News

BOC in the front line of reviving the economy: Chairman

Published

5 years ago

2021/08/13

By Sanath Nanayakkare

Bank of Ceylon Chairman Kanchana Ratwatte said in Colombo yesterday(12) that as the global pandemic had caused direct impacts on the national economy, the BoC had felt the need to come forward and help revive the economy without taking the easy option of doing little”.

He said so at a media briefing held to announce the financial results of the Bank for the first half of the year.

“We have a choice of not supporting the economy at this point and let things move on as they are. But we have made the difficult choice. For sure, things are not as they used to be, but I don’t believe that the government of Sri Lanka is going to default on any loans. I also don’t believe that the pandemic is going to stay on forever or tourists are not going to visit this country again. And for a moment I don’t believe that the economy is not going to bounce back. I see all the reasons to be confident about the favourable developments on all these fronts.”

Asked how the BoC could carry out that national responsibility on its own when other banks had pooled their resources to do it, and whether BOC was putting depositors’ funds at risk, he said, “No, not at all. There are certain situations where we go by way of syndicates. There are certain situations where we act as a syndicate and there are situations where we take up the responsibility on our own. If you are looking at the essential services, this is a time we can’t say ‘no’ and we won’t say ‘no’. As far as the BoC is concerned, the resources that we have are distributed in a very safe operation. We are not taking risks beyond our control. It is well within our control and that is why we are extending it. In doing so, we are looking at the short term, maybe two or three months or so. The IMF facility of USD 780 million and so many things are in the pipeline. In addition to that, the Bank is facilitating and empowering more exporters to emerge from the rural areas and we are looking at start-ups, SMEs, larger industries whoever is looking forward to joining with us to transform their businesses to be export-oriented.”

Referring to the Bank’s dollar liquidity levels, Ratwatte said, “The Bank of Ceylon has given first priority to the health sector, petroleum and pharmaceuticals sectors to open all of their letters of credit (LCs) to ensure that the society functioned unhindered at its normal pace. Then we ensured LC opening for importing vaccines, gas and essential food items. Next was our existing customer base whom we serviced without creating any problems for them. Then comes the situation where customers from other banks who come to BOC to open LCs in their time of difficulty that is also handled by the bank appropriately according to the purpose”.

“We don’t have an issue with regard to dollars when it comes to our customers or the priority areas I mentioned. In terms of dollar liquidity, we are okay to look after our customers for LC opening and we help new customers too,” the BoC chief said.

Amidst these unexpected challenges, the Bank’s Profit Before Tax for the six months ended 30th June 2021 stood at LKR 27.1 billion, moving forward with stable performance, while managing headwinds caused by low interest rates, cash-flow deferments and operational restrictions. Profit After Tax (PAT) for the period was LKR 22.1 billion. The Bank’s total assets grew by 11% and reached the LKR 3.3 trillion level reaching another milestone and preserving its industry leadership.

All News Advertisement

News

Sun directly overhead Galle, Angulugaha, Imaduwa, Telijjawila, Yatiyana and Tangalle about 12.08 noon today (07)

Published

9 hours ago

2026/09/7

Priyan

The sun is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka from 28th of August to 07th of September due to its apparent southward relative motion.

The nearest places of Sri Lanka over which the sun is overhead today (07) are Galle, Angulugaha, Imaduwa, Telijjawila, Yatiyana and Tangalle about 12.08 noon.

News

‘Choka Malli’ slips out of country before travel ban

Published

12 hours ago

2026/09/7

Thilina Walpola

Premalal

By Norman Palihawadane

The CID recently found that former SLPP Deputy Minister Premalal Jayasekara, better known as ‘Choka Malli’, had left for Thailand when the Supreme Court imposed an overseas travel ban on him last Friday.

The CID discovered that Jayasekara had left Sri Lanka on August 31, while authorities were taking steps to enforce the travel restriction imposed by the Supreme Court. The Department has subsequently informed the Attorney General’s Department of the development.

The Supreme Court last Friday ordered Jayasekara, and two other men, to appear before court on October 21, and imposed a ban on their overseas travel.

The orders were made as the Supreme Court considered an appeal challenging the acquittal of the three men in connection with the 2015 murder of Shantha Dodangoda, also known as D.G. Sunil Perera.

The appeal was filed by Dodangoda’s wife against a decision of the Court of Appeal to acquit and release Jayasekara and the two other accused, who had previously been convicted and sentenced to death by the Ratnapura High Court.

Dodangoda was killed in a shooting in Kahawatta town, in the early hours of January 5, 2015, while a group of people were putting up decorations for an election rally in support of then common Opposition presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena.

Two others, Karunadasa Weerasinghe and Mohamed Ilfan, were seriously injured in the shooting.

Following the incident, the Ratnapura High Court convicted Jayasekara, former Chairman of the Kahawatta Pradeshiya Sabha Wajira Darshana de Silva, and former Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council member Nilanta Jayakody, sentencing all three to death.

The Court of Appeal subsequently acquitted the three men and ordered their release.

The victim’s wife later challenged the acquittal before the Supreme Court.

The appeal was taken up before a Supreme Court bench, comprising Justice Preethi Padman Surasena and Justices Achala Wengappuli and Gihan Kulatunga.

During the proceedings, Deputy Solicitor General Janaka Bandara requested that the court impose overseas travel restrictions on Jayasekara and the other respondents.

The Supreme Court subsequently ordered all three to appear before the court on October 21 and imposed travel bans on them.

President’s Counsel Nalin Ladduwahetty, President’s Counsel U.R. de Silva and President’s Counsel Anuja Premaratne appeared for the respondents. President’s Counsel Saliya Peiris represented the aggrieved party.

Police sources said that the discovery that Jayasekara had already left for Thailand, on August 31, has raised concerns over the timing and enforcement of the travel ban.

Sources said that the CID had notified the Attorney General’s Department and was taking further action in relation to the development.

News

Dengue death toll rises to 73

Published

12 hours ago

2026/09/7

Thilina Walpola

By Pradeep Prasanna Samarakoon

The number of deaths from dengue fever in Sri Lanka has risen to 73 this year, with 96,228 cases reported across the country so far, according to the Dengue Control Unit.

The latest figures indicate that dengue continues to pose a significant public health concern, with 737 new cases recorded during the first four days of September alone.

Dengue infections peaked in July, when 29,964 cases were reported, according to the latest data. June recorded the second-highest monthly total, with 21,533 cases, while 10,155 cases were reported in August.

Earlier in the year, 8,590 cases were recorded in May and 7,866 cases in January.The Western Province remains the worst-affected area, accounting for more than half of all dengue cases reported nationwide. A total of 50,851 cases have been recorded in the province, representing 52.84% of the country’s total.

The Southern Province has recorded 13,950 cases, followed by the Central Province with 8,818 cases and Sabaragamuwa Province with 7,925 cases.