Dhammika Perera

As per the CSE 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.

In May 2022, he outlined 12 strategies that aimed to generate an additional inflow of USD 8 billion per annum.

In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka, 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.

In July 2019, Perera and his company Hayleys were accused by MP Kanaka Herath 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.

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 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 to $12,000 by 2030. Following is the list of recommendations given for individual ministries:

Perera became the chairman of Lanka Tiles in 2017 and was appointed as the co-chairman of Singer (Sri Lanka) 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 2013, Perera became Sri Lanka's wealthiest individual, with a net worth estimated by Forbes Asia at 72.6 billion LKR (approx. 550 million US dollars).

He acquired a majority stake in Pan Asia Bank 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, at a time when the company was making losses. He has been the executive director of Vallibel Finance since 2014.

He also ran Tito Electronics, an electronic shop repairing electronic circuit boards in Colpetty. He then started a casino 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 resident representative in Sri Lanka Nadeem Ul Haque in 1998.

In 1987, Perera moved to Taiwan 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.

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

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