Costly drop of “Ceylon”

Friday, 31 December 2010 03:08 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The colonial term “Ceylon” will recede further into history with the government deciding to rename all state institutions currently bearing that term with “Sri Lanka.”

The move would force commercial enterprises such as Bank of Ceylon, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation and CEB to undergo an expensive rebranding exercise.

The decision was taken when the Cabinet met on Wednesday and the decision was told to the media during the news briefing held yesterday. Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella noted that the Cabinet had authorised the Finance and Planning Ministry to take this matter up with the Legal Draftsman and prepare necessary legislation in a single Bill to change the names of all such Statutory Boards and public corporations.

“This means that institutions such as the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) will henceforth be titled the Sri Lanka Electricity Board,” the minister said.

In response to a question he remarked that the Bank of Ceylon (BOC) will also have to change its name and as such it would have to undergo a rebranding campaign that could well spill over into millions of rupees.

Ceylon was a transliteration given to the Indian Ocean island by its British colonial rulers from the Portuguese name Ceilao.

The country became independent from Britain in 1948 and reverted to its traditional Sinhalese name of Sri Lanka in 1972 when it became a republic.

Ceylon however is likely to remain in common use in the tea export industry, where the name is highly-valued for denoting the distinct flavour of tea produced in the country, wire services reported.