News & market updates

Sunshine Holdings (SUN) reported consolidated FY25 revenue of LKR 59.3 billion, a 7.0% YoY increase. The group held its SUN Awards 2025, presenting 215 awards including 65 long-service awards across healthcare, consumer goods and agribusiness.

EDB on 7 July 2025 opened talks with NIRDC to explore R&D support aimed at strengthening Sri Lanka's pharmaceutical sector and boosting exports. Participants called for government-backed R&D, local API development, stronger industry–academia links and centralized R&D coordination.

STEMedical and the Sri Lanka Institute of Biotechnology (SLIBTEC) signed an MoU to establish an internationally accredited laboratory with a $15 million investment. The lab will act as a central accreditation facility for testing in health, agriculture, cosmetics and export-import goods to support quality assurance and export growth.

Cabinet approved a $100 million ADB-funded result-based budget assistance programme to upgrade capacity and quality of secondary hospitals nationwide from 2025–2030, targeting infrastructure, service standards, pharmaceutical supply chains and procurement/financing transparency.

Colombo Rubber Traders Association warned the US will impose a 30% import tariff on Sri Lankan rubber goods from 1 August 2025, which it says will hit exports of solid tyres, gloves and industrial components and threaten rural incomes and the value‑added rubber sector.

STEMedical and the Sri Lanka Institute of Biotechnology signed a $15m MoU to establish an internationally accredited laboratory to provide testing and quality assurance for health, agriculture, cosmetics, Ayurveda and export sectors.

SLPMA unveiled a 'National Call to Produce Medicine in Sri Lanka' and handed a national policy proposal to government officials urging coordinated policy, regulatory and investment support to scale local pharmaceutical manufacturing. The proposal targets producing 75% of domestic needs, building a USD 1bn export industry and creating over 10,000 jobs within 5–10 years via a multi-stakeholder, time-bound roadmap.

SLPMA unveiled the 'National Call to Produce Medicine in Sri Lanka' roadmap aiming to meet 75% of local pharmaceutical needs and build a $1 billion export industry. It targets 10,000 jobs over 5–10 years and calls for a multi-stakeholder taskforce, stronger regulation, R&D support and extension of the Guaranteed Buyback Agreement.

SLAMERP warned that a proposed US 30% reciprocal tariff on Sri Lankan rubber imports, effective 1 Aug, threatens the $1bn rubber export industry and over 150,000 livelihoods. The association said tyre and glove exports are especially at risk as competitors like Malaysia and Vietnam face lower tariffs (20–25%), risking loss of US buyers.

President Trump has imposed a baseline 10% tariff on all U.S. imports plus higher duties on specific products (steel/aluminum 50%, autos 25%) and has threatened further product- and country-specific tariffs (e.g., pharmaceuticals up to 200%, semiconductors 25%, Sri Lanka 30%).

President Anura Kumara Disanayake pledged full digital transformation within five years and declared September a nationwide digital-culture month. He also warned only Rs.23m (4%) of the Rs.574m Hambantota allocation has been spent, ordered urgent use of budgeted funds and said he will seek Rs.70m for a Hambantota hospital kidney unit.

The US will impose a 30% tariff on Sri Lankan rubber products from 1 August, threatening Sri Lanka's $1bn rubber export industry and about 150,000 livelihoods. Tyre and medical-glove exporters — especially solid-tyre and glove segments reliant on the US — face acute competitiveness losses versus rivals with lower tariffs.

President Trump has imposed a baseline 10% tariff on all US imports plus higher, product- and country-specific duties (e.g. steel/aluminum 50%, autos 25%); threatened measures include pharmaceuticals up to 200% and semiconductors 25%+, and a list of countries (Sri Lanka listed at 30%).

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake met Gates Foundation leaders to discuss collaboration on agricultural modernisation, nutrition and digital public infrastructure, including the Inclusive Digital Agriculture Transformation (IDAT) initiative to support smallholder farmers and rural tech integration.

AIA Insurance’s “Rethink Healthy” podcast Episode 3 features powerlifting entrepreneur Adhisha Dahanayake, highlighting her journey to self-worth and holistic wellbeing and noting her national powerlifting records and qualification for the 2020 Commonwealth Games (380 kg aggregate).

Technomedics appointed Meval Srilal, Chanaka Weerawardena and Rajeeva Wimalawickrama to its Board of Directors, effective 1 April 2025. All three are long-serving executives with operational, marketing and finance backgrounds, and Rajeeva also sits on subsidiary JF&I Packaging.

Vision Care partnered with the Western Province School Transport Association to run a mobile eye-health awareness campaign, mobilizing over 300 school vans branded with eye-care messages. The company also ran driver training encouraging biannual eye checks to improve early detection and road safety.

Ceylinco Life ran six free 'Waidya Hamuwa' health camps in H1 2025, reaching more than 1,200 people. Camps provided NCD-focused screenings (blood sugar, BP, ECG, cholesterol, CKD urine tests, BMI, vision), introduced haemoglobin testing, identified multiple undiagnosed conditions and distributed vegetable seed packets.

EDB and the Sri Lanka Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association agreed to collaborate to boost pharmaceutical exports, noting last year’s exports were $8.07m and the sector has attracted over Rs.100 billion in investment with around 25 manufacturers. Stakeholders were urged to submit sector challenges to the Export Development Council for policy action.

EDB met the Sri Lanka Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association on 1 July 2025 to collaborate on boosting pharmaceutical exports and addressing industry bottlenecks; Sri Lanka's pharma exports were $8.07m in 2024 and the sector comprises about 25 local manufacturers.

Shantha Bandara, CEO of Sunshine Healthcare Lanka Ltd, was appointed President of the Sri Lanka Chamber of the Pharmaceutical Industry (SLCPI) at its 64th AGM on 27 June 2025. He outlined seven priorities including improved drug quality testing, NMRA online portal enhancement, a new SLCPI Code of Conduct and the launch of an Annual Pharmaceutical Forum.

Heritance Hotels & Resorts (Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings) and Aitken Spence Travels (Aitken Spence PLC) are partnering with the CCC Foundation on the 1333 Bikeathon to raise national mental-health awareness and promote the 1333 helpline, offering accommodation at Heritance properties along the route.

Lanka Hospitals launched LankaLifeLine (a 24/7 integrated trauma response) and LankaCare (hospital-grade home-care with remote monitoring) on 2 July 2025; the launch included handing over the 1,000th LankaCare membership card.

Rienzie T. Wijetilleke, a veteran banker, has died aged 85; he served 24 years at Hatton National Bank (including as Managing Director and Non-Executive Chairman) and also held leadership/director roles at Sunshine Holdings, Nawaloka Hospitals and DFCC Bank.

Cap Snap Lanka won four Gold Awards at the National Convention on Quality and Productivity 2025, while its subsidiary American Polymers received a Silver Award; awards were for Quality Control Circles and recognise the companies' quality and productivity practices.

Sri Lanka Insurance Life declared a Rs. 12.5 billion bonus to policyholders for 2024, the largest annual life-insurance bonus in Sri Lanka. The company reported a Profit Before Tax of Rs. 30.7 billion and a 25% rise in gross written premiums to Rs. 26.3 billion.

Sri Lanka Accreditation Board (SLAB) accredited 15 conformity assessment bodies, enabling globally recognised testing, calibration and certification to boost export competitiveness and national quality infrastructure. SLAB also launched a Digital Accreditation Process Workflow Management System to streamline services for exporters, manufacturers and SMEs.

The Cabinet approved contracts awarding Elshaddai Enterprises Ltd. and Jayasuriya Associates to supply five categories of contact lenses for cataract removal and myopia implantation surgeries; Elshaddai won two procurement refs (SR No. 13005029, 13005032) and Jayasuriya three (SR No. 13005026, 13005031, 13005030).