News & market updates

Colombo market fell sharply, ASPI down 1.14% (250.79 pts) to 21,760.31 and the S&P SL20 down 1.08% to 6,031.73. Foreign investors were net sellers of Rs.92.25m and higher interest rates weighed on investor sentiment.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed flat with the ASPI down 0.07% at 21,744; market turnover was Rs.2.98bn, led by capital goods at Rs.1.26bn. HNB Finance issued a notification on rights issue application procedures for shareholders (record date June 3) and its shares closed down 1.11% at Rs.8.90.

Technocity Private Limited received Lenovo’s Partner Excellence Award 2025–26 for Distribution in Sri Lanka at the Lenovo 360 Accelerate regional event in Colombo. The award recognises Technocity’s role as a Lenovo distributor since 2011 and its contribution to expanding Lenovo’s channel network nationwide.

SLT-MOBITEL PEOTV secured exclusive media broadcasting rights for the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Sri Lanka, covering all 104 matches. Matches will be delivered in HD across PEOTV, PEO MOBILE and its digital platforms.

Colombo stocks fell as investors shifted to fixed income after a central bank rate hike; ASPI down 1.14% to 21,760 and S&P SL20 down 1.08% to 6,031. Top negative contributors included Dialog, Commercial Bank, Melstacorp and HNB, while United Motors announced a 40-cent dividend.

Kaspersky has uncovered a wave of phishing campaigns using Google’s AppSheet to send recruitment-style emails from noreply@appsheet.com that often pass SPF/DKIM/DMARC and redirect recipients to credential-harvesting pages; attackers can also use AppSheet automations (email/SMS) to scale distribution.

ASPI fell 0.75% (166.55 pts) to 22,011.10, extending losses to a third session with turnover over Rs.2bn and foreigners net sellers of Rs.410.26mn. Negative contributors included Dialog, Sampath, Ceylon Beverage, Ceylon Cold Stores and Colombo Dockyard; Teejay Lanka, John Keells and Commercial Bank led turnover.

ZTE Lanka hosted 'ZTE Day 2026' on 29 May 2026 at the Galle Face Hotel to showcase its connectivity, computing and intelligence solutions and reaffirm its commitment to supporting Sri Lanka’s digital transformation.

Colombo Stock Exchange slid midday as the ASPI fell 0.91% (200.70 pts) to 21,810 and the S&P SL20 fell 0.96% to 6,039. Hemas and Colombo Dockyard were positive contributors while Dialog Axiata, HNB, Commercial Bank and John Keells were top decliners; United Motors Lanka announced a 40 cents/share dividend.

Colombo Stock Exchange will host a free online workshop on 23 June 2026 (1:00–4:30pm) to guide corporates on implementing the ISSB/IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (IFRS S1 and S2). Sri Lanka adopted SLFRS S1/S2 effective 1 Jan 2025, with phased mandatory compliance across listed entities through 2027.

SLT-Mobitel PEOTV secured exclusive media broadcast rights for the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Sri Lanka, offering live coverage of all matches via PEOTV, PEO MOBILE and digital platforms.

Binance launched U.S. equities trading for eligible users, offering access to more than 7,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs and zero-commission trading, and said it will soon introduce tokenized "bStocks" issued by BTECH Holdings Ltd, subject to approvals.

The EU urged Sri Lanka to develop a pipeline of bankable infrastructure projects and promoted its Global Gateway financing model—target expanded to €400bn by 2027—to fund ports, logistics, digitalisation and green infrastructure using blended finance and guarantees, stressing project preparation and regulatory predictability.

President’s Special Envoy for Foreign Investment Hanif Yusoof met US Under Secretary Jacob Helberg in Washington to promote US investment in Sri Lanka, highlighting opportunities in ports, logistics, energy and data centres.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed lower as the ASPI fell 0.75% to 22,011.10. Top contributors included John Keells and Lion Brewery on the upside, while Dialog Axiata, Sampath Bank, Ceylon Beverage Holdings and Ceylon Cold Stores led declines; Maharaja Foods opened a new outlet and its shares fell 2.23%.

Masayoshi Son became Asia's richest person as SoftBank shares jumped, lifting SoftBank's market capitalization to $298 billion and Son's net worth to about $97 billion amid AI-driven rallies and major AI investment plans.

Gamer.LK hosted the seventh Women’s Cyber Games 2026 in Colombo with a Rs. 100,000 prize pool; Soul of Devils were crowned Best Clan after winning multiple titles across mobile, PC, console and VR events.

AI and Data Analytics Summit 2026 was held on 22 May at Waters Edge, Colombo, endorsed by the Ministry of Digital Economy and emphasizing government commitment to advancing AI adoption and data-driven governance nationwide.

99x launched Xianix (xianix.ai), an open-source AI platform for AI-native software delivery, at a breakfast seminar in Oslo. The platform is designed to enable an AI-Driven Development Life Cycle (AI-DLC) by coordinating AI agents across delivery pipelines while keeping human decision-making central.

IBCSL will lead a national business delegation to the 4th China‑South Asia Standardisation Cooperation Conference in Chengdu from 8–10 July. The forum aims to harmonise product, service and technical standards with China to reduce non‑tariff barriers and certification costs for Sri Lankan exporters in tea, apparel, gems & jewellery, rubber and IT services.

Sri Lanka will implement PIC-NET to optimize public services digitalization, aiming to minimize cybercrime and grow the national digital economy from 3% to 12% by 2030. The article cites China’s AI metrology guidelines and Germany’s planned data-centre expansion as reference models.

CSSL says Sri Lanka's ICT exports have grown to become the country's third-largest export sector, surpassing tea. The society called for a human-centric digital transformation with stronger skills, infrastructure, research and policy support to sustain export growth and broaden national participation.

Ceylon Chamber welcomed IMF approval of the combined 5th and 6th EFF reviews, unlocking about $695m in financing, and urged continued reforms to preserve macro stability amid external pressures from the Middle East. It called for a digital fuel QR system, clearer policy communication, and accelerated reforms to boost competitiveness in trade, tourism, logistics and digitalisation.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed down as the ASPI fell 0.24% to 22,256.26. Market turnover was LKR 1.67bn, capital goods led turnover (LKR 286.7m); notable movers included Dialog, RIL Property, HNB and Digital Mobility (up) while JKH and LOLC were down, and ACME reported a 63% rise in losses to Rs.313,538 with shares down 3.51%.

Pink Eagle Holdings (Pvt) Ltd is expanding its diversified group globally across tea exports, logistics, food manufacturing, hospitality and digital retail, highlighting Continental Tea's ADRA Ceylon 10th anniversary and launches such as the Avanti freight app and Pink Panda marketplace.

Huawei received the GSMA GLOMO LATAM award on May 13 for its Tech4Nature Mexico project, which uses AI and cloud tools to monitor jaguars and biodiversity in Dzilam de Bravo Reserve. The initiative has deployed 26 camera traps and 60 acoustic devices, identified 16 individual jaguars, and expanded the protected area from 69,000 to 104,000 ha.

Colombo Stock Exchange midday: ASPI down 0.13% at 22,280 with market turnover Rs.762 million and telecommunications leading turnover at Rs.107.3 million. Notable movers included Dialog +4.93%, RIL Property +8.02% and Digital Mobility +1.69%; Softlogic reported a Q3 loss of Rs.1.70bn (improved from Rs.4.59bn) and shares rose 3.03%.

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce welcomed IMF approval of Sri Lanka’s 5th and 6th reviews, unlocking about USD 695 million under the EFF, and urged continued engagement and structural reforms to preserve macro stability, support investor confidence and address exchange-rate and energy pressures.

The National Chamber of Exporters is pressing for a clear timeline as Sri Lanka's accession to the Madrid Protocol remains in the legislative phase, with the Legal Draftsman's Department finalising required statutory amendments and NIPO set to prepare an Action Plan once the draft is submitted. Joining the Madrid system would let exporters seek international trademark protection via a single application, lowering costs for sectors like tea, apparel, spices, gems, IT services and processed foods.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake declared 15 categories of public services — including electricity, fuel distribution, healthcare, transport, ports/airports, water, telecoms, banking and insurance — as essential under the Essential Public Services Act to ensure uninterrupted services in post-disaster conditions.