Kulappu Arachchige Don Dhammika Perera, commonly known as Dhammika Perera (born December 28, 1967), is a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

n businessman, philanthropist, and politician. He is one of the wealthiest people in Sri Lanka. Perera is known as a specialist in corporate re-engineering and revival. As of 2013 he controlled 23 listed companies, and has made significant investments in healthcare technology. He is also known for frequently addressing policy for the country. In June 22, Perera was sworn in as a

National list member of Parliament A national list member of parliament (national list MP) is a nominated member of parliament who is appointed by a political party or an independent group to the Parliament of Sri Lanka. The number of national list MPs allocated to a contesting par ...

, after being proposed to the

Election Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

by the

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna The Sri Lanka People's Front ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණ, translit=Śrī Laṃkā Podujana Peramuna; ta, இலங்கை பொதுஜன முன்னணி, translit=Ilaṅkai Potujaṉa Mu� ...

, to fill the seat vacated by the resignation of former Finance Minister

Basil Rajapaksa Basil Rajapaksa (born 27 April 1951) is a Sri Lankan-American politician. He is a former Minister of Finance and Member of Parliament for the national list. He was also a member of the Sri Lankan Parliament from 2007 to 2015. During the period ...

. On June 24, he was sworn in as the Minister of Investment Promotion. Days later on 10 July, he resigned from his ministerial position.

Biography

Perera was born in 1967 in Payagala. He began a business venture in 1986 at the age of 19 after completing his primary and secondary Education at Taxila Central College, Horana. He studied electronics at the

University of Moratuwa (''Vidyaayev Sharvadhanam'') , motto_lang = Sanskrit , mottoeng = Wisdom is all Wealth , established = , type = Public , chancellor = K. K. Y. W. Perera , vice_chancellor = N. ...

, Katubedda, but dropped out to follow his business interests.

Career

In 1987, Perera moved to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

to follow his career in technical training for three months and returned to Sri Lanka to start his business making slot machines. Perera started a machine manufacturing business in 1987 close to his residence in Payagala and continued the business until 1991. He then had to move to car sales in Paiyagala following a ban imposed on the jackpot and other machinery businesses by then-President

Ranasinghe Premadasa Sri Lankabhimanya Ranasinghe Premadasa ( si, රණසිංහ ප්‍රේමදාස ''Raṇasiṃha Premadāsa'', ta, ரணசிங்க பிரேமதாசா ''Raṇaciṅka Pirēmatācā''; 23 June 1924 – 1 May 1993) was t ...

. He also ran Tito Electronics, an electronic shop repairing

electronic circuit board A printed circuit board (PCB; also printed wiring board or PWB) is a medium used in electrical and electronic engineering to connect electronic components to one another in a controlled manner. It takes the form of a laminated sandwich struct ...

s in

Colpetty Kollupitiya, also known as Colpetty is a major neighbourhood of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The name Kollupitiya comes from the name of a chief from Kandy who had unsuccessfully attempted to dethrone the last king of Kandy. During the period of British ...

. He then started a

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

business in 1993, which is now owned and managed by his two brothers. He started a business producing and selling neon bulbs in 1995, at a time when none of the manufacturers was keen on selling those bulbs. He met then

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

resident representative in Sri Lanka Nadeem Ul Haque in 1998. He acquired a

majority stake A controlling interest is an ownership interest in a corporation with enough voting stock shares to prevail in any stockholders' motion. A majority of voting shares (over 50%) is always a controlling interest. When a party holds less than the major ...

Pan Asia Bank Pan Asia Banking Corporation is a public limited company incorporated in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerl ...

in 2000, at a time when the bank was regarded as a loss-making financial institution. He met investor Nimal Perera after acquiring the Pan Asia Bank stake. In 2003, he ventured into large-scale businesses and took over the ownership of

Royal Ceramics Royal Ceramics Lanka PLC branded as Rocell, is a Sri Lankan holding company and is also engaged in manufacturing ceramic tiles and bath ware. The company was founded in 1990 and in 1994, it was listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange. The company is ...

, at a time when the company was making losses. He has been the executive director of Vallibel Finance since 2014. Inspection of the Power House Location by Chairman

Inspection of the Power House Location by Chairman

In 2013, Perera became Sri Lanka's wealthiest individual, with a

net worth Net worth is the value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned by an individual or institution minus the value of all its outstanding liabilities. Since financial assets minus outstanding liabilities equal net financial assets, net ...

estimated by '' Forbes Asia'' at 72.6 billion LKR (approx. 550 million US dollars). He holds majority stakes in Vallibel Finance, Vallibel Power Erathna, The Fortress Resorts, The Queensbury Leisure Ltd and Delmege Limited. He is the current Co-Chairman of

Hayleys Hayleys PLC, founded in 1878, is a multinational and diversified conglomerate company in Sri Lanka with business spanning over 16 sectors, catering to 70 markets worldwide. Hayleys accounts for approximately 4.2% of Sri Lanka's export income, a ...

, Royal Ceramics Lanka, Horana Plantations and

LB Finance L B Finance PLC sometimes spelt LB Finance, is a Sri Lankan non-bank financial institution. The company is incorporated in 1971 and initially, the majority of shares were held by Lewis Brown & Company. The company was listed on the Colombo Stock E ...

. He is a member of the board of directors of Amaya Leisure, Haycarb, Hayleys Fabric PLC,

The Kingsbury The Kingsbury, trading as The Kingsbury PLC, formerly the Ceylon Continental Hotel Colombo and the Ceylon Inter-Continental Hotel, is a nine-story hotel located at 48, Janadhipathi Mawatha in the city centre of Colombo, Sri Lanka. It was built ...

Dipped Products Dipped Products PLC is a rubber glove manufacturer in Sri Lanka. The company also manages rubber and tea plantations. The company was incorporated in 1976 and listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange in 1983. The company is one of the components of th ...

, and Lanka Floortiles. Perera became the chairman of

Lanka Tiles Lanka Tiles PLC, doing business as LANKATILES, is a glazed ceramic and porcelain tile manufacturing company in Sri Lanka. The company was incorporated in 1984 and two years later was listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange. Lanka Tiles was a part ...

in 2017 and was appointed as the co-chairman of

Singer (Sri Lanka) Singer (Sri Lanka) PLC is a Sri Lankan holding company engaged in retailing and wholesale marketing home appliances and furniture. The company is also taking part in financial services and manufacturing businesses. The company is listed on the Colo ...

in October 2017 after Hayleys agreed to buy Singer. Perera was appointed as the chairman of Director Board of Lanka Ceramic PLC in 2017 but he resigned from the position on 31 August 2018. He was also appointed as chairman of Board of Directors of Lanka Walltiles in 2017. In July 2019, Perera and his company Hayleys were accused by MP

Kanaka Herath Kanaka Herath is a Sri Lankan politician, former cabinet minister, and a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka. He belongs to the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna. He was appointed as the Minister of Highways Minister may refer to: * Minister (Chris ...

of earning income through the illegal import of garbage from the United Kingdom. Hayleys has since denied any wrongdoing in the matter and highlighted the fact that the Group's logistics arm was merely providing logistics services including storage, value addition and re-exportation for its client Ceylon Metal Processing Corporation for a resource recovery operation. Calling for a press conference on 22 July 2019, the managing director of Hayleys Advantis Limited, Ruwan Waidyaratne, categorically denied the allegations levelled against the company. In relation to 130 container loads of used mattresses that were stored at their Free Zone yard premises, the company clarified that the mattresses were imported by Ceylon Metal Processing Corporation (Pvt) Limited, the actual owner of the cargo. As per the

CSE CSE may refer to: Education Examinations * Certificate of Secondary Education, a secondary school qualification in the United Kingdom, replaced by the GCSE * Civil Services Examination, an examination to qualify for government service in India Fi ...

filing, on 10 June 2022 Perera resigned from the boards of directors of Hayleys PLC, Singer (Sri Lanka) PLC, Hayleys Fabric PLC, Hayleys Leisure PLC, Haycarb PLC, and The Kingsbury PLC. Hayleys and subsidiaries separately announced his resignation from the Board of Directors. Companies which announced the move on 10 June 2022 included Hayleys PLC and its subsidiaries, Vallibel One PLC and its subsidiaries, Singer Sri Lanka PLC and its subsidiaries, Royal Ceramics Group, Lanka Walltiles Group and LB Finance PLC. In most of these entities, he was either the Chairman or Executive Director.

Philanthropic work

In October 2019, Perera and his wife Priscilla founded a private charity, Dhammika and Priscilla Perera Foundation (DP Foundation) with the aim of improving education and healthcare standards in Sri Lanka. The foundation is organized into two impact areas: education and healthcare. In 2021, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka The COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 () virus. The first case of the virus in Sri Lanka was con ...

, Perera introduced a philanthropic initiative titled DP Education for students to study online free of charge. He collaborated with the University of Moratuwa to offer a diploma to students aged 18 and above bundling mathematics, IT and English through the platform.

Publications

In September 2019, Perera published a document ''Sri Lanka 2030: A Developed Nation'', with policy recommendations for 21 ministries with the aim of increasing Sri Lanka's

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

to $12,000 by 2030. Following is the list of recommendations given for individual ministries: # Ministry of National Security: A nation rich in safety and freedom # Ministry of Finance and Planning: A nation rich in wealth # Ministry of Education: A nation rich in human capital # Ministry of Higher Education: A nation rich in human capital # Ministry of Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET): A nation rich in human capital # Ministry of Social Development: A nation rich in happiness # Ministry of Regional Development: A nation rich in convenience # Ministry of Justice and Prison Reforms: A nation rich in discipline # Ministry of Agriculture and agro-based industry: A nation rich in prosperity # Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources: A nation rich in biomes # Ministry of Health: A nation rich in wellbeing # Ministry of Investment Promotion and Job Creation: A nation rich in industries # Ministry of Foreign Affairs: A nation rich in diplomacy # Ministry of Information and Communication Technology: A nation rich in technology # Ministry of Transport: A nation rich in mobility # Ministry of Ports and Shipping: A nation rich in maritime logistics # Ministry of Tourism: A nation rich in hospitality # Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony: A nation rich in unity # Ministry of Arts and Culture: A nation rich in heritage # Ministry of Fisheries: A nation rich in fish trade # Ministry of Civil Aviation: A nation rich in connectivity In May 2022, he outlined 12 strategies that aimed to generate an additional inflow of USD 8 billion per annum.

References

External links