Category: Daily Financial Times

The President’s Media Division has said that daily contributions are being made to the Government’s ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund that was established to provide relief to those affected by Cyclone Ditwah. Several companies this week handed over financial donations to the Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake at the Presidential Secretariat.

The donations were as follows: Rs. 5 million from Sirilak Sea Food Ltd., Managing Director D.A. Nissanka, and Rs. 2.5 million each from Narmatha Gold Centre Chairman N. Jegatheeswaran, and IWW Steel Industries Ltd., Chairman Dr. Sivalingam Ramesh.

The Colombo stock market closed Christmas Eve marginally up ahead of today’s holiday with crossings in John Keells Holdings accounting for 34% of turnover.

The ASPI closed 0.15% on the up, or 32.05 points to 21,959.05 and the S and P SL20 gained 0.07% or 4.17 points to 6,015.48. Turnover was over Rs. 4.1 billion on nearly 147.2 million shares traded. Foreign investors were net sellers on a net outflow of Rs. 331.3 million.

First Capital Research said the market remained at a stagnated level throughout the day, with the index showing occasional spikes in volatility but largely trading within a narrow range, indicating consolidation.

Top positive contributors to the ASPI were SFCL, SPEN, SAMP, BUKI and CARG with market activity largely driven by crossings, which accounted for 43.3% of the total turnover, while JKH drew significant interest from HNW investors through crossings, representing 33.9% of overall turnover. JKH closed unchanged at Rs. 21.

Retail investor participation remained moderate, with primary focus on DOCK.R and DOCK.N.

The Capital Goods sector accounted for 53% of total turnover, while the Diversified Financials and Banking sectors contributed a combined 14%.

The massacre of fifteen Australian Jewish citizens and wounding several more from that community at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on 14 December – a day marking the beginning of Jewish Hanukkah festival – by a father-son pair of Muslim gunmen has been portrayed by the Western media as an act of ISIS inspired Islamist terrorism unleashed against world Jewry.

But whether that savagery was a spontaneous reaction by two angry Muslim men schooled in Islamist ideology to seek revenge against Israel’s genocide in Gaza or whether it is linked to Netanyahu’s anger at the Australian Prime Minister’s decision to campaign and vote at the UN for an independent Palestinian state and whether there was another hidden force that orchestrated the whole tragedy never caught the attention of Western media.

The fact that Ahmad al-Ahmad the ‘hero’ who grabbed the gun from the father-killer was shot by someone at the scene raises questions that need answer and calls for an independent investigation of the entire tragedy. Why was this man shot? Was it because he had become a spoiler of an intended drama? If so, what was the plot of that drama? From whichever angle one wishes to look at the massacre one cannot dismiss its link with Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Firstly, Israel has a history of going to bed with Islamists to promote its own strategic and military agenda in the Middle East.

For instance, in an interview to UK Sunday Times, Israel’s former army commander Gadi Eisenkot admitted that Israel supplied arms to ISIS fighters to topple Syria’s Asad regime. Likewise, Israel’s former defence minister and Leader of the Opposition Avigdor Lieberman accused Netanyahu Government of supplying weapons to ISIS backed gangs to fight Hamas in Gaza. The notorious gang leader Yasser Abu Shabab who was killed by Hamas recently was found operating with weapons supplied by Israel. Even Hamas for that matter was originally an Israeli creation set up to counter the popularity of Mahmud Abbas’ Palestine Authority.

Therefore, it is logical to surmise that the Sydney killers too may have been hired by Netanyahu’s Zionist cabal or Mossad to create that horror to teach a lesson or two to the Albanese Government. If so, why should the lives of innocent Jews be sacrificed to teach that lesson? The answer is not far to seek.

In Israel’s military strategy, killing a few of its own people is justified if it guaranteed ultimate victory against the enemy. According to Israel’s Haaretz, when the war against Hamas began in October 2023 the Hanibal Protocol was invoked allowing IDF to kill its own members if they happened to be in danger of being captured by Hamas. This was to prevent those captives becoming bargaining chips in future negotiation with Hamas. Thus, one cannot discount the possibility that the Sydney massacre which consumed the lives of more than a dozen innocent Jews may have been a deliberate design to punish Albanese Government’s recognition of a Palestinian state and to force that government to retract.

Even if all these speculations are dismissed as irrelevant then at least that tragedy could be considered as a blessing in disguise for Netanyahu and his cabal to wet their anger over Australia. There are other countries too such as UK, France, Canda, South Africa and others who also support an independent Palestinian state, and what would be Netanyahu’s response to them is anyone’s guess.

In a sense, the Sydney massacre may have opened a new chapter in The Hundred Years War on Palestine. In Australia, Netanyahu has already forced Albanese Government to take a tough stand against the growing pro-Palestine protest movement. The so-called ‘Hate Speech’ laws introduced by the Government and similar actions announced by the state Government of New South Wales have virtually branded any pro-Palestine speech, slogan or symbol as antisemitism.

Under these laws, all expressions of anti-Israeli sentiments have been branded as antisemitism. In passing, it is interesting to note that the former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, has been reported arguing that to blame Australia for spreading antisemitism was ‘unjustified’.

Anti-Semitism was originally coined by the German agitator Wilhelm Marr in 1879 to designate the growing anti-Jewish campaigns in Central Europe. It was essentially meant to depict Christian hatred of Jews, ‘killers of Christ’. It is therefore historically incorrect and politically pro-colonialist and even racist for Wester powers to label support for an independent Palestine as Anti-Semitism.

Aren’t Palestinian Arabs and their Jewish brethren both Semitic people? Aren’t Arabic and Hebrew are Semitic languages, and aren’t Judaism, Islam and Christianity have the same Patriarch, Abraham. What is happening in Gaza and in Occupied West Bank therefore is that one Semitic community is struggling to liberate itself from decades of apartheid oppression by another Semitic community. In that sense, it is an inter-Semitic war in which the minority Palestinians are trying to galvanise the sympathy and support of the wider humanity. To depict that support as Anti-Semitism is pure Zionist propaganda backed by Global North.

It is worth noting that Israel’s Knesset had recently approved a budget allocation of $ 740 million for Hasbara’s propaganda war. It was an increase of almost $ 600 million more than last year’s. With this huge resource to spend on propaganda and with Mossad’s secret agenda news reporters who contradict Israel’s version of events may be wantonly targeted and killed while massacres like the one in Sydney may be repeated in other countries also.

Donald Trump’s so-called ‘ceasefire’ of 10 October 2025 endorsed slavishly by eight Muslim leaders was no more than a rebranding exercise to permit Israel to continue what it was doing in Gaza since October 2023 while preventing Hamas to respond with violence. Since October, Israel is reported to have bombed more than 700 times killing nearly 400 Gazans so far. Neither Trump nor his Muslim puppets have lifted even a finger in protest. Netanyahu is now preparing to inaugurate the second phase of Trump’s plan to reconstruct Gaza under the supervision of a so-called international peace keeping force with US boots on the ground.

In the meantime, Qatar proposes to drill for oil and gas in Palestinian waters and sell it to finance Gaza’s reconstruction. Wasn’t that the original plan behind Trump’s Abraham Accord? In short, Global North with support of Arab rulers have decided remove Palestine from the world map. Do Palestinians have any alternative but to globalise their resistance?

Havelock Sports Club have been dealt a major setback with skipper Sandesh Jayawickrama ruled out for the remainder of the season after sustaining a broken bone in his hand.

The former St. Peter’s College standout has been an influential figure for the Park Club this season, both as a leader and a front-line performer, and his absence will be keenly felt as the League progresses.

Jayawickrama played a pivotal role in guiding Havelock to an unbeaten run in their first three matches, setting high standards with his physical presence, work rate, and calm decision-making under pressure. His leadership at breakdowns, commitment in defence, and ability to rally the side during key moments were central to Havelocks’ strong early momentum in the competition.

In his absence, deputy skipper Janidu Fernando will assume leadership duties for the rest of the season. Fernando, a respected senior member of the squad, now carries the responsibility of maintaining the consistency and fighting spirit instilled by Jayawickrama as Havelock push forward with their campaign.

Havies, CH, CR, and Kandy are the front runners for the League this season

With the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approving the $ 206 million Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI), Sri Lanka has formally assured the IMF that it will preserve fiscal discipline and maintain an open trade and payments regime while responding to the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah, as concerns mount over the sustainability of the country’s economic recovery.

The World Bank has estimated initial damage from the disaster at around $ 4.1 billion, while the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has placed the total economic impact at $ 16 billion. The IMF has separately forecast Sri Lanka’s balance of payments (BOP) deficit to widen by about $ 700 million.

In a Letter of Intent (LOI) dated 10 December for the RFI and submitted to the IMF, co-signed by President and Finance Minister Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, the Government detailed the scale of the disaster, its immediate fiscal response, and the policy commitments underpinning its IMF-supported reform program.

Despite the scale of the shock, the authorities stressed the importance of fiscal prudence. ‘We recognise the importance of staying prudent to preserve our fiscal and debt sustainability,’ the LOI said.

‘Accordingly, we will meet the recovery and reconstruction needs primarily through spending reprioritisation and reallocation and use of contingency allocations within the Budget, before considering a Supplementary Budget in 2026.’

The LOI further assured the IMF that all emergency spending, and any 2026 Supplementary Budget, if required, will be deployed in full compliance with the Public Finance Management Act and align with transparency and accountability standards.

On monetary policy, the authorities reaffirmed commitments under the IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF). ‘In line with our commitment under the EFF-supported reform program, the CBSL will continue refraining from monetary financing of the deficit,’ the LOI said, adding: ‘We welcome an update to the Safeguards Assessment as early as possible.’

The Government also pledged to maintain an open external payments regime. ‘We will not impose new or intensify existing restrictions on the making of payments and transfers for current international transactions, trade restrictions, or multiple currency practices, or enter into bilateral payments agreements which are inconsistent with Article VIII of the Fund’s Articles of Agreement,’ the LOI stated.

Against this background, Sri Lanka formally requested emergency financing from the IMF under the RFI, amounting to about $ 205 million. The Fifth Review under the EFF is expected to commence early next year.

Reaffirming its commitment to the reform agenda, the Government said: ‘We remain committed to the EFF-supported reform program and continue to engage with IMF staff to complete the Fifth Review at the earliest possible time,’ adding that program objectives remain unchanged, including restoring fiscal and debt sustainability, safeguarding price and financial sector stability, rebuilding external buffers, strengthening governance, and advancing growth-oriented structural reforms.

The Cabinet of Ministers at their meeting on Monday approved the launch of a new concessional agricultural loan scheme titled the ‘Sustainable Agriculture Program’ from next year, aimed at improving rural livelihoods and strengthening agriculture’s contribution to national economic growth.

It was approved to operate the loan scheme as an annual program beginning next year, using Participatory Finance Institutions as the delivery mechanism.

The initiative will be financed through a revolving fund created under the ongoing Smallholder Agribusiness Partnerships Program, which is being implemented with funding support from the Government and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

The program is being carried out by the Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation Ministry in collaboration with the Regional Development Department of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

‘Under the arrangement, all recoveries from loans issued through the Smallholder Agribusiness Partnerships Program will be channelled into a dedicated revolving fund named the ‘Sustainable Agricultural Fund’. This fund will be used exclusively to provide agricultural credit, ensuring the long-term continuity of concessional financing for the sector,’ Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said.

Speaking at the weekly post-Cabinet meeting media briefing, he said the Government expects to allocate Rs. 800 million from the Sustainable Agricultural Fund for the implementation of the Sustainable Agriculture Program in 2026.

‘The loan facility will be offered under two categories – individual loans and bulk loans. Individual borrowers and institutions will be eligible for loans of up to Rs. 5 million through agricultural banks and Samurdhi banks, with a maximum repayment period of five years. These loans will carry a highly concessional effective interest rate of 2% per annum, with grace periods of up to 12 months for applications and joint ventures, and six months for working capital facilities. Bulk loans will be capped at Rs. 500,000 per beneficiary, with a maximum repayment period of three years and an annual interest rate of 2%,’ he explained.

Dr. Jayatissa said the scheme is designed to support a wide range of agricultural and agri-related activities, including cultivation, processing, value addition, input supply, crop procurement, facilitation, production, and exports.

He noted that individuals and institutions seeking to initiate or expand such activities will be eligible to access financing under the program.

‘The Government views the Sustainable Agriculture Program as a key policy tool to boost productivity, encourage value addition, and improve incomes across the agricultural value chain, while ensuring that concessional credit is recycled through the revolving fund to benefit future borrowers,’ he added.

Cabinet approval was granted for a proposal presented by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in his capacity as Finance, Planning and Economic Development Minister.

EML Consultants PLC yesterday said that Aeroform Ltd., has acquired a 29.9% stake in the company for Rs. 116.1 million.

Aeroform Ltd., purchased 27 million shares at Rs. 4.30 each on Tuesday. Total shares issued by EML Consultants is 90.9 million.

EML Consultants reported a net asset value per share of Rs. 2.11 as of end-September 2025. Avanthi Jayatilake was the top shareholder with a 51% stake, followed by Joseph Morais at 1.99%.

Maliban Biscuit Manufactories has announced a partnership with rising motorsport talent Yevan David, as he prepares to compete on the international stage in the 2026 FIA Formula 3 Championship.

At just 18, Yevan has emerged as one of Asia’s fastest-rising drivers, competing across some of Europe’s toughest circuits and creating history as the first Sri Lankan to race in the FIA Formula 3 Championship. This partnership brings together a young athlete redefining what’s possible for Sri Lanka in global motorsport, and a homegrown brand that has consistently backed Sri Lankan ambition on the field, on the track, and beyond.

Yevan’s racing story began in go-karts, starting with early laps at the Sri Lanka Karting Circuit before moving into competitive karting in Singapore, where he quickly started stacking international results, including winning the IAME Asia Series (X30 Cadet) and the X30 Asia Cup. After graduating from karts, he stepped into single-seaters in 2024 across UAE F4, Spanish F4 and Eurocup-3, then announced himself in Europe by winning twice on his Euroformula Open debut weekend at Monza. In 2025, he underlined that momentum by taking the Euroformula Open Rookie title and finishing second overall, cementing his status as one of the most compelling young talents to emerge from Sri Lanka onto the global grid.

Commenting on the partnership, Yevan David said: ‘Partnering with Maliban means a lot to me. They’ve supported Sri Lankan sport for generations, so having them beside me as I take this next step feels special. I’m proud to carry our flag forward with a brand that believes in our country’s potential as much as I do.’

Commenting on the partnership, Maliban Group of Companies Corporate Communications Group Head Positha Perera said: ‘Yevan’s journey reflects the kind of ambition, discipline and belief we strongly identify with at Maliban. For over 70 years, we have backed Sri Lankans who dare to step beyond familiar boundaries and compete on the world stage. Partnering with Yevan at this defining moment of his career is not just about motorsport, it is about standing behind a young Sri Lankan who is redefining what is possible internationally, and carrying our nation’s story forward with confidence and purpose.’

Over the years, the brand has stood firmly behind Sri Lanka’s sporting journey across every level of competition, supporting the New Zealand U85kg Rugby Tour of Sri Lanka on the international stage, strengthening hockey at school level, backing the Sri Lanka Under-19 Women’s Cricket Team, supporting the U20 Men’s and Women’s rugby teams, championing Sri Lanka Rugby at the Asia Rugby Qualifiers, and powering the Inter Club Rugby League and Clifford Cup Knockout Championship 2025/2026. This continued investment reflects a long-term commitment to building opportunity, confidence, and national pride through sport.

With Maliban’s support, Yevan’s journey to the FIA Formula 3 grid becomes more than an individual milestone, it becomes a national statement of belief and progress. Together, Maliban and Yevan will carry Sri Lanka’s flag into every corner, every lap, and every finish line he chases in 2026.

The tourism sector has gathered pace through December, welcoming 154,609 visitors in the first 21 days of the month and lifting year-to-date (YTD) arrivals to over 2.25 million (2,258,202).

The latest data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) point to strengthening momentum as the peak season unfolds, even as the numbers underline how demanding the year-end targets remain.

Arrivals have risen steadily week by week. The first week of December drew 43,976 tourists, followed by 49,054 in the second week, an increase of about 11.5%. The third week marked a sharper jump to 61,579 arrivals, up nearly 25.5% from the preceding week. This progression pushed the daily average for the first three weeks to 7,362 visitors, a clear improvement on early-month performance and a signal of rising seasonal demand.

The SLTDA has set a December target of 344,309 arrivals. With 154,609 visitors recorded in the first 21 days, Sri Lanka still needs around 189,700 tourists over the remaining 10 days of the month. That implies a daily inflow of close to 19,000 arrivals, more than two and a half times the current average. Even with a strong year-end rush, such a leap would require an exceptional surge well beyond recent trends.

The comparison with earlier benchmarks sharpens the contrast. December 2024 brought in 248,592 tourists, while December 2018, widely seen as the industry’s pre-crisis high benchmark, registered 253,169 arrivals for the entire month. Against that yardstick, the 2025 target is roughly 36% more ambitious than the pre-crisis peak, highlighting the widening gap between aspiration and historical performance.

Market composition continues to provide a measure of stability. India led arrivals in the first 21 days of December with 35,337 visitors, accounting for 23% of the total. Russia followed with 15,674 tourists or 10%, while the UK contributed 12,961 (8%), Germany 10,682 (7%), and Australia 8,810 (6%).

The dominance of India is even more pronounced on an YTD basis, with 510,133 visitors so far, followed by the UK with 204,703 and Russia with 174,267.

If December merely sustains its current daily average through to month-end, full-year arrivals would settle closer to 2.31 million. That outcome would place Sri Lanka comfortably above pre-pandemic volumes and confirm a solid recovery year, but it would still fall short of even the most cautious of the authority’s revised scenarios.

Achieving the ‘Conservative Scenario’ of 2.676 million arrivals, or the more aspirational 3 million ‘Optimistic Scenario,’ would demand an unprecedented late-month influx that recent data do not yet justify.

The tourism industry’s recovery remains on an upward trajectory, but December’s final tally will determine whether 2025 closes as a year of consolidation or one that meaningfully resets expectations for the sector’s post-crisis ambitions.

Financially, during the first 11 months of 2025, tourism generated over $ 2.9 billion, a modest 3.7% increase year-on-year (YoY). Although this suggests improving yields and spending, revenues remain 34.2% below the $ 3.9 billion earned during the same period in 2018, the year Sri Lanka posted its record annual tourism income of $ 4.38 billion.

This cursory missive is prompted by the painfully comical sight of our Deputy Minister of Tourism performing something comparable to a ‘Baila Jig’ with a group of foreign tourists celebrating the restoration of a minuscule part of the hill country railway tracks severely damaged in the recent disaster.

The question we must ask today is should we restore the hill country train track at all? If so, at what cost and who should pay for it.

First, we must come to terms with the magnitude of the problem. If we do that our Ministers will not do Balila Jigs in the recovery process.

Dr. Lakshman Galagedara, a professor of hydrology at the Grenfell Campus of Memorial University, has provided significant analysis on the hydrological impact of Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka, focusing on the sheer volume of rainfall and the subsequent surface runoff that led to massive flooding.

Dr. Galagedara’s penetrative analysis help us measure the scale of the catastrophic event. At its peak, on November 28, 2025, Sri Lanka received approximately 13 billion cubic meters of rainwater in a day, roughly 10% of its average annual rainfall. He figures out that Pre-existing heavy rainfall had already saturated the soil, leading to significant surface runoff calculated at about 150,463 cubic meters per second. This rapid runoff contributed to severe floods and landslides across 22 districts. His analysis is vital in understanding the disaster and challenges of recovery and our capacity for climate resilience.

The Railways was the iron arm of the British Empire. ‘Anguru Kaka Wathura Bibee Kolomba Duwana Yakada Yaka ‘is a Child’s ditty I learnt watching the train pass the Gampola Kahatapitiya Railway Crossing when I was about five or six. Ariyadasa my guardian, who took me in a Buggy Cart to the Mission School across the river, taught me that.

The question we must ask today is should we restore the hill country train tracks at all?

The Railways was the iron arm of the British Empire. In 1901 H. G. Wells wrote that the nineteenth century, when it takes its place with the other centuries in the chronological charts of the future, will, if it needs a symbol, almost inevitably have as that symbol a steam engine running upon a railway.

Our Railways network is a legacy of the British Raj. Historian Eric Hobsbawan in his four ages series refers to Ceylon’s railways in the second volume – The Age of Capital.

The British built Railways in their colonies to enforce imperial control of the plantation economy they introduced and extracts the resources of the land. Railway networks made the colony an appendage of British Imperial and industrial Capitalism.

Railways were a physical manifestation of British technological superiority of that age, and evidence of progress and modernity.

As Hobsbawm viewed it, this ‘progress’ was an integral part of the ‘Dual Revolution’ of the 19th Century – Political in France and Industrial in Britain. It was called the long nineteenth century. It produced Adam Smith, Karl Marx and Charles Darwin. Adam Smith delved into the invisible hand of the market. Marx delved into the inequity of Capitalism. Darwin explained nature – the survival of the fittest.

Deputy Minister of Tourism by performing the jig indicates that he is oblivious to the footprints in history left by these 19th Century giants.

The 2026 Budget has allocated Rs. 3. 3 billion to acquire new trains and introduce E-Ticketing. In the wasted 76 years we have replaced coal with diesel and adopted telephones to replace Morse code telegraphy. But we still have the network of the Raj. It serves no economic purpose. At best it is a loss-making public service.

If the Nine Arch Bridge and the Demodara loop are tourist attractions and the many breathtakingly picturesque bungalows built by British pioneering planters are to be filled with high spending tourists we should invite the private sector to consider investing in cogwheel train technology specifically intended for mountainous regions. Because there is no guarantee that Cyclonic storms will not occur again.

On the subject of restoring the Hill Country train services we seem to be gripped by the dilemma of sunk costs and an exaggerated bias to restore a failing enterprise no matter what the cost. If you have bought a ticket and discovered that the movie isn’t what you expected you must get up and go. Dilemma of sunk costs is also called Concorde Fallacy. The French and the British developed the supersonic jet Concorde. For years the governments kept on pouring good money after bad. It is cited as an enduring example of the irrational tendency to keep a failing enterprise afloat. I am tempted to digress and wade in to SriLankan Airlines. My failing eyes don’t permit long on the PC screen.

Matale is my hometown. As a schoolboy I have regularly used the Matale-Kandy train. The Railway Goods shed at Matale was huge. The Railway station with a single platform was comparatively undersized. It explains the British Colonial logic of our Railway network. Gammaduwa near Matale recorded the highest rain fall in the Cyclonic storm.