News & market updates

Indian CEO Forum re-elected Kishore Reddy as president at its AGM and reaffirmed commitment to deepen India–Sri Lanka business ties; Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha urged investment, an upgraded FTA and cooperation across tourism, IT, infrastructure, manufacturing and services.

National Savings Bank Group reported a 1Q 2026 operating profit of Rs. 15.5 billion, with total operating income of Rs. 22.5 billion and customer deposits of Rs. 1.6 trillion. Asset quality and capital remained strong (Stage 3 ratio ~2.34%; Total Capital Ratio 24.9%).

PDMO and the ADB jointly hosted the Asian Regional Public Debt Management Forum 2026 in Colombo to address climate resilience and debt sustainability in the Asia-Pacific. Discussions centered on strengthening public debt management, debt sustainability analysis, local-currency markets, green financing and AI/digital tools for debt operations.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon (COMB.N0000) launched PayPal-linked withdrawals via ComBank Digital, letting eligible customers transfer PayPal balances directly into their Commercial Bank accounts. The self-service email-based linkage enables near-instant transfers for freelancers and exporters, supporting regulated foreign currency inflows.

Webxpay appointed Denver Lewis as Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, effective June 2026. He also joins the board as the company pursues growth and regional expansion in fintech and digital payments.

Hatton National Bank (HNB) will serve as title sponsor of the CCWE Fashion Week and International Summit 2026, a four-day event at Cinnamon Life from 16–19 July expected to bring together over 400 women entrepreneurs. The summit, supported by ESCAP-SSWA, will focus on export linkages, training and digital skills for women-led enterprises.

Speakers at the Sri Lanka Brand Forum Leadership Summit urged companies to redesign strategy for a new era of permanent volatility, prioritising employee wellbeing, organisational resilience (slack resources), decentralised decision-making, and long-term purpose-driven social programs.

The BOI launched 'Ready to Invest', a digital platform showcasing over $3bn of investor-ready projects across eight priority sectors. BOI said Sri Lanka attracted $1.06bn FDI in 2025 and about $1.9bn of BOI-approved projects are set to commence, led by urban/mixed-use ($970m), manufacturing ($650m), tourism ($400m) and logistics ($385m).

Cabinet approved revised regulations allowing foreign money or value transfer service providers to register and be supervised by the Central Bank under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, strengthening AML/CFT oversight and formalising remittance and digital payments operations.

Sri Lanka's ICT/BPM exports reached about USD 581.7m in Jan–Apr 2026, surpassing tea exports of USD 451.58m over the same period. FITIS says the milestone reflects years of ecosystem development and recent policy measures supporting the country's digital economy ambitions.

IMF approved a US$695m disbursement to Sri Lanka under its EFF despite breaches including intensified import controls and a cyberattack that led to a missed US$2.5m external payment; authorities requested a waiver and pledged corrective actions.

Creative Information Technologies opened a new premium showroom at Unity Plaza on 25 May 2026 to expand its retail and distribution presence. The company distributes brands including Amida, HAVIT and PNY and retails products from HP, Dell, Asus and MSI.

The Sri Lankan-German Business Forum 2026 opened in Colombo to promote bilateral trade and attract FDI, with a particular focus on maritime and logistics investment. The three-day forum features a startup and innovation showcase and panels on maritime development, export competitiveness, infrastructure financing and GSP+ trade concessions.

SLT-MOBITEL Enterprise hosted SmartChat Mega – Kandy, showcasing tailored digital and AI-driven solutions to over 200 SMEs to accelerate digital transformation and offering one-on-one consultations on cloud, IoT, enterprise mobility and secure business platforms.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon (COMB.N0000) has upgraded its Self-Onboarding Platform to let new customers, including Sri Lankans abroad, open savings accounts instantly via web or mobile with real-time video identity verification and automated compliance screening.

Huawei executive He Tingbo presented the Tau (τ) Scaling Law at ISCAS 2026, proposing time (τ) scaling and LogicFolding as a new guiding principle to boost transistor density, performance and energy efficiency. Huawei says it has designed 381 τ-based chips and will launch LogicFolding Kirin chips in Fall 2026.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon has enabled PayPal-linked withdrawals via ComBank Digital, allowing eligible customers to transfer PayPal balances directly into their Commercial Bank accounts instantly. Linking uses email-and-DOB authentication and the digital process takes about two minutes without a branch visit.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon now lets Sri Lankan freelancers, digital entrepreneurs and exporters transfer PayPal balances directly into Commercial Bank accounts via ComBank Digital. Eligible customers link PayPal by matching registered email and date of birth for near-instant authenticated transfers, which the bank says will facilitate foreign currency inflows.

Dr. Nirmal De Silva launched his book 'The 15 Organizational Realities' at BMICH, Colombo, presenting fifteen recurring organizational patterns and practical leadership shifts based on over 7,800 engagements across more than 250 organisations. The launch included a panel of senior private- and public-sector leaders.

Senior public debt managers and international institutions met in Colombo at the 2026 Asian Regional Public Debt Management Forum to advance regional cooperation on climate resilience and debt sustainability, focusing on local-currency debt markets, green financing and AI/technology in debt operations.

Samsung plans to invest $1.5 billion to build a semiconductor testing plant in Vietnam with construction underway and operations slated for November 2027; the plant would have capacity of 153.3 billion Gb DRAM and 255.6 billion Gb NAND and Samsung may reinvest up to $2.5bn for a second factory.

The Sri Lanka Banks' Association says the banking sector remains stable and customer deposits are safe despite recent electronic fund-transfer and cyber-fraud incidents, with losses absorbed by banks' capital buffers and regulators prepared to provide temporary liquidity support.

Asian shares rose and Brent crude traded near $100/bbl as markets awaited developments in US‑Iran talks and central bank commentary on inflation and interest rates. Investors also tracked currency moves, a likely RBNZ rate hold and gains in gold.

Sri Lanka Banks' Association said the banking sector remains stable and customer deposits are secure despite recent isolated fraud and cyber incidents, with losses absorbed by banks' capital buffers and regulators confirming capital and liquidity ratios above minimum requirements.

Digital Mobility Solutions Lanka (PickMe) posted FY25/26 revenue of Rs.8.7bn (+49%), net profit of Rs.2.2bn (+88%) and GTV of Rs.84.5bn, distributing over Rs.73bn to independent earners; the Board proposed a final dividend of Rs.2.60 (total Rs.4.30).

SASSRI held a high-level panel on 7 May 2026 in Colombo titled “Drones, Deterrence, and Defence,” focusing on the impact of UAVs, AI, cybersecurity and regulatory needs for Sri Lanka’s national defence and the importance of indigenous capability and inter-agency cooperation.

Huawei presented the Tau (τ) Scaling Law at ISCAS, proposing time (τ) scaling and LogicFolding to boost transistor density and system performance. Huawei says it has designed and mass-produced 381 τ-based chips, will ship Kirin chips using LogicFolding in Fall 2026, and expects 14 Å-equivalent density by 2031.

Multi Audio Visual Pvt Ltd held an Allen & Heath Digital Audio Training Programme at BMICH to upskill local AV professionals; the event also included renewal of its Authorized Distribution Agreement with Allen & Heath UK.

SLT‑MOBITEL Enterprise hosted SmartChat Mega – Kandy for over 200 SMEs, showcasing tailored digital and AI-driven business solutions. The event provided one-on-one consultations and guided hubs covering cloud, IoT, enterprise mobility and collaboration tools to support SME digital transformation.

People’s Bank posted a standalone profit before tax of LKR 16.6 billion for Q1-2026 and group PBT of LKR 20.0 billion, with bank assets at LKR 3.8 trillion and group assets at LKR 4.2 trillion. The bank raised a LKR 25.0 billion Tier 2 debenture, lifting CAR to 17.9%, improved Stage 3 ratio to 7.2% and Stage 3 coverage to 50.0%.