Business
Ceylinco Life crowned Sri Lanka’s most popular life insurer for record 15th year

Ceylinco Life representatives led by Director Devaan Cooray (centre) at the 2021 SLIM Peoples Awards ceremony.
Sri Lankans have voted Ceylinco Life the ‘Peoples Life Insurance Service Provider of the Year’ for the 15th consecutive year, making the country’s life insurance leader the only company in its sector to win the coveted SLIM Peoples Award every year since the inception of the awards programme.
This emphatic reaffirmation of popularity at the 2021 edition of these awards has only been outdone in longevity by Ceylinco Life’s performance, coming as it did a month after the company’s financial results showed that it had retained market leadership in Sri Lanka’s life insurance industry for the 17th successive year.
Considered the hallmark awards event of the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM), the SLIM Peoples Awards honours the country’s top brands across multiple sectors each year. The selection of winners is based on a nationwide quantitative face-to-face survey covering males and females between the ages of 15 to 60, over a period of five months using a structured questionnaire. Respondents are asked to mention their favourite brands and personalities across various categories, with those receiving the highest nominations being declared as the winners.
“Ceylinco Life has been helping Sri Lankans de-risk their future for more than three decades through the safety net of life insurance, as well as the many additional benefits the company extends to its policyholders,” the company’s General Manager – Marketing Samitha Hemachandra said. “The SLIM Peoples Award reflects the strong and enduring bonds Ceylinco Life has built not only with policyholders, but with the larger populace through its many engagements and community initiatives.”
The 2021 SLIM Peoples Awards presentation was the fifth year that the Peoples Insurance Service Provider of the Year was awarded separately to Life and General Insurance companies, following the segregation of these segments of insurance by law in 2015. In the 10 years that preceded the segregation, Ceylinco Insurance PLC comprising of Ceylinco Life and Ceylinco General Insurance, won the award every year.
Ceylinco Life ended 2020 with assets of Rs 150 billion, total income of Rs 36.9 billion, premium income of Rs 22.1 billion, a Life Fund of Rs 106.7 billion, an investment portfolio with a value in excess of Rs 133.7 billion and pre-tax profit of Rs 8.7 billion.
Sri Lanka’s leading life insurer for more than half of the 33 years it has been in existence, and certified as a ‘Great Workplace’ in Sri Lanka by Great Place to Work®, Ceylinco Life was ranked the ‘Most Valuable Life Insurance Brand’ in Sri Lanka by Brand Finance in 2020, named the ‘Best Life Insurer in Sri Lanka’ for the seventh consecutive year by World Finance, also in 2020, and accorded an ‘Honourable Mention’ as one of the ‘Most Admired Companies in Sri Lanka’ in 2019-20 by the International Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka (ICCSL) in collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), UK.
Ceylinco Life has close to a million lives covered by active policies and is acknowledged as a benchmark in the local insurance sector for innovation, product research and development, customer service, professional development, sustainability and corporate social responsibility.
Business
National Trade Facilitation Committee Secretariat to be established

In an effort to accelerate trade facilitation commitments and bolster the business landscape in Sri Lanka, a high-level review of the National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC) was conducted at the Presidential Secretariat on Wednesday (7).
The review focused on assessing the progress of trade facilitation commitments and scrutinizing the performance of the NTFC Secretariat. The private sector also voiced their views on expediting actions to ensure the completion of measures ahead of the projected timeline of 2025-2030.
In order to streamline compliance and optimize performance, several directives were issued during the meeting. Firstly, it was decided to establish the NTFC Secretariat under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance. Secondly, immediate measures to be taken to address the staffing requirements of the Secretariat and lastly, the budget allocated for the NTFC Secretariat in 2023, currently under the Department of Customs, was to be transferred to the Ministry of Finance to prioritize pending actions such as the development of the NTFC website and progress reporting system.
During the meeting, deliberations took place concerning the proposed National Single Window, a system aimed at simplifying and expediting trade processes. The participants agreed to expedite the submission of the proposal in a sequential manner to ensure its swift implementation.
Business
PM discusses ADB future projects in Sri Lanka with ADB DG and new Country Director

Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Director General for South Asia Kenichi Yokoyama and newly appointed Country Director Takafumi Kadono held discussions with Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena on Thursday (June 8) at the Temple Trees in Colombo.
The Prime Minister, while welcoming the new Director General thanked the outgoing DG, Chen Chen for the support extended to Sri Lanka during the height of Covid pandemic and the economic crisis. He thanked the ADB for extending short term, immediate contingency support which has helped Sri Lankan economy to recover from the unprecedented crisis within a short period of time. ADB loan funds amounting to USD 380 mn were targeted for enhancing fiscal space and efficient public financial management system as well as strengthening the SME sector with access to finance. Further USD 250 mn was obtained as budgetary support to develop Capital Market.
The Prime Minister made a special mention about ADB’s US$ 333 million emergency assistance to support import of essential items such as fertilizer, medicines and chemicals for water treatment, working capital support to SMEs, and cash transfer to most poor and vulnerable to mitigate the impact of economic crisis.
ADB Director General for South Asia Keinichi Yokohoma, praised the recovery made by Sri Lankan economy and briefed the Prime Minister about the ADB’s mid-term and long-term projects for economic progress and infrastructure development.
Business
ADB provides Sri Lanka access to concessional financing to facilitate sustained and inclusive recovery

Low interest -rate financing broadens country’s options to bridge urgent development financing needs
ADB support now comes in concessional and market-based financing, technical assistance, policy advice, and knowledge solutions
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved the eligibility of Sri Lanka to access concessional financing. The availability of concessional assistance, offered at low interest rates, broadens Sri Lanka’s options to bridge its urgent development financing needs to restore economic stability and deliver essential services, particularly to the poor and vulnerable.
Eligibility for concessional resources among the developing member countries of ADB is based on gross national income per capita and creditworthiness. ADB’s decision was considered based on a request from the Government of Sri Lanka in view of the severe and unprecedented economic crisis that has reversed hard-won development gains.
“ADB is committed to further enhancing its support for the people of Sri Lanka as the country responds to this deep crisis that has severely undermined their livelihoods and well-being,” said ADB Director General for South Asia Kenichi Yokoyama. “The availability of concessional assistance will help Sri Lanka to lay the foundation for economic recovery and sustained, inclusive growth.”
Sri Lanka is now eligible for ADB support including concessional and market-based financing, technical assistance, policy advice, and knowledge solutions that together comprise a comprehensive suite of options to address the crisis. Access to concessional financing will also ease debt servicing pressures through more favorable lending terms.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.
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