News & market updates

Fitch recalibrated Sri Lanka’s national rating scale, upgrading seven non-financial corporates (including Sri Lanka Telecom to AA-(lka), Windforce to A+(lka) and Resus Energy to A-(lka)) and revising Bogawantalawa Tea Estates to BBB+(lka).

IMF mission chief Peter Breuer said Sri Lanka's state-owned enterprises can either remain state-owned or be privatized, while the new NPP government is resisting privatization and favors improving efficiency and transparency. The IMF urged cost-reflective pricing and timely audited statements for major SOEs.

Sri Lanka Telecom PLC (SLT-Mobitel) completed the SEA-ME-WE 6 submarine cable landing in Matara on 29 Dec 2024; the 130 Tbps system is due to enter commercial operation by mid-2026. SLT said the landing strengthens Sri Lanka's global connectivity and complements its existing cable network.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said Sri Lanka will implement economic reforms to extend benefits to rural communities and pursue digital transformation alongside a ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ initiative.

Hayleys PLC won the Gold for Overall Excellence in Corporate Reporting at CA Sri Lanka’s TAGS Awards 2024; Diesel & Motor Engineering PLC took Silver and Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC featured among top winners. Multiple shortlisted firms (e.g., DIMO, COMB, LFIN, SFIN, CCS, HAYC, SLTL, LGL, FCT) received sector awards.

SLT-Services (part of the SLT-Mobitel Group / Sri Lanka Telecom) signed Abans Environmental Services as a top advertiser for the Rainbow Pages National Business Directory 2024/25, offering online and offline advertising and digital marketing solutions ahead of its end-2024 release.

CA Sri Lanka hosted the SAFA Best Presented Annual Report Awards 2023 in Colombo, where Sri Lankan firms won 24 awards. Several listed companies — including Commercial Bank, Hayleys, Haycarb, Royal Ceramics, Access Engineering, Kelani Valley, Talawakelle, DIMO, Sri Lanka Telecom, Ceylon Tea Brokers, NDB and L B Finance — received awards or merit recognitions.

SLT-Mobitel Group returned to profit in Q3 2024 with group PAT of Rs. 1,093 million versus a Rs. 1,543 million loss a year earlier. Sri Lanka Telecom (SLTL) reported company PAT of Rs. 932 million, with group revenue up 3% to Rs. 28.5 billion driven by cost savings and lower finance costs.

Hyperjet Technologies Sri Lanka launched SpideRadio's 4G/5G base stations and RAN/core solutions in Sri Lanka to support 5G deployment and plans a South Asia regional service centre for coverage expansion and private-network applications.

Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya met with Technology Ministry officials and public-sector IT leaders, including Sri Lanka Telecom PLC CEO Janaka Abeysinghe, to review digitisation efforts, AI integration and challenges to public-sector IT development.

Sri Lanka Telecom PLC appointed Dr. Mothilal de Silva as Independent Non-Executive Director and Chairman and added three independent directors: Chandrasiri Kalupahana, T.M. Thilakarantne and Niel D.B. Unamboowe. Mothilal is an industry veteran with multinational telecom leadership and turnaround experience.

The Global Innovation Index 2024 is being launched in Colombo, with Sri Lanka ranked 89th overall and 14th in ICT services exports, highlighting innovation's role in economic recovery and citing Dialog Axiata and Sri Lanka Telecom as leading ICT players.

Sri Lanka Telecom appointed Mothilal de Silva as Chairman and independent non-executive director, and added three independent non-executive directors — Niel D B Unamboowe, Chandrasiri Kalupahana and T M Thilakarathe — effective 4 November 2024.

Sri Lanka Telecom PLC appointed Dr. Mothilal de Silva as Chairman effective November 4, 2024. He is a noted turnaround specialist who led Telecom Fiji's recovery and previously held senior roles at Dialog Axiata and MTN.

Sri Lanka Telecom PLC chairman A.K.D.D. Arandara has submitted his resignation and will vacate the position effective 16 October 2024. He also served as a non-executive director and handed his resignation letter to the Board on 18.

Sri Lanka Telecom Chairman A K D D Arandara has resigned, the company said in a stock exchange filing. Sri Lanka Telecom shares closed up at 71.10.

Samsung Sri Lanka opened Galaxy S24FE pre-orders Oct 15–31 with a pre-order price of LKR 253,838 (saving LKR 24,491) and offers including two screen replacements, 24-month instalments, 600GB data from Dialog and Mobitel and 2 months OneDrive; pre-orders via partners including JKOA and Softlogic.

Sri Lanka Telecom PLC (SLTL.N0000) won Gold in 'Illustrations: Telecommunications' and a Certificate of Honour in 'Specialised AR – Integrated AR & ESG' at the 38th ARC Awards. The awards recognise its 2023 annual report and ESG reporting among 1,550 entries from 32 countries.

Colombo market was mixed as the ASPI rose 0.09% to 12,258 while the S&P SL20 fell 0.20%; turnover was about Rs.1.85–1.9 billion and foreigners were net buyers of Rs.139.7 million, led by net foreign buying in John Keells (Rs.240.9m) and net selling in Dialog.

Colombo Stock Exchange fell as the ASPI dropped 0.39% to 12,246 and the S&P SL20 fell 0.71% to 3,614, with banks (C T Holdings, HNB, Commercial Bank, Sampath, NDB) weighing on the index. Turnover was Rs1.4bn and there was a net foreign inflow of Rs153mn; Sri Lanka Telecom and Hayleys Fabric were among gainers.

Hatch and the Lankan Angel Network hosted the local She Loves Tech competition, with Ceylon Speechie (Nadini Perera) winning the local final and pitching at regional rounds. Dialog Ideamart and SLT supported the event and the winner plans to launch Ceylon Speechie’s tech product in the coming weeks.

DFCC Bank partnered with Sri Lanka Telecom to co-locate its servers at SLT's IDC and deploy Cisco SD-WAN across its branch network, enhancing IT resilience and reducing data centre costs.

Dialog Axiata PLC completed the amalgamation with Bharti Airtel Lanka effective 30 August, consolidating Airtel Lanka into Dialog and lifting Dialog's subscriber base above 20 million. Network integration will continue over coming months and the Airtel brand will be retained within Dialog.

Sri Lanka Telecom (SLTL.N0000) reported 1H 2024 group revenue of Rs. 53.5 billion (+1.6%), EBITDA of Rs. 18.0 billion (+17.1%) and a narrowed group net loss of Rs. 323 million. Company-level SLTL posted a net profit of Rs. 272 million, aided by cost savings, lower interest costs and Mobitel margin improvements plus new spectrum acquisitions.

Sri Lanka Telecom (SLTL) reported 1H 2024 group revenue of Rs. 53.5 billion, up 1.6%, and narrowed its net loss to Rs. 323 million (from Rs. 1,159 million). Group EBITDA rose 17.1% to Rs. 18.0 billion and gross margin expanded to 39.0%; Mobitel revenue grew 3.6% and acquired new spectrum in Q2.

Sampath Bank PLC partnered with the Export Development Board to run regional programs improving the digital presence of export-potential SMEs in Kandy and Kurunegala. Sessions included presentations by Sri Lanka Telecom and Sampath Bank and will expand to other provinces.