The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce was established on March 25th, 1839,
when Sri Lanka, then known as Ceylon was under the British rule.
The then Governor, the Rt. Hon. J A Stewart Mackenzie, was keenly
interested in promoting agriculture and trade in Ceylon. It was
on his initiative that the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce was formed.
A meeting was held on February 20th 1839 by a considerable number
of the mercantile community favourable to the establishment of a
Chamber of Commerce in the island of Ceylon. It was unanimously
resolved as a preliminary measure that five of the gentlemen present
should be requested to form a Committee for framing an estimate
and drawing up certain rules and regulations, which when submitted
and approved might form the ground work of the institution.
The General Meeting of thirteen representatives of the mercantile
community was held on March 25th, 1839 at the Corner House of Prince
Street. With the adoption of the rules and regulations of the Ceylon
Chamber of Commerce, the first Chamber was established in Sri Lanka.
Subsequently in 1895 the Chamber was incorporated by the then Legislative
Council under the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Ordinance No. 10 of
1895.
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