Category: Daily Financial Times

We continue our discussion of the much debated issue of whether Sri Lanka ever truly benefitted from the ‘strongman’ model of political leadership, as was assumed in the past for a plethora of reasons – not least among these the propaganda machines of charlatans posing as saviours.

In today’s column, we survey the extant literature on political leadership styles, in an ongoing attempt to discern if there is an ideal model – one that would lead Sri Lanka away from the myths, misuses and misadventures of so-called political saviours and their putative national messiahship.

Overview

Leadership is a topic that has been much discussed but little agreed upon in terms of definitions, its essence versus its attributes, and especially its praxis. The truth be told – there are ‘many diverse ways of thinking about leadership’ (W. E. Allen, 2018).

Yet, although most scholars agree that ‘creating a logical and consistent picture of the state of leadership theory is a difficult task’ (Hernandez, Eberly, Avolio and Johnson, 2011), it is increasingly evident in a world suffering from a so-called ‘leadership deficit’ that defining, developing, and applying meaningful, relevant, and sustainable models and theories of leadership is the need of the hour worldwide.

‘Leadership deficit’ was a term coined in relation to nonprofit organisations (T. J. Tierney, 2006). But now, it is being increasingly applied to politics, civics, and governance as well. A slew of scholarly papers (R. D. Perkins, 2009), (N. Harter, 2012), (Martin and Allen, 2016) and (Paxton and Van Stralen, 2016) have already identified this need. And some in particular argue for ‘a new point of view [that] encourages discussion with the hope for a more efficacious understanding of leadership theory in any part of the world’ (Allen, 2018).

Based on the past and current thinking on political leadership, we will now explore in brief here the extant literature on the subject under the following subheadings: definitions, theories, styles, values, processes, and impacts, as well as frameworks. Ultimately, this is with a view to developing our own framework for a new, holistic, Sri Lankan political leadership model that builds on existing knowledge and yet develops a unique and appropriate ethos.

Of note is that all of what follows in this article is in a milieu where ‘political leadership has scarcely been mentioned in the generic leadership literature’ (J. Hartley, 2010) and also in a context in which ‘political leadership is woefully under-researched’ (Morrell and Hartley, 2006).

Definitions

Asking and answering the question ‘What is political leadership?’ – one academic suggests that ‘there is in reality no generally accepted definition of the concept, a characteristic that seems to apply also to leadership in general’ (Blondel, 1987).

The same thinker adds that while recent works [and by ‘recent works’, that academic means the thinking prevalent in the mid-1980s] in political science provide no clear guidance, ‘no single definition of political leadership is given in the writings of Paige, Burns or Kellerman’ (Blondel, 1987).

But over a decade before that, it was evident that ‘many definitions given by social scientists fall within nine different groups, some of which . partly overlap’ (Giese and Stodgill, 1974). And these authors add that those definitions range from personality to structure, and from roles to forms of effectiveness (Giese and Stodgill, 1974).

Arguing, some ten years later, that ‘it is manifestly and essentially a phenomenon of power’, an academic claims that ‘it is power because it consists of the ability of the one or few who are at the top to make others do a number of things (positively or negatively) that they would not or at least might not have done’ (J. Blondel, 1987).

Writing in the same decade, a classical thinker on political leadership asserts: ‘Leadership is an art, something to be learned over time, not simply by reading books; leadership is more tribal than scientific; more weaving of relationships than amassing of information’ (M. DuPree, 1989).

Theories

The main theories to develop and be applied in the 20th century include ‘Great Man Theory’, ‘Trait Theory’, ‘Process Leadership Theory’, ‘Style and Behavioural Theory’, ‘Transactional Theory’, ‘Transformational Theory,’ and ‘Laissez-faire Theory’ (Khan, Nawaz and Khan, 2016).

While the ‘Great Man Theory’ is self-explanatory, the others require brief exposition if a holistic new framework for political leadership is to emerge from historical precedents.

Pioneering work was done by ‘Contingency’ (situational) theories wherein it was said ‘no leadership style is definitive or can stand alone as exemplary to be modelled as it is reliant on the varying qualities of leadership, situations of the followers and other factors’ (R. K. Greenleaf, 1977).

This was challenged firstly by the ‘Transactional Theory’, which ‘diverged from the specific context of the leader, followers and leadership situation to practices that focused on the exchanges between leaders and followers’ (Khan, Nawaz and Khan, 2016).

Then, there was the thinking that ‘leader-follower associations were based on leader-follower agreements’ (House and Shamir, 1993).

And finally, there was movement towards ‘the integration of transformational, charismatic, and visionary theories’ (Chemers and Ayman, 1993).

In the ‘Transformational Theory’ there is an ‘alignment to a greater good,’ a ‘personal investment of followers in activities and processes,’ and ‘the end result is superior organizational and social dividends’ (Khan, Nawaz and Khan, 2016).

In addition, transformational leaders ‘raise the motivation and morality of both the follower and the leader’ (House and Shamir, 1993).

Fundamentally, in the ‘Style and Behaviour Theory’, ‘each leader has a different style and there are diverse styles’ (Khan, Nawaz and Khan, 2016).

Further to this, in the ‘Process Leadership Theory’, there are additional leadership sub-theories with a process focus and that which include ‘servant leadership’, ‘learning organizations’, ‘principle-centred leadership’ and ‘charismatic leadership’ (Khan, Nawaz and Khan, 2016).

Five decades ago, a thinker introduced the concept of ‘servant leadership’ in the 1970s (Greenleaf, 1977) and there was a resurgence of the discussion of that model in the mid-1990s (Greenleaf, 1996).

Interestingly, the emphasis of political leadership shifted to ‘interaction among group members with an emphasis on personal, moral and organizational improvements’ in the late 1990s (F. J. Yammarino, 1999).

In all of this and asking the question ‘What type of leader do we want?’, one trend was to assert that ‘we should not necessarily go back to the attractiveness of the great man theories or the idolisation of charismatic leaders’ (L. Turnbull, 2010).

Another review of leadership theories can trace their evolution over the past 100 plus years from the ‘Great Man’ concept of heroic leaders, through trait theories, behaviourist theories, situational leadership, contingency theory and so on, to transactional and transformational leadership (Ahmad, Jan and Irem, 2017).

An approach such as the latter relies on the fact that these evolving theories offer insights into the qualities of successful leaders over the century and more under study while recognizing that ‘there has been a shift in focus from the generic characteristics and behaviours of the individual to recognition of the importance of responding to different situations and contexts and the leader’s role in relation to followers’ (Ahmad, Jan and Irem, 2017).

This has given rise to a mixed bag of results, including highlighting ‘the paradox between the high interest in leadership and the analytical inhibition and confusion that characterize its study’ (M. Foley, 2013).

Styles

In a world where there are many models of leadership, it may seem restrictive to assert that in terms of political leadership ‘there are three different styles – autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire’ (G. Yukl, 1989).

But of one mind with this trinitarian way of thinking is a similar assertion: ‘There are three kinds of political leadership . the creative type, the administrative type, and the symbolic type’ (K. Ishii, 2010).

Two academics widen the scope by positing ‘two additional leadership styles based on ‘consideration’ (concern for people and relationship behaviours) and ‘commencing structure’ (concern for productivity and task behaviours)’ (Fiedler and House, 1988).

Most early thinkers considered the ‘Great Man’ style of leadership as the dominant mode. These commentators rely heavily on Thomas Carlyle’s 1847 assertion that ‘universal history, the history of what man has accomplished in this world, is at the bottom of the history of great men who have worked here’ (Khan, Nawaz and Khan, 2016).

There is a wealth of more recent thinking that exposits in particular the transactional and transformational styles, often in contradistinction to each other.

On the one hand, previously, ‘transactional leadership is a type of contingency-reward/recognition between leaders and followers with active and positive exchanges entailing reward or recognition of achieving agreed upon objectives’ (Bass and Avolio, 1994), with leaders continuously monitoring performance and attempting to intervene proactively (Avolio and Bass, 1997).

On the other, more recently, transformational leaders ‘identify the need for change, gain the agreement and commitment of others, create a vision that drives the change, and work to effect the transformation’ (D. M. McGregor, 2003), and comprise the visionaries who successfully appeal to their followers’ better natures.

These two styles of leadership are important developments because ‘a moment’s reflection suggests that none of the great ‘heroes’ were without their bad – indeed, very dark – sides’ (Blondel, 1987). And we know enough about the leaders of more recent periods of history such as Cromwell, Napoleon, Bismarck, Lenin or Mao to be more cynical (Blondel, 1987). Need we rehearse the painful lessons provided by dynastic leaders since Sri Lanka’s own independence, or look to learn from the emergent cautionary tales of hero-worshipping military-minded messiahs?

This nuance is even despite the concession that ‘while Washington, Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt or Churchill cannot be faulted on the same scale, they too made their mistakes and had their limitations’ (Blondel, 1987). And while comparisons are odious, is it not painfully true that we islanders have also placed our sacred cows on pedestals from which it took the celebrated people’s movement driven by popular sovereignty to topple them after a struggle (‘aragalaya’)?

As per Bass also (Bass and Avolio, 1994), the transformational leader ‘attempts to induce followers to re-order their needs by transcending self-interests and strives for higher order needs’ (Khan, Nawaz and Khan, 2016), which most thinkers on the topic agree conforms with Maslow’s hierarchy (A. Maslow, 1954).

And such an open-ended style contrasts with the ‘Trait Theory’ where ‘born leaders are endowed with certain physical traits and personality characteristics which distinguish them from non-leaders’ (Khan, Nawaz and Khan, 2016).

Jenkins identifies ’emergent traits’ such as height, intelligence, attractiveness, and self-confidence (Khan, Nawaz and Khan, 2016), which are contrasted by ‘effectiveness traits’ that are based on learning and experience, including charisma as a fundamental component of leadership (Ekvall and Arvonen, 1991).

Despite an early leaning towards such charisma as a significant component in political leadership, later ‘evidence seems to be that large numbers of presidents and prime ministers or other heads of states or governments are not the heroes we think they should be’ (Blondel, 1987). Perhaps we’ve yet to learn this lesson in full ourselves, if we continue to venerate our elected representatives – who, contrary to the claims of their champions, have feet of clay?

There is also an emerging literature about the leadership qualities and styles of particular roles of elected politicians (Hartley, 2010), and a growing understanding that ‘the style of leadership should vary depending on the maturity of the subjects’ (Bass and Avolio, 1997). This has led to the conventional wisdom that ‘different leadership styles are needed in different contexts’ (Turnbull, 2010). It is a truism that could or should help our own polity to move discerningly away from seeking ‘great’ men – or women – to save us…

Roles

Closely related to styles are the roles of political leadership. A role reflects ‘a leader’s ability in guiding effective decision-making’ (D. Lelièvre-Finch, 2010). This is important when seeking to promote and implement innovation.

In terms of roles played, ‘a leader can also help to create the conditions for success through modelling the partnership values, by taking personal responsibility for actions . and by ensuring that they are actively held to account by their partners’ (Goss and Tarplett, 2010).

These academics note a key leadership role as being building all relationships within leader-follower partnerships to help plans become practical action (Goss and Tarplett, 2010). In addition, ‘strong relationships are characterised by mutual trust [and] good leaders create an environment within which relationships and trust can safely be built’ (Goss and Tarplett, 2010).

Every such environment ‘constructs its own image of a leader, an image clearly formed in the case of either bureaucratic or market governance’ (J. Newman, 2005). In hierarchical regimes, the role played by the leaders is the traditional administrator, ‘based on the bureaucratic principle of the separation of office from personal preference, the ethos being associated with neutrality, accountability upwards and professional autonomy’ (Lelièvre-Finch, 2010).

In market regimes by contrast, the role played by leaders is ‘portrayed as an entrepreneur [who is] embodied by vision, charisma and clearly displayed values’ (Lelièvre-Finch, 2010).

Talbot suggests that there are ‘four leadership roles strongly influenced by institutional and organisational contexts’, and a fifth ‘meta role’ which is about balancing the other four; elaborating that the first four roles are ‘counselor, chief executive, conservator, collaborator’ (C. Talbot, 2010): a model of leadership roles that has been applied with mixed results to the British Civil Service (Brookes and Grint, 2010).

Despite clearly and often sharply defined roles in academia, there is ‘ambivalence surrounding the role of leadership within a liberal democracy’ (Foley, 2013). Food for thought, and continued reflection in future columns.

Police in India have arrested the owner of a pharmaceutical company that manufactured a cough syrup connected to the deaths of at least 17 children in the country.

The owner of Tamil Nadu based Sresan Pharmaceuticals was arrested and faces having its license revoked pending a decision by the federal health ministry.

Initial tests by authorities in India say that the test samples of Coldrif contained diethylene glycol (DEG) – a highly toxic industrial solvent and that the Tamil Nadu Drugs Control Department shows that cough syrup was manufactured in unhygienic factory conditions.

Although there are no exports of the medicine in question, there is a need for Sri Lanka to be alert for medicines that come, not only from India but other countries with regulatory issues, so as to avoid any such tragedy.

According to foreign media reports the World Health Organization has confirmed from India that three contaminated syrups had been identified, and none had been exported and the country had a ‘regulatory gap’ in screening locally-sold syrup medicines.

As far back as 2023, the WHO cautioned against the use of cough syrup particularly for children after cases were reported from several countries involving incidents of over-the-counter cough syrups for children with confirmed or suspected contamination with high levels of diethylene glycol (DEG) and ethylene glycol (EG).

Despite many attempts to regulate the overuse of prescription medicines, there continues in Sri Lanka the ability to buy most medicines over the counter. From strong painkillers to antibiotics to statins, most medicines can be bought over the counter without a proper prescription.

While Sri Lanka has escaped any major tragedies of the sort that happened in India, there are few studies to show how the abuse and overuse of prescription medicines are affecting people and leading to other medical conditions including liver and kidney diseases.

This is not the only worrying tread. There is almost an addiction to skin lightening products in the country with many being freely advertised with no warnings of the side effects they can have in the long term. While advertising on television and newspapers is not allowed, there is plenty of advertising on social media driving the craze to lighten skins with teenagers among those who have fallen prey to such advertising.

The Consumer Affairs Authority has warned against use of skin care products that contain mercury. In May this year, it released the names of 49 hazardous skin products containing mercury but it’s likely these items are still on the market disguised with new names.

Given the limited resources in checking these products as well as the lack of public education on the harm of long term use of such products, the health authorities may have to face new challenges for treating those impacted by the use of these products.

The CAA needs more funding to strengthen its awareness building programs so that there is adequate warning to consumers who may buy such products. Otherwise, lured by the promise of miraculous results, many will use them and may have to suffer in the long run.

The incidents in India is not only a wakeup call to Sri Lanka and other countries but also bring to light the bigger issue of the free availability of unregulated products. Health authorities should concentrate on making the public aware of the danger they face by the haphazard use of prescription medicines as well as unregulated beauty products.

A visiting team from the UN Technical Electoral Needs Assessment Mission held discussions with key political leaders, including Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, to explore ways of supporting Sri Lanka’s efforts to strengthen its electoral framework.

According to a statement from Parliament, ‘The mission focused on gathering insights from a wide range of stakeholders including Government representatives, political parties, election observers, civil society, and development partners.’

It added, ‘Discussions centred on enhancing the efficiency, transparency, and inclusivity of Sri Lanka’s electoral system.’

The talks covered a range of issues, including improving transparency and integrity in elections, increasing women’s participation in politics, advancing voter education and political literacy, promoting digitalisation of election processes, safeguarding voting rights, and addressing barriers faced by youth and women in political engagement.

The UN delegation expressed readiness to provide technical assistance to help advance ongoing and future electoral reforms.

The mission included UN Electoral Assistance Division Director Michele Griffin, Electoral Policy Specialist Dan Malinovich, Asia and the Pacific Division Political Affairs Officer Amanda Stark, and Political and Electoral Affairs Officer Mikyong Kim.

At the invitation of the Government of the People’s Republic of China, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya is scheduled to visit China from 12-15 October.

During her visit, the Prime Minister will deliver a speech at the ‘Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women’ jointly organised by China and UN Women on the theme ‘One Shared Future: New and Accelerated Process for Women’s All-round Development’, in Beijing.

The Prime Minister will also have several high-level meetings, including with President Xi Jinping, and Premier Li Qiang.

Having lost their opening game of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup to India and seen their second match against Australia washed out by rain, Sri Lanka who have been out of action in the tournament for 10 days come up against England at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium today in a match that will test their skills and patience.

‘We are aware of the challenges we will have with England. England is on par or second best to Australia in terms of matches won, World Cups won. We are not bothered about that at this stage, but we are aware of that,’ said Sri Lanka Women Head Coach Rumesh Ratnayake at the pre-match media conference.

‘Our main concern will be our preparation. Our preparation with our strengths and how we can match it with their weaknesses. We will watch their strengths, we will watch their weaknesses and how we can establish that or do it at the right moment to get it right. Those are our talks, our conversations. But saying that, in our batting, the girls are really up to it and wanting to do well. That’s a huge plus because they know it’s a big stage.’

‘Sometimes we need to bring it down and say it’s just another match. But they are excited about this big stage. To capitalise on that and to maximise, they need to have runs on the scoreboard. They are aware of that. They are also aware that somebody, at least one or two, should bat till the end. Those are the conversations we’ve had about batting. Bowling also, we are well planned. With our coaches, we are scrutinising every batter of the English team and going through them. We analysed their top nine. But the time for observing is over, now we need to take ownership of the situation, and go out there and perform.’

‘We believe England is a very experienced side, even though they don’t have left-handers they are quite well equipped, so we understand their strengths. We know what they’re strong at and we’ve seen them do it all so to speak. We believe that we are ready to sort of counter-attack that and do the best we can in the best way we could.’

Ratnayake emphasised that in batting what was most needed was patience and discipline. ‘That’s what we lacked maybe against India, not deliberate, but it needs more focus so that it could be established.’

On the contributions expected from the lower order batters Ratnayake said, ‘We actually spoke about this in detail, how those coming lower down the order – even below number seven – need to score more. Our main responsibility is that the top seven need to score the most runs. We’re addressing it differently, because even in the last game no one scored even 50 – not that 50 would have been enough. We’ve spoken about how you need to bat deep – at least one of the top six needs to hang around. It’s because none of those batters hung around that we were unable to chase down India’s score. I’ve seen that tail-enders have come and scored runs in this tournament, but if you look at it from a different angle that’s the way the game is headed now, so we need to also aim to do that and expect runs from numbers eight, nine and ten.’

Sri Lanka actually lost their opening game to India due to poor catching and Ratnayake was quite frank in his assessment of the fielding standards.

‘We saw two sides to ourselves in that game. Our best fielding and our worst. We need to understand that there are 300 deliveries in an innings, so we need to keep up our standards right throughout. We’ve had discussions, we know that nobody drops catches intentionally, but it’s important to keep our concentration levels up.’

Sri Lanka women’s cricket has shown an upward trend since Ratnayake took over two and a half years ago and he put it down to ‘attitude’.

‘The discipline in which they have brought in. But it’s not just me, I think it was set up in a way in which it was easy for me to take over and sort of walk that talk. I believe the girls were really into it too. They wanted to get to that next level and they were very keen on getting there. As a coach it was an absolute delight.’

New Zealand opened their account in the ongoing ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup when they beat Bangladesh by a thumping margin of 100 runs at Guwahati yesterday.

Bangladesh faced their second highest run-chase in this format when New Zealand inserted to bat first scored 227-9, but their batters struggled against a disciplined bowling attack and succumbed for 127 to lose with more than 10 overs to spare.

Bangladeshi batters struggled for momentum from the word-go as Rosemary Mair and Jess Kerr kept probing away by generating a substantial amount of swing and seam movement. They went into their shell and also kept losing wickets at regular intervals slumping to 33-6 at one stage. From there on, Bangladesh showed some resistance to stitch together partnerships and take the score past 125 but they were always playing catch-up cricket with none of the top order batters having a say. Even though New Zealand won they were not spotless with the ball. They conceded 30 extras – 21 of which were wides. Tahuhu, in her 100th ODI, picked up three wickets, with Jess Kerr also popping up with a three-wicket haul. Mair, playing her first game of the tournament, also finished with two wickets, with Amelia Kerr the other wicket-taker.

New Zealand were in a bit of bother when their top-order failed to impress. After being reduced to 38-3 New Zealand did well to get to 227-9 thanks mainly to the partnership of 112 off 166 balls between Sophie Devine (63 off 85 balls, 2 fours, 2 sixes) and Brooke Halliday (69 off 104 balls, 5 fours, 1 six). Both of them got fifties but couldn’t quite cash in at the death as they perished while going for the big shots. Yet, New Zealand scored 74 off the final 10 overs. For Bangladesh, Marufa Akter had an off day but the spinners were very good, especially Rabeya Khan and Nahida Akter.

Scores: New Zealand Women 227-9 (50) (Suzie Bates 29, Sophie Devine 63, Brooke Halliday 69, Maddy Green 25, Rabeya Khan 3/30)

Bangladesh Women 127 (39.5) (Fahima Khatun 34, Rabeya Khan 25, Rosemary Mair 2/20, Jess Kerr 3/21, Lea Tahuhu 3/22)

Spotlighting Colombo in the global architecture scene, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) International Conference 2025 kicked off yesterday, marking the second time Sri Lanka has hosted this prestigious event.

The conference, themed ‘The Art within Architecture,’ will be held from 9-11 October at Cinnamon Grand Colombo. Its inauguration gathered some of the world’s most celebrated architects, together with other influential local and international personalities, including key representatives from the AIA, local political figures, and ambassadors. Mayor of Colombo Vraie Cally Balthazaar and former President Ranil Wickremesinghe were present as Guests of Honour.

Speaking at the event, AIA National President Evelyn Lee highlighted the necessity of a climate-conscious and human-focused approach to architecture in the delicate and rapidly-changing state of the current world.

‘It’s hard to talk about Sri Lanka’s incredible natural and cultural landscape without thinking about how fragile these gifts are, and how much responsibility we have as architects. Rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and the depletion of natural resources are not abstract challenges; they are real. Their realities shape our work right now.’

She further stressed that, as a global profession, architecture was falling behind and was insufficient with regard to climate action. It was therefore necessary to act with urgency and optimism, designing buildings that both minimised carbon impact and safeguarded human health and wellbeing, Lee said.

The conference included world-class speakers who engaged the audience of professionals in thought-provoking discussions, sharing expertise and perspectives on key industry topics.

Renowned Israeli, Canadian and American architect Moshe Safdie delivered the event’s principal keynote speech, where he reflected on humanity’s evolving relationship with nature in cities. ‘Our connection as a species to nature-our dependence on it-is fundamental to our sense of well-being.’

Safdie traced the arc of urban design from the early 20th century, recalling Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City for Tomorrow, conceived as a reaction to the industrial cities of the 19th century. He explained that, at the time, with a world population of 1.6 billion, the idea of a low-density garden city had appeared realistic. However, today, with 8.2 billion people, the world’s megacities are depriving humans of outdoor spaces and a connection with nature.

He also spoke of his lifelong pursuit to ‘reinvent the apartment building,’ leading to his iconic Habitat 67 in Montreal. ‘The notion here was to have membranes of housing, hills without the hills, terraces upwards, and gardens open to the sky. Every house had its own garden and access to open streets, daylight, and was nature-integrated. This proposal did not get realised because of a shortage of time and funds.’

Safdie explained that subsequent projects across China, Singapore, and Colombo continued this mission to remain vertical living, creating spaces that offered more comfort and connection than the typical apartment block. He called for a return to the principles of the public realm, where the city was a shared space for people and nature.

‘We’ll have to find a way to bring nature back into the city. It goes well beyond the idea of a green city-it is also about making the enjoyment of nature fundamental to the conception of the buildings themselves.’

Celebrated US architects Bille Tsien, Elizabeth Chu Richter, and David Richter, and leading Sri Lankan architect Channa Daswatte also delivered keynotes on Day 1 of the conference. Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairman Buddhika Hewawasam also delivered a speech during the event.

AIA International Country Representative Nela De Zoysa spoke on the journey of bringing together this international conference in Sri Lanka.

She explained that the absence of an established chapter in the country had posed challenges, but the Sri Lankan team and members had been able to successfully overcome them. ‘Despite limited funding and numerous setbacks, it was the dedication of our committee and volunteers that made this conference possible.’

During the AIA International Conference 2025 in Sri Lanka, guests are also able to experience architectural tours revealing Sri Lanka’s UNESCO World Heritage sites, tropical landscapes, and the masterpieces of Geoffrey Bawa, one of Asia’s most influential modern architects.

AIA International President Yew Kee Cheong noted that the theme for this year’s conference, ‘The Art within Architecture,’ felt fitting as guests from different foreign countries experienced Colombo’s ‘chaotic energy with startling contrast in art and architecture.’

‘This flagship event is a leadership platform, with each conference leaving behind different legacies and developing approaches relevant to its culture and context. It has strengthened the AIA’s branding, promoting visibility in every region hosted by each city.’

The AIA is a US-based professional organisation that exists to protect and serve architects and design professionals, monitor legislative issues that impact the public and the profession, and recognise and promote excellence in architectural design, technology, and design-related issues. AIA International, formed in 2012 as AIA International Region, is a component of the Institute.

Lankem Ceylon PLC yesterday announced that its subsidiary, JF Packaging Ltd., has received approval in principle from the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) to list its Ordinary Voting Shares through an Initial Public Offering (IPO).

The company said the listing will be made by way of an Offer for Subscription on either the Main Board or the Diri Savi Board of the CSE.

JF Packaging will offer 51,724,144 ordinary voting shares at a price of Rs. 11.60 per share and raise a little more than Rs. 600 million.

The subscription list for the IPO is scheduled to open on 30 October.

Further details of the issue, including the prospectus and final listing arrangements, are expected to be announced once the company completes the remaining regulatory requirements.

The US Department of the Treasury yesterday said it has imposed sanctions on a global network of companies, ships, and individuals facilitating Iranian petroleum and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) exports, including shipments that reached Sri Lanka.

This is part of a broader crackdown on what Washington describes as Iran’s ‘shadow fleet.’

In a statement issued from Washington, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said it has sanctioned over 50 entities, individuals, and vessels connected to Iran’s energy export operations, targeting billions of dollars in trade that has generated critical revenue for Tehran’s regime.

According to the Treasury, two United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based firms, Markan White Trading Crude Oil Abroad Co. LLC and SLOGAL Energy DMCC, played key roles in enabling sales and shipments of Iranian LPG to Sri Lanka.

In late 2024 and early 2025, SLOGAL reportedly purchased Iranian LPG that was delivered by Panama-flagged and Palau-flagged vessels GAS DIOR and MAX STAR to Sri Lanka. These vessels, along with their operating companies, Aerilyn Shipping Inc. (Panama) and Ocean Inc. (Marshall Islands), have now been sanctioned.

The Treasury said multiple consignments of Iranian LPG were sent to end users in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh during this period. The shipments were coordinated by Iran-based Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industry Commercial Co. (PGPICC), one of Iran’s largest petrochemical brokers, through intermediaries in the UAE and Hong Kong.

The OFAC identified a wider web of entities across the UAE, Hong Kong, China, and the Marshall Islands for operating in the Iranian petroleum sector or assisting sanctioned firms.

‘All property and interests in property of the designated persons that are in the United States or in the possession or control of US persons are blocked,’ the OFAC said. The measures effectively bar US citizens and companies from conducting transactions with the listed entities and vessels.

The Treasury warned that any institutions or individuals engaging with sanctioned actors risk secondary sanctions, potentially exposing foreign banks or trading firms to US enforcement actions.

‘The Treasury Department is degrading Iran’s cash flow by dismantling key elements of Iran’s energy export machine,’ Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, adding that the sanctions are intended to curb Tehran’s ability to finance militant groups across the Middle East.

The latest measures represent the fourth round of sanctions targeting China-based refineries and intermediaries since mid-2024, marking an escalation of US efforts to curtail Iran’s petroleum revenue streams.

Sri Lanka, which imports most of its LPG requirements, has in recent years sourced cargoes through regional traders based in the Gulf and Asia.

Sri Lanka’s exposure to Iran is limited: According to the Export Development Board (EDB), total imports from Iran amounted to $ 2.48 million, which had fallen gradually from $ 9 million in 2021.

Colombo stock market rebounded yesterday to close on the up with turnover exceeding Rs. 13 billion amid upbeat investor sentiment following the IMF’s positive review of the ongoing program. The ASPI gained 0.35%, up 76.75 points to 22,174.74 but the active S and P SL20 ended a marginal 0.84 points to lower at 6,162.38, down 0.01%. Turnover was Rs. 13.3 billion on more than 918.2 million shares traded. Foreigners were net buyers with a net inflow of Rs. 252.5 million, compared to Rs. 196.2 million outflow the previous day.

First Capital Research said reversing the previous session’s profit taking position, Colombo Bourse exhibited buying sentiment during the day. ASPI ended in green territory and ended the day at 22,175, gaining 77 points, largely contributed by the upward movement in blue-chip companies. COMB, DIMO, BUKI, CARS and WIND were the top positive contributors to the index. Turnover stood at Rs. 13.3 billion reflecting an increase of 90% compared to the monthly average that stands at Rs. 7 billion.

Banking sector took the lead in terms of sector wise contribution to the turnover, with a share of 48%, while Diversified Financials sector and Capital Goods sector jointly contributed 23%. A noteworthy contribution from HNW participants was observed, mainly driven by profit-taking in COMB, with an off-board transaction accounting for 40% of today’s turnover.

The positive investor participation could have been backed by IMF’s disclosure on reaching a staff-level agreement on the fifth review under Sri Lanka’s extended fund facility agreement.

Moreover, investor participation was observed on penny stocks. Foreign investors turned net buyers, recording a net inflow of Rs. 252.5 million. NDB Securities said ASPI closed in green as a result of price gains in counters such as Commercial Bank, Diesel and Motor Engineering and Bukit Darah with the turnover crossing Rs. 13.3 billion. Meanwhile, the S and P SL20 edged down. Crossings were witnessed in Commercial Bank, Cargills and Diesel and Motor Engineering, accounting for 54.8% of the turnover. Mixed interest was observed in John Keells Holdings, SMB Leasing and UB Finance Company whilst retail interest was noted in Kotagala Plantations Rights, Hela Apparel Holdings and Waskaduwa Beach Resort.

Foreign participation in the market activity remained at subdued levels with foreigners closing as net buyers. The Banking sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to Commercial Bank) whilst the sector index gained 0.75%. The share price of Commercial Bank increased by Rs. 6.25 (3.17%) to close at Rs. 203.25. Diversified Financials sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to SMB Leasing) whilst the sector index increased by 0.78%.

The share price of SMB Leasing recorded a gain of 30 cents (42.86%) to close at Rs. 1. Diesel and Motor Engineering, John Keells Holdings and Cargills were also included amongst the top turnover contributors. The share price of Diesel and Motor Engineering gained Rs. 552 (27.47%) to close at Rs. 2,561.75. The share price of John Keells Holdings moved down by 60 cents (2.79%) to close at Rs. 20.90. The share price of Cargills appreciated by Rs. 17.25 (2.30%) to close at Rs. 767.25.