Amari Colombo wins Sri Lanka’s Leading Business Hotel 2025 at World Travel Awards

Amari Colombo has been honoured as Sri Lanka’s Leading Business Hotel 2025 at the World Travel Awards (WTA), Asia and Oceania Gala Ceremony held in Hong Kong in October 2025. This accolade recognises the hotel’s exceptional standards of service, contemporary design, and its position as a benchmark for business hospitality in Sri Lanka.

The glittering ceremony, held in partnership with Hong Kong International Airport and InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong, brought together the region’s most distinguished travel and hospitality brands to celebrate excellence across Asia and Oceania.

“We are truly delighted and honoured to be recognised as Sri Lanka’s Leading Business Hotel,” said Amari Colombo General Manager Monty Ariyaratne. “This award is a testament to our team’s unwavering commitment to delivering warm, personalised service and creating an inspiring environment for both business and leisure travellers. We share this achievement with our valued guests and dedicated team members who make the Amari experience so special.”

Amari Colombo, part of ONYX Hospitality Group, embodies modern elegance infused with the warmth of Thai-inspired service. Ideally located in the heart of Colombo’s vibrant business district, the hotel caters to discerning travellers with world-class amenities, stylish meeting spaces, and exceptional dining venues—all designed to foster connection, productivity, and comfort.

The World Travel Awards, established in 1993, are globally recognised as the ultimate hallmark of industry excellence, celebrating the best in travel, tourism, and hospitality. The Asia and Oceania Gala Ceremony 2025 showcased leading lights of the region, including destinations, resorts, hotels, and tourism boards that continue to raise the standard of global travel.

World Travel Awards Founder Graham Cooke remarked: “Tonight we have celebrated the leading lights of travel across Asia and Oceania. Our winners represent the very best in tourism excellence, and I congratulate each and every one for raising the benchmark of achievement across this remarkable region.” Amari Colombo wins Sri Lanka’s Leading Business Hotel 2025 at World Travel Awards | Daily FT

Read More........ → February 27, 2026

Allianz world’s No. 1 insurance brand for 7th consecutive year

Allianz has once again been recognised as the World’s No. 1 insurance brand in the Interbrand Best Global Brands 2025 ranking, marking its seventh consecutive year at the top.

This year, Allianz achieved its highest-ever brand value and strongest growth in history, increasing by 20% from $ 23.5 billion to $ 28.2 billion, and rising two places to No. 27 globally.

This achievement reflects Allianz’s strong financial performance and the consistent execution of its global brand strategy, reinforcing its reputation for trust, innovation, and reliability worldwide. It is also a testament to the dedication and collective effort of every Allianz employee across the globe.

Allianz Insurance Lanka Ltd., is a fully owned subsidiary of Allianz SE, a global financial services provider specialising in insurance and asset management, headquartered in Munich, Germany. Allianz world’s No. 1 insurance brand for 7th consecutive year | Daily FT

Read More........ → February 25, 2026

World Bank says SL recovery remarkable, among fastest worldwide

 

• Latest World Bank public finances diagnostic says SL made remarkable recovery
• Stabilisation sharper and faster than 123 countries since 1980
• Says Sri Lanka can move to a more balanced fiscal policy
• Points to fiscal space to grow revenue to support growth, equity and fairness
• Challenge is to get better results from every rupee collected and spent

The World Bank yesterday said Sri Lanka has made remarkable strides in stabilising its economy, undertaking one of the largest fiscal adjustments in its history, equal to nearly 8% of GDP over three years, and doing it faster than most countries.

In a statement announcing the release of its latest diagnostic title ‘Sri Lanka Public Finance Review: Towards a Balanced Fiscal Adjustment’, the World Bank said that this adjustment was also sharper and faster by international standards when compared with more than 330 similar efforts in 123 countries worldwide since 1980.

The review, a core World Bank diagnostic conducted every five years in member countries, concludes that Sri Lanka is well-positioned to focus on making public finances work better for all Sri Lankans.

“While fiscal measures helped restore stability, they also put pressure on households through higher indirect taxes and reduced real public-sector wages, and slowed growth due to lower public investment,” the statement said. “The next phase of fiscal calibration should prioritise raising revenues in ways that support growth and fairness, and improve the quality of government spending.”

The diagnostic review highlights that Sri Lanka could increase revenue by up to 2% by 2029 without undermining growth or equity. It also points out that better targeting and management of public spending can deliver improved outcomes within current budget limits.

The review recommends raising revenue more fairly and efficiently by shifting toward direct taxes, such as a minimum corporate income tax, and digitising tax administration to make paying taxes easier and more transparent.

It also recommends spending smarter, not more or less. The report stresses that it is not feasible to further cut or increase overall spending, but the best gains will come from using existing funds more efficiently to get better results.

This includes improving public sector wage management by protecting essential frontline services, simplifying pay structures, and modernising systems through which public sector workers are paid. It also entails reprioritising capital investments to close infrastructure gaps, completing ongoing projects faster, and strengthening project selection, management and maintenance.

Enhancing social protection by better targeting assistance, expanding the social registry, and moving from universal subsidies to more focused support for those who need it most, is another priority.

“Now that Sri Lanka has largely stabilised its economy, the challenge is to get better results from every rupee collected and spent,” said World Bank Division Director for Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka David Sislen. “This means modernising tax administration, focusing on direct taxes, and making sure public spending is both efficient and fair, especially for the most vulnerable,” he added. World Bank says SL recovery remarkable, among fastest worldwide | Daily FT

Read More........ → February 20, 2026