Technomedics, a leader in healthcare technology in Sri Lanka, proudly announces the appointment of Meval Srilal, Chanaka Weerawardena and Rajeeva Wimalawickrama to its Board of Directors, effective from the 1st of April 2025. The appointments reflect the company’s commitment to strengthening its leadership and laying the foundation for a bold, futuristic strategic vision.

Mevan Srilal has been with Technomedics for 25-years and first joined the company as a Sales Engineer. His consistent performance saw him rise to the role of Chief Operating Officer and ultimately Executive Director. Srilal has played an integral role in expanding the company’s product portfolio and its entry into new markets. He is an Electronics Engineering graduate from University of Hull (UK). His engineering background underscores the unique fusion of technical expertise and business acumen he brings to the board.

Another respected figure from within Technomedics, is Chanaka Weerawardena, who has been with the company for 19-years. After joining the company as a Marketing Manager in 2003, he advanced though the ranks to become Chief Operating Officer in 2017 and was appointed Executive Director. Chanka brings with him a strong foundation in marketing and business strategy, and he holds an MBA from the University of Ballarat, Australia, and is a Fellow member of the Sri Lanka Marketing Institute.

The third new addition to the Board of Directors is Rajeeva Wimalawickrama, who has over 30-years in diverse industries including apparel, plantations, leisure, and healthcare. He joined Technomedics as Deputy General Manager of Finance in and was appointed Chief Financial Officer thereafter. Eventually he went on to become Executive Director in 2022. Over the years Rajeeva has been a central figure in shaping the company’s financial growth and stability. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, the Association of Accounting Technicians and the Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka and member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. He holds an MBA from the University of South Queensland, Australia. Rajeeva also a Board member of JF&I Packaging (Pvt) Limited a subsidiary of Technomedics.

In a decisive show of unity and resolve, the Colombo Rubber Traders’ Association (CRTA) Chairman Harin de Silva today extended the Association’s unprecedented support to the continued enforcement of the all-inclusive freight regulation first introduced in 2013, calling on the Government of Sri Lanka to uphold the regulation in the face of renewed lobbying efforts to dismantle it.

He warned that repealing the law would threaten transparency, distort freight pricing, and severely undermine the competitiveness of Sri Lanka’s vital export sector. He further stated that revoking the regulation would reintroduce hidden surcharges—once numbering up to 44 separate fees—leading to anti-competitive practices, price distortions, and an eventual transfer of costs to the end consumer.

The all-inclusive freight regulation, introduced via Gazette in 2013 under the administration of then-President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was the culmination of nearly two decades of advocacy led by trade and shipping councils. The regulation mandates that all freight charges, including terminal handling charges (THC), must be transparently bundled into a single, negotiated freight rate, eliminating ambiguity and arbitrary pricing.

The CRTA, representing one of Sri Lanka’s Natural Rubber sector, reiterated that freight costs form a critical component of pricing competitiveness in international markets. “Our members depend on clear, predictable logistics costs to price their products competitively. Without the regulation, we risk returning to a dark period where exporters were blindsided by opaque, un-negotiated charges that stripped away margins and undermined buyer confidence,” said Harin de Silva.

He further added that dismantling the regulation would be especially damaging for small exporters, who lack the bargaining power to challenge freight agents or foreign buyers offloading costs onto them. He called for structured consultation with industry players before any legislative change. Policy must be made with insight from those directly affected and not anyone else!

The Colombo Rubber Traders’ Association fully endorses the continued enforcement of the all-inclusive freight and calls upon the Government to firmly reject attempts to dismantle the regulation. As a leading voice of one of the country’s legacy export sectors, the CRTA stresses that transparency in freight pricing is essential not only to protect exporters but to uphold national credibility in international trade.

“We urge the Government to recognize that this is not merely a technical rule—it is a safeguard against exploitation, a pillar of fair trade, and a protector of Sri Lankan competitiveness,” the Association stated.

“The freight regulation must be defended—not just for today’s traders, but for the future of Sri Lanka’s export economy. We stand united with our peers in the logistics, apparel, and export communities in saying: this law must stand.”

The CSE was extremely bullish and the All Share Price Index crossed the 18,500 mark for the first time, closing at 18,541.26 points and turnover touching more than Rs 10 billion yesterday.The UK free trade arrangement for Sri Lanka and the US 30 percent reciprocal tariff on Sri Lankan exports to the US created some positive sentiment for the market.

Amid those developments both indices moved upwards. The All Share Price Index went up by 410.1 points, while the S and P SL20 rose by 143.7 points. Turnover stood at Rs 10.2 billion with 14 crossings.

Those crossings were reported in Pan Asia Bank, which crossed 21.9 million shares to the tune of Rs 987 million and its shares traded at Rs 45, HNB 335,000 shares crossed for Rs 126 million; its shares traded at Rs 339, Chevron Lubricants 747,000 shares crossed for Rs 121 million; its shares traded at Rs 163, JKH 4.5 million shares crossed to the tune of Rs106.9 million; its shares traded at Rs 21.10, Sampath Bank 667,000 shares crossed for Rs 86.6 million; its shares traded at Rs 130, Commercial Bank 500,000 shares crossed for Rs 80.1 million; its shares sold at Rs 160, TJ Lanka 1.3 million shares crossed to the tune of 62.4 million; its shares sold at Rs 48, Asia Assets one million shares crossed to the tune of Rs 41 million; its shares sold at Rs 41, Asiri Hospital one million shares crossed for Rs 34.5 million and its shares traded at Rs 34.50, Hemas Holdings one million shares crossed for Rs 30.5 million; its shares traded at Rs 30.50, Vallibel Finance 200,000 shares crossed for Rs 25 million; its shares fetched Rs 120, and CM Holdings 64000 shares crossed to the tune of Rs 20 million; its shares traded at Rs 400.

In the retail market top six companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were; JKH Rs 486 million (20.3 million shares traded), HNB Rs 322 million (943,000 shares traded), Haylays Fabrics Rs 320 million (7.1 million shares traded), Access Engineering Rs 287 million (5.6 million shares traded), RIL Properties Rs 283 million (9.8 million shares traded) and Sampath Bank Rs 281 million (2.1 million shares traded). During the day 304 .2 million shares volumes changed hands in 49000 transactions.

It is said that manufacturing and bank and finance sectors performed well.

Yesterday the rupee opened unchanged at Rs 300.45/65 to the US dollar, from Rs 300.45/55 a day earlier, dealers said, while bond yields were broadly stable ahead of an auction later in the day.

A bond maturing 15.02.2025 was quoted at 8.70/80 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.03.2025 was quoted at 9.75/85 percent

A bond maturing on 01.05.2025 was quoted at 8.80/90 percent.

A bond maturing on 01.08.2025 was quoted at 8.85/95 percent

A bond maturing on 15.10.2028 was quoted at 8.90/9.00 percent, down from at 8.92/9.00 on Wednesday.

Of the active maturities, a bond maturing on 15.12.2028 was quoted at 8.95/99 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.12.2029 was quoted at 9.45/50 percent, weaker from 9.48/52 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.11.2033 was quoted at 10.65/75 percent.

By Hiran H Senewiratne ✍️