Business
Seylan Bank powers Sri Lanka’s first-ever eSport F1 Championship

Sri Lanka’s first-ever eSport Formula One (F1) Championship ended recently as a roaring success, with Seylan Bank as the Official Banking Partner. The championship featured a total of eight races on the simulated racing video game, Assetto Corsa. Similar to the real F1 circuit, points on the leader board were tallied at the end of the tournament to unveil Sri Lanka’s first-ever F1 Assetto Corsa Champion — Fawzul Aleem.
Twenty-one participants competed in the eSport F1 Championship organized by Mandarin Reid eSports and SIM Racing Lanka. The tournament had a complete grid of 21 participants having generated considerable interest. This interest continued with the audience that tuned in to view the championship’s live feed across the various platforms it was broadcasted on.
Commenting on the inaugural eSport Formula One Championship, Gamika De Silva, Assistant General Manager of Sales and Marketing at Seylan Bank PLC said: “As a bank with a trusted reputation that spans well over three decades, we take great pride in partnering with Sri Lanka’s first-ever eSports F1 Championship as the Official Banking Partner. Despite the widespread economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the global video game industry is booming. With social distancing limiting consumer and corporate activity to a bare minimum, gaming provides an interesting distraction for people at home seeking social engagement, and the preliminary data suggests a massive increase in playing time and sales since the lockdowns began.”
According to research firm Niko Partners, Asia is the world’s largest and most important region for eSports, accounting for more than 54% of the USD 1 billion global market. In 2019, eSports was recognized as an official sport in Sri Lanka. The national eSports team represents the country at international events such as the IESF Esports World Championship, the Global Esports Games, and the World Esports League.
Seylan Bank, the Bank with a Heart, operates with a vision to offer the ultimate banking experience to its valued customers through cutting-edge technology, innovative products, and best-in-class services. The Bank has a growing clientele of SMEs, Retail and Corporate Customers, and has expanded its footprint with 172 branches, 70 Cash Deposit Machines, 86 Cheque Deposit Machines and an ATM network of 216 units across the country. Seylan Bank has been endorsed as a financially stable organization with performance excellence across the board by Fitch Ratings, with the bank’s national long-term rating revised to ‘A’ (lka).
The bank was ranked second among public listed companies for transparency in corporate reporting by Transparency Global and is now part of the S&P Dow Jones SL 20 Index.
Business
Oil prices rise as Saudi Arabia pledges output cuts – Opec+

Oil-producing countries have agreed to continued cuts in production in a bid to shore up flagging prices.
Saudi Arabia said it would make cuts of a million barrels per day (bpd) in July and Opec+ said targets would drop by a further 1.4 million bpd from 2024.
Opec+ accounts for around 40% of the world’s crude oil and its decisions can have a major impact on oil prices.
In Asia trade on Monday, Brent crude oil rose by as much as 2.4% before settling at around $77 a barrel.
The seven hour-long meeting on Sunday of the oil-rich nations, led by Russia, came against a backdrop of falling energy prices.
Total production cuts, which Opec+ has undertaken since October 2022, reached 3.66 million bpd, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.
Opec+, a formulation which refers to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, had already agreed to cut production by two million bpd, about 2% of global demand.
(BBC)
Business
Manpower services agency wins accolades for its contribution to foreign employment sector

Its MD says. ‘go abroad only if you can work hard’
Siraj Manpower Services, one of Sri Lanka’s leading foreign employment agencies, was honoured with the Three-Star Award at the ‘Golden Awards’ 2023, organised by the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE). This award ceremony was organised to honour foreign employment agencies that have made a significant contribution to the development of the foreign employment sector, which is a major source of foreign exchange for Sri Lanka. Siraj Cafoor, Managing Director of Siraj Manpower Services, was presented with the award at the award ceremony which was held at the BMICH in Colombo under the patronage of Minister of Foreign Employment and Labour Manusha Nanayakkara.
Having been established in 2002, Siraj Manpower Services (www.sirajmanpower.lk) has earned a reputation in the field of foreign employment by winning the trust of customers for more than 20 years. It has been offering job opportunities in the Middle East countries such as Kuwait, Qatar, Dubai and Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia as housekeepers, drivers, sanitation workers, labourers and also jobs related to the apparel industry. All these workers are entitled to approved salary scales certified by the SLBFE.
“We always stand for the safety of workers who go abroad through our organisation. We work to solve the problems that arise in relation to the contracts that the workers have entered into. I must mention something special to those who go abroad for employment. That is, you should keep in mind that you go abroad only to work. Go abroad only if you can work hard. You have to remember that you are going abroad to earn some more money and achieve the advancement of your family.” said Siraj Cafoor.
Business
Ports Minister invites Singaporean investors to develop Colombo North Port

The Minister of Ports, Navigation and Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva was on an observation tour on 3rd of June to witness the operations and development of Singapore’s main port. During the tour, he had a special discussion with the head of PSA International Private Company which carries out the operations and development of the Singapore port.
Won Chee Fung, CEO of the company’s Middle East and South Asia arm said if there are investment opportunities for development and operations in the ports of Sri Lanka, they would like to apply for them.
The Minister told him that since the government has planned to start the development of the North Colombo Port, a suitable investment plan and proposal could be made for it. He also requested the heads of PSA International Private Company to provide a suitable proposal for the development of Trincomalee Port.
PSA International is one of the few largest companies operating in ports in the world, and 37,000 million containers are handled per year in Singapore’s main port alone.Officials including Assistant Vice President of PSA Company Lim Wei Chang, Chairman of JCT Oil Bank Company, Lakmal Ratnayake and representatives of the Sri Lankan Embassy in Singapore also participated in this discussion.
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