News & market updates

Short Circuit appointed five senior leaders across its portfolio: Lahiru Dissanayake as CEO, Kasun Delgolla as CTO, Mevan Perera as CMO (Surge Global & Calcey), Yohan Wijesiriwardane as CEO of Payable, and Steve Ludewyke as CPO of SurgeOS. The restructure shifts the group from a founder-led model toward a leadership-led platform to scale its technology, payments and product businesses.

Sri Lanka's High Commission in the UK held a roundtable on 3 July with the SLUKCC and UK officials to strengthen bilateral economic ties and promote Sri Lanka EXPO 2027 in Colombo. Discussions covered macroeconomic reforms, trade and tourism, the UK's DCTS, education partnerships, technology investment and a planned Business Forum in September.

SLT‑MOBITEL has partnered with ride‑hailing platform HelaGo to launch three exclusive driver mobile packages; the top monthly plan costs Rs.596 and includes 750 minutes, 750 SMS, 5GB anytime data plus 15GB dedicated app data for HelaGo, WhatsApp and Google Maps.

Sri Lanka Brand Conclave 2026 will be held on 28 July at Cinnamon Grand Colombo, featuring global marketing speakers and sessions on AI, creativity and digital transformation, with marketing leaders from Singer Sri Lanka and Dialog Axiata participating.

Colombo Stock Exchange ASPI fell 0.27% to 21,473.27 at midday, while the S&P SL20 was down 0.04% to 6,019.55. BPPL Holdings said subsidiary Beira Brush will acquire Ravi Industries' customer base and the "Ravi" trademark for a minimum 300 million rupees payable over five years tied to revenue.

SLIIT Business School study finds many Sri Lankan shoppers still prefer cash-on-delivery due to lack of trust in online payments; platform quality, payment authentication, privacy and reliability were identified as key drivers of consumer confidence.

Keells supermarkets (John Keells Group) will accept Dialog Pay at its 150 stores nationwide, enabling scan-and-pay transactions and offering complimentary Dialog data rewards on eligible payments.

Australia's High Commissioner Matthew Duckworth reaffirmed support for Sri Lanka's bid to join RCEP and urged continued trade reforms and full digitalisation of border processes to strengthen competitiveness and integrate into regional supply chains.

Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Sri Lanka's Chief Advisor to the President on Digital Economy, met Malaysia's Secretary‑General Datuk Abdul Halim bin Hamzah in Geneva to exchange strategic approaches for improving public digital services and AI governance. The discussion took place on the sidelines of the WSIS Forum and AI for Good Global Summit 2026.

Binance held a 9th anniversary community meetup in Colombo on 12 July attended by 500+ people to promote secure blockchain literacy, wallet security and Web3 talent development. The event underscores efforts to build a local digital ecosystem aligned with Sri Lanka's shift toward digital-first growth.

Hikvision Sri Lanka held the Shaping Intelligence – Smart Building Summit 2026, showcasing AIoT building-management and security solutions and recording 157 participants.

Colombo Stock Exchange's ASPI fell 0.40% (86.60 pts) to 21,678.96 and the S&P SL20 dropped 0.33% to 6,057.66, with market turnover Rs194.1m as banks weighed on the index. Alpha Fire Services announced a proposed acquisition of Icon Engineering, projecting group revenue above Rs1bn, ~30% higher profitability and foreign currency inflows from Maldives projects.

HyperCon 2026, a two-day gaming, esports and digital entertainment convention organized by NXL Entertainment and TRIOSLK, will be held 1-2 August 2026 at the Royal MAS Arena and RCU Skills Centre in Colombo, projected to attract 4,000+ on-site visitors and 100,000+ online viewers.

Sri Lanka's high-level delegation, led by Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, participated in the UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva (6–7 July), reaffirming the country's commitment to international cooperation, digital equity and a fair, secure global digital order.

TRCSL Director General Bandula Herath presented Sri Lanka's digital regulatory reforms at WSIS Forum 2026 in Geneva, highlighting new spectrum auction rules, infrastructure-sharing regulations, broadband QoS standards, updated provider licensing and strengthened SIM registration to boost transparency, investment and connectivity.

AmCham Sri Lanka led a delegation to the AmChams of Asia Pacific Washington Doorknock (21–24 June 2026) to lobby US policymakers on the US–Sri Lanka bilateral trade agreement, Section 301 issues affecting exporters (notably apparel), and to seek US investment and development finance support.

Government will implement a phased, FATF-aligned AML regulatory framework for virtual asset service providers and has proposed the SEC as prudential regulator, while cryptocurrencies remain unrecognised and banks/cards are barred from facilitating crypto transactions. Talks to enable PayPal inward receipts continue and some banks already offer Wise/Payoneer for cross-border receipts.

Dialog Enterprise (Dialog Axiata PLC) renewed its strategic partnership with the National Chamber of Exporters to accelerate digital transformation for Sri Lankan exporters. The collaboration will deliver converged connectivity, cloud, cybersecurity, data analytics, AI and IoT solutions and provide workshops targeting SME exporters.

Asian stocks rose sharply, led by chip and AI firms, as investors brushed off Middle East attacks; SK Hynix priced its ADR at $149, raising about $26.5bn. Brent crude was set for a 5% weekly rise to $76.03/bbl and Japan's yen firmed after finance minister comments.

Colombo Port City Economic Commission will invite RFPs for an international university, hospital and school as it shifts from real estate to building institutional foundations; the Commission permits transactions in 14 foreign currencies under a dollarised regime and flags IT talent shortages constraining investment.

The Parliamentary Committee on Public Finance approved a Customs Ordinance resolution and two EDB orders to implement a National Tariff Policy that will reset import duty bands to 0%, 10%, 20% and 30% from 1 April 2026. The reforms include cutting effective ceramic-tile import taxes to 20% by 2029, phasing out para-tariffs by 2029, and updating trade data to support export growth.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said the 2027 Budget will prioritise strengthening public healthcare and reducing private treatment costs. Measures include recommencing 26 suspended hospital projects (48 projects now under way), new primary-care 'Arogya Suwa Seva Centres', technology upgrades for state hospitals, ambulance improvements, digital health systems and pharma procurement reforms.

Global FDI rose 6% to $1.6 trillion in 2025, driven by a small number of megaprojects—notably AI-related data centres—while developed-economy inflows rose 11% and developing economies grew only 2% to $901bn. The recovery is narrow and concentrated, with risks from trade uncertainty, geopolitics and high financing costs for 2026.

The Employees' Trust Fund Board will require employers with 15 or more employees to submit ETF contributions and monthly returns electronically for contributions relating to July 2026, due on or before 31 August 2026. Payments must be made via designated banks' internet banking or by direct debit; cash, cheques and printed returns will no longer be accepted.

TikTok removed 441,089 videos in Sri Lanka in Q1 2026 (about 0.5% of uploads), with 99.1% removed proactively and 95% of those taken down within 24 hours. Globally the platform removed 184,012,576 videos and 86,288,705 fake accounts in the quarter.

Dialog Enterprise (part of Dialog Axiata PLC) renewed its strategic partnership with the National Chamber of Exporters to provide digital transformation tools — including cloud, cybersecurity, data analytics, AI and IoT — to strengthen Sri Lankan exporters, with a focus on SME exporters.

Dialog Axiata's Dialog Enterprise renewed its partnership with the National Chamber of Exporters to provide digital tools — including connectivity, cloud, cybersecurity, data analytics, AI and IoT — and training to help Sri Lankan exporters, especially SMEs, boost competitiveness.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed up on Friday as the ASPI rose 0.31% (67.84 pts) to 21,765.56, ending a week-long losing streak; turnover was 2 billion rupees. Top positive contributors were Ceylon Cold Stores, Haycarb and Dialog Axiata.

Colombo Stock Exchange picked up midday; ASPI rose 0.32% to 21,768.20 and S&P SL200 gained 0.36% to 6,088.29. Turnover was 905 million rupees and top positive contributors were John Keells Holdings, Haycarb and Dialog Axiata.

Singapore FinTech Festival 2026 will be held 18–20 November 2026 at Singapore EXPO, focusing on translating fintech ideas into action with emphasis on AI, tokenisation and digital finance. The Fintech Association of Sri Lanka is an official Community Partner for the seventh consecutive year.