Business
Some Dhammika Perera-controlled entities register gains

By Hiran H.Senewiratne
CSE activities were bullish yesterday and manufacturing sector counters, mainly controlled by Dhammika Perera, witnessed considerable gains, especially Hayleys Group, Dipped Products and Royal Ceramic, stock analysts said.
Bourse continued its drive in a positive direction for the third consecutive session while sustaining its winning streak for the third consecutive day. Index experienced a zigzag movement throughout the day while reaching an intra-day high of 7,257 and recording a low of 7,209, while closing at 7,280 levels, gaining 25 points for the day.
During the day, both indices moved upwards. The All Share Price Index went up by 62.44 points and S and P SL20 rose by 60.18 points. Turnover stood at Rs. 2.48 billion, with a crossing. The crossing took place in Hayleys Group, which crossed 300,000 shares to the tune of Rs. 21 million. its share price being Rs. 70.
In the retail market, top six companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were, Hayleys Group Rs. 364.6 million (five million shares traded), Dipped Products Rs. 263 million (5 million shares traded), Royal Ceramic Rs. 227.5 million (773,000 shares traded), Expolanka Rs. 201.1 million (4.3 million shares traded), Sampath Bank Rs. 150 million (2.8 million shares traded) and Sampath Bank Rs. 150 million (2.8 million shares traded). During the day 69.2 million share volumes changed hands in 23114 transactions.
The manufacturing sector companies that mainly witnessed gains were, Hayleys Group 9.5 percent or Rs. 6.40. Its shares started trading at Rs. 67.40, and at the end of the day they moved up to Rs. 73.80, Dipped Products witnessed a 10 percent or Rs. 5 gain. Its share price initially stood at Rs. 49.32 and at the end of day it shot up to Rs. 54.30, Royal Ceramic gained 10 percent or Rs. 27.25. Its shares started trading at Rs. 278.25 and at the end of the day they moved up to Rs. 305.50 and Expolanka experienced a 3 percent or Rs. 1.30 gain. Its shares began trading at Rs. 46.20 and at the end of the day they moved to Rs. 47.70.
However, plantation sector counters/stocks plunged after President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said they would be required to uproot oil palm from the fields in stages and said imports of palm oil were banned from April 6. Coconut plantation shares soared.
Watawala Plantations plunged 8 percent, falling Rs. 4.20 to Rs. 53.00 during trading yesterday. Namunukula Plantations plunged seven percent or were down to Rs. 170.20 , falling Rs. 7.
Kegalle Plantation fell 4.67 percent or Rs. 4.60 to trade at Rs. 94 per share, Elpitiya Plantations fell Rs. 1.10 to Rs. 43.000 and Agalawatte Plantations fell 30 cents to trade at Rs. 27.70.
Further, National Development Bank and Lankem Ceylon PLC announced right issues. Seylan Bank’s Rs. 6 billion worth listed debenture had been snapped up on its official opening day yesterday.
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.”
-
News5 days ago
Sri Lankan recognized as a Fellow by Society of Architectural Historians
-
News5 days ago
New orchid species discovered in Walankada Forest Reserve
-
News4 days ago
Geoffrey Bawa exhibition opens in New Delhi
-
Editorial6 days ago
‘Shree Anna’ and Sri Lanka
-
Features4 days ago
A tribute to a great leader
-
Breaking News6 days ago
Arrest warrant issued for Putin over alleged war crimes
-
News1 day ago
Decorated gunship pilot blacklisted for appearing on political stage
-
News4 days ago
MPs urged to defeat move to conduct Law College exams only in English medium