News & market updates

Commercial High Court (Colombo) ruled in favour of Rice Lanka Processing Ltd, finding that an Amana Takaful PLC cover note provided valid interim insurance for two flood claims totalling Rs. 66,006,338. The decision affirms cover notes are legally binding and raises insurer liability in similar cases.

Fitch upgraded four Sri Lankan insurers' National IFS ratings after recalibrating the national scale following Sri Lanka's sovereign upgrade; People's Insurance was upgraded to A(lka) and Co-operative Insurance's rating was affirmed at BB(lka). Fitch said the moves reflect reduced investment and liquidity risks tied to the sovereign and banks.

Ceylinco Life held the 18th Family Savari grand draw, awarding 5 policyholder families all-expenses-paid holidays in China, 10 families holidays in Malaysia and 250 families a day at Pearl Bay, benefiting 1,060 policyholders.

Fitch upgraded the national IFS ratings of four Sri Lankan insurers after recalibrating the national rating scale following a sovereign upgrade — People's Insurance (PINS.N0000) was raised to A(lka), HNB Assurance and HNB General were upgraded, while Co-operative Insurance (COOP.N0000) was affirmed at BB(lka).

Colombo market lost Rs.188 billion as the ASPI plunged ~500 points (3%) and the S&P SL20 fell 3.3%, taking market cap below Rs.6 trillion with turnover of Rs.6.35bn. Banking stocks were the main drag (Commercial Bank, Melstacorp, Sampath Bank, NDB); Ceylinco, Teejay, Browns and JKH featured in top turnover.

LOLC Life Assurance hosted its inaugural MDRT Summit and Recognition Night, celebrating over 70 MDRT qualifiers in 2024 including Court of the Table, Top of the Table and two lifetime members. The company outlined its MDRT roadmap and readiness plans for 2025 to support further growth.

Sri Lanka's ASPI fell 2.95% (500.39 pts) to 16,456.10 on Feb 5 as profit-taking triggered broad selling. Top losers included HNB, Commercial Bank, NDB, Sampath, Teejay Lanka and Singer, while Ceylinco Holdings and Lion Brewery gained; turnover was Rs 6.3bn with a net foreign outflow of Rs 343m.

Sri Lanka sold Rs180 billion of Treasury bills with yields falling across maturities: 3-months sold at 7.79% (down 14bps), 6-months at 8.00% (down 9bps) and 12-months at 8.43% (down 4bps). All maturities were available at the weighted average yield.

Union Assurance hosted a recognition program at Waters Edge, Battaramulla, honoring its MDRT-qualified Insurance Relationship Officers. The event included a knowledge-sharing session by Sudeera Godabaddage and an awards ceremony for top-performing IROs.

John Keells Holdings (JKH) reported Q3 FY2024/25 Group EBITDA of Rs.14.28bn (+4%; adjusted EBITDA +10% to Rs.14.89bn), with Cinnamon Life hotel opened in Oct 2024 and the West Container Terminal first phase nearing operations in Feb 2025.

John Keells Holdings (JKH) reported Group EBITDA of Rs. 14.28 billion in Q3 FY2024/25, up 4% YoY (10% excl. one-offs), and declared a second interim dividend of Rs. 0.05 per share. The group opened the 687-key Cinnamon Life hotel, progressed the West Container Terminal, and listed 1,079,375,000 new shares after a debenture conversion.

John Keells Holdings reported a 5% decline in December-quarter profit to Rs 2,845m (EPS 17¢) while revenue rose 13% to Rs 74.2bn. Higher selling, admin and Rs 2.0bn of pre‑operational costs for Cinnamon Life weighed on results, with management expecting future Cinnamon Life/City of Dreams revenues to offset these.

Travel industry urged the Government and Central Bank to reconsider high import taxes on vehicles, saying excessive levies are crippling tourism businesses and risking higher travel prices, service decline and reputational damage that could deter visitors.

Sampath Bank and Union Assurance signed an exclusive bancassurance partnership on 30 January to distribute Union Assurance’s life insurance products through Sampath Bank’s branch network and digital channels.

Sampath Bank signed an exclusive bancassurance partnership with Union Assurance on 30 January 2025 to integrate Union Assurance's life insurance products into Sampath Bank's product suite and distribution. The deal will leverage Sampath's branch network and digital capabilities to distribute the insurance offerings.

Union Assurance PLC entered into a long-term referral bancassurance partnership with Sampath Bank PLC to distribute life insurance products, according to a stock exchange filing on 30 Jan 2025. The internally funded deal gives Union Assurance exclusive access to Sampath Bank's distribution network.

Colombo market turned bearish as the ASPI slipped 2 points to 17,115 on turnover of Rs.7.34bn and a net foreign outflow of Rs.2.2bn led by JKH; capital goods led turnover while NDB, COOP, AEL and Sierra Cables rose and Browns, Royal Ceramics, Melstacorp, LOLC and Hayleys lagged.

HNB Life's Partnership Channel posted GWP of over Rs.6.5 billion in 2024 (31% YoY) and NBP above Rs.1.4 billion (39% YoY) revealed at its Partnership Life 2025 event. The company also noted 135 MDRT qualifiers and thanked Hatton National Bank and broker partners for their support.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed broadly flat with the ASPI down 0.01% at 17,115 and the S&P SL20 flat at 5,126; turnover was 7.3 billion. Top positive contributors included NDB (128.25), Co-operative Insurance (3.70), Access Engineering (42.00) and DFCC (129.50).

Sri Lanka sold Rs40 billion of government bonds—Rs25bn of 15 Dec 2029 paper at an average yield of 10.73% and Rs15bn of 01 Jun 2033 paper at an average yield of 11.47%; both bonds are available on tap.

HNB Assurance signed an MoU with Singer Sri Lanka to enable HNB Assurance policyholders to pay premiums at Singer's 400+ outlets, with selected branches open 8:30 a.m.–7 p.m. daily including weekends. The tie-up broadens payment points and supports HNB Assurance's push for cashless and digital payment options.

Sri Lanka sold 182.5 billion rupees of Treasury bills with yields falling across maturities: 3-month at 7.93% (down 19 bps), 6-month at 8.09% (down 16 bps) and 12-month at 8.47% (down 16 bps).

Janashakthi Limited (JXG) launched the JXG Management Trainee Programme 2025, an 18-month cross-functional training initiative exposing trainees to Insurance, NBFI, Investment and shared services to develop future leaders.

AIA Sri Lanka's AIA Healthiest Schools programme has reached 100 schools in Sri Lanka and includes a USD 100,000 allocation for the overall competition. Launched in Sri Lanka in October 2024, the programme remains open for registrations and provides resources and funding to support school health and wellness initiatives.

Sri Lanka Insurance Life recognised over 300 top sales achievers at its Star Awards 2024 in Colombo. The ceremony, attended by more than 350 staff and senior management, honoured winners across adviser, branch, regional and bancassurance categories.

The Central Bank's inaugural Monetary Policy Review for 2025 is due today; secondary bond yields held broadly steady while a Rs.182.50bn Treasury bill auction and a Rs.40.00bn Treasury bond auction were announced and the rupee appreciated to around Rs.297.05/297.15.

Janashakthi Insurance Company PLC (Janashakthi Life) recorded LKR 6.6 billion in Gross Written Premiums for 2024, a 43% increase year-on-year. The company credited stronger sales, digital integrations and the launch of the online 'Janashakthi Heart Guard' product for the growth.