News & market updates

Sri Lanka's rupee closed at 336.35/40 to the US dollar in the spot market, while bond yields were broadly steady — e.g. the 15.09.2027 bond at 10.30/40%, 15.10.2028 at 10.70/80% and the 15.12.2029 bond at 11.20/30%.

Sri Lanka sold all Rs140bn of Treasury bills at Wednesday's auction; 3-month yield fell 18bp to 9.95%, 6-month fell 3bp to 10.24%, and 12-month was unchanged at 10.20%.

Mercantile Investments & Finance PLC (MERC.N0000) completed an oversubscribed Rs. 1.1 billion rights issue, bolstering its capital base and regulatory capital position. The funds increase its financial flexibility to support growth and expansion in Sri Lanka's financial services sector.

Union Bank appointed its CEO Dilshan Rodrigo to the board of LankaPay, Sri Lanka's National Payment Network. He will contribute to strengthening the national payments infrastructure and advancing secure, efficient digital payment solutions.

Mercantile Investments & Finance PLC (MERC.N0000) completed an oversubscribed rights issue raising Rs. 1.1 billion. The funds bolster its capital base and regulatory capital position, enhancing financial flexibility to support growth and expansion in its financial services operations.

Labour Minister Dr. Anil Jayantha said the government has not decided to merge or privatise the EPF and ETF and that a Cabinet paper only seeks a committee review to improve administration. The review will focus on data integration, governance, investment safety and speeding up payments.

Secondary government bond yields rose ahead of the Monetary Policy announcement, with maturities trading roughly between 10.70% and 12.25%; a Rs.140bn T‑Bill auction (Rs.60bn 91d, Rs.50bn 182d, Rs.30bn 364d) is scheduled today. Money-market surplus was Rs.142.36bn and USD/LKR closed near 336.35/336.50.

The Central Bank kept the overnight policy rate unchanged at 8.75%, and the Colombo Stock Exchange All Share Price Index rose 0.39% to 21,228.39. Brokers noted a flow of funds from equities to fixed-income instruments amid higher interest rates; turnover was 2.7 billion rupees.

Sri Lanka rupee quoted at 336.50/75 to the US dollar in the spot market (from 336.35/50), while bond yields were broadly steady and Rs.140,000 million of Treasury bills are to be issued at auction. Government bond quotes were around 11.20–12.15%, with small moves on a few maturities.

Central Bank kept the Overnight Policy Rate unchanged at 8.75%. Headline inflation rose to 6.8% in June, with higher fuel prices and Middle East tensions posing upside risks; gross official reserves were USD 6.45bn and the rupee has stabilised.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka kept the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) unchanged at 8.75%. Headline inflation accelerated to 6.8% y/y in June 2026 driven by higher energy and food prices; gross official reserves were USD 6.45bn and the rupee has stabilised.

Seylan Bank (SEYB.N0000) has partnered with John Keells CG Auto to offer dedicated NEV leasing for BYD and DENZA, with up to seven-year repayment terms, 24-hour lease approvals and a 50% concession on document processing fees.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed up 0.02% as the ASPI rose 3.83 points to 21,149.56; top positives included Seylan Bank (98.90) and PickMe, while John Keells (19.60), Hayleys (227.00) and Access Engineering (74.90) were the main detractors.

NDB Wealth marked its 34th anniversary with a client engagement event in Kandy focusing on family business succession and the investment implications of Middle East geopolitical tensions; NDB Wealth is part of the NDB group.

HDFC Bank (HDFC.N0000) said it diversified in 2024–25 into leasing (Super Draft Leasing), gold purchase loans, personal loans and green financing aligned with the Central Bank's Green Taxonomy. The bank also introduced green deposit products and named Hemal C. Lokugeegana as CEO to drive sustainable growth from 2026.

Abans Finance PLC (AFSL.N0000) opened four new branches—Ambalangoda, Moratuwa, Horana and Kiribathgoda—bringing its network to 22 after reporting FY ended 31 Mar 2026 profit after tax of Rs.857 million (up 101%). Total assets rose 54% to Rs.20.81 billion and customer deposits reached Rs.11.04 billion.

ITAK MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam warned Parliament against the politicisation of COPE and urged equal, transparent investigations with referrals to CIABOC, the police or other authorities. He cited his prior exposure of massive non-performing loan portfolios at Bank of Ceylon, People's Bank and National Savings Bank.

Union Bank (UBC.N0000) launched a competitive pension loan of Rs 8 million at the lowest interest rates while hosting a Pensioners' Day offering health screenings and benefits, including Rs 30,000 in annual PickMe rides for government pensioners; Nawaloka Hospitals participated as a partner.

L B Finance PLC's LB CIM launched the LB CIM Virtual Debit Card with UnionPay, offering in-app NFC Tap-to-Pay, global e-commerce and cross-border QR payments. The platform processed Rs. 300 billion across more than 6 million transactions this year and has 800,000+ downloads.

ASPI fell 0.29% to 21,145.73 while the S&P SL20 rose 0.03% to 5,945.01; turnover exceeded Rs.3.2bn with foreign net inflow of Rs.79.8mn and a Rs.2.3bn crossing in Cargills driving volume. Negative contributors included CINS, COMB, RICH, CARS and HARI; Melstacorp, NTB and HNB were also active.

The CSE and SEC launched the 'A Share for Everyone, A Unit for Everyone' investor outreach at Monaragala and Batticaloa, drawing over 500 participants and offering investment coupons to early attendees. The programme will run nationwide to broaden access to equities through stockbrokers and unit trust managers, with participants including HNB Stockbrokers and Softlogic Asset Management.

Sri Lanka's rupee closed at 336.35/50 per US$ (from 336.25/35), while bond yields were broadly steady; the 15.09.2027 bond closed at 10.35/40% and longer-dated yields ranged about 11.20–12.60%.

Colombo Stock Exchange ASPI fell 0.22% (47.45 pts) to 21,160.65 with turnover Rs 3.28bn, led by food & staples retailing and large crossings dominated by Cargills. Dialog, John Keells, Aitken Spence and Lanka Ashok Leyland were top gainers while Ceylinco Insurance, Harischandra Mills and HNB were top losers.

Secondary bond market was quiet ahead of the 22 July Monetary Policy announcement; yields closed broadly steady to marginally higher with select tenors at 10.30%, 12.00% and 12.00%. Net liquidity surplus rose to Rs.148.13bn, SDFR deposits Rs.103.38bn, USD/LKR ~336.25/336.30.

ASPI fell 0.92% (197.31 pts) to 21,208.10, its lowest in over three months, with 193 counters down and market turnover at around Rs.2.6bn. DIAL, COMB, RICH, JKH and CARS were the major contributors to the decline.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon MD/CEO Sanath Manatunge has been appointed Chairman of the Employers' Federation of Ceylon at the organisation's 97th AGM. He succeeds Dinesh Weerakkody, will serve alongside Vice Chairman Dinal Peiris (Lanka Aluminium) and holds other sector leadership roles.

Women-led MSMEs secured Rs. 145.5 billion in new loans in 2025/26 under Sri Lanka's first year of the WE Finance Code; outstanding women-led MSME loans stood at Rs. 559 billion (28% of the nearly Rs.2 trillion MSME portfolio) while women held 46% of MSME loan accounts.

CBSL's Financial Intelligence Unit imposed Rs.14.6m in AML/CFT penalties on 12 reporting institutions; Citizens Development Business Finance Plc was fined Rs.3m, Cargills Bank Rs.2m, and L B Finance and Janashakthi Finance Rs.1m each for failures in reporting, sanctions screening and customer due diligence.

Asian stocks rose as hopes of Middle East mediation pulled Brent down to $88.88/bbl from a one-month high, while investors awaited major tech earnings and monitored rising U.S. Treasury yields and interest-rate expectations.