Category: Companies
150 years of rubber: A milestone worth celebrating
This year, Sri Lanka marks 150 years since rubber was first planted on its soil, a milestone that traces back to 1876, when a shipment of young Hevea brasiliensis seedlings arrived at the Henarathgoda Botanical Gardens in Gampaha. Grown from seeds smuggled out of the Amazon by British botanist Henry Wickham and germinated at Kew […]
Labour shortages are pushing Plantation Companies towards machines, dataand a different kind of worker
Sri Lanka’s plantation sector is entering a new phase of transformation, as technology and innovation reshape how estates operate, manage resources and sustain productivity. Across the country’s tea estates and other plantations, machines are increasingly complementing skilled workers in tasks once done almost entirely by hand, while software and data bring new precision to decisions […]
99x launches AI-Hub to increase visibility on AI-assisted workflows
99x, a global product engineering company headquartered in Norway, has launched AI Hub, an observability platform designed to provide greater visibility into AI-assisted workflows and performance metrics. The event also celebrated 99x’s xians.ai platform being recognised as Sri Lanka’s Best Agentic AI Solution at the National AI Awards. The 99x leadership also shared updates on […]
The cost of hesitation: Lessons from Asian national strategies on oil palm
By Lalith Obeyesekere, Secretary General, Planters’ Association of Ceylon In his memoirs, Lee Kuan Yew described Ceylon as Britain’s model Commonwealth country, and tooknote of the significant lead that then Ceylon had in terms of its resources, infrastructure and institutions when compared to the Singapore he had inherited, or to his immediate neighbours, Malaysia and […]
FAAMA Appoints New Executive Committee for 2026/27, targeting a US$1 billion local value-addition opportunity
The Fabric & Apparel Accessory Manufacturers Association (FAAMA) has reappointed Mr. Husni Salieh of Noyon Lanka (Private) Limited as the Chairman for the 2026/27 term at its Annual General Meeting held on 25 September 2026 at the Hilton Colombo. The AGM was graced virtually by Mr. Duminda Hulangamuwa, Chairman of the Board of Investment of […]
Beyond El Niño: Building lasting climate resilience in Sri Lanka’s plantations
Climate resilience has become the defining test of this El Niño year for Sri Lanka’s plantation sector. The National Disaster Relief Services Centre says over 81,000 people across 25,563 families in seven districts, Ampara, Polonnaruwa, Batticaloa, Badulla, Monaragala, Hambantota and Ratnapura, have been affected by the dry weather linked to the phenomenon. The government has […]
Incoming Planters’ Association Chairman proposes 5-point plan for industry revival at 172nd AGM
Malwatte Valley Plantations PLC Director / CEO, Shanaka Samaradiwakara was appointed as Chairman of the Planters’ Association of Ceylon (PAC), while Kahawatte Plantations PLC Director / CEO Binesh Pananwala, was appointed as Deputy Chairman at the Association’s 172nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 19 September at the Cinnamon Grand. The event was graced by Central […]
Sri Lanka’s services boom offsets manufacturing slowdown as PMI data shows uneven August recovery
Sri Lanka’s economy sent a mixed but broadly positive signal in August, as new Central Bank data show services activity accelerating sharply even as manufacturing growth lost momentum. The Purchasing Managers’ Index for Services jumped to 65.6 in August from 61.4 in July, marking an acceleration in what was already a strong expansion. The pickup […]
Chasing the next $3Bn: What it will take for Sri Lanka’s apparel sector to get there
For thirty years, Sri Lanka’s apparel industry has quietly powered the country’s export economy accounting for roughly 40% of merchandise export revenue and employing 300,000 to 350,000 people. That scale wasn’t accidental. It was built through deliberate government-industry planning dating back to the early 1990s. The first transformation, anchored by the 200 Garment Factories Programme, […]
Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe to keynote Planters’ Association AGM
Governor of the Central Bank Sri Lanka, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, will grace the 172nd Annual General Meeting of the Planters’ Association of Ceylon (PAC) as its Chief Guest. The AGM on Saturday, 19th September will bring together Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs), industry leaders and key stakeholders, to review the sector’s performance and shape strategies for […]
Singer partners with Mintpay to make every upgrade more flexible and rewarding
Singer, one of Sri Lanka’s largest and most trusted consumer durables retailers, has partnered with Mintpay, Sri Lanka’s premier payments platform, to give customers a more flexible and rewarding way to pay across its network. With this collaboration, Singer customers can now split the cost into three interest-free instalments with Pay Later or pay upfront […]
Registrations now open for Sri Lanka economic and investment summit 2026
Ceylon Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that registrations are now open for the Sri Lanka Economic & Investment Summit 2026 (SLEIS 2026), taking place on 12th and 13th October at the Shangri-La Colombo. Held under the theme “Positioning Sri Lanka in a Changing Global Economy: Resilience, Reform, and the Future of Economic Policy,” […]