News & market updates

The Colombo Stock Exchange ended the week with the ASPI up 0.6% and net foreign inflows of Rs.155.9 million, with weekly turnover averaging Rs.2.97 billion; notable contributors included HHL, COOP, SUN, CTHR and BUKI.

Central Bank cut rates by 25 basis points, lifting the Colombo Stock Exchange 0.19% as the ASPI closed 31.49 points higher at 16,504.86. Hemas, Co-operative Insurance, Sunshine, C T Holdings, Bukit Darah and Haycarb were among gainers while Teejay Lanka and Dipped Products fell.

Standard Chartered hosted the 'Transact Digital – Corporate Masterclass' on 22 May 2025 to promote digitisation of financial transactions in Sri Lanka; the event featured industry speakers including Maduranga Kulathilaka, CFO of Digital Mobility Solutions.

HNB Life PLC (HASU) won the 'Best Life Bancassurance Provider in Sri Lanka' award for the fifth consecutive year. The company highlighted its partnership with parent Hatton National Bank (HNB) and said it is targeting a 10% market share via the partnership channel.

Colombo market gained further momentum as the ASPI rose 1.15% (183.5 pts) with turnover of Rs. 4.5 billion led by heavy trading in John Keells, Lanka Realty, Commercial Bank, LOLC Holdings and Sampath Bank. Separately, Lanka IOC announced a first and final dividend of Rs. 5 per share.

HNB Assurance PLC has launched a 24-hour call centre (short code 1301) to provide round-the-clock customer support; hospitalisation claims will continue to be handled as per the policyholder’s issued instructions.

Life Insurance Corp. (Lanka) Ltd. secured a Rs. 2,000 million capital infusion from parent Life Insurance Corporation of India. The company said the funding will support new growth initiatives, product launches and expansion into new markets.

Ceylinco Life hosted 1,060 winners (265 policyholders) at Pearl Bay as part of the 18th edition of its 'Family Savari' promotion. Five policyholder families won all-expenses trips to China and ten won holidays to Malaysia, scheduled for May and June.

Calls for greater use of actuaries in Sri Lanka's general insurance sector, highlighting their roles in pricing, policy liability estimation, risk management, reinsurance and investment, and recommending stronger regulatory guidance to improve premiums and compliance with Risk Based Capital rules.

Sri Lanka sold Rs173 billion of Treasury bills with yields flat across maturities: 3-month 7.65% (7.1bn sold), 6-month 7.98% (54.7bn sold) and 12-month 8.30% (111bn sold); settlement May 16.

ADB says developing financial tools and expanding agricultural insurance, alongside smart farming technologies (precision farming, remote sensing) and resilient crop practices, is essential to reduce farmers' vulnerability to increasing weather extremes in Asia-Pacific.

Hatton National Bank reported March 2025 quarter profit rose 48% to LKR 10.6 billion (EPS LKR 18.71). Net interest income grew 8% to LKR 23.6bn, loans edged up to LKR 1,078bn, insurance premium income rose 26% to LKR 5.4bn and Tier I capital fell to 17.60%.

Sri Lanka sold Rs80 billion of government bonds—Rs35bn of 15 Oct 2029 paper at an average yield of 10.22% and Rs45bn of 01 Nov 2033 paper at 10.97%—with settlement on May 15; both issues are available on tap.

Sri Lanka's ASPI rose 0.53% (up 84.32 pts to 15,925.92) after the World Bank pledged US$1bn, lifting banking shares including HNB, Sampath, Commercial Bank and DFCC. Export-oriented stocks such as Teejay Lanka and Dipped Products fell as turnover dropped to LKR1.6bn.

Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation General (SLICGL) and the Royal College Union signed an MoU on 9 April 2025 for SLICGL to provide RCU members exclusive insurance benefits and to contribute a percentage of net premiums from policy conversions to the RCU Loyalty Pledge for scholarships. Benefits include discounts on Medi Plus/Medi 60, loyalty rewards, vehicle cover enhancements and complimentary Home Protect Lite or Solar cover with Motor Comprehensive policies.

Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe urged mobilising $10.85 billion by 2030 to meet Sri Lanka's climate commitments and launched the Sustainable Finance Roadmap 2.0. He called for alignment with global disclosure standards (S1/S2) and formation of stakeholder committees to implement the plan.

Secondary bond yields were largely steady ahead of a Rs.130bn Treasury bill auction today. Details of a Rs.80bn Treasury bond auction (Rs.35bn 15‑Oct‑2029 at 10.35%, Rs.45bn 1‑Nov‑2032 at 9.00%) were announced and USD/LKR closed near Rs.299.50.

Union Assurance launched a new Employee Value Proposition, 'Grow Beyond Limits', to attract, develop and retain talent by prioritising meritocracy, skill development, career progression and work–life balance.

Kasun Amarasuriya explains the role of actuaries in life insurance, describing how they model risk, set premiums and reserves, and support product pricing and risk management; he notes actuarial teams are currently heavily engaged in implementing the new accounting standard SLFRS 17 (IFRS 17).

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka launched the Sustainable Finance Roadmap 2.0 on 05 May 2025, setting prioritized actions for 2025–2029 to strengthen ESG risk management and finance sustainable development across banks, non‑bank financial institutions, capital markets and insurance. The roadmap was developed with IFC and EU support.

Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation General Ltd. (SLICGL) and the Royal College Union signed an MoU on 9 April 2025 under which SLICGL will provide RCU members exclusive insurance benefits and contribute a percentage of net premiums from policy conversions to the RCU Loyalty Pledge to fund scholarships. Benefits include discounts on Medi Plus/Medi 60, loyalty rewards, vehicle cover options and complimentary Home Protect Lite or Solar cover with certain motor policies.

HNB General Insurance was named Sri Lanka’s Most Awarded General Insurance Company 2024 by LMD and had its Fitch credit rating upgraded to 'A(lka)' from 'A-(lka)'.

The Central Bank's Sustainable Finance Roadmap 2.0 finds financial institutions' contribution to Sri Lanka's sustainability targets remains small and urges scaling up sustainable finance (e.g. green loans, labelled bonds, sustainable insurance) to tackle environmental and social challenges.

Foreign investors bought about $2 million (600 million rupees) of Sri Lanka government securities in the week ended April 30, the second straight weekly inflow after prior outflows. There was an inflow of 3.33 billion rupees the week before, following 10.1 billion rupees of outflows in the two weeks to April 17.

Pasan Wanigasekara has been appointed to the Board of John Keells PLC as an Independent Non-Executive Director. He currently also serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director at Abans Finance PLC and Union Assurance PLC.

AIA Group reported a 13% increase in value of new business (VONB) to $1,497 million and a 7% rise in Annualised New Premiums (ANP) to $2,617 million for 1Q2025. The VONB margin rose 3.0 pps to 57.5% and the Premier Agency accounted for over 75% of VONB with an 8% increase in active agents.

Sri Lanka sold Rs11.5 billion of Treasury bonds on tap, at weighted average yields of 10.30% (15 Jun 2029) and 10.96% (15 Mar 2031), with settlement on May 2. Rs10,000 million was raised via the Direct Issuance Window from a total subscription of Rs16,161 million.