CORPORATE HEROES
Epitome of Excellence
Paying homage to business excellence
Amid the relentless economic challenges characterised by persistently high costs and a more stringent tax regime, both the business community and citizens alike find themselves grappling with untold hardships – and worse still, there’s no clear resolution in sight despite expectations that the economic environment will be less gloomy than it is.
Over the past five or so years, businesses have navigated myriad challenges including a constitutional crisis in late 2018, the Easter Sunday attacks in April 2019, the disruptive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, upheavals such as the aragalaya and an unprecedented economic crisis.
The repercussions of these tumultuous events – more recently, especially the economic downturn – persist, even though the situation is by and large better than it was two years ago. The optimists among us are calling it a ‘partial economic recovery.’
In the previous year, inflation reached its highest point since the inception of macroeconomic policy in the 1950s, accompanied by soaring interest rates that posed serious challenges to Sri Lanka Inc. Simultaneously, the IMF set challenging goals and targets for the government as preconditions for approving its Extended Fund Facility (EFF), and the consequences of certain measures are being felt by both businesses and the people to this day.
Additionally, the brain drain continues to affect the country – both its business and economic prospects – with top talent seeking opportunities elsewhere.
So as highlighted in the Most Awarded publication last year, the much longed for return to normalcy appears to be elusive at this time. And while authorities claim that the reform programme is beginning to show signs of a partial economic recovery, challenges continue on many fronts.
The completion of domestic debt restructuring was a significant milestone but final agreements with official creditors and resolutions with external private creditors are crucial steps that need swift action in the near term.
Amid these circumstances, the pending elections pose another challenge to any hopes there are of a return to normalcy. The outcome of the polls will play a pivotal role in shaping an economic recovery, as noted by the International Monetary Fund’s Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka Peter Breuer.
Despite the challenges and uncertainties however, Sri Lanka’s business sector continues to exhibit resilience even though by all accounts, bottom lines are being squeezed and small businesses continue to find themselves in a sink or swim scenario. Awards and accolades for the country’s most successful corporates are on the rise, underscoring their efforts to triumph against all odds.
Against this backdrop, Commercial Bank of Ceylon (ComBank) stands at the centre of the winners’ podium in the fourth annual edition of the Most Awarded rankings, winning over 35 percent more awards (i.e. 106 in 2023 compared to 78 in the previous year). This achievement follows ComBank’s initial stint at the top of the most awarded entities rankings in the inaugural edition in 2020.
In second position is National Development Bank (NDB), which held the top rank in 2021 and 2022. NDB’s tally of 83 awards reflects a decrease of nine accolades from the preceding year. Occupying the third spot with 66 awards is Talawakelle Tea Estates, making its mark in the top 10 after a hiatus of two years – it was in the top bracket in the inaugural issue back in 2020.
As for the race to the finish line, the gap between the first and second positions increased from 14 in the previous year to 23 in 2023. And as far as the five most awarded entities are concerned, the banking and hotel sectors (led by Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings and Jetwing Hotels) take centre stage in the 2023 rankings.
Notably, there are 25 movers and shakers in this edition of the Most Awarded rankings (compared to 26 in 2022). Leading this group is WSO2, which made a quantum leap of 133 places to secure its spot at No. 20 in the top 50 Hall of Fame for 2023.
Meanwhile, the top 50 rankings feature four new entrants in 2023, which is an increase from two in the preceding year.
And the sector rankings highlight the dominance of banking and manufacturing, with collective tallies of 427 and 173 awards respectively. These two sectors take the lead ahead of others including insurance (155), hospitality (144), plantations (133) and diversified (132), all of which have cumulative counts exceeding 100.
The 2023 rankings also showcase the contribution of the nation’s listed companies (led by ComBank). Listed companies account for approximately two-thirds of the 1,734 awards listed (totalling 1,258). Private entities have won 202 awards (with Jetwing Hotels leading the charge) while the multinational sector secured 170 awards (with WSO2 at the top). State sector entities, led by People’s Bank, garnered 104 awards.
