Number 28 – Citizens Development Business Finance

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Hon Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Hon Ministers and Members of Parliament, Chairman of Business Today Mathi Parthipan and Mrs Glenda Parthipan, ladies and gentlemen.

CDB is humbled by the honor that has been bestowed on us by Business Today – to be among the Business Today TOP 30 for the very first time in our 25 year history. While we are very proud of this laurel on our 25^th anniversary, our journey has been one where we have navigated waters that were both stormy and calm. Thank you Business Today for giving us this honor.

In our first few years, our waters were truly stormy, which resulted in CDB inheriting a very grave balance sheet about 18 years ago showing our losses being more than our revenue – with a negative net asset status.  

Since then a group of young, committed and passionate individuals took ownership to rebuild CDB brick by brick, believing in themselves and their organization. We began making progress betting our strategy to work, through this young team, who hailed from humble backgrounds and rural landscapes including state university graduates. These were the ordinary people who produced extraordinary results that enabled me to stand here at this podium among leading Corporates in our country. 

It was in the last decade however, that the real growth of our journey commenced. The war had held this country back for three decade. Had the war not ended our future would have been bleak. 

Harnessing the full potential of the wide opportunities in post-war Sri Lanka - CDB envisioned, planned and executed. We saw potential where there was uncertainty, and opportunity where there were challenges. This resulted in our balance sheet growing 15 times from just six billion rupees to 90 billion rupees during the last decade.

The great historian Arnold Toynbee, having written over 140 articles and books over four decades on the evolution of human civilization, stated that the entire history of mankind can be written in just two words - Challenge, Response.

From SARS to MERS to COVID 19, we really don’t know what challenges lie in store but we surely know there will always be a response. While our nation may face many a challenge, what is more important is our response to these challenges.  

I firmly believe our corporate community has the courage and confidence to respond to these challenges and to usher a decent and dignified standard of living for all our citizens as we move forward. Thank you very much.