Business
Expolanka Holdings acquires three US logistics companies

By Hiran H.Senewiratne
Expolanka Holdings PLC acquired three logistics companies in the US for US$ 2.2 million to expand its logistics operations based out of New York’s John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport, stock market analysts said.
Expolanka revealed that its subsidiary acquired 100 percent stakes in New York- based Seville Container Freight Station Inc., Seville Freight Systems Inc. and Seville Transfer Ltd. for a purchase consideration of US$ 2.2 million on March 1, this year, a market disclosure revealed last week.
“Seville is a bonded container freight station (CFS) and a bonded trucking company located in the strategically important John F. Kennedy Airport in the United States of America, the disclosure said.
Towards the end of last year Expolanka launched its new JFK office and facility in a grand opening event.
Seville Container Freight Station Inc. is categorised as a general warehousing and storage firm while Seville Freight Systems is categorised as a transportation consultant and Seville Transfer Ltd. as a local general freight trucking firm, informed sources said.
Yesterday, CSE activities got off on a positive note but during the latter part of the day they turned negative. The reason being that the UNHCR amended resolution on Sri Lanka has increased worries for stock market investors. Further, a gloomy economic condition is adding insult to injury. Due to these external factors, stock market investors are psychologically affected, market sources said.
Consequently, both indices moved downwards. All Share Price Index went down by 87.07 points and the S and PSL20 declined by 25.24 points. Turnover stood at Rs. 812.4 million without a crossing.
In the retail market, top five companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were; Dipped Products Rs. 95.6 million (1.9 million shares traded, Sampath Bank Rs. 92.2 million (595,000 shares traded), Expolanka Rs. 75.1 million (1.59 million shares traded), JKH Rs. 62.4 million (421,000 shares traded), and LOLC Rs. 50.4 million (164,0000 shares traded). During the day 31.5 million share volumes changed hands in 10346 transactions.
Citizens Development Business Finance PLC (CDB) raised Euro 5 million (around Rs. 1.15 billion) in Tier II qualifying capital, strengthening its capital ratios aimed at supporting its business growth. The Tier II qualified subordinated loan which has a tenure of five years has been extended by Triodos Microfinance Fund and Triodos Fair Share Fund which are two financial inclusion funds managed by Triodos Investment Management. Triodos Investment Management BV is a 100 percent subsidiary of Triodos Bank, one of the world’s leading sustainable banks with branches in The Netherlands, Belgium, United Kingdom, Spain and Germany. Triodos Investment Management is a globally recognised leader in impact investing.
Sri Lanka’s rupee quoted weaker at 197.50/198.50 levels to the US dollar in the one-week forward market on Monday while bond yields remained unchanged, dealers said. The rupee last closed in the one- week forward market at 197.00/198.00 to the US dollar on Friday.
Business
Share investors worried over Wealth and Heritage tax

By Hiran H Senewiratne
CSE trading kicked off on a positive note yesterday but the momentum could not be sustained for long owing to investor worries that the government is planning domestic debt restructuring involving the imposition of a wealth and heritage tax on citizens, market sources said.
Amid those developments both indices moved downwards. The All -Share Price Index went down by 131 points and S and P SL-20 declined by 46.8 points. Turnover stood at Rs 3.4 billion with four crossings. Those crossings were reported in Agalawattte Plantations, which crossed 45.3 million shares to the tune of Rs 1.5 billion, its shares traded at Rs 35, CTC 420,000 shares crossed for Rs 269 million and its shares traded at Rs 640, Cargills 100,000 shares crossed to the tune of Rs 24.5 million; its shares traded at Rs 245 and Hayleys 300,000 shares crossed for Rs 24 million; its shares traded at Rs 80.
In the retail market top seven companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were, SLT Rs 234 million (two million shares traded), Hayleys RS 121 million (1.5 million shares traded), Lanka IOC Rs 106 million (115,000 shares traded), Softlogic Capital Rs 69 million (5.6 million shares traded), CTC Rs 65.3 million (101,000 shares traded), Sampath Bank RS 54.7 million (one million shares traded) and Commercial Bank RS 52.5 million (801,000 shares traded).During the day 164 million share volumes changed hands in 20000 transactions.
Business
Brandix ‘RightToRead’ initiative gains momentum enriching Sri Lanka students and transforming learning

Inspired by the challenge to provide Sri Lankan children with better access to learning materials and the transformative power to read and comprehend English, Brandix launched the ‘RightToRead’ project in 2018 in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.
Accordingly, Brandix introduced the ‘ReadToMe’ English learning tool, created by English Helper – India, to improve reading and comprehension skills of Sri Lankan students. Last Monday, Julie Chung, the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, visited Susamayawardhana Vidyalaya in Borella, to observe progress of the project and experience how children and educators in Sri Lanka engage with educational technology.
Brandix Lanka Limited, Director, Ajit Johnpillai, said: “Education is the most powerful tool to enrich communities and futures, and Brandix is committed to build a strong foundation for transformational learning for students across Sri Lanka. The progress we have made with RiteToRead over the past two years is promising, and the potential for change in the education sector harnessing such digital technologies is immeasurable. Brandix will continue its commitment to deliver Inspired Solutions for the people of Sri Lanka.”
Business
Dialog TV Boosts Resilience and Capacity with Norsat Satellite Earth Station

Hytera, a leading global provider of professional communications technologies and solutions, is proud to announce the successful deployment of a new backup satellite station for Dialog TV, Sri Lanka’s No.1 satellite Pay TV service provider. The project was fulfilled in 2022 by Hytera and its subsidiary specialized in Satellite Communications (SatCom), Norsat International Inc. The new station enhances the resilience and capacity of Dialog TV’s existing system and ensures continuity of service in the event of damage due to natural disasters.
Dialog TV provides coverage over the entirety of Sri Lanka through the Intelsat 38 Ku-band satellite. As the business expanded, it opted for a backup solution to support its existing satellite station and to strengthen the network’s disaster tolerance.
Hytera and Norsat provided an end-to-end satellite earth station solution that includes the installation, integration, and setup of satellite antennas, a transmission and receiving system, a new network management system (NMS), and a carrier monitoring system (CMS). The NMS makes routine work easier and simpler for on-duty staff, as equipment status, parameter monitoring and configuration, and remote control of the devices can be viewed and accomplished via a single interface. The CMS monitors the carrier spectrum status of satellite signals in real-time and ensures stable signal transmission and receiving.
“We are excited to have been able to work with Dialog TV on this important project,” said Kevin Sun, Sales Director for Hytera South Asia, “Our ability to seamlessly integrate our new equipment and software with Dialog TV’s existing systems has helped to ensure a stable and reliable service for their millions of customers across Sri Lanka.”
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