News & market updates

HNB Life PLC marked its 25th anniversary by ringing the Colombo Stock Exchange opening bell in a special ceremony, commemorating its evolution from HNB Assurance to the rebranded HNB Life and reaffirming its focus on life insurance.

Union Assurance launched what it called the largest Leader Reward Scheme for agency leaders in Sri Lanka's life insurance industry at its Leader Conference 2026, aiming to recognise top performers and accelerate leadership development. Union Assurance is a subsidiary of John Keells Holdings PLC.

Sri Lanka's rupee closed at 336.10/20 to the US dollar on Tuesday, versus 336.20/35 the previous day. Government bond yields edged mostly up on select tenors: 2028 and 2030 rose slightly, 2033 fell, while several issues were flat.

Janashakthi Insurance PLC (Janashakthi Life) was named among Sri Lanka's 50 Best Workplaces™ for 2026 by Great Place To Work® Sri Lanka in the Medium category (251-500 employees). The recognition follows its Great Place To Work® Certified status and an 88% Employee Trust Index™ score in 2025.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed flat, ASPI up 0.07% to 21,187.22 with turnover of 2.07 billion rupees; capital goods led turnover at 866 million rupees.

Ceylinco Life (Ceylinco Holdings PLC) hosted 10 winning families — 40 participants — on an all-expenses-paid Malaysia tour under the 19th 'Family Savari' promotion. The itinerary included Kuala Lumpur highlights (Petronas Twin Towers, Aquaria KLCC) and Genting Highlands as part of its customer engagement rewards.

SEC, CSE and CA Sri Lanka signed an MoU to implement XBRL-based reporting for companies listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange, targeting rollout in the latter part of 2026. The CSE has procured and customised the XBRL platform and is completing UAT while a joint committee finalises the taxonomy and implementation framework.

Softlogic Life Insurance PLC completed the acquisition of a 60% controlling stake in Bangladesh's Diamond Life Insurance for approximately $1.9 million. The deal finalises the company's entry into the Bangladesh life insurance market following a June 18 purchase agreement disclosure.

Sri Lanka sold Rs14,000 million of Treasury bills on tap at average rates of 9.95%, 10.24% and 10.20%, bringing this week's total T-bill sales to Rs154 billion. Market subscription for the tap sale was Rs84,810 million.

Sri Lanka's ASPI fell 0.20% to 21,171.86 at Friday midday; market turnover was Rs.1.62 billion, led by retailing (Rs.1.029 billion). Melstacorp, John Keells and Cargills were up, while Bukit Darah and Ceylinco Insurance were among the top decliners.

CRIB hosted its Annual CEOs Forum and Institutional Rating Awards 2026 and officially launched the MyCRIB mobile app to give citizens real-time access to credit profiles and scores. The event, attended by CEOs across banks, NBFIs, insurance, telecoms and utilities, emphasised digital transformation, AI, data governance and financial inclusion.

Green finance is emerging in Sri Lanka to channel investment into renewable energy, green bonds, ESG-linked lending and sustainable infrastructure to boost climate resilience and economic recovery. Banks, capital markets, developers, tourism operators and tech firms are highlighted as key participants.

Delmege Insurance Brokers warns Sri Lankan directors face rising personal liability in 2026 from the PDPA, Companies Act obligations and cyber threats, and recommends Directors' & Officers' and Cyber insurance to protect boards and cover legal defence costs.

Chrysalis' Climate Resilience Revolving Fund (CRRF) delivered recovery loans within 3–10 days after Cyclone Ditwah, which caused an estimated Rs.50–85bn in damage to MSMEs; stakeholders agreed to pursue a national blended-finance scale-up and form a technical working group.

Hatton National Bank (HNB) says sustainability is a core strategic imperative, citing its successful Rs. 10 billion Sustainability Bond issuance and its decision to exclude coal financing. The bank urged board-level governance, better climate data and alignment with CBSL’s Sustainable Finance Roadmap 2.0 and the SLSBI to integrate sustainability across Sri Lankan banks.

CA Sri Lanka is adopting and localising the ISSB's IFRS S1 and S2 as SLFRS S1/S2 and has launched a Preparers' Guide, a Sustainability Governance Code for finance professionals and a CSRSA qualification to strengthen sustainability reporting and governance across the economy.

Ceylinco Life (Ceylinco Holdings PLC) had 32 green branch buildings by end-2025 that generated ~1.12 GWh of solar energy, harvested 3.08M litres of rainwater and recycled 1.386M litres of water. The company says it has embedded ESG across investments, operations and products and plans to expand renewables and green branches.

Sri Lanka Corporate Director Summit urged companies to raise board governance standards to help rebuild the country's investment appeal. Speakers including Minor International's CEO and LYNEAR Wealth's MD stressed board quality, independence, faster decision-making, AI readiness and sustainability as investor priorities.

HNB Life (HASU.N0000) has launched the HNB Life Mobile App, giving customers on-the-go access to policy details, requests and support; the app is available on Google Play and the Apple App Store. The move follows recent digital upgrades including AI integrations and the HANA chatbot.

LOLC General Insurance and Seylan Bank PLC held a 'League of Greatness' felicitation night celebrating their bancassurance partnership, which operates across 104 Seylan Bank branches and has continued since 2013.

The Insurance Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (with the Insurance Association of Sri Lanka) will run public insurance awareness programmes in Kurunegala on 23 July 2026 and Kuliyapitiya on 24 July 2026 under the theme 'Insurance for All'; a Kurunegala roadshow will feature all 29 licensed insurers and a career desk.

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.

Union Assurance launched 'Union Assurance Platinum Circle', automatically enabling eligible policyholders to access exclusive lifestyle experiences, milestone recognition, digital health services and partner benefits via its Clicklife app.

Foreign holdings of rupee government securities rose by Rs. 7.67 billion last week to Rs. 176.56 billion. Secondary bond yields firmed after Treasury auctions and geopolitical-driven oil price moves while T-bill yields softened, liquidity surplus rose to Rs. 167.97bn and USD/LKR closed ~336.2.

AIA Insurance Lanka has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to become the exclusive Insurance Partner of SLASSCOM, aiming to support wellbeing initiatives for Sri Lanka's technology and knowledge community through events and corporate wellness programs.

Janashakthi Limited (JXG) was featured as the first Sri Lankan financial conglomerate in an official TikTok for Business Case Study after its 'Who is JXG?' IPO campaign generated over 4.76 million video views and drove more than 255,000 clicks to the IPO landing page ahead of its LKR 5 billion IPO.

Hatton National Bank (HNB.N0000) was named Sri Lanka's Best Bank for Large Corporates at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2026, its second time winning the title. The bank cited involvement in a USD 1bn sustainability-linked syndication, LKR 44.5bn financing for a 350MW power project and investments in digital and transaction banking.