News & market updates

Sampath Bank (SAMP.N0000), Commercial Bank (COMB.N0000) and Hatton National Bank (HNB.N0000) were awarded foreign exchange counters at Bandaranaike International Airport, receiving Rs633.662m, Rs381.364m and Rs225.689m respectively as part of contracts totalling over Rs2.3bn. Contracts run for three years.

The Cabinet approved three-year contracts for currency exchange counters at Bandaranaike International Airport, awarding Sampath Bank (Counter No.02) Rs.633.662m, Commercial Bank (Counter No.04) Rs.381.364m and Hatton National Bank (Counter No.11) Rs.225.689m. The awards followed a competitive bidding process.

Colombo Stock Exchange ASPI rose 0.57% to 12,800 on Friday with turnover Rs2 billion and net foreign inflows of Rs199 million. Top turnover generators included Royal Ceramics, Dipped Products, Lanka Milk Foods, John Keells and Sampath Bank; banking stocks showed mixed moves.

C. W. Mackie PLC won the Mercantile Football League (MFL) 2024 Division III championship on 4 November 2024, defeating HSBC in the final. The team was the highest goal-scoring side across seven matches and beat Commercial Bank in the semi-final.

ASPI closed at 12,728, up 9 points as turnover fell to Rs.2 billion; John Keells, Melstacorp and Dipped Products were top contributors while Commercial Bank and Sampath Bank declined, and foreign investors were net buyers of Rs.45.2m.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon's ComBank Digital won Gold in the 'Banking, Insurance and Finance Consumer' category at the 2024 National Best Quality Software Awards and its Jimi GPT assistant received a Merit. ComBank Digital processes over 5 million transactions a month and is approaching 1.5 million users.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed mixed with the ASPI up 0.07% to 12,727 and the S&P SL20 down 0.02% to 3,823. Top gainers included John Keells, Melstacorp, Dipped Products, Hemas and LOLC, while banking stocks fell (HNB, Sampath, DFCC, NDB down; Commercial Bank up) with a net foreign inflow of Rs45mn.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon's 'ComBank Digital' won Gold in the 'Banking, Insurance & Finance Consumer' category at the 2024 National Best Quality Software Awards, and the bank received a Merit for its 'Jimi GPT' AI assistant. ComBank Digital handles over 5m transactions and ~Rs 390bn in value per month and is nearing 1.5m users.

Colombo market fell for a third day as ASPI lost 77 points to 12,719 on profit taking, with turnover up at Rs.3.2bn and net foreign inflow of Rs.200m (Rs.199.8m into JKH). Banking and capital goods led activity while several counters (COMB, MELS, DFCC, RICH, NDB) weighed on the index.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed down: the ASPI fell 0.60% to 12,719 on turnover of Rs3.1 billion. John Keells contributed Rs1.2bn to turnover; most banks (HNB, COMB, SAMP, NDB, DFCC) were down while Dilmah Ceylon Tea, Co-operative Insurance, Singer and Vallibel One were among top gainers.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon and Hayleys Solar donated a 40kW on-grid photovoltaic solar power system to the Sri Kavantissa Vocational Training Centre and Tissamaharama Raja Maha Vihara. The donation is part of a strategic collaboration offering concessionary terms under the Bank’s Diribala Green Development Loan scheme.

Colombo market closed in red with the ASPI down 59 points to 12,796 on turnover of Rs.2.38bn. Banking led turnover (60%) as HNB, Sampath, Pan Asia and Commercial Bank were key movers; John Keells and Digital Mobility Solutions declared interim dividends.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed down: ASPI fell 0.46% to 12,795 and the S&P SL20 fell 0.58% to 3,852 on turnover of Rs 2.3bn. Banking stocks were mixed — HNB, Commercial Bank and NDB fell while Sampath and DFCC rose; HNB trades contributed Rs 758m to turnover.

Kavinda de Zoysa has been appointed Chairman of Bank of Ceylon; he is a career banker with over 30 years’ experience and was most recently Director and Country Business Head of Citibank Sri Lanka, with a track record in digitization and corporate banking.

Colombo market ended a seven-day winning streak as the ASPI fell 8 points and the S&P SL20 slipped 4 points, with turnover of Rs.1.86 billion. Banking stocks led turnover (34%) while quarterly results boosted PARQ, CONN and JETS, Sampath and Pan Asia were active, and Vidullanka announced an interim dividend of Rs.0.20 per share.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed lower: ASPI down 0.06% at 12,855 and S&P SL20 down 0.11% at 3,875. Banking stocks led turnover and mostly fell (Commercial Bank, HNB, DFCC, NDB down) while Melstacorp, Sampath, Teejay Lanka and Lion Brewery were top gainers; turnover was 1.8bn rupees with a net foreign outflow of 31m.

President Dissanayake met with the Sri Lanka Banks' Association and pledged to fast-track digital transformation, including a National Digital ID to be implemented within 1.5 years, while committing to protect and support banks and entrepreneurs amid economic challenges.

Colombo market sustained gains as the ASPI rose 1% (136 pts) to 12,746 and the S&P SL20 gained 1.7%, with banking stocks — Hatton National Bank, Commercial Bank and Sampath Bank — leading turnover in a Rs. 3.96bn session.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon (COMB.N0000) was named 'Best Bank in Sri Lanka' by Global Finance for the 22nd consecutive year.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon Chairman Sharhan Muhseen and MD/CEO Sanath Manatunge met the central bank governors of Bangladesh and the Maldives in Washington, DC to discuss the bank’s operations and commitment in those countries. Commercial Bank Bangladesh runs 20 outlets and holds a long-term 'AAA' CRISL rating; Commercial Bank Maldives is a subsidiary operating since 2016.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed up: ASPI +1.07% to 12,745 and S&P SL20 +1.71% to 3,855 on turnover of 3.9 billion. Top turnover generators included HNB, Sampath, Commercial Bank, Lanka IOC and CIC, with a net foreign outflow of 12.21 million rupees.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon (COMB.N0000) received Global Finance's 'Best Bank in Sri Lanka' award for the 22nd year, accepted by the bank's chairman and MD/CEO at the IMF/World Bank meetings in Washington DC. The award cited breadth of services, long-term reliability, technological innovation and asset-liability management amid shifting interest rates.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed higher: ASPI +0.74% to 12,610 and S&P SL20 +0.84% to 3,790, with turnover Rs4.4bn; Hatton National Bank accounted for Rs926m of turnover and there was a net foreign outflow of Rs12.21m.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon's Chairman Sharhan Muhseen and MD/CEO Sanath Manatunge met the Governors of Bangladesh Bank and the Maldives Monetary Authority in Washington DC to discuss the bank's operations and commitment in those countries. Commercial Bank runs 20 outlets in Bangladesh and operates Commercial Bank of Maldives as a subsidiary.

Colombo Stock Exchange recorded Rs.4.7bn turnover as the S&P SL20 rose 1% and the ASPI gained 0.35%. HNB (Rs.1.39bn), Sampath (Rs.1bn) and JKH (Rs.442mn) led turnover; HNB and Sampath fell while Commercial Bank, John Keells, DFCC, CTC and Central Finance posted gains.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon stepped up engagement with women entrepreneurs in 2024, running entrepreneurship programs, digital-banking training at its Wellawatte DigiZone and PIM-backed SME certificate courses, supported by its 'Anagi' women-focused savings and business loan products.

Colombo Stock Exchange ended the week in green: ASPI rose 0.35% to 12,517 and turnover was Rs4.7bn, with Sampath Bank and Hatton National Bank contributing over Rs1bn and Rs1.3bn respectively. Net foreign outflow was Rs186m and Lion Brewery announced a Rs17.3/share dividend.

CSE turnover rose to an eight-month high of Rs.4.8bn as ASPI gained 0.94% and the S&P SL20 gained 1.55%; heavy trading and price gains were led by John Keells, Hayleys, Sampath Bank, Hatton National Bank, Commercial Bank, Ceylon Tobacco and Resus Energy.

Colombo market closed marginally higher as the ASPI rose 57 points to 12,357 on turnover of Rs.2.3bn and a net foreign inflow of Rs.118.1m. Banking-led buying (35% turnover) and gains in Commercial Bank, Sampath Bank, NDB and Central Finance drove the session, with Hayleys and Hemas also up.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon (COMB.N0000) stepped up engagement with women entrepreneurs in 2024 through entrepreneurship development and digital banking training, SME skills certificate courses with PIM, and its Anagi women-focused banking product suite.