The Finance Ministry issued guidelines to State institutions for the preparation of their Budget for 2021, putting constraints on funding for new projects,  and imposing a ban on the construction of new buildings for government institutions for the next two years. Finance Ministry Secretary S.R. Attygalle issued a circular recently detailing the guidelines for the preparation for the Budget estimates for 2021 as well as budgetary forecast for 2022-23 to all secretaries of ministers and State ministries, chief secretaries of provincial councils, heads of department and statutory bodies. However, in instances where the bulk of the work is complete, it should be informed to the Treasury Department and they will consider releasing funds to finalize such projects, S.R. Attygalle added.    

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The Government aims to reduce banks’ lending rates to 7% (BLR), as soon as the economy recovers, Trade Minister Bandula Gunawarden stated. Minister made these remarks, whilst addressing an event in Colombo recently. “Interest rates have been reduced now.  During the Yahapalana Government, the interest rate was at 28%. It is doubtful whether any country can survive if the interest rate was at say, 20-25%.  We can’t do business with a double-digit interest rate.” “A Single-digit interest rate on lending is available now. Once the economy recovers, our main aim is to reduce banks’ lending rates to 7%. Singapore, Malaysia, UK, and the USA, all these countries have started implementing the Single-digit interest rate,” he stressed.

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The Huawei 5G Microwave Asia-Pacific Conference was held online recently, bringing together more than 130 guests to share insights into 5G microwave applications and to discuss how microwave solutions contribute to accelerating 5G development in the Asia-Pacific region. At the conference, Huawei proposed an innovative solution to solve transmission capacity and distance bottlenecks that traditional microwave solutions encounter in the parts of the Asia-Pacific region that experience heavy rain. Huawei’s 5G microwave solutions have simplified architecture and support ultra-high bandwidth and low latency. The solutions allow carriers to quickly launch networks, helping them acquire subscribers from high-end markets, as demonstrated in the first wave of 5G construction in the Middle East. As they feature a shorter time to market and return on investment period, microwave solutions are hailed as the optimal transport solution to scale up 5G development. Huawei’s leading 20 Gbps E-band microwave solution has played a crucial role in ensuring the transport capacity for large-scale 5G commercial networks. However, the E-band spectrum is prone to high rain attenuation, limiting the coverage distance in heavy-rain regions. Large-diameter antennas are featured with small beam angles, placing high requirements on tower stability. Chairing the conference, Mr. Renato Lombardi, Huawei Fellow and Chairman of the ETSI Industry Study Group mWT, proposed an innovative solution based on intelligent beam tracing (IBT) antenna for long-reach E-band and super dual band(SDB) approaches to increase the coverage distance and simplify deployment. The combination aims to significantly increase the coverage distance of microwave solutions in heavy-rain regions. Increasing antenna diameter is the most effective approach to increasing the coverage distance of microwave signals. However, a larger diameter leads to a smaller beam angle and requires greater tower stability. Therefore, for current E-band deployments, 0.3 m antennas are mostly adopted for ultra-short-distance links. In contrast, the 0.6 m antenna applications are limited due to demanding deployment requirements. Earlier in 2020, Huawei released the industry’s first 0.6 m IBT antenna. Detecting that signal towers shake or shift within a certain degree due to environmental factors, the antenna will enable beams to automatically maintain their orientation, addressing strict requirements placed on tower stability. The antennas support on-pole deployment, providing an extra advantage to promote scaled deployment. Compared with 0.3 m antenna, the 0.6 m IBT antenna increases the coverage distance by up to 40%. While this new solution is now beginning to see scaled deployment, an IBT antenna with an even larger diameter is being planned to further increase the coverage distance of E-band microwave solutions. If the long-reach E-band solution cannot meet the coverage distance requirement in high-capacity use cases, Mr. Lombardi recommended the SDB solution. This solution combines the long transmission distance of traditional bands with E-band’s high capacity, offering an optimal solution to achieve a transmission distance of 3–5 km in heavy-rain areas. Combined with 0.6 m IBT antennas, the SDB solution provides a multifold transmission distance as compared to the E-band solution, while also easing site deployment. Chris Meng, the director of Asia Pacific Carrier Wireless Network solutions of Huawei, pointed out that 5G microwave is crucial to the speed and cost control of 5G deployment. “Resolving the backhaul bottleneck helps promote the prosperity of 5G in the Asia Pacific region.” Perry Yang, President of Huawei’s Microwave Product Line, said: “Huawei will continue innovating on microwave products and solutions to help customers fulfill backhaul requirements for different regions in line with spectrum and rain region-specific characteristics.” Photo Caption – Mr. Renato Lombardi, Huawei Fellow and Chairman of the ETSI Industry Study Group mWT  

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The Gafoor building, a prominent four-storey wedge-shaped building, located in Colombo Fort, will soon be transformed into a luxury hotel, State Minister for Urban Development, Coast Conservation, Waste Disposal, and Public Sanitation, Dr. Nalaka Godahewa stated. Addressing an event in Colombo today (08), the Minister stated that the building will be transformed into a luxury hotel in order to accommodate cruise ship passengers visiting the island. Speaking further he also expressed the following: “The building was completed in 1915. At the time of completion, the owner of this building was Abdul Gaffoor, a jewellery and gemstone trader.  He uses to sell gems and jewellery for cruise ship passengers visiting the island. The Building was described as being one of the largest and finest commercial structures in Colombo.” “This building will play a vital role, especially in developing the tourism industry in this country. The building is situated close to the harbour. Hence, this building will be transformed into a luxury hotel to accommodate cruise ship passengers visiting the island. the Urban Development Authority (UDA), would be reconstructing and renovating the building in order to develop it as a hotel with restaurants and shopping malls. We are also planning to start a Multipurpose Transportation Hub,” he said.    

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Continuing to empower and uplift the livelihood of farmer co-operative societies in its loyalty network, Dipped Products PLC (DPL) invested Rs. 2.1 million towards the distribution of fertiliser for 1,500 smallholder rubber producers in the Monaragala District under its flagship sustainability initiative: DPL Firstlight. A total of 90,000 Kg of fertiliser was distributed among 4 DPL Loyalty Farmer societies across the Monaragala District at the event organised for the ninth consecutive year. “For over 12 years, DPL Firstlight has worked to empower smallholder rubber farmers in the Monaragala District. From the outset, we have sought to support their essential contributions and value additions to national rubber production while ensuring that they are guaranteed a fair price for field latex. Additionally, we have optimised their ability to derive maximum yields through the supply of essential agricultural inputs and equipment, and have complemented these efforts with education and awareness building. “In this manner, we have been successfully able to enhance livelihoods at the grassroots of the Sri Lankan economy. Simultaneously, these initiatives have generated value at a national scale through the development of one of the country’s most essential export crops. Particularly at a time when our nation faces significant economic challenges owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, we believe that such social enterprise business models hold the key to sustainable prosperity for all Sri Lankans. Moving forward, we will also expand the DPL Firstlight initiative to farmers in the Kegalle District as well,” DPL Deputy Managing Director, Pushpika Janadheera said. Presently, smallholder farmers produce approximately  65% of Sri Lanka’s annual rubber crop, with the sector as a whole accounting for 0.2% of the nation’s total GDP; making the sustainable livelihood of rubber smallholder farmers a mission of national significance. Today, the rubber products manufacturing sector of the country needs around 135,000 metric tons of natural rubber per annum. However, the country is not able to produce this quantity of natural rubber, compelling the nation to import around 60,000  metric tons of natural rubber annually. Therefore, from an economic perspective, value addition – through manufacturing operations like DPL – for domestic and export markets holds the potential to enhance foreign exchange earnings while creating greater opportunities for grassroots level employment and livelihood development. Similarly, the sustainability of rubber lands play a pivotal role in maintaining the balance of sensitive ecosystems, given that rubber trees serve as a natural extension of Sri Lanka’s forest cover. Hence, in addition to its direct support to smallholders, DPL Firstlight also places a strong emphasis on education and empowerment – for rubber farmers and the communities they reside in. This is accomplished through additional programmes focused on a wide range of issues impacting smallholders including the establishment and enhancement of rural health, and educational and recreational facilities. Established in 1976, Dipped Products is a global leader in protective hand-wear, serving close to 5% of global demand for natural and synthetic latex based medical, household and industrial gloves. Backed by a strong reputation for innovation, quality, and responsible manufacturing practises, the company’s products now reach over 70 countries. With manufacturing facilities in Sri Lanka and Thailand, DPL is also one of the world’s leading manufacturers of ethical gloves, offering a holistic value proposition to all its partners across the value chain. Established in 1878 by Chas. P. Hayley as a trading house in Galle specialising in import and export, the Hayleys Group has since grown to serve as a centrepiece of the Sri Lankan economy while maintaining a global presence of manufacturing and marketing offices across five regions with business interests spanning a total of 16 sectors. Today it stands out as one of Sri Lanka’s most prominent success stories, having been the first listed Sri Lankan corporate to surpass US$ 1billion in revenue and accounting for 3.4% of the nation’s total export earnings. Photo Captions: DPL Top management and officials from Rubber Research Institute with rubber farmers who received fertilizer under the DPL Firstlight initiative  

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Cementing its continued commitment to bolstering the country’s food security agenda, leading poultry producer Crysbro recently initiated operations on seed paddy production in a bid to elevate the local rice production capacity. Spread across a 1000-acre stretch of land in Kantale’s Suriyapura Village, Crysbro’s operations are supported by a state-of-the-art laboratory and technical facility set on the company’s farm in Kantale. At present, Crysbro produces BG352, BG358, BG366, BW367 and BG300 varieties of seed paddy.With prime focus on soil and water conservation, this mega project is operated in a strictly eco-friendly fashion. “At the time of Crysbro’s massive investment in Kantale’s Suriyapura village, most of its residents did not have a permanent source of income and crop cultivation was limited to just one season of cultivation during the availability of rain water. However, Crysbro brought the village to life with the introduction of seed paddy production which brought employment opportunities and a steady source of income for most of the village’s residents, stated Crysbro Senior Marketing Manager Amores Sellar. Although Sri Lanka is self-sufficient in rice, the high cost of seed paddy is currently forcing numbers of farmers to move away from paddy cultivation to other, more viable crops. It was this realisation that inspired Crysbro to produce and provide seed paddy to these farming communities at concessionary prices, in a bid to strengthen the country’s rice production and thereby its food security. “Among the numerous other effects of the COVID-19′ epidemic, was its hit on the food supply chain in the country. With the deep shortage of imported food items, people were forced to rely solely on local produce. This unforeseen crisis has inadvertently shed light on a looming problem of food security and has presented us with an opportunity to enforce Crysbro’s deep commitment to this cause by focusing our efforts on securing local rice production through seed paddy production.” he went on to comment. Crysbro is currently cultivating rice and maize on a large scale, benefiting more than 10,000 farming families in the Mahiyanganaya, Moneragala and Anuradhapura districts. Suriyapura, a village inhabited by people directly and deeply affected by the 30-year long civil war, has made great strides economically and socially with Crysbro’s many initiatives and investment in this region. Established in 1972 with just 100 chicks and a deep desire to be a market leader in quality and innovation, Crysbro has emerged as Sri Lanka’s first and most sophisticated, fully vertically-integrated poultry producer. Its operations span grandparent and parent farms, hatcheries, broiler farms and feed mills. This thriving ‘Farm-to-Fork’ concept has formed the core of its success. In turn, it has yielded unprecedented benefit for numerous stakeholders including direct and indirect employees, outgrowers, domestic maize farmers and ultimately Sri Lankan consumers. Photo Caption: Crysbro’s seed paddy farm in Suriyapura Village, Kantale

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Persistent Systems Lanka (Pvt) Limited, a leading global Software Solutions provider based in Colombo, donated pedal sinks and infrared thermometers to SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka as part of its COVID-19 relief efforts in the country. Company headquarters located in India, with 11,000+ employees around the world delivering digital business acceleration and enterprise modernization for businesses across industries and geographies. This initiative is part of Persistent Systems’ USD 3.3 million Covid-19 relief efforts carried out globally. In Sri Lanka, the organization has already donated more than 350 pedal sinks & infrared thermometers to schools, universities, and hospitals throughout the country, in order to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. Kirthi Hettiarachchi, Deputy National Director; Gayantha Dalpadado, Assistant Director – Head of Fund Development and Communications; and Nipunika Ruhunuge, Manager – Corporate Partnerships of SOS Children’s Villages, and Sulochana Maddumage, Associate Manager – Administration of Persistent Systems Lanka were present at the event marking this donation, that took place at the SOS Children’s Village in Piliyandala. Sulochana Maddumage, Associate Manager – Administration of Persistent Systems Lanka stated at the event that the company is committed to making a difference in the lives of the people affected by COVID-19 and joining hands with SOS Children’s Villages as part of its CSR initiatives in the country is a proactive step they have taken to achieve that objective. SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka is an independent non-governmental organization that provides long-term care for children without parental care, headquartered in Austria with a presence in 136 countries. The organization has parallel ancillary projects that include family strengthening, vocational training, early childhood education, and medical facilities that contribute to the benefit of Sri Lankan society. With over 70 years of expertise and as the leading childcare organization worldwide, SOS Children’s Villages in Sri Lanka has partnered with over 10 companies in the country and is always looking forward to welcome more corporates that would be willing to support its mission in Sri Lanka, which is to build families for children in need, help them shape their own futures, and share in the development of local communities. Photo Caption: (From Left to Right) Sulochana Maddumage, Associate Manager – Administration of Persistent Systems Lanka, Kirthi Hettiarachchi, Deputy National Director; Gayantha Dalpadado, Assistant Director – Head of Fund Development and Communications; and Nipunika Ruhunuge, Manager – Corporate Partnerships of SOS Children’s Villages.          

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The Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Sri Lanka (AHK Sri Lanka) and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) in Sri Lanka co-organized a kick-Off conference on the initiative “Sustainable Supply Chains as driver for global competitiveness”. The initiative aims to raise awareness for the need of sustainability related documentation with Sri Lankan exporters to increase global competitiveness of Sri Lankan companies and to facilitate market access to the EU and US.

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• Without remittances, Philippines, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh would all have large current account deficits of between 7%-10% of GDP.
• For countries with fragile external finances, such as Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the shock to remittances could exacerbate existing challenges

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The New Voices team of Lions District 306A1 launched their signature project of the year, Breathe, at the Kethumathi Maternity Hospital Panadura on 17th August 2020. Through this programme every new mom leaving the hospital will be gifted with a fruit/ medicinal plant to be planted in her own home. The programme draws reference to the importance of trees and plants which provides the new born (and everyone else) with clean air to breathe. Past International President Lion Mahendra Amarasuriya was the Chief Guest at the event and District Governor 306A1 Lion Dr. Amitha Jayawardena and her spouse PDG Lion Upali Jayawardena, IPDP Lion Srilal Fernando & spouse Lion Swarnamalie, 2^nd VDG Lion Shyana Jayalath and PDG Lion Chandani Withana graced the inauguration. Fruit plants were distributed during the ceremony and ground work officially commenced to build a green house in the hospital premises. The programme was carried out with the support and assistance of Dr. Nayanajith Kommasaru Chief Medical Officer Kalutara District and Dr.Ramanayake Chief Medical Officer in charge of Kethumathi Maternity Hospital Panadura. This innovative project of Lions District 306A1 will be implemented in selected Maternity hospitals around the country. New Voices is a programme launched in 2018-2019 by Lions Clubs International to celebrate women’s contributions and promote gender parity within the organisation. In 2019-2020 the programme was expanded to include young adults, including Leo Lions, and other underrepresented populations as diverse and sought-after New Voices in the association. This initiative is about hearing the story of the unheard and is a forum for sharing new ideas, learning from one another and innovation for the betterment of Lions Clubs International. Lions Clubs International is the largest service organisations in the world with members in over 205 countries and territories.  

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Ocean Lanka Pvt Ltd, Sri Lanka’s largest weft knitted fabric manufacturer, recognised and rewarded a large cohort of long-serving employees at the ‘Sewa Abhiman 2020’ Loyalty Awards, where gold coins were presented to 63 employees, who completed 10 years of service at the company. Addressing the staff, Managing Director of Ocean Lanka, Dr. Austin Au, described the awardees as “pioneers” whose unwavering loyalty and commitment have shaped and contributed towards the company’s success. “For the past 25 years, the company has thrived on the passion, perseverance and dedication of our staff. We continue to nurture a reliable and trustworthy environment, by maintaining a policy of honesty and transparency, and placing high value and respect upon each individual. This is our DNA and the long years of service are ample proof of those values being vibrantly lived, every day.” Dr. Au said. The ‘Sewa Abhiman 2020’ Loyalty Awards is a culminating activity of Ocean Lanka’s anniversary celebrations and is considered as one of the most important employee recognition events. The company remains committed on the professional development of staff and the allocation of various incentives and employee engagement activities to further motivate them to deliver the best of their ability. Photo Caption: Ocean Lanka Managing Director, Dr. Austin Au and Senior Management team with a group of gold coin awardees.

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Inspired by the popular Sri Lankan surfing destination Mirissa, Surf Mirissa was launched as a start-up clothing brand in 2015. The brand has been making waves in the Beach Lifestyle Clothing segment in Sri Lanka since, gradually evolving its presence from pop-up stores based in Colombo initially to leading retail stores such as Cotton Collection, The Deepend, Tribe SL at the One Galle Face Mall and the Glory Swim Shop. Surf Mirissa is also available at several local retail stores and restaurants along the Southern Coast in Sri Lanka. The brand recently established a small presence in London and Melbourne in a number of stores owned by Sri Lankans living in the two cities. The latest Surf Mirissa Collection was launched in August 2020, drawing inspiration from tropical elements of Sri Lanka and the island lifestyle. The brand launches a new collection every two months with its designs promoting the surfing culture around the coasts in Sri Lanka. Its owner, Nimesh Yatawara says that it is one of the first local brands to build a clothing business around promoting surfing in Sri Lanka. Surf Mirissa even has a dedicated collection to promote Sri Lankan surf destinations such as Unawatuna, Mirissa, Arugambay, Hiriketiya and more. “We are focused on offering fashionable, comfortable and meaningful beach lifestyle inspired clothing in Sri Lanka and beyond. Our vision is to see the brand expand globally, while taking the message of the local surf scene with us. While developing into a more successful brand, we also want to divert attention to popular surf destinations in the country and the community. In and out of the water, we have clothing and gear to fit your lifestyle. Individual expression, an adventurous spirit, authenticity and a passionate approach are all part of the essence of our brand. Include quality, innovation and style, and you have “Surf Mirissa”, he added. The brand has two significant appeals, the first in a fashion sense which caters to a growing trend of beach-inspired clothing in Sri Lanka in recent years and secondly the fact that customers are attracted to the brand’s ‘local emphasis’ and association with promoting Sri Lanka as an ideal surf destination. Surf Mirissa is also keen to keep its manufacturing local, and with a focus on helping local SMEs. All fabrics are sourced locally and manufactured through SME garment manufacturers based in the Western and Southern Provinces. The brand also has a commitment to preserving the coastal environment and has partnered with locals and authorities to drive beach cleanups in the Southern and Western Coast, doing its part, even in a small scale, to make sure that Sri Lanka preserves its clean beaches. The Surf Mirissa collection can be purchased online via its social media pages and some of its partnering retailers such as tribe.lk.

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President Gotabaya Rajapaksa emphasized that the tea industry which has suffered a severe setback should be revived based on a holistic approach. Experts in the field pointed out that long, medium, and short –term plans should be implemented after scrutinizing loss-making estates in order to increase tea exportation and its revenue. President said the objective should be to reclaim the status enjoyed by Ceylon Tea in the global market in the past while identifying the factors contributed to the downfall of the industry. President made these remarks during a meeting to discuss future activities of the State Ministry of Company Establishment Reforms, Tea Estate Crops, Tea Factory Modernization and Tea Export Diversification held at the Presidential Secretariat recently. 10 out of the 20 major plantation companies are inoperative. It was revealed that the production capacity of plantation companies has been declining rapidly in an environment where the small tea estates achieve higher production. The President instructed the officials to identify causes for losses and inactivity of these companies within a short period of time and to provide permanent solutions for these issues. It was decided to hand over loss-making plantations companies to the tea smallholders as a pilot project. ‘Losses at plantation companies should be thoroughly investigated in a context of where the infrastructure facilities including roads, hospitals, schools and sanitation have been provided by the government’, said the Head of the  Presidential Task Force on Economic Revival, Basil Rajapaksa. During this meeting the need to rehabilitate tea estates and regularize cultivation to produce higher yields was discussed detail. Mr. Basil Rajapaksa pointed out the need to provide reliefs to tea growers to engage in self-employment or other livelihoods until the tea plants reach the yielding stage. Experts believe that the setback in the tea industry is caused due to ignorance of the findings made by researches in the field. They highlighted the requirement of prioritizing research developments and pursuing new markets for the product. Attention was also paid to the possibility of expanding the Bio tea industry and securing a better profit from its high demand in the world market. President Rajapaksa emphasized the importance of strengthening the plantation management and supervision. Representatives from the small tea estate sector commended the President for his wise decisions taken during the curfew period under COVID 19 pandemic which protected nearly 421,000 small tea estate owners across the country. Minister Ramesh Pathirana, State Minister Kanaka Herath, Head of the Presidential Task Force for Economic Revival, Basil Rajapaksa, Secretary to the President, P.B. Jayasundera, Secretaries of the Cabinets and State Ministries, Officials of the Line institutes, representatives from the tea estate owners and planters were present at the discussion.

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The Monetary Board, having considered the benefits to the banking system through the investments by Multilateral Financial Organizations in the shareholding of licensed specialized banks and licensed commercial banks hereby issues the following Direction. For licensed Specialized banks, the following new Direction will be inserted immediately after Direction 3 (2) of the Banking Act Directions No. 2 of 2007. The maximum percentage of ownership of shares – The Monetary Board, subject to terms and conditions it may deem fit, may grant permission on a case-by-case basis to acquire a material interest not exceeding 20% of the issued capital carrying voting rights in a licensed specialized bank by Multilateral Financial Organizations such as the World Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and any other Multilateral Financial Organization as approved by the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka subject to the condition that the material interest so acquired shall be reduced to 15% within a period of 10 years from the date of stipulation. For licensed commercial banks, Direction 4 of the Banking Act Directions No. I of 2007 is replaced as follows: The maximum percentage of ownership of shares – Accordingly, the Monetary Board, subject to Sections 12(18), 12 (1C) and 13 and subject to terms and conditions it may deem fit, may grant permission on a case-by-case basis to: (a) Any of the categories of shareholders referred to in Sections 12(lC) and 46(1)(d) to acquire a material interest not exceeding 15% of the issued capital carrying voting rights in a licensed commercial bank, (b)Multilateral Financial Organizations such as the World Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and any other Multilateral Financial Organization as approved by the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, notwithstanding (a) above, to acquire a material interest not exceeding 20% of the issued capital carrying voting rights in a licensed commercial bank subject to the condition that the material interest so acquired shall be reduced to 15% within a period of 10 years from the date of stipulation.  

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eZ Cash, the country’s first and largest mobile money and payment service by Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provider, partnered VisionFund Lanka, a leading socially responsible microfinance institution affiliated with World Vision Lanka and also a subsidiary of VisionFund International, to facilitate customers with a convenient and sustainable QR card repayment facility for their microfinance loans.

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State Minister for Regional Co-operation Tharaka Balasuriya stated that the Colombo Port City is not only for Chinese investments but also open for any country that intends to invest in Sri Lanka. He made these remarks during an observation tour to the Colombo Port City yesterday (08). “We are glad that the Chinese are bringing their investments over here. We do regret that the previous government stopped the Port City project and it resulted a loss of about three hundred thousand dollars per day, for 1.4 billion investments which have been brought in. That is not a signal that we need to give to our investors. We need to ensure that their investments are protected. In the second stage, we plan on bringing about 13 billion worth of investments and creating around 80,000 jobs. So, I think this will no doubt transform the landscape of Colombo and Sri Lanka. We are very optimistic and we want to work in partnership with the Chinese government and Chines companies. Colombo Port City is not only for Chinese investments. It is for investments. So, any country that wants to bring in investments they can come over here. Certain type of the environment which the investors are looking will be created over here. So, I think this is definitely a step in the right direction.” Meanwhile, responding to query on U.S. sanctions on China, he expressed the following: “Well, I don’t think the sanction will affect us. We are looking at it. The U.S. government recently banned TikTok and then Huawei. I don’t know whether this is the new world order or a new format of how things are done.  Sri Lanka believes in free trade. A sovereign country should have the right to trade with whoever they want to trade with. We want to ensure that our investors and the local parties are both taken care of and there will be a win-win situation through investments.”

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Strengthening the nation’s ability to respond to the COVID-19 global pandemic, Sampath Bank PLC, CBL Group and WSO2 jointly donated a fully equipped PCR laboratory to the Army Hospital in Colombo, recently. Costing around Rs. 32 million, this state-of-the-art lab has a testing capacity of 600 per day, thereby expanding the national capacity to conduct PCR tests. This added capacity will enable health authorities to expand their testing base, identify those infected with the virus, treat them and ensure that we keep community transmission at near-zero levels. “The health sector, tri-forces, police and all other essential service personnel led by our government, have been working tirelessly to protect us during this global pandemic. This has helped Sri Lanka minimize the spread of the virus, despite having limited resources. Thanking them for their service, we are honoured to support their efforts with the donation of this PCR laboratory in partnership with CBL and WSO2. We will continue to empower our fellow Sri Lankans and help the nation emerge stronger from this health and economic crisis,” said Nanda Fernando, Managing Director, Sampath Bank. “The CBL Group is honoured to support Sri Lanka’s fight against COVID-19 and we are thankful to our national health authorities and armed forces who continue to lead Sri Lanka’s frontline. This contribution, in collaboration with Sampath Bank and WSO2, will increase the PCR testing capabilities of the Sri Lanka Army to 600 tests per day and will enhance our nation’s efforts to detect and control the spread of this pandemic,” said Ramya Wickramasingha, Chairman, CBL Group. “Sri Lanka has done a remarkable job of restricting the spread of COVID-19 in the country and it has been an exemplary demonstration of pandemic control that other countries can emulate. On behalf of WSO2, I’d like to express our gratitude to everyone involved in these containment efforts, particularly the health officials and armed forces who have been at the forefront. We’re pleased to join Sampath Bank and the CBL Group in this endeavour to increase the PCR testing capacity of the Colombo Army Hospital significantly as the authorities continue to test, identify and contain the spread of this pandemic in our country,” said Dr. Sanjiva Weerawarana, Founder and CEO of WSO2. Established in 1987, Sampath Bank has become a state-of-the-art financial institution that continues to be a market leader today thanks to its constant innovation and customer focused approach to business. Its unique tailor-made solutions, superior services and convenience of access have allowed Sampath Bank to further differentiate itself from the competition and stand out as the bank of choice for many in Sri Lanka. The CBL Group is a leading Sri Lankan food conglomerate with manufacturing facilities in Sri Lanka and overseas, exporting to over 60 countries. Established in 1968 with the protein enriched Care biscuit, today, CBL continues to create food with purpose, with a brand portfolio that includes Munchee, Ritzbury, Revello, Tiara, Samaposha, Nutriline, Sera and a range of organic fruits and spices. WSO2 was founded in 2005. Our open source, API-first, and decentralized approach helps developers and architects to be more productive and rapidly build digital products to meet demand. Customers choose us for our broad, integrated platform, approach to open source, and digital transformation methodology. The company’s hybrid platform for developing, reusing, running, and managing integrations prevents lock-in through open source software that runs on-premises or in the cloud. WSO2 employs over 650 engineers, consultants, and professionals worldwide and has offices in the US, the UK, Australia, Brazil, Germany, and Sri Lanka. Today, hundreds of leading brands and thousands of global projects execute over 6 trillion transactions annually using WSO2 integration technologies and identity solutions. Visit wso2.com and follow WSO2 on LinkedIn or Twitter to learn more.  

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PayHere, a locally built online payment gateway has passed processing Rs. 1 billion of online payments for Sri Lankan businesses. Meanwhile, speaking exclusively to Ada Derana Biz, PayHere, founder/ CEO Dhanika Perera expressed the following: “We started PayHere to challenge the status quo of Online Payments Landscape in Sri Lanka with a home-grown innovative Payment Gateway solution, as an alternative for long-awaited PayPal, making Online Payments accessible and affordable for all kinds of local businesses.” “Our vision has always been to empower every Sri Lankan Business with Online Payments, in order to push our country towards a productive Digital Economy. We are truly happy to witness this Great Milestone in our journey towards that vision, despite all the barriers and challenges we passed,” he said. “While we’re humbly proud to empower nearly 2000 local businesses with Online Payments Acceptance within just about two years, we’re very much honoured to facilitate them to contribute over Rs. 1 Billion to the GDP of Sri Lanka, positively impacting our country’s national economy,” he added. Speaking further he also expressed the following; “As a country, Sri Lanka was lacking a proper solution for online payments for decades. While many countries were moving towards an era of eCommerce and digital payments, this critical payment barrier left Sri Lanka far behind. The local businesses were waiting on false promises of foreign payment solutions, which never got delivered. At such a time, a proven Sri Lankan Entrepreneur took the first step to challenge the Status Quo & paved the way for digital payments. As a result PayHere was born in 2016 bringing new hopes to fill the Online Payments Gap.” “Even though it solved the problem technically, PayHere had to hold its services due to legal barriers in 2017. Never seeing giving up as an option, PayHere partnered with many parties to battle against the barriers. Sampath Bank PLC partnered as the Licensed Financial Acquirer & joined the battle with its wholehearted support in bringing PayHere back for the greater good. Nation Trust Bank, Dialog Axiata, Mobitel Sri Lanka also joined hands in this payment revolution. As a result, PayHere was able to obtain Central Bank Approval as a non-Bank Online Payment Service Provider, the first of its kind in Sri Lanka.” “Eventually, with the perseverance of its founder & the great support of its partners & team, PayHere was reborn as Sri Lanka’s 1st & only aggregated Online Payment Platform in the March of 2018. Since then PayHere introduced many breakthrough payment innovations & simplified solutions to make Online payments accessible, affordable & reliable for any kind of local business.” “Collaborating with all major payment brands in the country, PayHere exclusively offered a unified payment gateway facility that is capable of processing all payment brands. Seamless integrations with plug & play eCommerce Plugins, mobile SDKs for all mobile platforms & exclusive API support for Subscriptions & Automated charging were also introduced to ease up the lives of local merchants & their developers.” “PayHere also offered a seamless online shopping experience for consumers, enabling them to pay within the Merchant websites & mobile apps in a much simpler, faster, and user-friendly way that led to generating higher sales conversions for businesses.” “Just 2 years after its inception, Today, PayHere is empowering more than 2000 local businesses in different levels, from startups to top brands, processing over 1 Billion Rupees of Online payments for them.” “Fueled with passion & innovation as a truly Sri Lankan payments brand, PayHere is proudly continuing its journey to push Sri Lanka forward through working towards its prosocial vision, “To Digitize Payments of Every Sri Lankan Business,” Perera added.        

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The University of Sabaragamuwa, Faculty of Applied Sciences, conducted research based on three FADNA products; ShapeUp Tea, Ezy Tea and Immunni Tea, recently. The extensive study carried out by the university was proposed to the 28^th International Conference on Functional Foods, USA and were accepted for presentation. FADNA places much importance in continuous research and study, with the objective of manufacturing healthy and natural products for an active, happy and healthy lifestyle for their consumers. The partnership with one of the leading local universities in food and health studies, the University of Sabaragamuwa, has ensured that such research is conducted on a regular basis to ensure the effectiveness, quality and richness of FADNA herbal products. “As a brand that has health and wellness at the heart of it, FADNA understands that it is crucial for our consumers to know what goes into the herbal tea they consume, and how it will benefit them. This is why we stress on doing research on a regular basis. It has shown us that we are on the correct path, and has guided us to further improve our products,” explained Chamendra Somathunga, Managing Director, Food and Nature Pvt. Ltd. He further added, “The Faculty of Applied Sciences at the University of Sabaragamuwa is a leading research institute in this sector and have been collaborating with FADNA for many studies of this kind. Their academic expertise, together with the quality research facilities they possess has made them the ideal partner for us”. The study conducted on FADNA ShapeUp Tea revealed that the two main ingredients, Garcenia carmbogia and Camellia sinensis, are two plants that carry hypolipidemic mechanisms and weight loss potential. Both these plants have been used extensively for culinary purposes in Asian countries for over centuries, without any harmful effects. (−)-hydroxycitric acid (HCA) in Garcenia carmbogia along with catechins, caffeine and flavonoids in Camellia sinensis are the major compounds responsible for the anti-obesity effect. It further highlights the fact that a product which has a combination of these two plants can have a great weight loss potential and be a more promising weight loss supplement. As the main ingredients in FADNA ShapeUp Tea, this establishes the harmless effectiveness of the product, adding more value than a normal green tea. Similarly, the herbal ingredients in both FADNA Ezy Tea and Immunni Tea, with their goodness proved in centuries old Ayurveda medicine, have been studied closely by the experts at the University of Sabaragamuwa. FADNA Ezy Tea was concluded to be a safe and effective herbal product for treating primary dysmenorrhea, commonly known as menstrual pain. A questionnaire survey conducted by the University shows that 97% of the experiment group recommend FADNA Ezy Tea for menstrual pain reduction, while 87% experienced reduction of painful menstruation after consuming it. FADNA Immunni Tea, which claims immune-boosting was studied by the university for its immunological functions. The ingredients in this product; coriander, turmeric, black pepper, cinnamon, Piper longum, Zingiber officinale, Centella asiatica, Phylanthas embllica, Cassia angustifolia, Coscinium fenestratum, and Tinospora cordifolia have proven to be rich with properties that enhance immunity in the human body. They act as immune-stimulants, immune-modulators, anti-cancer, and anti-microbial properties. The research outcomes re-establish the goodness in FADNA products, that have been developed by paying careful attention to the use of natural ingredients that add to a healthy lifestyle. The acceptance of the outcome from a prestigious international forum has given FADNA an opportunity to stamp the mark of goodness that is found in homegrown Sri Lankan products. The 28^th International Conference on Functional Foods took place virtually from 28 to 29 August 2020.    

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