Business
Co-operative Insurance set to open Initial Public Offering on December 20

Leading Sri Lankan insurer Co-operative Insurance, recently announced the date of their Initial Public Offering (IPO), which is set to take place on the 20th of December, 2021. The IPO will be managed by the Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka.
Affirming its financial strength, the company, which secured a strong financial performance for the past year, was able to grow their Net Earned Premium (NEP) by an impressive 5% in a challenging, economically-crippling environment impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to post a profit of Rs. 695 million for the fiscal year 2020, up by a commendable 155% from the year before. This enabled it to make an indelible mark as one among the top 10 insurance companies in the country, affirming the success of the company’s vision of delivering unparalleled insurance solutions and services to all Sri Lankans across the island.
“This IPO is an important milestone for Co-operative Insurance, and is a firm testament to the continued dedication and passion of our staff and the firm loyalty of our clientele. Our steady, undeterred performance continued to demonstrate stability and resilience during a period that was characterized by numerous restrictions forced into play by the global pandemic. Right now, we are bullish of what Co-operative Insurance can achieve during our IPO, and in turn how it will help elevate our portfolio in 2022,” Co-operative Insurance Chairman Susil Weerasekera said.
The past year, Co-operative Insurance’s (general) market share has increased to 4.42%, in comparison to 4.27% as in 2019.[ CITATION irc20 \l 1033 ] Compared to the general insurance industry GWP growth, which was -2.24% during the past year, the company recorded GWP growth of 2%. The company reported a 05-year Average Annual GWP Growth Rate of 21% of GWP, while the general insurance industry 05-year GWP Average Annual growth was at 8.95%. Co-operative Insurance also notes that its contribution to increasing general insurance penetration in the country has increased during 2020 with 945,743 policies issued by CICL. Profit after tax (PAT) for 2020 rose to Rs. 695 million, an increase of 155% YoY. Profit before tax (PBT) grew by 120 % compared to previous year to stand at Rs. 940 million.
“We are delighted to announce that our Initial Public Offering will take place on the 20th of December, 2021 following a strong financial performance this past year. Our robust cost management initiatives, proactive drive to innovate, digital-first process re-engineering efforts, and most importantly the strength of our passionate and deeply dedicated team have helped propel Co-operative Insurance to an elite league of top insurance providers within the country. I believe these traits have helped prepare us for this IPO and continue to offer unparalleled standards of insurance to people from all different backgrounds across Sri Lanka,” remarked Co-operative Insurance Managing Director Wasantha Ranasinghe.
Established in 1999 with the aim of taking the concept of insurance beyond the borders of urban and suburban Sri Lanka, Co-operative Insurance operates the third largest branch network amongst all local insurance company today. Rooted in a strong foundation of excellence in customer service, progressive work culture, enriched experience, consistent commitment to innovation and an equal measure of heart, the company was the first in the country to introduce flexible insurance solutions to suit the large portion of motorcycle and three-wheeler owners located across rural Sri Lanka.
Further affirming its financial strength, the company was awarded a Fitch Rating of BBB+ Positive outlook over the past few years. The strategic expertise of its management and its proven financial stability has enabled the company to continue to deliver dividends higher than the general Weighed Average Treasure Bill Rate.
One of the major factors influencing the company’s resilience since 2015, was its significant investment in technology to both upgrade and streamline processes to better equip its employees and customers to access the Co-operative Insurance’s diverse portfolio. As a result, customers were afforded the convenient opportunity to obtain motor insurance policies by visiting our www.ci.lk website. This not only fortified the company’s service portfolio to outperform its competitors but strengthened its positioning as an insurance company of the people.
Co-operative Insurance also lead the establishment of the country’s first training academy installed by an insurance company for its over 1500 employees, naming it the Coopinsu Training Academy. Through this, the company’s employees are given access to powerful local and foreign training programmers and high quality educational facilities to fortify their skillset and further their horizons on a regular basis, a strategy that directly impacts the quality of service provided to its customers. Also this academy is registered institute for Chartered Insurance Institute in UK (CII) Exam in Sri Lanka.
As one of the foremost insurers in the country and one of the biggest claims provider, Cooperative Insurance works to offer affordable premiums to match the requirements of a wider proportion of customers across the nation. With this ethos, Co-operative Insurance forges ahead to continue to change the viewpoint of rural and urban communities on insurance, while providing affordable solutions to customers by working hard to understand and cater to their rapidly evolving needs.
Business
Women led LPO services firm Velox Partners enters new office space in Colombo

Velox Partners, a tech-based legal process outsourcing (LPO) firm, expanded its presence into Colombo to augment its existing law firm. Velox commenced operations in January 2020 prior to the onset of the pandemic. Today, it has expanded its services across numerous verticals Commercial law, Litigation, Conveyancing and Company Secretarial Services, with Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) Services being the core. It is geared as a fully-fledged legal service provider servicing clients across United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore and Southeast Asia.
Velox is female-led with over 90% being women comprising versatile and experienced lawyers. Their expertise bridges multiple disciplines of law with a local and global clientele. The two powerhouses leading the firm are its founding partners Lihini Fernando and Dakshika Perera whose collective experience spans over three decades.
Velox Partners saw Covid-19 restrictions and remote working as an opportunity to position the firm as a tech-based entity and launched its LPO arm. Providing back office legal services to law firms across continents was seen as a viable business model that is both functional and lucrative. Furthermore, the partners of Velox realized the potential of positioning Sri Lanka as a LPO Hub, where the LPO sector enables foreign remittance to the island nation to rebuild its economy. This also provided an opportunity particularly as LPO services can be offered remotely, without a physical office presence.
Velox has serviced clients in over 14 jurisdictions worldwide providing solutions on the ethos, ‘Beyond Legal’. Velox believes in combining business efficiency and tech enabled processes to differentiate itself from the conventional law firms.
Lawyers at Velox are solution providers guided by industry expertise. The team comprises professionals based in Australia, the United States of America, Singapore, and Sri Lanka which enables them to draw cross country perspectives in providing services. Velox is now poised to use their multiple years of experience across continents to provide smart legal solutions.
Business
Estonian TV crew gets a taste of Sri Lanka for the first time

Sri Lanka Tourism, under its Scandinavian market promotions hosted a Media FAM with 4 Media personnel from Kanal2 TV from Estonia. The tour started off on February 28 and ended on March 8. The purpose of hosting this tour was to receive more high-end tourist arrivals from Estonia, as well as the other Scandinavian markets including Lithuania and Latvia.
Subsequently, this tour was hosted in collaboration with the Sri Lanka embassy in Sweden which contributed to make this tour a success. The FAM Tour covered all the main tourist attractions in Sri Lanka, including wild life, Ayurveda, Boutique hotels, and also cultural attractions.
All these attractions were filmed and the destination will be promoted on air via Kanal2 TV, through the TV show ‘’ Kaugele Siit’’ (far from here). The first episode of this programme is scheduled to be telecast for 45 minutes. This travel programme has 420,000 followers as their audience. Kanal2 TV was also the official Media partner for the Winter Olympics 2018, a Sri Lanka Tourism press release said.
The release adds: ‘The visitors were quite impressed with the 8-day tour which they had, enjoying every moment of their tour. They were equally mesmerized with the warm hospitality which they received from the Sri Lankans, which they are mostly renowned for. They enjoyed the traditional Sri Lankan cuisine, and the variety of dishes which they tasted. Nevertheless, they had the opportunity of exploring every attraction of the paradise island to convey the message to their fellow Estonians, that Sri Lanka is a unique travel destination which has everything in store for the enthusiastic traveler.
‘They also had a cooking demonstration by courtesy of Siddhalepa Ayurveda Resorts & Spas Wadduwa, and also a Yoga treat at the same venue. Visiting the Turtle Hatchery at Kosgoda , the Elephant orphanage at Pinnawala, going through a safari at Eco park was also another amazing experience which they had during their stay.’
Business
The Academy of International Business signs Memorandum of Understanding with the University of the Pacific

Academy of International Business Sri Lanka (AIB) held its second graduation at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall with over fifty graduates successfully passing out. At the recent graduation, the business academy signed its MOU with the University of the Pacific.
The signing of the MOU is a major milestone for the business academy. The courses offered are DBA, MBA, and BBA top-up programs through AIB. Prof Liam, Rector – of the University of Pacific, expressed confidence that the program delivered by AIB will be very beneficial.
The event was graced by passed graduates, teachers, and lecturers, the ceremony was hosted by the chief guest and the regional director of ABE(UK) Dr Praveen Mahendran. “The ABE(UK) is one of the long-standing professional awarding bodies from the UK and AIB is proud to be associated with ABE and approved by the awarding body.
Hard work, competency and capability are the values that produce results, through the AIB and its programs these are achievable. Every student is encouraged to show their full potential”.
The distinguished guests were the Vice President of the BNI Pioneer Chapter, Dilan Fonseka. He emphasized, the importance of students gaining experience in entrepreneurial skills and business development by enrolling at BNI. AIB is a member of BNI, which creates multiple opportunities.
About the Academy of International Business: AIB is recognized for its management programs, digital marketing, marketing, and English language programs such as IELTS, and PTE. It’s widely popular among students in search of pursuing business and management courses.The Director of AIB Sri Lanka, Chrishankar Janathanan, expressed the institute’s commitment to providing the best quality education. It’s not only a center that is simply cornered to the education sector but also has focused its efforts on recruitment services and digital agency services.
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