and enjoy safer journeys—even during emergencies.
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