Category: Daily Financial Times

The Inter Club Rugby League 2025/2026 moves into the deeper end of its first round with only one final set of matches remaining next weekend. With every team having tasted defeat at least once, the title race remains wide open. Defending champions, Kandy SC, CR, CH, and Havies are front runners.

Meanwhile, Air Force, Army, Police, Navy, and Sri Lions are tipped to feature in the Plate segment, with eight teams moving forward. For the Clifford Cup knock, too, there will be a play-off between the 8th and 9th teams, while only one of them move forward.

At Police Park tomorrow, Police SC will host Sri Lanka Army SC, with both teams already ruled out of Cup segment contention and set to compete in the Plate segment. Despite their inconsistent campaigns, this encounter promises to be closely contested. However, Army SC hold the edge due to their superior organisation, experience, and tactical discipline.

Army will be led by seasoned national player, Sudaraka Dikkumbura, whose leadership remains central to their plans. Strong support from Ijaz Ahmed, Mohamed Akram, and Nalaka Maduranga adds depth and stability to the side. Police SC, captained by Shanaka Harischandra, will look to Heshan Kalhara and Mohan Wimalaratne for inspiration, but Army’s composure should see them through.

Later under lights at Longdon Place, CR and FC take on Sri Lanka Air Force in a crucial Cup segment encounter. The Red Shirts rebounded superbly after their loss to CH, edging defending champions Kandy SC at Nittawela. Led by Lasindu Karunathilake with key contributions from Thenuka Nanayakkara, Naveen Marasinghe, and Chamod Muthunayake, CR enter as clear favourites.

Air Force, led by Shanaka Werella, must win their remaining fixtures to stay alive in the Cup race. However, on current form and momentum, CR should pull through without major difficulty.

On 18 January, CH and FC meet Sri Lions at Longdon Place. Plagued by injuries, the newcomers face an uphill task, while CH will be desperate to bounce back after last week’s heavy defeat to Havelock SC. With Cup qualification at stake, CH are expected to return to winning ways with a convincing bonus-point victory.

Much debated topic today that is impacting the general public most is the Electricity policy and the Tariff policy. Why this topic is of high importance is, that it will impact the day-today lives of the entire population and the economic future of Sri Lanka.

As per the Electricity act of 2024/25 (Amended) it is required to formulate a National policy for Electricity and Tariff. The future of the country and its people will be heavily dependent on how these policies are formulated in a consumer and business friendly manner, in line with the country’s national policy, its international commitments and the prevailing electricity act., therefore stands at high importance.

The Minister of Power and Energy appointed a six people committee to formulate these two policies last year. The draft of the Electricity/Tariff policy was presented to the minister by the members of the committee in mid-December 2025 dated 15 December 2025. As per the Electricity Act, the Minister is then required to check the policy and decide whether it’s in line with the National Policy, Electricity Act etc.

The process followed by the appointed committee is highly questionable. As per the Act, it is the responsibility of them to hold stakeholder consultations prior to attempt to draft the policy. These stakeholders include, Public Utilities Commission, National System Operator, Chambers of Commerce, Consumer organisations etc. After due consultation the policy must be written and sent to the minister for further action as stipulated in the act.

The entire fiasco started when the committee not following the approved process and writing the policy without having neither the consumer nor the businesses in mind. On top of it they have hired a consultant who has drafted the policy against the legal framework defined in the act which makes it an unacceptable policy as per the law. (A person has vested interest in the matter)

Over the last 15 years, the single source of highest volume of energy to the national grid was supplied by Solar (Total installed capacity of 2,500MW). Even from this, the largest portion was given by Solar Rooftops with minimum expense to the grid (2,100MW). All the Solar projects were done by consumers making them a group of small-scale power producer called PROSUMERS. This system broke the backbone of emergency power and diesel power plant influence of the grid. Having felt the punch, much of the focus of the Electricity Policy written by the committee was to stop rooftop solar. The committee has even gone to the extent of punishing the PROSUMER community group by force, changing the connectivity mechanism to Time of Use tariff which will result the rooftop owners paying very high amounts monthly to the utility. The possible result of the proposed shift is explained in charts 1.

The electricity usage pattern has changed drastically over the last few years and load curve which was peaking after 6.30 p.m. now has got advanced. This is expected to be virtually a flat line by the 2027/28. Generating electricity from Solar is addressing this increasing day time demand and have some other very important commercially beneficial aspects to the country. It is saving the much-needed water, and function as a hydro battery. Non disposed water during the daytime is saved in reservoirs and disposed after 6pm when solar energy is no more. This is a major saving that has never been considered when evaluation of the indirect benefits of Solar. On the other hand, the fossil fuel usage in the power plants also have drastically reduced due to increased rooftop solar integration.

The famous Norochcholai power plant has had only 68% plant factor during 2025. Anyone can remember the problems country faced with islandwide blackouts when breakdown occurred at the coal plant. Why, we do not hear this anymore is Rooftop Solar. The thermal oil-based power plants usage has dropped from 38% in 2019 to 12% in 2025. This is also partly due to high presence of Rooftop Solar in the grid. Anyone can see who is hurt from the rooftop solar. It’s Coal and Diesel? More rooftop solar will result in further reduction of Thermal oil and Thermal Coal which is not liked by the coal buyers and fossil fuel-based energy producers. The chart 2 explains how the fossil fuel dominance reduced from 38% in 2019 to 12% in 2025. This reduction has occurred purely because of the renewable energy growth from 10% in 2019 to 26% in 2025.

The chart 3 explains which energy source is the cost driver. Very evidently, the oil. To generate 12% of energy, the utility end up spending 40% of its generating cost.

Despite very clear evidence, which energy source brings the cost down and reduces the pressure on consumers, this committee has decided to completely stop the feed-in tariff and completely destroy the solar rooftop industry.

One other important issue that will affect large volume of electricity consumers is proposed flat tariff and removal of the cross subsidy. World over the electricity consumers who are using less than 60kWh (Units) a month are considered as consumers in energy poverty. In this bracket Sri Lanka have over 1.9mn households who are using less than 30kWh a month, 1.8mn households using between 31-60kWh a month and 1.4mn households using between 61-90kWh a month. In total, Sri Lanka has over 3.7mn electricity consumers who are in the energy poverty. This is over 55% of our population.

The committee proposes that every consumer will pay cost reflective flat tariff and as a result these 3 consumer segments will have major increase in their electricity costs anything between 50%-300% while high energy consumers will have lower bills. The chart 4 shows how these increases and reductions are affected.

As per the 2019 Paris agreement Sri Lanka ratified, the country’s policy is to drive the electricity sector to 70% renewable energy grid by 2030 and have a 100% decarbonised energy sector by 2050. However, there is no mention of these important parameters in the policy which should have been the foundation of the policy.

We strongly believe that the President and the Minister of Power and Energy will look into this very seriously and take corrective measures to instruct the Secretary to the ministry to appoint a new committee with members with country focused vision rather than just going ahead with the same set of people who miserably failed in their duty for people.

(The author is Deputy President, National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka, Chairman-Energy Council NCCSL and Member-Energy Committee Ceylon Chamber of Commerce)

Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation General Ltd. (SLICGL), Sri Lanka’s only A+ Fitch-rated General Insurer, hosted the 2nd Annual General Insurance Pinnacle Achiever (GIPA) Awards in Indonesia, honouring the top 33 Sri Lankan and 10 Indonesian general insurance sales professionals.

The Indonesian ceremony, held in collaboration with J.B. Boda, Indonesia, celebrated multi-faceted excellence that extends past sales volumes, recognising sustainable practices, customer-centricity, and professional discipline.

GIPA is the world’s first dedicated recognition platform exclusively for General Insurance sales professionals. It was initiated by SLICGL and hosting the GIPA Awards with overseas winners bring added demonstrating SLICGL’s long-term commitment to industry excellence, upliftment, and global collaboration

For over 60 years, SLIC has been a recognised leader in the insurance industry in Sri Lanka. SLICGL identified a long-standing gap in global recognition for General Insurance sales excellence.

Life Insurance has established aspirational international benchmarks such as the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) and the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association (LIMRA). MDRT is a global association recognizing the highest-performing life insurance and financial services professionals for their excellence, ethics, and client service. LIMRA is an international research and professional development organization that sets industry benchmarks and provides training, insights, and standards to over 850 companies worldwide.

Accordingly, SLICGL conceptualised GIPA in 2023 as a structured recognition and development framework. Built on six performance pillars including volume recognition, new business contribution, business retention success, year-on-year growth, business sustainability and profitability, and national or organisational ranking, GIPA sets a new global benchmark for professionalism, sustainability, and customer value in GI sales. Recognition levels include GIPA Achiever, GIPA Star, and GIPA Legend.

In addition, the significance of the awards lies in its global-first positioning. Aligning with international performance parameters, the awards seek to offer independent, standardised, and professionally governed evaluation. They fill a decades-long industry void, seeking to bring General Insurance sales on par with established Life Insurance benchmarks. For sales professionals, GIPA seeks to provides a career pathway with international recognition.

GIPA is being gradually elevated from a national initiative to an international platform. SLICGL strives to enable knowledge exchange among GI professionals worldwide, raising standards in markets, and establish emerging markets such as Sri Lanka can lead globally recognized industry frameworks.

The Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE)

recently welcomed Sarvodaya Development Finance PLC (SDF) with two sustainability bonds, which are now displayed on the LGX Platform.

These two 5-year Bonds, totalling Rs. 2 billion, will finance green (renewable energy and clean transportation) and social (affordable housing, employment generation, women empowerment, food security and socioeconomic advancement) projects. This listing follows a delegation visit from the SDF representativesits Chairman Channa de Silva, CEO Nilantha Jayanetti and Head of Strategic Planning Mahesh Jayasanka to LuxSE premises.

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, together with the American Chamber of Commerce, Exporters Association of Sri Lanka, Federation of Renewable Energy Developers, Joint Apparel Association Forum, National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka, and Sri Lanka Association for Software and Services Companies, has submitted joint observations on the Draft National Electricity Policy, highlighting that several key issues have not been adequately addressed.

In a statement yesterday, the Chamber said: ‘Whilst recognising the need for reform in the electricity sector, the submission flags several gaps in the draft policy that require closer attention. Key areas such as affordability, de-carbonisation commitments, incentives for renewable energy, competition, and the long-term financial health of the sector are either missing or not addressed in sufficient depth.

The proposed tariff revisions outlined in the draft energy policy raise concerns, particularly regarding the removal of cross-subsidies and the proposal to restrict subsidies exclusively to households consuming less than 30 kWh per month. Without detailed analysis, these measures could weaken access to sustainable and affordable energy and potentially lead to fiscal risks.

The provisions allowing uncompensated curtailment, removing feed-in tariffs, and imposing mandatory time-of-use tariffs on rooftop solar users could make renewable energy projects un-bankable for international lenders, thereby increasing the cost of capital for Sri Lanka.

Calling for a more future-focused approach, the submission stresses the need for a policy that reflects modern electricity systems, including planning for the energy transition, energy storage, market competition, cross-border electricity trading, and emerging technologies.

The chambers and associations request a comprehensive revision of the Draft National Electricity Policy, alignment with the Electricity Act, and resubmission following substantive consultation, and reiterate support to engage constructively with policymakers to shape a policy that supports affordability, investment confidence, and Sri Lanka’s long-term energy security’.

Bank of Ceylon (BOC) partnered with the 36th Annual Convention of the Association of Professional Bankers (APB) Sri Lanka, reaffirming its commitment to promoting professional excellence and knowledge sharing within the banking sector. The partnership was officially handed over by BOC Chief Marketing Officer Sameera D. Liyanage and Deputy General Manager – Business Revival Unit M.R.N. Rohana Kumara, reflecting the bank’s focus on empowering banking professionals and supporting the sustainable growth of Sri Lanka’s financial services industry.

A group of citizens prepare the traditional Pongal Bath in the street side in Colombo in protest of treatment meted out to the Malaiyaha community, the worst-hit by Cyclone Ditwah, who urgently require housing, land with secure deeds, and new villages, away from disaster-prone areas.

At the inaugural ceremony of ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ held this week at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo under the patronage of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, land donations were made by private citizens including Chandra Kusumawathi Everett, G. Rasanga Prageen Fernando, P. Nimesha Madhumadali Siriwardena, and D.M. Samantha Sarath Ananda.

The President’s Media Division said Chandra Kusumawathi Everett donated 2 acres and 29.5 perches of land in the Alawwa area of Kurunegala. G. Rasanga Prageen Fernando of Wekada, Panadura, donated 70 perches of land in the Bandaragama area of Kalutara. Nimesha Madhumadali Siriwardena of Wewagedara, Kurunegala, donated 64 perches of land in the Polpithigama area of Kurunegala, and D.M. Samantha Sarath Ananda of Owatta, Hingula, donated 15 perches of land in the Maspotha area of Kurunegala.

Under the post-Ditwah relief and reconstruction program, the Government is attempting to relocate households away from natural disaster-prone areas such as landslides and floods.

Sri Lanka has taken a historic step forward with the launch of its first Smart Bus Ticketing System, enabling passengers to pay fares using contactless cards, digital wallets, and QR payments. This advancement places the country among global leaders in smart mobility.

The initiative was made possible through collaboration with the Government of Sri Lanka, leading banking partners, and the technology leadership of Ceylon Business Appliances (CBA) and Nimbus Ventures, who serve as the Technology, Software, Hardware, and Operational Partners behind the nation’s first Open Loop Transit Payment System.

For decades, CBA has been at the forefront of Sri Lanka’s digital transformation efforts-bringing modern, global-standard technologies that have strengthened the nation’s digital infrastructure.

CBA Managing Director Sardha Fernando said: ‘This is not just a ticketing upgrade-it is a complete digital evolution of public transport in Sri Lanka. For years, CBA has been committed to introducing advanced technologies to the country, and today, we are proud to bring a globally recognised, secure, and seamless smart transit solution to our people. With every tap, we are enabling convenience, transparency, and a more connected future for all Sri Lankans.’

‘This milestone reflects our ongoing mission: to help build a digitally empowered Sri Lanka that is ready to embrace the technologies shaping the world,’ he added.

CBA CEO/Director Ruwath Fernando said: ‘This project demonstrates that Sri Lanka is ready to adopt and operate on par with global smart mobility technologies. Our commitment has always been to bring the world’s best software systems and innovations into Sri Lanka-solutions that are secure, scalable, and built to international standards.’

‘By introducing a state-of-the-art open-loop transit payment platform, we are proving that Sri Lanka can not only embrace but also successfully operate advanced digital ecosystems. This is a defining moment in positioning the country as a technology-proof nation prepared to trial and adopt global digital advancements,’ he added.

CBA extended heartfelt congratulations to the banking partners who trusted this vision-

Sampath Bank, Commercial Bank, Bank of Ceylon, People’s Bank, and DFCC Bank-

on the successful launch of their new ticketing application.

This application integrates seamlessly with the PAX A910S ticketing device, powered by a robust CBA- Nimbus ventures software solution, engineered for scale, reliability, and national deployment.

A special acknowledgement goes to the engineering, software development, UX, operations, and field implementation teams whose tireless efforts brought this national digital achievement to life.

Behind each tap stands innovation-behind every journey stands CBA, shaping a smarter, more connected Sri Lanka.

The Finance Ministry will hold a pre-Expression of Interest (EOI) meeting with interested parties ahead of the proposed divestiture of Canwill Holdings Ltd., the parent company of Sinolanka Hotels and Spa Ltd., and Helanco Hotels and Spa Ltd., which includes the stalled Grand Hyatt venture.

The Government announced on 24 December 2025 its intention to divest its entire shareholding in Canwill Holdings as part of its ongoing State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) reform and divestment program.

The pre-EOI meeting will be held virtually on 21 January at 12 p.m. IST. Interested parties have been invited to participate in the meeting to obtain clarifications and raise queries relating to the Request for EOI and the proposed transaction.

The divestiture is to be carried out through a two-stage competitive process, beginning with the invitation of EOIs from eligible local and international investors.

The Ministry said interested parties may access the Request for EOI document through its official website.

The notice stated that non-attendance at the pre-EOI meeting will not be a cause for disqualification from submitting an EOI. The deadline for submission of EOIs has been set for 16 February.

Canwill Holdings was incorporated in December 2011 to invest in the hospitality and tourism sector and operated as a holding company controlling its subsidiaries. It was the parent of Sinolanka Hotels and Spa Ltd., and Helanco Hotels and Spa Ltd., Sinolanka was developing a 47-storey hotel and serviced apartment project in Colombo 3, comprising 458 hotel rooms and 100 serviced apartments, built to Grand Hyatt specifications.

The structure and façade of the building were largely complete, with substantial capital expenditure already incurred, and most approvals and planning required for completion in place. The project had been designated a Strategic Development Project, making it eligible for tax concessions during both implementation and commercial operations.

Helanco Hotels and Spa held 9.42 acres of beachfront land in Hambantota earmarked for the development of a luxury beach resort. Helanco had entered into a hotel management agreement with Hyatt International – Southwest Asia Ltd., in March 2014 to operate the property as a Hyatt Regency resort, although construction had not commenced and the agreement had since expired.

Canwill Holdings was a fully SOE that had received Rs. 18.5 billion in equity funding, sourced from Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation, Litro Gas Lanka, and the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF). Sri Lanka Insurance held 46% of the shares, with the balance divided between Litro Gas and the EPF. The funds were invested in Sinolanka and Helanco to develop the Colombo and Hambantota hospitality projects, respectively.

A forensic audit conducted in 2015 uncovered extensive irregularities and cost overruns, with initial estimates for the Colombo hotel more than doubling and a significant funding shortfall emerging. The audit highlighted procurement lapses, governance failures, and unauthorised payments, prompting the Board at the time to renegotiate and cancel contracts, recover savings, and refer findings to law enforcement authorities. Despite these issues, the management and profit-sharing agreement with Hyatt was not found to have regulatory or contractual irregularities.

The current divestiture process follows earlier efforts to exit the Government’s investment in Canwill Holdings. In 2024, six companies, largely from India, were pre-qualified to submit Requests for Proposal to acquire the company. The then SOE Restructuring Unit said the EOIs were evaluated in line with the terms of the Request for EOIs and in compliance with the Special Guidelines on Divestiture of SOEs approved by the Cabinet of Ministers in July. The evaluation and short-listing were carried out by a Cabinet-Appointed Special Project Committee and a Special Cabinet-Appointed Negotiating Committee. Deloitte India was appointed as transaction adviser for the divestiture of the Government’s stake in Canwill Holdings.