News & market updates

The Sri Lankan rupee has depreciated 3.6% against the US dollar year-to-date, with an indicative USD/LKR spot rate of Rs.321.87 (buy Rs.318.03, sell Rs.325.64) as of 8 May 2026 — the weakest level since 16 January 2024.

Sri Lanka's official reserve assets fell $267m to $6.76bn in March, with foreign currency reserves down $295m to $6.54bn; the CBSL was a net seller of dollars in April (net $13m). Predetermined near-term FX obligations total $2.1bn and forward short positions amount to $3.87bn.

Tony Pellé delivered over 6,500 custom leather items — including more than 5,000 pairs of shoes, belts and coasters — for Cinnamon Life staff, all manufactured locally using sustainably sourced leather and plant-based tanning and customized to match staff uniforms and operational needs.

Emirates unveiled a large UAE flag livery on A380 aircraft A6-EVG as part of its 'This Flag Will Always Fly' campaign. The special-liveried A380 has already flown to New York and Brisbane and will operate to additional A380 destinations.

RIUNIT hosted 'Driving Growth Through Real Estate: 10 Year Plan' at the Port City Sales Gallery on 5 May 2026 to launch a decade-long roadmap to attract international real estate investment. The forum, sponsored/attended by major developers including Prime Group and RIL Properties, focused on Port City, affordability and sector synergies.

Colombo Stock Exchange was flat at midday: ASPI up 0.01% to 23,065 while banks led turnover at Rs.2.85 billion. Top movers included CDB (+4.65%), JKH (+0.49%), HHL (+1.21%) and NTB (+1.08%), while HAYL, COMB and DFCC fell.

The Ceylon Chamber will lead a senior corporate delegation to Mumbai for the India–Sri Lanka Business Forum on 13 May 2026, with leaders from John Keells, Aitken Spence, Hayleys, Sierra Cables and Vidullanka among participants to engage Indian investors on trade and investment opportunities.

Nüwa at City of Dreams Sri Lanka received official 5-Star recognition, marking a milestone for the ultra-luxury hotel. The property, which offers 113 rooms and suites, held a celebratory press conference attended by senior resort leadership and tourism officials highlighting its role in Colombo's luxury travel offering.

Vietjet Air will launch the first direct Colombo–Ho Chi Minh City service in August 2026 with four round-trip flights per week, enhancing connectivity. The route is intended to boost Sri Lanka–Vietnam trade, investment and tourism and link Colombo to Vietjet’s Asia‑Pacific network.

The PUCSL approved an 18% electricity tariff rise for consumers using over 180 kWh, effective May 11. The regulator — after a prior 25.3% April hike — ordered the National System Operator to cover coal-shortage extra costs payable to the Electricity Generating Company, and introduced relief for low-use households, EV charging bands, and demand-charge changes for hotels and SMEs.

Vietnamese President Tô Lâm called for a new phase of strategic economic cooperation with Sri Lanka, urging direct Colombo–Ho Chi Minh flights and closer ties in logistics, manufacturing, food processing, textiles, tourism and services to boost trade and investment. A Sri Lanka–Vietnam trade and tourism forum was held in Colombo to advance these plans.

Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya set a bilateral trade target of $1 billion with Vietnam by 2030. She highlighted Sri Lanka's economic recovery (5% real GDP growth in 2025, 2.36m visitor arrivals) and invited Vietnamese investment across manufacturing, tourism, IT and logistics.

Vietjet Air announced its first direct Colombo–Ho Chi Minh City service, launching in August 2026 with four round-trip flights per week. The route is expected to boost tourism, trade and people-to-people connectivity between Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

Colombo Port City officials will travel to Dubai on June 11 to meet investors as they seek further foreign investment into the Colombo Port City economic zone.

Sri Lanka and Vietnam set a target to increase bilateral trade to $1 billion by 2030. Discussions covered renewable energy, digital infrastructure/AI, manufacturing and agriculture; Vietnam donated 100 tonnes of fertilizer and new airline routes to Colombo are planned.

Parliament approved regulations granting 30-day free visa access to travellers from 40 countries; the Treasury will forgo about $75m in visa fees while the government expects 247,000 additional tourist arrivals, ~$317m in tourism earnings and a net gain of ~$242m.

Deputy Minister of Tourism says Sri Lanka must reposition to capture more of India's outbound travel—only about 531,000 of 32.7 million Indians travelling overseas in 2025 visited Sri Lanka. He highlighted AI/digital trends reshaping demand and flagged agriculture, marine and the creative economy as growth areas.

US dollar rose above Rs.320 today, mid-rate at Rs.320.45 (buy Rs.317.26, sell Rs.324.87); CBSL reports the rupee has depreciated about 2.9% against the USD as of April 30, 2026.

FTZMA urged the PUCSL to operationalise power wheeling under Section 13 of the Electricity Act and publish the regulatory framework and wheeling-charge methodology within 90 days to allow industry to buy renewable power via the grid, reduce fuel imports and save foreign exchange.

ASPI rose 258.09 points (+1.13%) on 7 Jul as CSE turnover reached ~Rs.5.28 B; Industrial Asphalt jumped 40%, SMB Finance gained (non‑voting +33.33%, voting +25%), while Palm Garden Hotels fell 7.08% and foreign net outflow was Rs.22.32 M.

Sri Lanka and Türkiye held their second political consultations in Ankara on May 5, focusing on defence and security cooperation and exploring expanded investments and joint ventures in pharmaceuticals, renewable energy, tourism, logistics and technology. They also discussed connectivity, maritime cooperation and education links.

Emirates Group reported record profit before tax of AED 24.4 billion for the year ended 31 March 2026. The group also recorded AED 150.5 billion in revenue, AED 59.6 billion in cash assets, declared an AED 3.5 billion dividend to its owner, and noted the UAE corporate tax rate rose to 15%.

Colombo bourse rebounded as the ASPI rose 0.69% (155.47 pts) to 22,739.77 after Middle East developments pushed oil below $100, with turnover over Rs. 4.1bn and net foreign inflow of Rs. 62.4m. JKH, MELS and RIL were among top positive contributors while LIOC fell and REEF gained.

The US dollar selling rate in Sri Lanka climbed above Rs.324 to Rs.324.03 (buying Rs.316.40, spot Rs.319.78), and the rupee has depreciated 2.9% against the dollar year-to-date to April 30, 2026.

Economist Ganeshan Wignaraja said Sri Lanka could position itself as an Indian Ocean hub for finance, trade, aviation and services if it maintains macroeconomic stability and implements reforms. He urged considering an 18th IMF programme as the current one ends mid-2027 and warned rising oil/gas/fertilizer prices and war-linked tourism and remittance disruptions pose risks.

Cabinet approved the Sri Lanka National Export Development Plan 2026-2030, targeting $36 billion in export earnings by 2030. The plan was prepared by the Export Development Board with ADB technical assistance to guide and monitor export competitiveness.

The Government's proposal to ban e-cigarettes and vaping devices in Sri Lanka has drawn ire from the tourism industry, which says the move could deter vape-using visitors. The industry noted tourism grew 15% to 2.36M in 2025 and cited high vaping rates in key source markets such as the UK and Europe.