News & market updates

COPA ordered the Department of Archaeology to submit a proposal for a centralised digital database within three months and to urgently fill IT vacancies after finding only 1 of 12 approved IT officers in post. It also demanded a one-month report on the 48% of archaeological sites that remain ungazetted and urged website updates and UNESCO nomination proposals.

Sri Lanka Expo 2026 will feature 750 exporters and an investor forum targeting 1,500 foreign buyers, investors and media to help boost exports to $36bn by 2030. The event (June 18-21) will showcase 24 product/service categories with thematic pavilions including sustainable/green solutions and ICT, and offer discounted travel and accommodation for qualified buyers.

TikTok's Search feature has become a primary content-discovery tool in Sri Lanka, with notable increases in searches for education, travel, food and fitness over the past year. TikTok has rolled out Search Interventions — local helplines, crisis guidance, misinformation prompts and multilingual election guides — to surface authoritative resources for sensitive queries.

Binance secured full authorization under ADGM and reported $34 trillion in trading volume across products in 2025 while surpassing 300 million registered users.

Parenthood Global hosted the Parent-Inclusive Workplaces Summit 2025 and named Janashakthi Group (JXG) Parent-Inclusive Workplace of the Year, while Dialog Business Services and HNB group units won awards for leadership, HR policies and wellbeing. The event also launched the Corporate Circle Lifestyle Portal to support working parents.

India plans an execution-led economic push with Sri Lanka in 2026 emphasizing investments, connectivity, digital collaboration and concessional financing, backed by a $450m post-Cyclone Ditwah package ($350m concessional lines, $100m grants). Engineering for the India–Sri Lanka grid interconnection is complete and Colombo Dockyard’s revival with Indian support was cited as ongoing commercial engagement.

CH17 Loyalty has launched Sri Lanka’s first integrated HRM SaaS with an embedded rewards and loyalty module, combining HR operations, engagement, attendance and configurable rewards; the platform is now available for enterprise onboarding and pilot deployments across Sri Lanka.

Dialog Axiata PLC's Dialog Television secured exclusive Sri Lanka media rights for all ICC events from 2026 to 2028, covering Pay-TV and exclusive OTT/mobile rights plus a free-to-air partnership with TV Supreme. Coverage includes men's, women's and U19 World Cups and the World Test Championship Final, with streaming via Dialog ViU+ supported by Dialog's mobile network and 5G.

Parliament approved amendments to the Colombo Port City law capping tax holidays at 15 years for billion-dollar investments and imposing shorter, rule-based terms for smaller projects. The law defines investment bands (A $1bn; B $500m; C $100m; D $25m) and offers reduced rates for secondary projects, while officials note currency instability and broader fiscal/IMF policies could still affect investment appetite.

The Computer Society of Sri Lanka (CSSL) appointed its new 2026 Council at its 37th AGM while marking 50 years of service to the nation's ICT sector, with L.G. Heshan Karunaratne as President. The council includes senior ICT professionals from industry, academia and government to guide Sri Lanka's digital agenda.

Salesforce will launch its Startup Program in Sri Lanka by end-January 2026, offering AI-powered products, mentorship, go-to-market support and training to help local software- and data-led startups scale and connect to global markets.

XpressJobs signed an MoU with ESOFT Uni to provide structured, industry-aligned internships for undergraduates to improve graduate employability.

BOV Capital's Dialog Axiata-backed DADIF has achieved exits from IFINITY, Roar and Cultiv8 and saw Insureme.lk list on the Colombo Stock Exchange. Fund 3 is planned for 2026 but awaits a government resolution on double taxation.

Colombo market rose for a ninth straight session as the ASPI gained 1.21% to 23,292.91, with market turnover about Rs. 6.6bn; banking counters led activity and top positive contributors included HNB, COMB, JKH, NDB and SAMP.

Global equities extended gains with US indexes hitting records on AI-led tech rallies while oil prices slipped; investors are watching upcoming US data that could influence Federal Reserve interest-rate decisions.

E Gravity Solutions (Pvt) Ltd marks 16 years, offering locally designed and manufactured electronic and IoT solutions across environmental monitoring, cold chain and energy intelligence; it now powers an energy monitoring network covering 140 Keells outlets and over 600 monitoring points islandwide.

Supreme Court Judge Arjuna Obeyesekere urged lawyers not to monetise uncertainty around the new data protection regime, calling for guidance rather than opportunistic litigation to preserve trust in Sri Lanka's digital framework. He warned such cases could slow digital adoption and urged constructive legal support.

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka adopted LankaSign digital signatures enabled by LankaPay and handed over secure digital signature tokens to its office bearers on 5 January 2026 to enable electronic signing and digitalisation of legal documents. The rollout will be extended to the Association’s wider 26,000+ membership in due course.

Dialog Axiata PLC committed LKR 420 million to the Government’s Rebuilding Sri Lanka initiative to support recovery after Cyclone Ditwah. The funds will help restore and upgrade critical hospital infrastructure and refurbish ICT facilities in over 20 cyclone-affected schools.

CT Smith said the Colombo bourse hit record highs in 2025, with the ASPI up 42% YoY to 22,624 and the S&P SL20 up 27% YoY to 6,157. Net foreign outflow was Rs. 38,563mn, average daily turnover rose to Rs. 5,181mn, with net foreign buying in DIAL, PKME and RICH and selling in JKH, CTHR and HNB.

SLT-Mobitel restored over 98% of sites impacted by Cyclone Ditwah, mounting a nationwide connectivity recovery with estimated repair and upgrade costs of Rs. 5–6 billion. The company activated a central ‘War Room’, restored core SLBN nodes within 24 hours, deployed temporary FWA, prioritized hospitals and launched a 24/7 National Medical Helpline available to all networks.

Hatch Fund Singapore invested about USD 650,000 in Cultive8, a Sri Lankan-rooted agri-tech startup, to streamline its cap table and accelerate regional and international expansion. The investment also provides access to Hatch's global accelerator platform for market entry and follow-on support.

HelaGo, a locally-built ride-booking platform, was launched and secured USD 1 million in seed funding from the David Pieris Group. The app is available on Android/iOS and via the Helakuru Superapp, with a Western Province rollout from Jan 6 and nationwide expansion planned.

People’s Bank partnered with the Transport, Highways and Urban Development Ministry to launch a digital ticketing system for SLTB buses enabling card payments; pilots are running on Makumbura–Galle and Makumbura–Embilipitiya routes.

Kaspersky reports over 117 million phishing links were clicked in APAC in 2025, all detected and blocked by its solutions. It found 88.5% targeted online credentials and that stolen data is verified, bundled into “dumps” and sold on dark‑web markets (bank accounts avg $350; crypto $105).

The Ministry of Transport launched a pilot electronic card payment system for Sri Lanka Transport Board buses, starting on selected routes (Makumbura–Galle, Makumbura–Embilipitiya) and charging no extra fees to passengers. The scheme, guided by the Ministry of Digital Economy, will be evaluated and refined after the initial phase; People’s Bank officials attended the launch.

The Bar Association and Computer Society will hold the 2nd National Data Protection Symposium on 6 January 2026 at Cinnamon Life Colombo, themed 'Safeguarding Privacy in the Age of Intelligence', focusing on the amended Data Protection Act, AI ethics, and privacy in e‑commerce and digital transactions.

Port City Colombo has commissioned public utility connections to Colombo’s main grid and attracted over $1bn in land development investments as it moves into full commercial operations. Browns Investments PLC (part of the LOLC group) has broken ground on a $120m Luxury Marina with berthing for 200 vessels.

Kapruka Holdings (KPHL.N0000) completed its Partner Central e-commerce project at Rs. 89.3m versus a Rs. 200m IPO allocation, leaving Rs. 110.7m unutilised proposed for reallocation to working capital subject to shareholder approval. The company attributes the underspend to in‑house development and use of existing teams.