Category: Featured
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 […]
Seven in ten Sri Lankan exporters already sell online, but paperwork and slow delivery hold them back: Survey
Sri Lankan exporters are taking to online selling faster than the country’s trade systems are keeping up. A new survey shows seven in ten already use e-commerce, but many are still tangled in paperwork, slow deliveries and high costs. The findings are in “E-commerce and international trade in Sri Lanka: Findings from a survey of […]
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 […]
RIUNIT London forum looks to ‘unlock’ Sri Lanka’s real estate sector
More than 100 investors, diplomats, business leaders and property professionals gathered in London on 16 September for the Sri Lanka Real Estate Investment Forum: London 2026, convened by the Research Intelligence Unit (RIU) in collaboration with the Sri Lanka High Commission in London. Held under the theme “Unlocking Sri Lanka’s Real Estate Investment Potential in […]
ADB approves USD100mn loan to overhaul Sri Lanka’s vocational training system
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $100 million results-based loan to transform Sri Lanka’s technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system, aiming to equip more young people with industry-relevant skills and strengthen the country’s competitiveness. The Skills Development System Transformation Program will back government efforts to improve training quality, strengthen links between […]
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 […]
CBSL Governor: Reserve accumulation must be backed by sound fundamentals
Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe has said reserve accumulation cannot be viewed in isolation from the broader macroeconomic policy framework, stressing it must be underpinned by sound external sector fundamentals and an economy capable of generating and retaining foreign exchange. Weerasinghe was delivering the keynote address on “Challenges in Building […]
World Bank mobilizes record USD112 Bn in private capital, with lessons for economies like Sri Lanka
The World Bank Group has pulled in more private capital this year than at any point in its history, a shift that carries real relevance for import-reliant, foreign-exchange-constrained economies like Sri Lanka looking to attract investment beyond traditional aid channels. Private capital mobilized by the Group more than tripled over the past four years, climbing […]
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, […]
“Pulle Madu” to medical school: record intake signals turning point for plantation sector welfare
Many generations ago, an estate child’s first years began in a cloth hammock strung up near the rows of tea bushes, so a mother could keep working within earshot of her infant. Later a corner in a line room was converted to establish Pulle Madu, where infants and toddlers were sheltered to ensure that plucking […]