Business

‘IMF has spoken diplomatically about minimising corruption in Sri Lanka’

Published

3 years ago

2022/08/29

Thilina Walpola

Public appeal for economic reforms at an all-time high : economist

By Sanath Nanayakkare

It is time for Sri Lanka to make a series of economic decisions with important consequences, and making state owned enterprises (SOEs) directly accountable to the people rather than politicians is key among them, Shanta Devarajan, a professor of the Practice of Development at Georgetown University said on Saturday .

“Economic reforms in Sri Lanka used to be a solitary concern weighing on the mind of the International Monetary fund (IMF) in the past. But today it is interesting to note that Aragalaya, the government, politicians and even the general public agreeing on the critical need for reforms in making public entities and the entire economic system be made accountable to the people rather than politicians”, he said.

“For example, the Samurdhi movement was designed to eliminate poverty in Sri Lanka, mainly through the inclusion of low-income households and the provision of resources to support economic improvement, but it ended up turning into a vote-spinning mechanism to benefit politicians. And the loss- making SOEs such as the CPC, CEB, Sri Lankan Airlines landed on their dismal performance over the past decades because they were accountable to only politicians who kept them financing with public money without creating the right policies and a business model to get them running on their own cash flow without becoming a burden to the public. However, today that perception has changed notably after the public protests spilled out on to the streets through Aragalaya – the unprecedented people’s movement that clamoured for ‘system change’. It was obvious that their struggle was to push and force the decision makers to introduce new reforms to bring an end to the ‘elite capture’ of resources at the expenses of the poor people.”

“Sri Lanka will not limit borrowing if it can have access to borrowing funds from China or India whose debt will have a political element than a business case. It is a lot better if Sri Lanka can raise funds from the international capital market because then the government will be held accountable to make repayments subject to conditions. In the context of ISBs, the government will have to consistently demonstrate its creditworthiness, low country risk, manageable fluctuations in exchange rate and that the borrowed funds will be used wisely and it won’t be stolen.”

Shanta Devarajan made these remarks at the virtual monthly economic seminar organized by the Sri Lanka Economic Association (SLEA) on ‘’Economic Reforms in Sri Lanka and ‘Aragalaya’ .

When asked during the Q&A whether IMF wouldn’t push Sri Lanka to eliminate corruption, he said,” The IMF has said that to Sri Lanka in a polite way. The Aragalaya’ fight against pervasive corruption at elite level has also been a concern for the IMF and they have conveyed it to the government through ‘diplomatic language’. Today everyone is on the same page.”

Sirimal Abeyratne, Professor in Economics, University of Colombo who moderated the panel discussion quipped at this point saying if efforts are made at all levels to eliminate corruption in Sri Lanka, the public sector could even launch a general strike.

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Business

Sri Lanka rolls out digital signature framework to accelerate digital economy

Published

12 hours ago

2025/12/24

Sahan Weerasooriya

The LankaSign–eMudhra partnership brings together the strengths of LankaPay’s legally recognized digital signing certificates

Sri Lanka has launched a National Digital Signing Framework, a foundational initiative paving the way for paperless governance. This strategic move eliminates the need for physical signatures and documents in government transactions, aiming to dramatically enhance efficiency, transparency, and accessibility for citizens and businesses. An analyst said that this could accelerate Sri Lanka’s governance and commercial relationships with other countries as traditional signatures make room for digitally signed documents accepted by the government.

In this significant step toward accelerating Sri Lanka’s digital transformation, eMudhra, a global leader in digital identity and security solutions, has entered into a strategic partnership with LankaSign the only Certification Service Provider (CSP) in the country that complies with the Electronic Transactions Act No. 19 of 2006, operated by LankaPay, Sri Lanka’s national payment network during recently held inauguration of INFOTEL 2025 ICT exhibition at Sirimavo Bandaranaike Exhibition Hall.

The LankaSign–eMudhra partnership brings together the strengths of LankaPay’s legally recognized digital signing certificates issued via LankaSign – the pioneering digital Certification Service Provider in Sri Lanka established in 2009 – and eMudhra’s globally trusted emSigner platform, which has enabled secure digital document signing across more than 68 countries since 2008. Through this collaboration, Sri Lankan citizens and businesses will be able to experience a seamless, secure, and user-friendly digital signing solution, enabling documents to be signed anytime, anywhere using iOS, Android, or web-based applications.

This partnership with eMudhra aligns with the national agenda to promote adoption of digital documents, reduce dependency on paper-based processes, and facilitate a more efficient, transparent, and secure digital economy. This collaboration aims to support the government’s long-term digitalization roadmap by enabling a secure digital documentation layer essential for e-government services, digital finance, and digital transformation.

By Sanath Nanayakkare

Business

Dialog & University of Moratuwa launch open-source Sinhala Voice Model

Published

12 hours ago

2025/12/24

Sahan Weerasooriya

In a significant move to accelerate technological innovation in Sri Lanka, Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka’s #1 connectivity provider, and the Dialog-University of Moratuwa (UoM) Research Lab, has announced the release of SinhalaVITS, a state-of-the-art, open-source Text-to-Speech (TTS) model for the Sinhala language.

This non-commercial initiative delivers a powerful, high-quality, and natural-sounding Sinhala voice model to the public, making it freely accessible to developers, researchers, and students. The model is available for download on Hugging Face, the world’s largest open-source AI community, empowering anyone to build and experiment with advanced voice technology.

The SinhalaVITS model is the result of a deep-rooted collaboration that unites Dialog’s industry leadership with the academic excellence of the Dialog–UoM Mobile Communications Research Lab, fulfilling a vital need within Sri Lanka’s tech community for accessible, high-performance tools that drive innovation. By removing cost and licensing barriers tied to proprietary software, Dialog is empowering developers and researchers while fostering a more inclusive, collaborative, and future-ready AI ecosystem. This initiative further reinforces Dialog’s commitment to advancing Sri Lanka’s digital future—investing in open-source technology and academic partnerships to nurture local talent and lay the foundation for next-generation digital services built by Sri Lankans, for Sri Lankans.

Business

HNB signals ESG commitment with oversubscribed LKR 10 bn sustainable bonds

Published

12 hours ago

2025/12/24

Sahan Weerasooriya

The market opening ceremony conducted on the trading floor to mark the event

The Hatton National Bank PLC (HNB PLC) commemorated raising LKR 10 bn with its first ever issuance of sustainable bonds by way of a market opening ceremony conducted on the trading floor of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) last week.

The 9th December issuance of 100 mn listed, rated, unsecured senior sustainable bonds, in five year and seven-year tenors, with a par value of LKR 100/- and rated “AA-(lka)” By Fitch Ratings Lanka Limited, was oversubscribed on the same day, raising LKR 10 bn.

Sustainable bonds, which were launched in Sri Lanka for the first time this year, are part of a series of GSS+ (Green, Social, Sustainable & Sustainability Linked) debt instruments. The proceeds of the sustainable bond issuance will be used by HNB PLC to fund the development and installation of solar, wind, biomass and hydropower projects, improve energy efficiency through retrofits, fund the construction of recognized ‘green’ buildings, fund investment infrastructure for water treatment, water conservation and efficient agricultural water technologies, finance housing development, healthcare and education for low- and middle-income families, promote women entrepreneurship, amongst others initiatives.

Damith Pallewatte, Managing Director and CEO of HNB PLC, who was the ceremony’s keynote speaker remarked upon the issuance of sustainable bonds commenting: “HNB’s LKR 10 bn sustainable bond issuance is a landmark step in advancing Sri Lanka’s sustainability agenda.”

Delivering his welcome address at the event, Rajeeva Bandaranaike, CEO of CSE, remarked upon rising corporate engagement in CSE’s GSS+ debt instruments stating: “HNB’s Sustainable Bond represents a welcome new addition to the list of leading Sri Lankan financial instruments that have set the example for the success of CSE’s GSS+ Bond framework which have allowed the capital market to operate as a financing vehicle for sustainable and socially equitable projects.”