Business
Ceylinco Life’s 9-month income up 14% to Rs 26 billion

Sri Lanka’s life insurance market leader Ceylinco Life has posted consolidated income of Rs 26 billion for the nine months ending 30th September 2020, achieving noteworthy top line growth of 14 per cent in a period dominated by adverse conditions for business.
Gross Written Premium income for the period grew by 13.8 per cent to Rs 15.5 billion, while investment and other income increased by 14.3 per cent to Rs 10.8 billion, the Company reports.
Ceylinco Life transferred Rs 6.7 billion to its life fund for the period under review, enlarging the life fund to Rs 103.6 billion as at 30th September 2020 and transferred Rs 2.9 billion to the shareholders’ fund in respect of the nine months, increasing the shareholder fund to Rs 35.8 billion at the end of the third quarter.
The Company said it paid Rs 9.1 billion in net claims and benefits to policyholders for the period, an increase of 12.8 per cent over the corresponding nine months of the previous year.
Ceylinco Life reported profit of Rs 5.29 billion before tax and Rs 4.18 billion after tax for the nine months, recording declines of 8.4 per cent and 6.7 per cent respectively, on account of a lower transfer of Rs 2.9 billion to shareholder profits as against Rs 3.3 billion for the first nine months of 2019.
“Our results reflect Ceylinco Life’s ability to maintain its momentum in terms of volumes even in difficult times, as well as the resilience of the Company’s investment strategies,” Ceylinco Life Managing Director/CEO Thushara Ranasinghe commented. “A decline in profits was anticipated and factored in, as a consequence of the need to make provisions for the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the business. We remain confident that our business model will generate equitable returns for policyholders and shareholders alike, while expanding the footprint of life insurance in the market.”
Business
‘Adani Group has withdrawn from controversial wind power project’

By Ifham Nizam
The Adani Group has officially withdrawn from the controversial wind power project in Mannar, citing unspecified reasons, Friends of Earth chairman Hemantha Withanage said.
It is believed that strong legal challenges, including a case filed by the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) on behalf of local communities, have played a crucial role in the project’s cancellation. These cases have raised concerns over environmental and social impacts, the absence of a competitive bidding process, and the project’s high unit cost.
The decision comes in the wake of mounting public opposition and a recent resolution by the District Development Committee (DDC) of Mannar, which declared that no further destructive mining or wind power projects would be supported on Mannar Island. Local communities have been protesting against the environmental damage caused by existing development projects, including wind farm construction and road expansion, which have exacerbated flooding in the region.
For years, the Centre for Environmental Justice, in collaboration with the Mannar Citizen’s Committee, has been providing legal and scientific support to address these issues. Environmental activists argue that the government’s approval of such projects without proper scrutiny could lead to long-term ecological and social consequences.
With the Adani Group stepping away, the future of large-scale wind power projects in Mannar remains uncertain, as local resistance to potentially harmful developments continues to grow.
Business
Sharmini Pereira of the MMCA Sri Lanka speaks at the DBF-KMB lecture series

Sharmini Pereira, Chief Curator at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sri Lanka (MMCA Sri Lanka), was a panellist at the ‘New Dialogues: Contemporary Art from South Asia’ lecture series, which took place in Bangladesh. The series was organised as part of the inaugural Durjoy Bangladesh Foundation/Kochi-Muziris Biennale Award (DBF-KMB Award), a new multi-year exhibition and lecture programme that brings together the Hayward Gallery, the Durjoy Bangladesh Foundation, and the Kochi Biennale Foundation.
The lecture series featured several eminent arts and culture professionals from South Asia such as artists Bani Abidi, Jeebesh Bagchi, Nikhil Chopra, Iftikhar Dadi, and Munem Wasif. Sharmini Pereira contributed to the panel titled ‘Exhibitions as Infrastructure’, where she explored the ways in which MMCA Sri Lanka is creating a museum of modern and contemporary art in the country, through not only exhibitions but also the training of museum professionals, who for Pereira are the most necessary component of any infrastructure project.
Speaking of how exhibitions contribute to the canon, knowledge production, and building a critical infrastructure, Pereira looked at the museum as infrastructure in the South Asian context. She identified how the MMCA Sri Lanka has been shaped by the process of making a museum from scratch, and took the audience through the MMCA Sri Lanka’s past exhibitions to explain the canonical approach to exhibition making. Pereira also emphasised that exhibitions do not exist without human capital, such as curators, exhibition designers, installers, editors, translators, conservators, etc., and that exhibition-making has helped the MMCA Sri Lanka to train and build up an infrastructure of expertise and knowledge.
Business
A bold step towards sustainable food production

An initiative aimed to improve the energy landscape of Sri Lanka’s food and beverage sector, project titled, “New Solutions for Low-Emission Food Production in Sri Lanka,” was successfully completed. The project which is funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) Small Grants Programme which is jointly commissioned by three German Federal ministries was implemented with several partners in Sri Lanka. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Sri Lanka monitored the project on a local level on behalf of IKI programme. Ministry of Industries and the Sri Lanka Food Processors Association provided necessary guidance to National Cleaner Production Centre, Sri Lanka to implement and the complete project successfully.
The project dissemination event, graced by key figures from the Food Sector, government ministries, non-governmental organizations, relevant authorities and industry partners.
The project aimed at reducing energy losses in the food sector by implementing energy management systems, streamlining production processes, and obtaining international certifications, with a focus on achieving ISO 50001 Energy Management System certification. This strategic move was introduced not only for companies to cut energy costs but also to enhance their reputation on the global stage.
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