News & market updates

Home Lands Group has delivered 3,500 residential units across its completed projects. The group now manages over 6,000 units, with more than 2,500 units under construction due for delivery between 2026 and 2028.

An IMF team will visit Colombo from March 26 to April 9, 2026 to conduct combined fifth and sixth reviews of Sri Lanka’s EFF, and completion could unlock about US$700 million in tranches. The reviews follow delays due to Cyclone Ditwah and will cover fiscal response, monetary policy and financial-sector stability.

Colombo Stock Exchange fell 1.82% as the ASPI closed at 20,264.01 amid investor uncertainty over the West Asia conflict; the S&P SL20 fell 1.98%. Top negative contributors were John Keells (-3.74%), Access Engineering (-6.04%) and Commercial Bank (-1.42%), with turnover of Rs 3.95bn and banks active.

Colombo market rebounded as the ASPI rose 1.09% (222.54 pts) to 20,640.63 on turnover of Rs.5.27bn, while foreign investors were net sellers of Rs.191.2m. Banking led turnover (34%) driven by HNB crossings of Rs.607.7m; top movers included DOCK, RIL, AEL, MELS and ACL.

SLIA and Foxygen hosted 'Foxygen Café: The Architects Room' at BMICH, a day-long forum presenting a vision for 2030 for the architecture and construction industry. Sessions covered market research, Materials of the Future, BIM, VR and AI in design with local and international speakers.

Colombo Stock Exchange ASPI rose 1.65% (335.95 pts) to 20,754.04, led by capital goods and banking. Colombo Dockyard jumped 8.74% and Access Engineering rose 4.46%; Ambeon Holdings announced a 1-for-4 share subdivision and Ceylon Land & Equity reported transfer of 241m rights.

Sri Lanka's economy expanded 5.0% in 2025, with GDP at constant prices rising to Rs. 13,128,577 million. Industry led growth at 7.8% while services grew 3.3% and agriculture 1.4%; authorities cited easing interest rates, a relatively stable exchange rate and stronger construction, manufacturing, financial services, IT and tourism activity.

Sri Lanka's economy expanded 5.0% in 2025, with Q4 growth slowing to 4.8% (from 5.4% in Q3). Industry led the expansion (7.8%) driven by construction, mining and manufacturing, while services grew 3.3% and agriculture 1.4%.

The Cabinet approved plans to secure $620 million from the ADB across five sub-programs to support trade, MSME finance, water and sanitation, resilience and agricultural value-chain financing. The package is policy-based lending aligned with Sri Lanka’s IMF EFF reforms and includes a $220m MSME finance component.

Cabinet approved a Rs. 2,269.18 million contract to the JSL & Fentons JV (Jyoti Structure Ltd and Hayleys Fentons) to construct a 28 km 220kV double-circuit transmission line for the Mullikulam Wind Power Transmission Project, strengthening grid connectivity and renewable integration.

Colombo Stock Exchange has lost over Rs. 1.1 trillion in value since the Middle East war began, with the ASPI down 2.49% (521.17 pts) to 20,418.09 yesterday. Panic selling hit retail investors, with COMB, HAYL, DOCK, NDB and AEL among 227 decliners and net foreign selling of Rs.104.7m.

Capital Trust Properties Chairperson and CEO Minoli Wickramasinghe was honoured with an 'Outstanding Contribution to the Real Estate Industry' recognition at the UK House of Commons. The company reported strong growth, expects a positive outlook for 2026, and noted sector rental yields rising from around 3% pre-COVID to nearly 8%.

The Committee on Public Finance approved a Gazette amending Colombo Port City development regulations, easing building-height limits and expanding land for electrical operations; government infrastructure spending is Rs. 9.9bn so far, expected to reach Rs. 10.5bn by 2027. The changes aim to streamline approvals (single-window), recover costs via rent (100% from state land, 1% from developer land), require construction financing in foreign exchange, and warn unauthorised local developers.

The Urban Development Authority launched the 'Mother Lanka' digital platform to boost public participation and transparency in urban planning, accessible at motherlanka.uda.lk. The multilingual platform lets stakeholders view projects and regulations, submit feedback for real-time review, and emphasizes data protection.

John Keells Properties unveiled Vauxhall DSTRCT, a 60-storey residential tower in Colombo, and sold over 100 apartments by launch day. The development offers one- to four-bedroom units with lifestyle amenities and upgraded smart-technology features, located on Vauxhall Street (Colombo 2).

LOLC Securities' Investor Forum said a sovereign credit rating upgrade could attract foreign inflows as CSE market capitalisation rose to about Rs.7.6 trillion (from Rs.2.9 trillion in 2022). The forum highlighted stabilised macro fundamentals, recovering exports and tourism, and sectoral opportunities in finance, construction and export-oriented industries.

The CSE fell as the ASPI dropped 4.45% (1,009.36 pts), wiping Rs. 348.6 billion amid Middle East tensions and oil topping $100/bbl. Banking shares including COMB, HNB, HAYL and NTB were leading negatives while capital goods and crossings by MELS, ACL and AEL drove turnover.

Alumex PLC was the official material sponsor of 'Unleashed 2026', providing about 650 kg of aluminium components and specialised anodising services for the University of Moratuwa's FALCON E1 electric race car. This is Alumex's third consecutive student EV project and the car is slated to compete at Formula Student Spain.

A policy brief warns the SLTDA’s plan to lease 3,000 acres for tourism could repeat Kalpitiya’s experience of stalled resort projects and idle land after 15 years. The study cites severe infrastructure shortfalls (water meets only 54% of demand, ~3.5m litres/day deficit), weak EIAs, governance gaps and community conflict undermining investability.

ASPI fell 1.63% to 21,998.12 as Middle East tensions and higher oil prices weighed on the Colombo market. S&P SL20 dropped 1.71% to 6,172.28 with broad declines led by JKH, HNB, MELS, HAYL and SAMP; turnover topped Rs.4.1bn and foreigners were net buyers of Rs.32.2m.

US President Donald Trump announced a $300 billion plan with Reliance Industries to build a refinery at the Port of Brownsville, Texas. The project is billed to process about 1.2 billion barrels of US shale oil and produce ~50 billion gallons of refined products amid heightened oil-market volatility.

Alumex PLC was the Official Material Sponsor for the University of Moratuwa's FALCON E1 launch, supplying roughly 650 kg of aluminium components and specialized anodizing services for the student-built electric race car. This is Alumex's third consecutive support for the team's vehicles, which will compete at Formula Student Spain.

John Keells Properties unveiled Vauxhall DSTRCT, a 60-storey residential tower in Colombo, and sold over 100 apartments on launch day. The development on Vauxhall Street (Colombo 02) offers one- to four-bedroom units with smart-technology features and lifestyle amenities.

TMC Colombo will host a seminar on "Condominium Properties – Issues and Concerns" on 24 March 2026 to discuss condominium ownership, property management, construction and legal issues, including implications for financial institutions accepting condominiums as securities.

ADB will provide more than $1 billion annually to Sri Lanka from 2026–2029 to support macroeconomic stability, private-sector growth, education, resilient infrastructure and a major digital transformation program. The bank is fast-tracking emergency assistance for Cyclone Ditwah recovery and will support Sri Lanka's RCEP accession.

Kerner Haus Global Solutions PLC's board recommended a 1-for-70 share subdivision, increasing issued shares from 600,170 to 42,011,900 while stated capital remains Rs.30,358,500; the move is subject to CSE concurrence and shareholder approval. Shares closed Friday at Rs.2,381.50 and net liabilities were Rs.76/share at end-Dec 2025.

Asia Securities convened 150+ investors and corporate leaders at the Sri Lanka Investor Conference 2026 to present a constructive capital-market outlook, with speakers citing roughly 4% GDP growth prospects for 2026. Panels highlighted construction, banking/finance, consumer and digital sectors as key growth drivers and projected strong corporate earnings expansion.

ADB will provide more than $1 billion annually to Sri Lanka from 2026–2029 and is fast-tracking an emergency assistance loan to help rebuild after Cyclone Ditwah. Funding will target macro stability, private-sector growth, digital transformation and resilient infrastructure, and support RCEP accession.

President Trump announced a 168,000 bpd refinery to be built at Brownsville backed by India’s Reliance, which signed a binding 20-year offtake; America First Refining said it plans to break ground in Q2.

ACP Asset Management launched the first Sri Lanka-focused UCITS fund, seeded with $10m and expecting a further $25m within 30 days, targeting $100m AUM in 6–12 months. The fund will invest in Sri Lankan equities, sovereign eurobonds and liquid treasury instruments and aims to draw foreign capital into sectors including banking, construction, F&B and tourism.