News & market updates

IVS-GBS, a wholly owned subsidiary of GBS Technology Services, issued a statement contesting findings in the Auditor General’s Special Audit of e‑Visa operations, saying it was the prime contractor, the matter is sub judice, and it will engage the AG’s Office and provide clarifications.

GovPay, the Government's national digital payment platform, has processed Rs. 568 million across 37,715 transactions and connected 184 government institutions as of 30 October. Operated by LankaPay under ICTA and the Central Bank, it enables online payments for permits, licenses, fines and other government services via banks and mobile apps.

ASPI closed up 0.27% (62.41 pts) to 22,839.53 as HNW-led buying and large crossings in ATL, JKH and DOCK supported the recovery. Turnover was Rs.7.78bn with a net foreign outflow of Rs.857m; capital goods, insurance and retailing led activity.

VFS Global issued a statement responding to media reports on the Auditor General’s Special Audit Report into Sri Lanka's e-Visa operations, saying it had a limited technical role, has offered to cooperate with authorities, and remains committed to transparency.

IVS-GBS, the prime contractor for Sri Lanka's eVisa outsourcing, issued a statement disputing observations in the Auditor General’s Special Audit Report dated 3 Oct 2025, saying the matter is sub judice and that it will engage the Auditor General’s Office to provide clarifications.

Nvidia became the first company to reach a $5 trillion market value as shares rose 3% to $207.04, driven by surging demand for its AI chips and a reported $500 billion in AI chip orders.

The Sri Lanka Economic and Investment Summit 2025 will be held 2–3 December in Colombo with international speakers and sponsors/partners including Sunshine Holdings, Dialog Axiata and Hayleys, focusing on reform, investment-led growth and topics such as clean energy, logistics and tourism.

Assetline Insurance Brokers has partnered with Hutch Sri Lanka to provide complimentary travel insurance (US$5,000 cover on the popular 10GB weekly roaming plan) to Hutch roaming customers, with Allianz Insurance providing the policy.

The Sri Lanka Retail Forum 2025 gathered 500+ retail leaders in Colombo to highlight AI’s role in transforming retail operations and customer experience. Major sponsors and participants included John Keells, Singer and Dialog, with sessions on AI, data and retail leadership.

Huawei has commercially verified sub-1 GHz Massive MIMO (700/800/900 MHz), showing ~5x downlink capacity, 8 dB better uplink coverage and ~4x faster uplink speeds with a consistent ~20 Mbps uplink, improving low-band spectral efficiency and 5G migration compatibility.

VFS Global said it had a limited technical role in the eVisa outsourcing agreement between IVS-GBS and Sri Lanka's Department of Immigration (agreement dated 21 Dec 2023) and has offered to provide full support to the Auditor General regarding the Special Audit.

Sri Lanka held a "Business & Tourism Opportunities in Sri Lanka" forum in Brussels on 13 October 2025 to promote trade, investment and tourism, highlighting opportunities in tourism, pharmaceuticals, F&B, ICT, renewable energy and exports such as tea and coconut products.

Daraz Sri Lanka partnered with the Industry Ministry to deliver National RO Program training at SLIM in Colombo, training 53 Relationship Officers to help SMEs build online presence and reach customers nationwide.

Malik Fernando formally assumed the role of Austria's Honorary Consul in Sri Lanka after presentation of credentials at a reception in Colombo, pledging to boost bilateral cooperation with a focus on renewable energy, digital transformation and tourism infrastructure.

Metropolitan Technologies, Acer’s authorized distributor in Sri Lanka, hosted Next@Acer 2025 to unveil Acer’s new AI-powered lineup including Copilot+ PCs and the lightweight 16" Swift Air; products will be sold via Metropolitan MCentre branches and authorized dealers with two- or three-year warranties.

Metropolitan Technologies, Canon's sole Sri Lanka distributor for 51 years, said Canon held a 61% share of Sri Lanka's printer hardware market in 2024 and introduced the MAXIFY GX7070 4-in-1 MegaTank printer. The Canon Metropolitan Partner Awards Night presented 27 dealer awards recognizing sales and service excellence.

Esshva won two awards at the National Best Quality ICT Awards 2025, taking Gold for Leading Workplace (Professional Services) and Bronze for Chekku (Business ICT Solutions). The wins highlight Esshva's enterprise software innovation and contribution to Sri Lanka's digital transformation.

Colombo market opened lower as the ASPI fell 0.10% to 22,788.79; major movers included Colombo Dockyard (DOCK +24.20%) and Ceylon Hospitals (CHL +25.64%), while C T Holdings, Central Finance and Richard Pieris were among the session's laggards.

The IPS estimates Sri Lanka's digital economy at Rs.1,342 billion (4.5% of GDP). The report projects e-commerce to reach $3.9bn and e-services $1.9bn by 2029, cites ICT-BPM exports growing toward $2bn and forecasts rapid workforce and startup expansion in the sector.

The Sri Lanka Economic and Investment Summit 2025 will be held Dec 2–3 at the Shangri‑La Colombo, featuring international speakers on reform, investment, green logistics and climate finance. Event sponsors/partners include Sunshine Holdings, Hayleys (Hayleys Advantis) and Dialog.

HUTCH Sri Lanka hosted the ceremony for the 2nd SATRC Working Group meeting with TRCSL, welcoming nearly 75 regional telecom regulators. The event aimed to strengthen regional regulatory cooperation and reinforce HUTCH's role in telecom and digital development.

Daraz Sri Lanka partnered with the Ministry of Industry to deliver Relationship Officer training at SLIM for 53 field officers to equip SMEs with skills to build online presence and expand via e-commerce; the programme is part of the National SME Development Strategic Framework.

Union Bank has partnered with Mastercard to enhance its digital payments ecosystem, aiming to deliver smoother, safer and more seamless transaction experiences for customers and support Sri Lanka’s digitalization of payments.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff unveiled 'Agentforce 360,' a platform to build, control and deploy trusted enterprise AI agents at scale, positioning 'agentic AI' as the next enterprise CRM/IT shift.

Emojot won AI Technology of the Year at the 27th NBQSA (NBQSA 2025) and also received the Silver Award in Retail & Distribution for its Retail CX Transformation AI platform.

Port City Colombo received the Visionary Award for Next-Generation Financial Hub Development at the Asian Digital Finance Forum and Awards 2025. Now in its vertical development phase, the project is positioned as an AI- and fintech-ready international business hub aligned with Sri Lanka’s digital infrastructure and regulatory strategy.

Fintech Forum Sri Lanka marked its first anniversary with its inaugural AGM, saying it has united banks, NBFIs, fintech firms, regulators and LankaPay to push digital payments and cut currency-in-circulation from 4.5% to 3.5% of GDP within three years. The Forum plans international partnerships, capacity building and startup support to position Sri Lanka as a regional fintech hub.

Fintech Forum Sri Lanka marked its first anniversary and held its inaugural AGM, uniting banks, NBFIs, fintechs and regulators and targeting a reduction in currency-in-circulation-to-GDP from 4.5% to 3.5% within three years. The Forum, backed by LankaPay and CBSL engagement, will pursue international partnerships, startup support and regulatory alignment to drive digital payments and financial inclusion.

Parliament received a special audit report on the Department of Immigration's e-visa contract urging swift implementation of nine key recommendations, including legal clarity, continuous tech upgrades, transparent tendering, investigations into approving officials, and recovery of losses.

Firstdoctor launched a cloud-based doctor booking and telemedicine Platform-as-a-Service in Sri Lanka, enabling doctors and small clinics to digitise consultations, scheduling and prescriptions. The platform aims to improve accessibility and could support cross-border medical tourism by allowing remote pre-treatment consultations.