Ranjith Wickramasinghe is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants U.K. (FCMA), a fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants U.K. (FCCA), a designated Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA), an Accredited Director of Sri Lanka (ACC. Dir. SL) and an appointed Justice of the Peace (JP).
Having initially worked in the capacity of Deputy Finance Manager of Ceylon Shipping Corporation (CSC), from 1970 to 1977, Mr. Wickramasinghe had training attachments on “Shipping & Ports Business” with Unimar Sea transport (Hamburg, Germany), Hansa Lines (Breman, Germany), and Shell Tankers (U.K.), Blue Funnel Line (U.K.), Cory Brothers Shipping Ltd (Powell Daffrin Group, UK), and with JICA & Mitsui OSK Lines (Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe in Japan). His career has taken him to more than 40 countries. Mr. Wickramasinghe departed overseas, retained for his services by the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Limited
(ZCCM) in 1978 as an expatriate.
ZAMBIA CONSOLIDATED COPPER MINES LTD. (ZCCM)
ZCCM was one of the largest copper producers in the world, and during his 16-year tenure (1978 - 1994), Mr. Wickramasinghe functioned as Head of Group Financial Analysis, Head of Group Treasury, and Manager of Corporate Planning. He was also involved with the sourcing of funds internationally and the development of several projects that contributed directly to the group’s US$ 1 billion in annual turnover (Note: during this period Sri Lanka’s GDP was US$ 6 billion). He was a member of the restructuring committee responsible for lowering costs and rescheduling of debt in line with fluctuating copper and cobalt market prices. Mr. Wickramasinghe’s responsibilities included the formulation of the ZCCM group budget which comprised 56,000 employees, and 30 subsidiary companies worldwide. ZCCM was a publicly listed company on the New York Stock Exchange. Mr. Wickramasinghe’s salary and benefits with ZCCM were around US$ 10,000 per month in 1994.
CEYLON SHIPPING CORPORATION LTD. (CSC)
Upon invitation, Mr. Wickramasinghe returned to Sri Lanka in 1994 to assume the position of Chairman of the Ceylon Shipping Corporation Ltd. During his tenure, Mr. Wickramasinghe’s leadership was instrumental in an immediate reduction of both fixed and variable costs, restructuring and driving productivity which led to the CSC earning the prestigious ‘Star Performer’ award for Liner Services from Lloyds of London in 1995 and 1996.
SRI LANKA PORTS AUTHORITY (SLPA)
In 1996 Mr. Wickramasinghe was requested to take on the role of Chairman of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA). During his Chairmanship, in 1997 the Port of Colombo became the “fastest growing hub port in the world” achieving a growth rate of 25% per annum, surpassing even that of Hong Kong and Singapore. In addition, the SLPA under his leadership generated a profit of Rs. 3 billion (US$ 50 million) in 1997. This was recorded as the highest profit earned by a Public Listed Company (PLC) or State Enterprise in Sri Lanka that year (Note: This profit was higher than the top three PLCs in Sri Lanka put together for this year). In 1997 the Port of Colombo held the 20th world ranking as a port, (Note: in 2019 the port’s ranking dropped to 24th position). In 1996-1997 Mr. Wickramasinghe was involved with the negotiation of the Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) project for the expansion of Queen Elizabeth Quay in Colombo with South Asia Gateway Terminal Ltd (SAGT). During his tenure as Chairman, he was involved with the changing of the 25-year master plan for the SLPA and initiating the development of the South Harbour, which houses the South Terminal, East Terminal, and West Terminal in the Port of Colombo. The strategic shift drafted in this SLPA corporate plan in 1997 enabled land reclamation for the development of the present Colombo Port City project estimated at an investment value of US$ 14 billion.
GEORGE STEUART & CO. LTD
From 2000 to 2003, Mr. Wickramasinghe functioned as the Finance Director of George Steuart & Co Limited, the oldest private sector company in Sri Lanka.
ASIAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC & ASIA CAPITAL PLC.
Mr. Wickramasinghe was appointed in 2010 as a Director of Asian Alliance Insurance PLC. He also functioned as an Independent Non-Executive Director, chairing the board governance sub-committees of Asia Capital PLC, for 9 years. During this period the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Institute of Charted Accountants Sri Lanka (ICASL) certified Mr. Wickramasinghe as an Accredited Director of Sri Lanka (ACC. Dir. SL).
INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT & FINANCIAL ADVISOR
Mr. Wickramasinghe has been involved with several business development projects and the restructuring of several private sector companies in the course of his career. He was Financial Consultant and Advisor for the Barberyn Hotel Group from 1998 - 2014, and the first Chairman of Axienta (Pvt) Limited a Tech Startup Company from 2010 - 2014. He continues to function as an Independent Consultant and a Financial Advisor.
PUBLICATIONS
Mr. Wickramasinghe formulated two documents on the economic recovery of Sri Lanka - “An Independent Professional’s View to Turn Around Sri Lanka” (2019), and “Concept Paper to Mitigate the Impact of Covid-19 on the Sri Lankan Economy” (2020). He has also published two books, “A Rolling Budget & Five Year Plan to Turn Around the Post Covid-19 Economy of Sri Lanka (2020 - ISBN: 978-624-96562-0-8), and a “Concept Paper to Generate Foreign Exchange Income Quickly for Sri Lanka (2021 - ISBN 978-624-97766-0-4), and many more listed under Publications.
COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) WORKS
Mr. Wickramasinghe has been a Director of The Chithrasena-Vajira Dance Foundation since 1998. He was part of the committee involved with the restoration of 10 classrooms on the 2nd floor of the West Wing at Royal College (Colombo 7). He is a member of the Royal College 60-Group Scholarship Fund. He participates in voluntary repair work of the “Chaithya” at the Nedimala Sri Maha Vihara Temple. He maintains his residence as a “Carbon Crediting Green House”, providing oxygen to the neighborhood. He is an active sportsman and continues to play Badminton, Tennis, and Golf. He enjoys hiking, cycling, regular walking & landscaping his home lawn. He assists the community as a Justice of the Peace (JP).
Achievements & Accolades
1950 - 1969
Education
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Early education at “Gajanayake Paasela” at Wellandura, a school built, and run free of charge by his grandfather Kiri Bandara Gajanayaka of “Wellandura Walauwa” in 1950 for the village children, in the Ratnapura District. His• Rural and Family Planting background gave him knowledge in the cultivation of Paddy, Tea, Rubber, Coconut, Pepper, and Cinnamon.
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Class Prize winner and athlete at Ananda Sastralaya, Kotte - 1956 to 1959.
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Entered Royal College via an all-island test in 1960.
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Class prize winner at Royal College, Colombo 7, in 1960, and a Junior Hostel annual sports competition winner.
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Champion Athlete Royal College - 1962, 1964 and Hockey Coloursman.
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Participated in 7 sports for “Harward House”.
1970 - 1999
Professional Experience
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A pioneering staff member of Ceylon Shipping Corporation (CSC) was corporatized in 1970. CSC commenced with a seed capital of USD 2 million given by the Treasury.
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Assisted in the acquisition of the first 15,000 DWT Vessel, MV Lanka Rani for Sri Lanka in 1971, sourcing of finance internationally, and building up the fleet to eight vessels worth US$ 20 million almost fully paid for by 1977.
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CSC built up Liner Services to the UK, Europe, Far East, and Middle East by 1977, and containerized shipping ahead of Singapore.
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CSC also set up the Colombo Dockyard Limited in the seventies which now has been transformed into a world-class facility with Onamichi Japan
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CSC built up the “Shipping Capability” for Sri Lanka, trained sea-going staff, enhanced non-traditional exports, and restarted the Silk Route.
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Functioned as a Director at Mackinnon Mackenzie Shipping Company Limited in 1974, at the age of 25 years. Membership - ACMA (UK) in 1974, and FCMA (UK) in 1977.
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Left Sri Lanka for Expatriate employment in 1978.
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Head of Group Financial Analysis & Head of ZCCM Group Budget Committee, and Head of Corporate Planning of Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines, a New York Stock Exchange Listed Company -1985 & 1991.
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Managing the ZCCM Group’s Billion Dollar Treasury in London which involved the tracing and recovery of funds of US$ 10 million for ZCCM in 1992.
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During his Chairmanship, Ceylon Shipping Corporation won the Lloyds of London ‘STAR PERFORMER’ award for two consecutive years in 1995 & 1996 for Liner Services to UK and Europe.
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Coordinated the rescue of “MV Lanka Muditha” aftermath of an LTTE deadly suicide attack in Trincomalee Harbour and, brought the crippled ship through the LTTE infiltrated sea to Colombo. The vessel was repaired and refitted to international standards within three months in 1996 and put back into operation.
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During his Chairmanship in Sri Lanka Ports Authority, the Port of Colombo became recognized as the ‘Fastest Growing Hub Port in the World” at a growth rate of 25% per annum for 1997.
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Under his Chairmanship in 1997, SLPA earned a profit of Rs. 3 Billion (US$50 Million) – the highest profit earned by a PLC or Public Enterprise in Sri Lanka.
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In 1997 Port of Colombo held the 20th world ranking as a port, and presently (2019) dropped to 24th position.
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Negotiated the Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) project for the expansion of Queen Elizabeth Quay in Colombo at a cost of US$ 240 million, and enhanced the initial offer of US dollars two million as ground rent offered by P&O consortium, the South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT), to over US$ 20 million revenue for SLPA per year, for a reduced thirty year period, and obtained a gratis shareholding, and convinced the Port Workers and Engineers of the need to broad base, all of whom were violently opposed to it. The potential gain to SLPA was estimated at US $ 600 million. Simultaneously, with the “win-win negotiation,” SAGT became the first successful large Public PrivatePartnership (PPP) between SLPA, John Keels, and P&O set up in Sri Lanka (now with a 60% Sri Lankan shareholding and fully manned by Sri Lankans), which recently celebrated 21 years of maritime excellence in the Port of Colombo has achieved 2 million TEUs, almost doubling the designed capacity. The above “SAGT Model” created in the nineties has been used to lease out the South Terminal of the South Harbor to CICT.
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During his tenure as Chairman, SLPA also took a strategic decision to expand the Port of Colombo southwards(rather than northwards to the congested Mutuwal side – the Prince Vijaya Quay of the old harbor). The revised SLPA Master Plan in 1997, initiated the development of the “New South Port of Colombo” comprising three terminals with a capacity of 9 million TEUs, at an investment of US $ 1500 Million, now called the “South Harbour”. The South Harbour (SH) concept comprised of a new breakwater with an 18-meter deep draft basin consisting of three terminals with nine berths was reimplemented after a long delay in 2009, as the “Colombo Port Expansion Project” where its first, south terminal is now operational (Colombo International Container Terminal - CICT) on as a BOT Joint venture between SLPA and China Merchants Port Holdings Company, a listed blue chip company in Hong Kong Stock Exchange. CICT. In a short time, the terminal has almost achieved the designed capacity of 3 million TEUs. The second terminal of SH, the partially completed East Container Terminal (ECT), and the third West Terminal are now awaiting urgent government action enabling Sri Lanka to meet the pressing international hub port transshipment demand for the Port of Colombo.
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As Chairman of the SLPA, converted the Port Tariff to US Dollars and also conceptualized the reclamation of land as a means of providing counterpart funds for financing the breakwater of the “New South Port of Colombo” with ADBin 1997. The Reclamation Plan herein, was limited to 20 acres of land. This strategic shift of the future port expansion to the south, in the SLPA Corporate Plan in 1997, enabled the development of the present Colombo Port City project in the same location (now valued at an investment of US$ 14 Billion).
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Raising finance for the construction of two hotels for the Barberyn Hotel Group (Sri Lanka) – 120 rooms at a cost of US $ 20 million in 2000, and for post-Tsunami reconstruction in 2005.
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Functioned as the Chairman of a technology startup company - Axienta (Pvt) Limited in 2010 - 2014.
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He was Accredited as a Director of Sri Lanka (Acc.Dir.SL) by SEC and ICASL in 2015, (Part of the first batch to be accredited with this designation in Sri Lanka).
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Walked 20 miles on the Farmington Canal Railroad Track in New Haven, CT (USA) in 6 hours in June 2019.
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Climbed Sri Paada up to Udamaluwa in November 2022.
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Took part in the over 70 years National Badminton Championship quarter-finals in June 2023.