The Business Today TOP 30 Awards, for the 19th consecutive time recognised the contribution of Sri Lanka’s corporates to the economy of the country. This year, the Business Today Awards was extended to acknowledge the TOP 30 best performing corporates of the year, to showcase the diversity of the private sector. The event was held under the patronage of Chief Guest Ranil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and Prof Maithree Wickramasinghe.
Photographs and videos of the Business Today TOP 30, 2015-2016 Award Ceremony can be viewed and shared online via businesstoday.lk
30 Years ON: BT Options Reaffirms Commitment to All
Garuthara Sangarathnayen Awasarai, Ven Galaboda Gnanissara Thero, Chief Incumbent of the Gangaramaya Temple, Ven Uduwe Dhammaloka Thero, Ven Diyapattugama Revatha Thero and Ven Kirinde Assaji Thero, distinguished ladies and gentlemen we warmly welcome you to the Business Today TOP 30, for the financial year 2015-2016.
We warmly welcome Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. We are honoured to have the Prime Minister as our chief guest today and we extend our gratitude to him for being here with us on this special occasion. We warmly welcome Prof Maithree Wickramasinghe. Our sincere appreciation to the Professor for being here with us today. We thank Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prof Maithree Wickramasinghe for taking time off their busy schedule to be here with us today.
We warmly welcome former President Mahinda Rajapaksa for being here with us today. We express our gratitude to the former President for his support and guidance over the years. And, we have very much enjoyed working with him.
We are pleased to have here with us today, Minister John Amaratunga, Minister Ravi Karunanayake, Minister Sagala Ratnayaka, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka and Minister Arjuna Ranatunga.
We warmly welcome Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva, who was once our chief guest, on a very short notice, when he was the Leader of the House.
We also warmly welcome Members of Parliament, Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Udaya Gammanpila and Sunil Handunetti. We warmly welcome former Secretary to the President, Mr Lalith Weeratunga, we are pleased to have you here with us today.
Explore Sri Lanka, our pioneering magazine, started in 1987, is celebrating its 30th year. Our journey has been long and hard but through good times and bad we have persevered, always with the drive and passion to promote Sri Lanka to the world.
We as BT Options have always been positive about Sri Lanka. We have supported and worked with everyone that has the best interest of the country at heart. We continue to do so even today.
We are good with everyone and as such we invite all for this event. Even if they do not come it is our duty to invite them.
Business Today this year made the decision to select the 30 best performing corporates in Sri Lanka to showcase the diversity of the private sector. And, to provide the opportunity for companies that have not yet entered the Business Today rankings, to do so, thereby recognising their contribution to the economy. The private sector is no longer confined to a selected few, but is a diverse spectrum of businesses.
There are many corporates that can lead the private sector to maximise its potential as the engine of growth.
Great achievements have been made not only by public quoted companies. There are those who are making a mark internationally and taking the country’s name to the world. For example: Spa Ceylon, created by Shiwantha Dias and Shalin Balasuriya is a uniquely Sri Lankan Ayurveda and Spa brand that has not only become an established name in Sri Lanka, but has expanded overseas to have stores in India, Korea, Malaysia, Maldives, Singapore, Turkey and Japan.
Dharshan Munidasa too has taken Sri Lankan restaurants and cuisine to the world with his globally renowned restaurants Nihonbashi, Ministry of Crab, Kaema Sutra and the Tuna and the Crab. There are many more, new and exciting things that will be happening in the near future as well. It is with great pleasure that we are publishing his magazine titled Dharshan.
It is with great respect and pride that we speak about Mr Anselm Perera, he has been advertising with us since the first issue of Explore Sri Lanka in May 1987, and continues to support us even today.
In 2015, we ventured into the hospitality sector with Paper Moon Kudils in Whisky Point in the East Coast. With the success and experience gained we will be opening our second property Arugambay Rocco’s in mid December this year.
Our operating model is that we work with partners who are from the area and are the owners of the properties, which are then leased for the project. We invest in developing the land and managing the resorts.
Perumal Partheepan, (by coincidence he is a Partheepan) is our partner and Executive Director for Paper Moon Kudils in Whisky Point, Urani. Mohamed Naleem, Executive Director and Partner of Arugambay Rocco’s is the owner of Tsunami Hotel in Arugam Bay, which was started in the late 1990s, long years before the country even knew about a tsunami.
We provide unique experiences to visitors who come and stay with us. They are not back packers or budget tourists but are those who will spend, if they know that they are getting value for money. As we work with and employ staff from the area we have been able to create a chill-out destination that truly reflects the culture and lifestyle of our country. While service and operations at Paper Moon Kudils is definitely better than Fawlty Towers, our guests have always had a fulfilling experience where they leave happy always promising to come back again. We do not ask them to write reviews about us, but if you see their feedback, it is truly remarkable.
The building of Arugambay Rocco’s, which included demolition, clearing and construction will be completed in less than 150 days. From design to construction everything is being done by SMI Engineering. We would specially like to mention Chaminda Wickramarathne and Janaka Nishantha,of SMI Engineering for their commitment to complete the project within the very tight deadline. This project too has been done without architects, where the design and layout were done by Janaka Nishantha.
While it is mainly visitors from overseas that come and stay in this area, we are happy that through our endeavour many Sri Lankans too have begun to visit the area and learn surfing too.
BT Green, which is based in Kokkaddichcholai is focused on pre-and post-harvest operations. We will soon venture into growing and breeding as well.
Finally, we wish to thank everyone who has stood by us over the 30 years. We extend our gratitude to all our clients who have continued to support us by advertising in our publications.
We wish to express our gratitude to Minister Sagala Ratnayaka for his continuous strength and guidance. We wish to specially thank him for his support in making this event a success.
We wish to thank Minister John Amaratunga for always being with us and supporting us. We extend our gratitude to Minister Ravi Karunanayake for his continued confidence in us.
Ms Sandra Perera, private secretary to the Prime Minister, we wish to thank you for all your support and kindness.
We thank Mr Harry Jayawardena for his continuous support and confidence in us even before we started Business Today. He has always shown his concern for us and given his support in many ways.
Mr Manilal Fernando, thank you for being with us over the years especially during the difficult times in the 1990s.
Mr Niththi Murugesu we thank you for your continuous guidance and advice.
We wish to thank Mr Thusitha Wijayasena for his support and concern for us.
Mr Charles De Silva and Mr A S Kaleel, for confidently giving their properties to us and for their continuous support.
We would like to thank Mr Dinesh Weerakkoday, for the idea and concept for the Business Today TOP corporate ranking, and Mr Keith Bernard and Mr Shiron Gooneratne who were team members of the Business Today TOP corporate ranking. They all stepped aside from the process after they become part of public listed companies. But they have continued to support us and be a great source of strength to us.
We thank Mr Suren Rajakarier of KPMG for his assistance and support in selecting the Business Today TOP 30.
The concept and design of the Business Today TOP 30 award ceremony were by Glenda Parthipan, with the support of the staff of BT Options.
The Business Today TOP 30 is held without any sponsorships or funding from the winners. All costs are borne by BT Options. Our revenue is only through advertising sales in our publications.
Business Today will continue to work with everyone as we have never sought personal gain. For the country to move forward we all need to work together.
We congratulate the winners of the Business Today TOP 30, 2015-2016 for their excellent performance and we express our gratitude to everyone present here today for making this event a success.
Business Today Top 30 speeches
The Top Ten companies of the Business Today TOP 30 and the new entrants to the rankings expressed their thoughts on their performance during the year under review.
