Clear aim and dedication vital:

Business community should revitalize country’s economy - Defence Secy

Charumini DE SILVA

Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said the business community has to play a vital role to revitalize and sustain the country’s economy. We need to have a clear aim and dedication. A leader should know how to guide his team well and get the maximum of their capabilities.

The chief guest and Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa presents the top award to Chairman, John Keells Holdings, Susantha Ratnayake. Managing Director, BT Options, Mathi Partipan and one of the architects of Business Today Top Ten Dinesh Weerakkody look on.

He was speaking at the Business Today Top 10 awards ceremony in Colombo on Tuesday.

Gotabhaya said we should gain the full benefits having eradicated terrorism. All our armed forces men and women were mostly from the rural areas of the country and they were average people, but we made them exceptional in the battlefield.

He said, “Small things go a long way and as business leaders if you all start moving forward the rest of the business community will also follow your footsteps and eventually the country will triumph.

When there is economic stability in a country the living standards of the people too would improve. Sri Lanka was recently named the 22nd country among the most content people in the world and became the first among Asia. Likewise we will be among the top five countries”.

“The Government will do its part in providing the infrastructure development in the post war areas and it is time for the corporate sector to prove that we could also win the economic war in our country. Business leaders should improve industries using the land and the coastline which we gained after 30 years. We need to expand our business and branch out”, Rajapaksa said.

Business Today announced the Top 10 corporate performers for the year 2007/2008. John Keells Holdings won first place.

The other winners were; Sri Lanka Telecom, Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka, Commercial Bank of Ceylon, Dialog Telekom, Hatton National Bank, Lanka IOC, Carson Cumberbatch, Aitken Spence and Company and Cargills (Ceylon) PLC.

The annual survey is based on published financial information of companies listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange.