The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce elected Duminda Hulangamuwa as its new Chairman at the 184^th AGM held on June 30.

Mr. Hulangamuwa who is the Country Managing Partner of Ernst & Young Sri Lanka and the Maldives, succeeds veteran businessman Vish Govindasamy as the Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber.

Mr. Krishan Balendra, Chairman of John Keells Holdings PLC, and Mr. Bingumal Thewarathanthri, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank, Sri Lanka, were appointed Vice Chairman and Deputy Vice Chairman respectively, for 2023/24.

Chief Guest at the AGM Ambassador of Japan, His Excellency Hideaki Mizukoshi highlighted the importance of completing various reforms in line with IMF programme.  ‘Serious implementation of the reforms will also contribute to the improvement of the investment and business environment through financial stabilisation and the streamlining of administrative procedures through digital transformation  initiatives. Japan supports very strongly such reform measures which enhance transparency, efficiency and consistency’ he added.

Ambassador Mizukoshi assured that Japan will continue to play a significant role in Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring process, ‘not only as a creditor nation but also as a long-standing friend of Sri Lanka’.

Acknowledging the key role that the Ceylon Chamber played during the height of the economic crisis, drawing on its vast repository of skill, experience, and expertise to steer the private sector through the challenges, Mr. Hulangamuwa stressed that the Chamber would continue to provide ‘even greater support to the relevant institutions to steer the country from a stabilisation path to one of growth and prosperity that will ensure equal opportunities for all Sri Lankans’.

He also stressed that as the leading business Chamber in the country, the Ceylon Chamber would continue to actively address issues faced by its Members, including promoting corporate agriculture, removing price controls, promoting FTAs, tariff issues etc., as the success of the Ceylon Chamber is directly linked to the success of each individual Member.  

In addition to the office bearers stated above, the following were elected to the Board of the Ceylon Chamber: Amal Cabraal - Chairman of Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC, Ceylon Beverage Holdings PLC, Silvermill Investment Holdings, and CIC Feeds Group of Companies, Kasturi Chellaraja Wilson – Group CEO, Hemas Holdings, PLC, Sarath Ganegoda – Executive Director, Hayleys PLC, Supun Weerasinghe – Director/Group CEO, Dialog Axiata PLC, Vinod Hirdaramani – Chairman, Hirdaramani Group, and Buwanekabahu Perera – Secretary General and CEO, The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

Each Board member possesses a wealth of expertise in their respective fields, and their collective leadership will play a vital role in ensuring the continued success of the Ceylon Chamber’s efforts to foster the private sector as a primary engine of economic growth in Sri Lanka.