A market brief each morning, plus company filings and news from across Sri Lanka's stock market. Filter by company, sector and theme, and use sentiment badges to quickly identify Positive or Negative news.
IFC Sri Lanka operations officer Rukshila Gooneratne urged the spices sector to adopt AI, traceability, branding and value addition to capture premium export markets and support Sri Lanka's $36bn export target by 2030. She highlighted IFC support for cinnamon GI, tech-driven productivity and climate-resilience measures.
Spera unveiled Spera Humanoid, Prototype One, a full-scale bipedal humanoid developed in Sri Lanka for security applications and aimed at international markets as the company moves toward commercial deployment.
GRI and the Sri Lanka Export Development Board signed a strategic multi-year cooperation agreement on 7 September to strengthen sustainability and impact reporting across Sri Lanka's export ecosystem, with particular emphasis on SMEs and alignment with the National Export Development Plan 2026-2030.
The Export Development Board has called for RFPs to appoint a service provider to revamp its website and run a digital marketing campaign to boost the global visibility of Sri Lanka's ICT sector; bids are due 29 Sep 2026 with a pre-bid meeting on 21 Sep.
Visa supported the Scale Up 2.0 National SME Forum 2026 as Platinum Partner, promoting digital payments, cross-border commerce and digital capability-building to help Sri Lankan SMEs scale, improve competitiveness and access new markets.
The Export Development Board organised Sri Lanka’s first national pavilion at Fine Food Australia 2026 (31 Aug-3 Sep), a 90 sqm pavilion that brought together 12 Sri Lankan food and beverage exporters to showcase tea, cinnamon, coconut products, processed foods and seafood to Australian and international buyers.
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board, with the Sri Lanka High Commission in the Maldives and private partners, ran a Sri Lanka Country Pavilion at Food and Hospitality Asia Maldives (FHAM) 7-9 Sept, showcasing 10 SMEs under 'Creative Sri Lanka 2030' to promote giftware and lifestyle exports to the Maldivian hospitality market. The initiative targets resort buyers with high-value niche products such as home décor, spa items and artisanal souvenirs.
The 11th Belt and Road Summit in Hong Kong concluded successfully, drawing over 6,200 political and business leaders from 70+ countries, showcasing 300+ investment projects, arranging 800+ one-on-one meetings and facilitating more than 60 MoUs. Sri Lanka was represented by Trade Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe.
Sri Lanka's apparel industry, which accounts for roughly 40% of merchandise export revenue and employs about 300,000-350,000 people, is pushing to lift apparel exports toward a US$8bn target and support the government's NEDP goal of US$28bn by 2030. Industry asks include stronger investment incentives, building local upstream capacity, automation and productivity upgrades, market diversification and faster trade negotiations.
Lawyers for suspect Jiffry Mohamed have urged the Attorney General to direct the FCID to fully investigate police allegations that goods paid for via dollar remittances were undervalued yet cleared by Sri Lanka Customs. They say advance payments under the 2011 regulations were lawful, banks conducted due diligence, and Customs and the source of funds should be probed; the suspect remains in remand.
Sri Lanka exhibited at the 74th Bangkok Gems and Jewellery Fair (8-12 Sep 2026) with a 72‑booth Sri Lankan Pavilion. The participation, coordinated by the Embassy in Bangkok, aims to deepen trade ties and expand export opportunities to Thailand, which takes over 50% of the sector's exports.
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board led a Sri Lanka Country Pavilion at FHAM Maldives (7-9 Sept 2026) showcasing 10 SMEs under Creative Sri Lanka 2030 to promote giftware and lifestyle exports to the Maldivian hospitality market. Exhibitors aimed to secure procurement links with luxury resorts, boutique hotels and souvenir retailers to grow niche, high-value exports.
Former ambassador Mahinda Samarasinghe urged a speedy conclusion of the bilateral tariff agreement with the US to protect exports and investment, noting the US accounts for 25% of Sri Lanka's exports, 90% of the agreement is complete and tariffs were cut from a planned 44% to 33% and 10% progressively.
IFH KÖLN and Messe Frankfurt's Global Consumer Goods Industry Index (second survey) shows the global business climate remains subdued at 100.4 (vs 100.1 in the first wave) while pressures have shifted to geopolitical uncertainty, rising production/procurement costs and tariffs. Manufacturing respondents citing global uncertainty rose to 84% (from 52%).
Sri Lanka launched 'Gem Sri Lanka 2027' in Bangkok to attract Thai buyers after exports to Thailand more than doubled to over $90m in 2025, with precious and semi-precious stones accounting for almost 70% of those shipments.
Sri Lanka and Germany identified practical avenues for cooperation to position Sri Lanka as a competitive maritime, logistics and export hub at a sector-focused briefing in Colombo; attendees included the Foreign Ministry, AHK Sri Lanka, EDB and SLPA, which outlined projects, investment opportunities and export strategy.
SLEIS 2026 (12-13 Oct) will host a session titled "Linking Sri Lanka to Asia's Growth Networks" to examine deepening trade connectivity, attracting investment and integrating into regional value chains. The keynote will be delivered by Standard Chartered CEO India & South Asia P. D. Singh, with government and industry panellists.
The Ministry, with the German Industry & Commerce delegation (AHK Sri Lanka), held a sector briefing on Sept 11 to position Sri Lanka as a competitive maritime, logistics and export hub and to deepen trade, investment and technology cooperation. SLPA outlined upcoming projects and the EDB presented the country's export strategy to identify German-Sri Lankan partnership opportunities.
Infomate Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of John Keells Holdings (JKH.N0000), has opened a second regional BPM/BPO office in Kurunegala to expand delivery beyond Colombo and tap regional talent for serving international clients.
The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce will hold the Sri Lanka Economic & Investment Summit 2026 on 12-13 Oct 2026 (theme: Linking Sri Lanka to Asia's Growth Networks) to examine how the country can deepen regional supply-chain integration, improve trade connectivity and attract investment.
US Federal Maritime Commission Commissioner Robert J. Harvey praised Sri Lanka's supply-chain resilience and said the FMC is taking an increasingly assertive stance investigating and enforcing against chokepoints that threaten American cargo, while inviting closer bilateral cooperation at the International Maritime Conference 2026 in Colombo.
CSF urged the government to establish an independent Trade and Productivity Commission with its own secretariat, analytical capacity and monitoring powers to anchor a credible trade-adjustment program, warning reforms risk repeating past failures and citing a $10bn annual unrealised export potential.
The Sri Lanka-Indonesia Business Council held its 3rd AGM and re-elected Sheamalee Wickramasingha as President. The council named an executive committee including representatives from hSenid, Amana Bank, Aitken Spence, Haycarb and Sunshine Holdings and said it will pursue closer trade and investment ties with Indonesia.
The Tea Exporters Association held its 27th AGM and reappointed Huzefa Akbarally as chairman for 2026/27. TEA said about 85% of Ceylon Tea shipping routes have been disrupted and freight rates have risen several-fold, yet exports remain resilient and it urged government support to lift production toward 350 million kilos by 2030.
The Export Development Board and University of Kelaniya launched a joint seminar and mini innovation exhibition on 3 September 2026 to boost Sri Lanka's electronic and electrical export sector, drawing over 50 participants and showcasing more than 30 new products. The initiative offers R&D, IP and AI marketing support to improve product quality and export readiness.
The Centre for a Smart Future (CSF) urges establishing an independent, analytically-capable Trade and Productivity Commission to anchor Sri Lanka's tariff rationalisation and potential resumption of FTA talks, warning that a consultative body would fail. CSF also recommends Industry Competitiveness Councils, TVET retraining and targeted investment support.
A US Federal Maritime Commission delegation led by Chair Laura DiBella visited the Port of Colombo to discuss port operations, capacity expansion, regional port development and strengthening maritime connectivity and supply-chain resilience.
Sri Lanka Export Development Board and the University of Kelaniya held "Innovation Bridge 2026" on 3 Sep, a seminar and mini-exhibition to boost electronic and electrical exports via R&D, IP support and AI marketing tools; over 50 participants attended and 30+ new products were displayed.
The government has renewed focus on handloom, calling it an "industry of the future" and setting an export ambition of US$100 million. The article argues Sri Lanka should build a creative economy-linking makers, designers and markets-rather than simply expanding production.
The Sri Lanka-Canada Business Council held its 35th AGM, re-electing Mohamad Hameez as President for 2026/2027 and appointing an Executive Committee including representatives from Aitken Spence Travels and Hatton National Bank. The council reaffirmed its commitment to promote bilateral trade and investment with Canada and set up subcommittees on membership development, women entrepreneurship and CSR.