Category: Daily Financial Times

Imagine if something like this happened to you. Out of the blue, you woke up in the morning to find your calendar reorganized, three emails sent on your behalf, and a dinner reservation made at a restaurant you’d never heard of. Any idea who the culprit is? Yes, most probably it is an AI agent you have been testing. It wasn’t a malfunction, but this was exactly what you had asked it to do.

We’re watching chatbots evolve into something stranger and more powerful. They’re not just waiting for our questions anymore. They’re booking flights, managing schedules, responding to messages, and making judgment calls that used to require a human being. It’s convenient, sure. But sometimes it is kind of unsettling when you really think about it.

When Your Assistant Becomes Autonomous

The chatbots we are mostly familiar with are pretty straightforward. We ask questions, get answers, and maybe write something. Easy enough. But over time, developers wanted something that could actually get things done without constant supervision.

As a result, they were able to come up with these AI agents that can handle multiple tasks simultaneously and even switch between different apps. Sounds more like an efficient intern who never needs coffee breaks, right? They’ll look into your vacation options while analyzing your spending patterns and drafting a work report. All of this happens in the background, without you lifting a finger.

Imagine having one that can manage your household schedule. Coordinates your kids’ activities, orders groceries when supplies run low, and handles some work emails. Isn’t this going to save you about ten hours a week? However, if you start using one of these intelligent AI agents to handle some of your housework, even though it is a huge help, don’t you think you’d still be worried about what it might mess up ‘every single day’?

The Promise: Getting Your Life Back

Here’s the great side of multitasking AI agents. How much time have you wasted on repetitive nonsense-comparing insurance quotes, scheduling appointments, following up on meaningless emails? What if you could hand all of that off to something that never gets bored?

For those who have multiple responsibilities, this technology is a great help. Parents managing work and childcare. People dealing with chronic health conditions and mountains of medical paperwork. Anyone handling two jobs just to make ends meet. An AI agent handling the administrative part for them could actually make a great change.

Companies, on the other hand, can largely benefit. Just imagine a customer service that runs itself, supply chains that adjust automatically, and entire departments needing minimal human supervision.

The Catch: Control and Consequences

This is where things can get complicated. When you give an AI system permission to act on your behalf, you’re trusting it to understand what you actually want-not just what you said you want.

As these agents juggle decisions across your entire life-finances, medical records, work communications, personal relationships-that’s a lot of power in one place. If someone hacks your agent or it simply malfunctions, the fallout could be spectacular. Fraudulent purchases, exposed private information, and burned professional bridges.

The Trust Problem Nobody’s Solving

These systems optimize for measurable outcomes, but life doesn’t always work that way. For example, when you tell an agent to ‘save money,’ it might cancel subscriptions you actually value or choose the cheapest option when you’d have preferred something better.

So how do you teach software to understand that sometimes the expensive flight is worth it because you’ll be less exhausted? That the pricier gym membership matters because you’ll actually go to that one? These are judgment calls requiring context, personal values, and long-term thinking. We’re nowhere close to solving that reliably.

Sometimes, you may feel using an AI agent is like hiring someone brilliant but slightly alien to run parts of your life. They’re incredibly capable but occasionally make choices that leave you thinking, ‘Why on earth would you do that?’

Privacy and the Price of Convenience

Your AI agent will work well when they have access to basically everything about you. Your location, communications, browsing history, purchase patterns, calendar, contacts.

That level of surveillance would have horrified most people ten years ago. Now we’re considering it as the price of convenience.

Racing Toward an Uncertain Future

Companies are competing to deploy the most capable agents, and early adopters are seeing real advantages. So, whether we’re ready or not, this competitive pressure guarantees widespread adoption.

But we haven’t figured out the rules yet. If your AI agent signs a contract, are you legally bound? If it makes a medical recommendation that goes wrong, who gets sued? These aren’t hypothetical questions-they’re situations people are already encountering.

Maybe agents should keep detailed logs of every action. Maybe they should need explicit permission before doing anything consequential. It is not easy to make people aware of these matters. Most have no idea what they’re authorizing when they turn on these systems.

What This Means for All of Us

Day by day, more and more people turn to AI agents. The time savings are too significant to ignore. They will use these tools because they’re too useful not to, while remaining perpetually anxious about what they might mess up.

The technology is moving faster than our ability to understand its implications. We’re building systems that operate with increasing autonomy, making decisions that shape our lives in ways large and small.

In the next few years, software testing – a critical but traditionally manual phase of development – is poised for a remarkable transformation. According to a recent report from IDC (International Data Corporation), by **2028, generative AI-based (GenAI) tools will be capable of writing up to 70% of software tests, dramatically reducing the need for human involvement in a task that once consumed significant time and resources.

This projection reflects not only the rapid advances in AI technology but also the shifting priorities of businesses seeking faster software delivery, improved quality, and greater efficiency. As AI tools become more intelligent and integrated into development workflows, companies are rethinking how software quality assurance (QA) is done – and what role human engineers will play in the future.

Why Testing Matters – and Why It’s a Bottleneck

Software testing is essential for ensuring applications work correctly and securely. Before software reaches end users, it must be tested for defects, performance issues, usability problems, and security vulnerabilities. Traditionally, this process has involved writing test cases manually, running them repeatedly, and analyzing results – all of which are time-consuming and expensive.

In complex systems, test coverage must be thorough. Missed bugs can damage reputations, lead to costly customer support issues, and even create legal or safety problems. Yet despite its importance, testing has often been treated as a bottleneck – slowing release cycles and consuming budgets without being directly tied to new features or revenue.

The GenAI Revolution in Testing

Enter GenAI – the subset of artificial intelligence that focuses on generating content, from text to code. Recent advances in Large Language Models and machine learning have enabled tools that can write code, analyze patterns, and make decisions based on learned examples. Applied to software testing, these technologies can automatically generate test scripts, prioritize test cases, and even suggest why a test might have failed.

According to IDC’s FutureScape: Worldwide Developer and DevOps 2024 Predictions – Asia/Pacific (Excluding Japan) report, GenAI tools will be capable of creating 70% of software tests by 2028, significantly cutting down the manual effort typically associated with quality assurance.

This level of automation could transform development pipelines. Instead of QA teams writing test scripts line by line, AI systems could generate tests based on code changes, user stories, or even natural language descriptions of desired behavior. Developers and quality engineers would then review and refine these tests rather than building them from scratch.

Benefits of AI-Driven Testing

The impact of GenAI on software testing goes beyond just writing code:

1. Faster Releases

With AI generating tests automatically, development teams can shift from weeks of manual testing to near-instant test creation. This accelerates release cycles and supports continuous integration and delivery practices.

2. Improved Test Coverage

AI tools can analyze complex systems and identify scenarios that human testers might miss. They can create tests for edge cases and unusual input combinations that improve overall coverage and reduce risk.

3. Better Usability and Quality

Automated testing can focus not only on correctness but also on user experience elements. By generating tests tailored to real-world interactions, AI can help ensure software behaves as users expect.

4. Higher Productivity for QA Teams

Rather than spending time on repetitive tasks, QA professionals can focus on strategy, exploratory testing, and ensuring that critical aspects of software – like security and compliance – are handled with human attention.

What Organizations Are Prioritizing

Research indicates that many enterprises – especially in the Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan (APEJ) – see testing and code review as key areas where AI can help developers streamline their work. IDC’s surveys found that 48% of enterprises in this region view AI as particularly useful for these tasks.

AI enhancements in testing emphasize several specific areas:

Prioritizing which tests to run first

Identifying root causes of failed tests

Automatically creating new test cases

Self-healing tests that update themselves as code changes

These capabilities can reduce manual maintenance and help large codebases remain robust even as features evolve rapidly.

Challenges and Considerations

While the 70% figure is impressive, it does not mean human testers will disappear. Instead, the nature of QA work will shift. Humans will focus more on strategic decision-making, understanding complex requirements, and handling areas where context, judgment, and creativity are essential.

There are also practical challenges. AI systems must be trained, monitored, and evaluated carefully to ensure the tests they generate are accurate and meaningful. Organizations that over-rely on automated results without adequate oversight risk introducing false confidence in software quality.

Security and ethical concerns also matter. Knowing that AI can generate tests is one thing – ensuring those tests do not inadvertently introduce bias or miss critical vulnerabilities is another.

Shaping the Future of Software Development

The prediction that GenAI will write 70% of software tests by 2028 highlights a broader trend: AI is rapidly becoming an integral part of software engineering workflows. Development, testing, and deployment are all evolving as tools become smarter and developers adopt new ways of working.

For businesses, this means opportunities to innovate faster, reduce costs, and improve product quality. For software professionals, it means adapting to new roles where collaboration with AI tools becomes a daily norm.

The future of testing will be less about repetitive tasks and more about intelligent oversight – ensuring that as machines generate code and tests, humans guide, verify, and refine the outcomes to build safer, more reliable software.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos this year, World Bank President Ajay Banga issued a blunt warning: the global economy is heading toward a structural labour market crisis. Over the next decade, billions of young people will enter the workforce, but far fewer quality jobs will be created. Without urgent investment in skills and job creation, this imbalance threatens growth, competitiveness, and social stability. Sri Lanka does not need Davos to recognise this danger. The crisis Banga described is already unfolding at home.

Nearly one million young Sri Lankans are expected to enter the workforce over the next decade. Yet, unless decisive action is taken, the economy will not generate enough productive, well-paying jobs to absorb them. The result is a growing pool of educated but unemployed youth – a warning sign no country can afford to ignore.

This is not a failure of aspiration or intelligence. Sri Lanka has one of South Asia’s most educated youth populations. The real problem is a structural mismatch between what our education system produces and what the economy actually needs. Employers across sectors – from tourism and logistics to technology and healthcare – consistently report shortages of job-ready skills. Degrees abound; employability does not.

Human Capital Report

The Sri Lanka Human Capital Summit 2024 put this issue into sharp focus. It underscored the urgent need to move beyond ‘credentialism’ towards practical, industry-aligned skills. Vocational training, apprenticeships, hands-on learning, and continuous reskilling must replace outdated assumptions that academic qualifications alone guarantee employment. The challenge is further compounded by brain drain. As opportunities stagnate at home, skilled professionals continue to leave, shrinking the domestic talent pool and weakening productivity. At the same time, critical sectors such as tourism – a major foreign exchange earner – struggle to find trained personnel in service quality, management, and operations. This paradox of unemployment alongside skills shortages reflects a system badly out of alignment.

AI Impact

Technology is accelerating the urgency. Fast-growing fields such as information technology, artificial intelligence, healthcare, and modern services demand adaptable, digitally literate workers. Yet these competencies remain peripheral rather than central to curricula. Without reform, Sri Lanka risks training its youth for jobs that no longer exist. The Human Capital Summit report rightly called for stronger start-up ecosystems, innovation hubs, and practical learning models to retain talent and attract investment. But these initiatives cannot remain isolated pilots. They must be embedded within a national economic strategy that treats skills as infrastructure – as critical as ports, roads, and power.

Way forward

The way forward is clear, though not easy. Government, the private sector, and educational institutions must act together. Education reform must prioritise digital skills, STEM disciplines, multilingual communication, and lifelong learning. While we recognise Prime Minister and Education Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya’s point on the role of women in homecare and elderly care, targeted skills upgrading can significantly improve both care outcomes and livelihood returns. The private sector must step up as a co-creator of talent, not merely a consumer of it. Policy must actively incentivise reskilling, apprenticeships, and industry-academia collaboration. Sri Lanka’s strategic location offers opportunity, but geography alone will not secure prosperity. Talent will. If the country fails to skill, deploy, and retain its workforce, growth will remain fragile and inequality will deepen. This is not a long-term problem to be deferred. It is an economic emergency demanding immediate action. As Ajay Banga noted in Davos, timely decisions today determine whether tomorrow’s workforce becomes a demographic dividend or a destabilising liability.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) in a recent publication revealed that there are approximately 1 billion people suffering from mental health disorders around the world. Anxiety and depression top this list. Considering the importance of wellness in the workplace, the Academy to Innovate Human Resources (AIHR), identified employee wellness as one of the leading Global trends that shaped HR in 2023 and beyond.

South Asian region

The Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace Report for 2025 has published alarming data relating to the South Asian region. It has been indicated that South Asia is showing the highest regional percentage of daily anger and sadness among employees vis a vis other regions of the world. This can be attributed to socio-economic pressures, demanding workplaces and societal stigma around mental health experienced by people in this region compared to other regions which have taken a toll on people’s emotional balance. What does this mean and what can organisations in the South Asian region do are important questions to consider and reflect upon.

An integrated approach to wellbeing

Wellness means physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease as defined by World Health Organisation (WHO). Financial wellbeing is an aspect under the main definition of well-being. The aspects of physical, mental and financial wellbeing are interrelated and interdependent. Therefore, an integrated approach is the recommended approach for organisations to address wellbeing at the workplace. This article focuses on improving mental wellbeing in the workplace and the first step is breaking the stigma. Tackling the stigma around mental health conversations in the workplace is a tough call.

World Mental Health Day

World Mental Health Day is celebrated on 10 October annually. This year’s theme focused on providing ‘Access to Services: Mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies’. This theme highlights the critical need to ensure that people affected by conflict, natural disasters, pandemics, and other crises have access to mental health and psychosocial support.

Leadership matters

Addressing mental health conversations starts from the top: the leadership in the organisation plays a crucial role in this regard. Starting with authentic conversations about burnout and anxiety, building the groundwork with policy implementation and funding training on mental health concerns are some of the key things that leadership can do.

Policies on wellness to anti-harassment need to be in place as the foundation to building wellbeing in the workplace. Implementation is key and awareness needs to be built on the contents and importance of these crucial policies.

Training and awareness building

Discussions around mental health conversations should go beyond one day of the year. Regular training can be carried out with line supervisors and managers to help them identify mental health concerns in ground level staff, so professional assistance can be provided where necessary. Their day-to-day behavior and actions need to be monitored and corrected so that ground level staff are not subjected to unnecessary levels of mental stress and trauma. The middle tier in any Division or Company is the tier that interacts with the frontliners. This category of employees is required to act as both task managers and people managers. They need to deliver while managing people’s emotions. Hence, training line supervisors, managers and the middle tier to achieve this balance is critical to retain and motivate the frontliners in the organisation.

Professional support

Having a counsellor in house or on call is an important step in the right direction as employees can obtain professional support as and when required. Organisations need to provide this professional support (to employees) discreetly so that confidentiality is preserved. Lay people need to avoid giving diagnosis to mental health concerns as mental health conversations need to be handled cautiously and professional support can be obtained where and when necessary.

If an employee approaches to talk about his/her mental health, first thank him/her for opening up. Give as much time as he/she needs to talk. During the conversation, listen carefully to what he/she says. Try to identify what the cause is, for example by keeping questions open ended, thinking about ways to help. Reassure the employee – by letting him/her know that he/she will get the support needed.

Innovations and psychological wellbeing

Psychological well-being needs to be in place for employees for innovations and new ideas to thrive in any organisation. What does this mean? The management needs to have a certain margin of tolerance when new projects do not give the projected result for the organisation. Ideas are valuable and the management needs to be open-minded and listen to the thoughts shared by its employees.

The saying ‘applauding in public and criticising in private’ still holds true and is a rational approach before shutting down ideas generated by employees. Ridiculing employees in front of other employees when things go wrong needs to be avoided as it can have far reaching consequences. Not only will the employee be demotivated and affected mentally, he/she will avoid contributing thereafter. Repeated instances of ridicule will result in loss of faith and trust in the management and spiral into absenteeism and quiet quitting. The organisation can instead provide timely feedback through one-to-one discussions and avoid using a public platform to address any concerns.

Financial wellbeing

Paying people’s worth based on their contribution will pave the way for healthy financial wellbeing for employees. Also, providing access to awareness and resources to manage one’s finances on a periodic basis while teaming up with banking partners to support employees’ financial wellbeing is a rational plan in this regard.

Conclusion

Organisations have an immense responsibility towards their employees in ensuring their physical, mental, social and financial well-being. Adopting a holistic approach towards well-being will be an important step towards engaging and retaining employees as well as preserving the organisation’s sustainability.

Board of Investment Chairman Arjuna Herath said Sri Lanka must push through structural reforms to attract between $ 2 billion and $ 2.3 billion in foreign direct investment, stressing that the country cannot compete with the scale of fiscal concessions offered by other investment destinations.

Speaking at the Nations Trust Bank Investment Forum last week, Herath said Sri Lanka does not have the fiscal space to match concession-heavy regimes deployed by larger and better-capitalised economies, and must instead build competitiveness through lower costs, policy certainty and institutional efficiency. Herath said attracting investment would depend on creating a predictable and credible framework rather than relying on incentives the country cannot afford.

The BOI this week said it surpassed the $ 1 billion foreign direct investment (FDI) mark in 2025, describing it as an early indication of recovering investor interest and changes underway within the institution. However, this level of inflows remains well below the capital required to support sustained economic expansion.

However, the FDI inflow is inadequate to meet the growth needs of the country. According to a study by the Lanka Impact Investing Network, Sri Lanka’s annual investment demand is estimated at $ 7-10 billion to meet sustainable development goals, $ 3-5 billion for infrastructure development, and a further $ 2-3 billion annually for climate finance. The study also estimates an additional $ 695 million funding gap faced by women-led enterprises.

Referring to earlier reform episodes, Herath said liberalisation in the telecommunications sector during the 1990s had acted as a catalyst for wider FDI inflows. He said tools such as the Strategic Development Project Act had helped channel investment in recent years, with 14 projects approved under the framework, but acknowledged that the mechanism had been arbitrary and lacked consistent rules.

Herath identified high energy and construction costs as major constraints, noting that electricity tariffs remain among the highest in the region. He said the Government has stated its intention to reduce consumer tariffs from around 13-14 cents per unit to 7-8 cents, supported by renewable energy projects now being secured below 4 cents per unit.

He said the BOI currently has around $ 1 billion worth of investment proposals in hand in mineral sands and that policy clarity could unlock these projects. Improvements in connectivity, including highways, ports, airports and logistics infrastructure, were cited as important enablers for manufacturing-led investment and export growth.

Herath said macroeconomic stability has been restored and stressed the importance of avoiding policy reversals that could undermine investor confidence. He added that the proposed Investment Protection Act and a review of the Economic Transformation Act are intended to strengthen legal certainty for investors.

He said the Government is also considering a dedicated commission, with legislative authority, to expedite approvals and resolve investor issues, building on existing coordination mechanisms chaired by the Finance Ministry.

The BOI, he said, is moving towards proactively offering structured investment opportunities, including calls for interest in data centres, green hydrogen and green ammonia projects, as well as a pilot program to attract capital into technology startups.

The Finance, Planning and Economic Development Ministry has issued a new circular expanding relief measures for micro, small and self-employed businesses affected by the emergency situation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.

The circular has been issued in line with Budget Circular No. 08/2025, introduced on 5 December 2025 to restore livelihoods disrupted by the disaster, and follows additional circulars issued on 20 December 2025 and 22 January 2026 to strengthen delivery and coverage of assistance under the Government’s community empowerment program.

Under the revised framework, one-time grants will be provided to restore affected businesses to a condition suitable for reopening. Individual, small and micro businesses registered with the Ministry of Industry or with Divisional Secretariats as business entities will be eligible for grants of Rs. 200,000. Unregistered home-based businesses operating from permanent structures and unregistered production industries, including greenhouses, will receive Rs. 50,000 per unit, while temporary business setups such as mobile and street hawking operations will be eligible for Rs. 25,000.

Separate assistance has been introduced for owners of commercial buildings damaged by the disaster. Building owners who opt to receive assistance without a damage assessment will be eligible for a grant of Rs. 500,000, while those who undergo a damage assessment may receive grants of up to Rs. 5 million, based on the assessed value of the premises.

In addition to direct grants, the Treasury has introduced new concessionary credit facilities through the banking system to support business recovery. Affected enterprises can access loans ranging from Rs. 250,000 to Rs. 25 million at an interest rate of 3%, with a six-month grace period and repayment over three years to restart operations.

For business reconstruction and longer-term investment needs, entrepreneurs may also obtain loans of up to Rs. 25 million at an interest rate of 5%, with a 12-month grace period and repayment over 10 years.

The UAE attracted over $ 45 billion in foreign direct investment last year, up nearly 50% year-on-year, even as global FDI declined by 11%, said a senior official.

‘We accounted for more than half of all investment flows into the Middle East, ranked second globally for new greenfield projects, behind only the United States, and welcomed in nearly 10,000 new millionaires, more than any other country worldwide. In an age of fragmentation, our connectivity is a clear strategic advantage,’ said UAE’s Special Envoy for Business and Philanthropy Badr Jafar.

He was speaking during a discussion hosted by the UAE Pavilion during the 2026 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos.

Held under the title ‘The Great Rebalancing: Artificial Intelligence, Jobs, and the Future of Inclusive Growth,’ the session brought together Badr Jafar and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva for a discussion on the risks and opportunities shaping the global economic outlook.

Badr Jafar highlighted the UAE’s long-term strategic choice to build an economy optimised for resilience, openness, and global connectivity.

‘At a time when global systems are fragmenting, the UAE is doubling down on connection. We are known for open skies, open ports, and open minds – and the data shows the value of this approach,’ he said.

The dialogue reflected the UAE’s continued commitment to shaping global economic conversations and contributing constructively to international efforts on inclusive growth, artificial intelligence, and the future of work.

The session formed part of the UAE Pavilion’s broader programme at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, showcasing the role of responsible innovation, patient capital, and cross-sector collaboration in building a more resilient and inclusive global economy.

Abans, The Nation’s Laptop Provider, brought together excellence and ambition alongside global technology leader Lenovo at the Abans Lenovo Premium Club event held at Hilton Colombo Residences on 22nd January 2026. The evening honoured exceptional showroom managers for their remarkable performance and marked the official launch of the highly anticipated second phase of the Premium Club initiative.

The exclusive event recognised top-performing Abans showroom managers who went above and beyond in promoting Lenovo’s innovative products, consistently delivering customer-focused technology solutions while strengthening Lenovo’s presence as a leading global IT brand in Sri Lanka. Premium gifts were presented to high achieving showrooms, while the top three Lenovo performing showrooms were honoured with special trophies for setting new benchmarks in IT retail excellence among Abans’ expansive network of over 350 showrooms island wide, while taking the lead in ushering Sri Lanka to it’s digital future.

Speaking at the event, Dr. Chathura Jayawardana, Chief Marketing Officer of Abans, commended the dedication and passion of the showroom managers and their teams. ‘Our showroom managers and their teams play a pivotal role not only in driving IT sales but also in building trust, nurturing long-term customer relationships, and strengthening IT brands, especially Lenovo across Sri Lanka. These awards of recognition stand as evidence of your commitment for the pursuit of excellence. With the launch of the second phase of the Lenovo Premium Club, we aim to further motivate our teams to raise the bar, embrace innovation, and deliver even more value to our customers while leading Sri Lanka’s digital transformation,’.

The event was graced by distinguished members of Lenovo’s regional leadership, including Mr. Naveen Kejriwal (Director of Overseas Business – Lenovo India), Mr. Shekhar Karmakar (Regional Sales Head – Overseas Business, Lenovo India) and Mr. Siraj Jabir (Country Business Head – Lenovo Sri Lanka and Maldives), whose presence underscored the strong strategic partnership between Abans and Lenovo.

Also in attendance were senior representatives from Abans, including Mr. Tilan Tennakoon, Mr. Manjula Silva, Mr. Ruchira Mendis, Mr. Prasanna Hettiarachchi, and Mr. Shamala Dissanayake, further highlighting the importance Abans places on recognising and rewarding excellence in performance across categories.

As Sri Lanka’s No. 1 laptop services provider, Abans continues to lead the market by offering a comprehensive portfolio of Lenovo laptops, tablets, desktops, and accessories, backed by expert in-store consultation, island-wide availability, and trusted after-sales service. Through initiatives such as the Lenovo Premium Club, Abans strengthens its commitment to empowering its teams, driving innovation in IT retail, and delivering smarter technology solutions tailored to evolving customer needs.

Sri Lanka’s recovery is moving into a more demanding phase, where macroeconomic stability has been largely restored but growth is expected to slow and debt dynamics are again coming into focus.

At the First Capital Investor Symposium last week, this shift was laid out in the firm’s Investment Strategy: January 2026 – Sri Lanka outlook, which projected GDP growth easing to 3-4% in 2026 and 2027, down from an estimated 4-5% in 2025, amid weaker consumer spending, limited reform momentum and the lingering economic impact of Cyclone Ditwah (please see https://www.ft.lk/top-story/2026-slow-growth-outlook-raises-debt-concerns-First-Capital/26-787291)

Against that backdrop, a panel discussion featuring John Keells Holdings PLC Deputy Chairman and Group Finance Director Gihan Cooray, Hemas Consumer Brands Managing Director Sabrina Esufally, JAT Holdings PLC CEO and Executive Director Nishal Ferdinando and First Capital Holdings PLC Chief Research and Strategy Officer Dimantha Mathew shifted the focus from macro diagnosis to corporate response. Rather than debating whether recovery is real, the discussion centred on how growth will be generated in an economy facing tighter financial conditions, slower domestic demand growth and limited fiscal space.

For John Keells Holdings, Hemas and JAT Holdings, the challenge is not simply to defend margins or wait for demand to return. It is to create demand through long-cycle investments, reshape consumption patterns, expand infrastructure capacity already nearing utilisation and operate directly inside larger, more competitive markets abroad. The panel’s remarks offered a view into how some of the country’s most capital-intensive and strategically exposed companies are positioning themselves for this next phase.

Consumers trade back to quality, but growth shifts to demographic-led categories

For Hemas Holdings PLC, stabilisation has translated into a measurable shift in consumer behaviour, but not into a return to scale-led growth. Managing Director of Hemas Consumer Brands Sabrina Esufally said the recovery is visible in volumes and brand choice.

‘So I think at a macro level, we’re seeing the impact of stability and recovery on the consumer basket. This is translating not just into growing consumer confidence, but we see the growth of volume. And more importantly, we see consumers actually starting to choose brands, starting to select based on quality,’ she said.

She described the crisis period as one in which consumers were forced into substitution.

‘For a period, a year or two ago, we saw consumers trading off the brands that they’ve grown up with into cheap alternatives that were not giving them the same standard of quality. That was a scary time for a brand that’s in the consumer business,’ Esufally said.

However, she stressed that population size remains a binding constraint.

‘We are confident that growth is not going to come from blindly scaling highly penetrated categories. We are limited by our population size and we are likely to be continually limited over the next few years,’ she said.

Growth, she explained, will come from shifts in demographics rather than penetration.

‘We see more women going to work, and that’s resulting in a whole bunch of categories coming up that require more convenient, on-the-go solutions,’ she said.

Younger consumers are also reshaping channel strategy.

‘Gen Zs are demanding brands that feel personal, that sell to them in channels that they frequent. And this won’t be the traditional channel,’ Esufally said.

Urbanisation is altering household structure and consumption.

‘Families are becoming smaller and more nuclear. This is changing consumption patterns and the shape of the basket,’ she said.

On impact, Esufally rejected separating commercial activity from social outcomes.

‘I’m not really a fan of framing impact as CSR, because that’s often the first thing that gets cut when a company is in trouble,’ she said. ‘Companies have to demonstrate that they’re solving a real customer problem at a price point customers can afford.’

Creating demand ecosystems across tourism, logistics and electric mobility

For John Keells Holdings PLC, the stabilisation phase coincides with the operationalisation of two of the Group’s largest investments: City of Dreams Sri Lanka and Phase One of the West Container Terminal at the Port of Colombo.

Deputy Chairman and Group Finance Director Gihan Cooray framed tourism growth as a structural challenge rather than a cyclical rebound.

‘If you look at tourism in Sri Lanka, it’s more of a transition,’ he said. ‘It’s an expression of where we see that demand and growth coming from.’

He pointed to Colombo’s relatively low share of tourist visitation.

‘We probably get maybe 25-30% of overall tourists visiting Colombo. Whereas if you look at other regional markets, that number is much higher,’ Cooray said, citing Bangkok, where city visitation is more than double Colombo’s share.

City of Dreams Sri Lanka, which opened in August as South Asia’s first fully integrated resort developed with Melco Resorts and Entertainment, was intended to address that gap.

‘The vision was to see how we drive more visitation into the city and also grow the pipe,’ he said. ‘Not just getting a person who is already coming into Sri Lanka to visit the city, but also bringing in people who may not have had Sri Lanka on the map.’

Early traction has come through large-scale corporate events.

‘We’ve already had two Indian corporates last year with around 1,000 delegates coming. We have another large conference coming up in May with about 4,000 people coming in over a period of about 12 days,’ Cooray said.

In logistics, he cited utilisation at the Western Container Terminal.

‘Phase One has about 1.6 million TEU capacity, and at the rate it’s going now, we’re pretty much at 90% utilisation, even though we started operations only in April,’ he said. Phase Two will add a further 1.6 million TEUs by the end of the year.

Cooray said the opportunity extends beyond transshipment.

‘We can look at more value-added logistics, not just transshipment, which creates a stickier ecosystem,’ he said.

On electric mobility, Cooray referred to the rapid growth of the EV segment, noting that, based on his remarks, BYD accounts for about 10% of that segment. He described adoption as both an infrastructure and behavioural challenge.

‘One of the biggest concerns is range anxiety and the charging ecosystem,’ he said. ‘Sri Lanka is a small place, but it’s still a mindset issue.’

JKH’s approach has been to leverage existing assets.

‘We try to leverage the network that we have with our supermarket outlets, hotels and so on,’ he said, referring to the Keells supermarket chain and hotel portfolio. ‘That helps address confidence concerns, particularly for longer drives.’He addressed concerns about grid-based charging.

‘Even if you are charging through thermal power, if you look at the efficiency of EVs versus a combustion engine, it is still cheaper from a vehicle owner’s perspective and even from an emissions perspective,’ Cooray said.

From rebuilding at home to expanding in developed markets

For JAT Holdings PLC, the post-Ditwah period presents both demand and execution challenges. CEO and Executive Director Nishal Ferdinando quantified the scale of rebuilding required.

‘The estimated infrastructure damage is about $ 4.1 billion,’ he said. ‘Out of this, around 80% is residential, industrial and main infrastructure, with about 20% in agriculture.’

He added that this represents roughly 0.48% of the country’s total capital stock in buildings and infrastructure.

‘This surge gives an opportunity for us to build back better, not just build for the sake of building,’ Ferdinando said. ‘Resilient designs and more durable materials are something we have to focus on.’

He also outlined timing differences in demand.

‘If you take Colombo and Kandy, the damage profile is different. Paint demand in Colombo may spike in another two months, while the Central Province may see that spike closer to six months,’ he said.

Inventory and labour readiness, he warned, will determine outcomes.

‘If we fall short, we will have to air freight or use alternative materials, and that delays projects,’ Ferdinando said, adding that labour shortages would impose a significant opportunity cost.

Beyond domestic rebuilding, Ferdinando detailed JAT’s international strategy.

‘There is a difference between operating in emerging markets and developed markets,’ he said, referring to Bangladesh and the Maldives compared with New Zealand and Australia. ‘We are not exporting from Sri Lanka. We are manufacturing and operating in those economies,’ he said.

He pointed to JAT’s experience competing locally against multinational firms.

‘For the last 15 years, we’ve been competing with global players that are number three, four or seven in the world, and we’ve maintained our market share,’ Ferdinando said.

Capital constraints, he said, require focus.

‘When someone else has 1,200 R and D specialists working on 1,000 products, we focus on maybe 20 products and do them world-class,’ he said, noting that technology and AI can shorten product development cycles.

Growth, debt and risk converge

From a market perspective, First Capital Holdings PLC Chief Research and Strategy Officer Dimantha Mathew cautioned that stabilisation brings new constraints.

‘If growth slows to around 3-4%, you are not generating sufficient GDP growth to push down debt-to-GDP levels,’ he said.

He noted that Sri Lanka is unlikely to repeat last year’s trade surplus, reducing the buffer for reserve accumulation and debt repayment.

‘At some point, risk starts getting priced into the economy, and that is reflected in interest rates,’ Mathew said.

He also highlighted export concentration.

‘A large part of our exports go to developed markets rather than high-growth markets,’ he said, pointing to apparel and tea exposure to emerging external risks and tensions.

Growth by design

With First Capital projecting slower GDP growth, a narrowing external buffer, rising interest rates and renewed pressure on debt sustainability, the environment for growth is becoming more demanding.

Within that context, the panel discussion focused on how individual companies are responding within their own areas of operation. The discussion did not suggest a broad-based rebound. Instead, it highlighted how growth, where it emerges, is likely to be driven by specific investments, targeted demand creation and execution within clearly defined business segments.

For years, personal data in Sri Lanka moved quietly through businesses-customer profiles, contracts, employee records, and transaction histories-without much public scrutiny. That era has ended. Sri Lanka became the first South Asian nation to enact comprehensive data protection legislation when the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) was signed into law on 19 March 2022. The Data Protection Authority (DPA) was established in August 2023, and core provisions began taking effect from 1 December 2023, and enforcement phased through to 2025 to allow for compliance.

PDPA marks a fundamental shift in how Sri Lankan organizations collect, store, use, and safeguard customer and staff data. Whether a business operates in retail, finance, healthcare, education, or public services, compliance is no longer optional; it is a legal mandate and a reflection of their credibility and integrity. More importantly, it is becoming central to operational resilience and long-term trust.

PDPA arrives at a pivotal time when Sri Lankan organizations are adopting digital tools at unprecedented speed, while expectations around privacy, security, and accountability continue to rise. Government institutions now require adherence to strict data handling standards, and vendors must align operations accordingly. Many enterprises are discovering that legacy systems, fragmented databases, and informal processes that were once sufficient for daytoday operations, now expose significant compliance and security gaps. Global research shows that organizations with structured data governance outperform peers in both operational stability and stakeholder trust, underscoring the value of proactive compliance.

Today, compliance cannot be reduced to checklists or certificates. True PDPA readiness requires systems and frameworks that ensure transparency, clarity of processes, and accountability across the data lifecycle. When embedded into daily operations, robust governance empowers teams to innovate without fear of breaches, penalties, service interruptions, or reputational harm.

KBSL Information Technologies (KBSL), with over 38 years of shaping Sri Lanka’s enterprise technology landscape, has stepped forward to guide organizations through this transition. Under the leadership of Vasee Nesiah (CEO), Aruna Dissanayake (COO), and Pramukh Jayawardena (CSO), KBSL brings together operational excellence, sectorwide experience, and a strong focus on helping enterprises strengthen resilience while pursuing growth.

Their comprehensive strategy is designed to minimize risk while allowing businesses to focus on growth and innovation. This level of professional support brings genuine Peace of Mind to organizations navigating the complexities of the law. By partnering with a certified and experienced team, leadership can rest assured that their data protection duties are fully managed and secure.

A critical milestone KBSL’s journey is the recent certification under the ISO 27701 standard. This is an international benchmark for Privacy Information Management Systems and as an extension to the well-known ISO 27001 security standard. This certification is relevant to PDPA because it demonstrates that an organization has the technical and procedural controls needed to manage privacy risks. For clients, this means that the advisor they choose has already met the same rigorous standards that the regulator expects from them.

KBSL’s approach goes beyond helping companies tick compliance boxes. It focuses on protecting data as it flows across interconnected systems, establishing clear responsibilities, and implementing the guardrails essential for minimizing operational and reputational risk. By integrating policies, processes, tools, and leading-edge technology into a unified ecosystem, KBSL ensures organizations can achieve PDPA compliance without managing multiple vendors or disconnected frameworks. Independent auditors provide validation, technology partners supply the solutions, and KBSL orchestrates the entire journey.

To support this nationwide transition, KBSL is hosting a PDPA event at the Cinnamon Grand on 12 February 2026, to help Sri Lankan enterprises navigate PDPA. This event will also explore how organizations can turn compliance into a competitive advantage.

As digital transformation accelerates, PDPA presents both challenge and opportunity. Businesses that treat personal data with care, signal maturity, strengthen trust, and create conditions for innovation without compromise. With structured guidance and strong leadership, Sri Lankan enterprises can convert compliance from an obligation into a foundation for sustainable growth, ensuring clarity, accountability, and confidence in an increasingly complex digital ecosystem.

Dr. Aparrajitha Ariyadasa – Attorney-at-Law, CEO South Asia Privacy

Professionals Association,

Chairperson IAPP

KnowledgeNet Chapter

for Sri Lanka, will be speaking at the event.

Dr. Aparrajitha Ariyadasa

Q: How do organisations know if they are truly PDPA-ready, rather than partially compliant?

Many companies think they are compliant because of basic policies, but true PDPA readiness is broader. It begins with embedding privacy by design across software and processes. A thorough audit identifies gaps, and structured guidance, training, and alignment with ISO 27001 and 27701 make compliance real, not just on paper.’

Q: Does PDPA compliance only concern IT or Legal, or does it affect the entire organisation?

PDPA is not solely an IT issue or legal. Any employee handling personal data – HR, sales, or front-office operations, is part of the compliance ecosystem. Awareness and accountability must reach everyone, making compliance part of the organisational culture.’

Q: How should organisations approach PDPA proactively, rather than reactively?

A proactive approach starts with understanding your data landscape. Mapping flows, assessing risks, and embedding privacy practices early ensures compliance is part of daily operations.’

Q: What are the consequences of not being PDPA compliant?

Non-compliance is more than a fine, which can reach 10 million rupees locally. It also exposes organisations to international legal risks, reputational damage, and loss of trust.’