News & market updates

FRELLA, a Sri Lankan-born natural wellness brand, is entering the Sri Lankan retail market through a strategic distribution partnership with Baurs & Co., bringing its Ayurveda-inspired beauty and wellness products to local consumers. The brand already serves luxury hotels and operates in 15+ international markets.

David Pieris E-Mobility launched the Bajaj Chetak electric scooter in Sri Lanka, featuring a 3.1 kW motor, 3.5 kWh battery and up to 151 km IDC range. The company has set up nearly 2,000 DPMC touchpoints nationwide for sales, service and spare parts.

Siddhalepa Ayurveda (Hettigoda Group) opened a new retail outlet at the Departure Terminal of Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake. The outlet offers a curated selection of Siddhalepa products for travellers as a final pre-departure experience.

The private sector minimum monthly wage has been raised to Rs. 30,000 from Rs. 27,000 (an increase of Rs. 3,000) effective 1 January. The change, under the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act, requires employers to base statutory payments (EPF, ETF, overtime, gratuity, maternity, leave) on the revised wage and disallows counting most allowances toward the minimum; employees can lodge complaints with the Labour Department for non-compliance.

Gamer.LK's Colombo Comic Expo 2025 concluded at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre, drawing thousands of fans and featuring Munchee Savory as Platinum Partner and Coca‑Cola as power partner; the two-day event hosted 300+ cosplayers and 60+ artists in Artist Alley.

Colombo Dockyard drove turnover and traded higher after India’s Mazagon Dock bought a 41.73% stake; the ASPI rose 0.76% to 23,803 with market turnover Rs9.81bn, of which DOCK accounted for Rs2.65bn.

Colombo market ended flat as the ASPI fell 0.02% to 23,623.74 with turnover near Rs.5.17 billion and foreign investors net sold about Rs.91 million. Top negative contributors were SFCL, JKH, BUKI, CTHR and DFCC, while DOCK, ACL and RHL led turnover and HAYL and DOCK supported index performance.

Gold hit $4,689.39/oz and silver $94.08/oz after US President Trump's tariff threat, driving investors to safe-haven metals and weighing on European shares. Analysts also cited expectations of further interest-rate cuts, central bank gold buying and Chinese silver export curbs as drivers.

Victoria's Secret & Co. secured criminal enforcement in Sri Lanka resulting in coordinated police raids, seizure and ordered destruction of counterfeit Victoria’s Secret perfumes and cosmetics after the accused retailers pleaded guilty and were fined.

John Keells Holdings met Madhya Pradesh government at the WEF and expressed interest in exploring investments in logistics, hospitality, food processing and tourism in the state; a John Keells team will engage further to assess potential collaborations.

Asian Paints Causeway unveiled two auto-refinish products at its 'Night of Champions' event: the Star Class MAXXCUT Metal Filler with a 10-minute rapid drying time and the Star Class 2K Fast Dry Primer Surfacer allowing sanding after 30 minutes.

CBSL PMI: Manufacturing PMI 60.9 and Services PMI 67.9 in December 2025, indicating sharp expansion despite Ditwah weather disruptions. Manufacturing was led by food & beverages and higher new orders, while services were driven by wholesale & retail and accommodation/F&B with rising employment and optimistic near‑term expectations.

ICC Sri Lanka held a seminar on the new VAT tax invoice format due 1 April 2026, finding businesses unready and urging the IRD to clarify mandatory fields, allow adequate transition time, and prioritise guidance over strict enforcement to avoid compliance costs and disruption.

Sri Lanka's services PMI rose to 67.9 in December 2025, signaling expansion driven mainly by wholesale and retail trade amid festive demand. The new-business index climbed to 64.6 and employment increased as firms expanded year-end workforces.

CBSL signals a likely hold on policy rates in early 2026 and aims to return inflation to the 5% target by H2 2026. Liquidity will be managed via targeted operations and SRR tightening, which may lift short-term rates while anchoring long-term yields and supporting consumer, construction and banking earnings recovery.

The BRIGHT national survey of 6,850 households (Nov 2024–Mar 2025) found that just before Cyclone Ditwah 27% of households were multidimensionally poor, 33% experienced food insecurity and 42% reported household debt.

UNDP found 95% of communities in 22 districts reported infrastructure damage from Cyclone Ditwah and urged inclusive recovery financing as the government announced LKR 95 billion support for MSMEs (including 3% concessional loans). The assessment said 93% reported livelihoods affected and noted shortages of construction materials, skilled labour and funding.

HUTCH’s Kahawanu Udanaya Season 3 rewarded retailers with top cash prizes of Rs.4 million, 40 gold coin redemptions and over Rs.15 million in Singer and Cargills vouchers, while 270m reward coins were reinvested into Season 4.

Moose Clothing Company launched Sri Lanka’s Official ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 jersey and the Moose Fan App, featuring a fan-photo digital mosaic and QR-linked “Moose Fan Jersey”; replica jerseys are sold in Colombo and Kandy and the app will be available from 21 January 2026.

Sri Lanka Customs collected 106.6 billion rupees in the first 13 days of January, about 66% of the 160.2 billion January 2026 target. Customs recorded a record 2,551 billion in 2025 and set a 2026 target of 2,207 billion, citing stronger enforcement and a rebound in imports.

National Development Bank (NDB.N0000) appointed tech veteran Shanil Fernando as an Independent Non-Executive Director. Fernando has 25+ years in global IT, held leadership roles at Virtusa and Sysco Labs, and is an independent director at Keells Food Products (KFP.N0000).

Ceylon Cold Stores PLC (CCS) won the National Award of Excellence — Best Supply Chain Practicing Organization 2025 (Commendation) in the Extra Large Manufacturing category on 24 Oct. The company highlighted investments in supply chain digitization, process optimisation and sustainability.

Singer Sri Lanka PLC has partnered with HP to sell HP’s full range of laptops and printers through Singer’s islandwide retail and after-sales network. The launch includes Intel i3/i5/i7 laptops, HP Victus gaming series, printers and flexible payment plans available in stores and online.

Samsung was awarded Superbrands Sri Lanka’s Choice 2025, reinforcing its consumer electronics leadership and benefiting its island-wide distributor partners including Singer and Softlogic, as well as payment partners such as Singer Finance and Softlogic Capital.

Colombo market opened lower as the ASPI fell 0.19% (45.79 pts) to 23,608.51 on turnover of Rs.5.2 billion and a net foreign outflow of Rs.35.4 million. The session saw selling pressure weighing on DOCK, RICH and banks (HNB, SAMP) while JKH, RCL, COMB and PLR were among notable buying/turnover contributors.

The Ceylon Motor Traders’ Association urged the government to abolish the 15% depreciation on used vehicle import CIF values and to enforce a three-month registration rule to prevent revenue leakage and curb stockpiling of imports.

Verité Research says grants and revenue measures — including time-bound solidarity taxes and an increase in cigarette excise — are critical to finance Sri Lanka's Rs. 500 billion supplementary allocation for Cyclone Ditwah recovery. The allocation raises 2026 government spending to Rs. 7,557 billion and widens the budget deficit from 5.1% to 6.5% of GDP.