News & market updates

Colombo stocks closed flat with the ASPI up 0.01% at 21,132.12 and market turnover of Rs 1.41 billion; banks led turnover at Rs 411.6 million and Food, Beverage & Tobacco followed with Rs 308.7 million. Notable movers included Melstacorp, HNB, Pan Asia, Central Finance and Aitken Spence; Lanka Realty Investments disclosed an Rs 800m related-party loan settlement.

UNDP Assistant Secretary-General Kanni Wignaraja met Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando, commending the government's progress in stabilizing Sri Lanka's economy and reaffirming UNDP's commitment to continue partnership and support for the government's economic digitalization programme.

Scope Cinemas, with Sony Pictures Releasing International, staged what it says was Sri Lanka's biggest-ever movie premiere for Spider-Man: Brand New Day-featuring an exclusive red carpet, the country's first movie-themed drone show and multi-city fan events. The film opened in cinemas across Sri Lanka on 30 July 2026.

The Colombo Port Health Office, built with a grant from Japan and implemented by the IOM, was inaugurated on 28 July 2026 to strengthen Sri Lanka's port health infrastructure and emergency preparedness. The compact facility used a pre-engineered hybrid building system and advanced, corrosion-resistant façade materials to suit the marine environment.

Pitch Capital Properties (Pvt) Ltd won three awards at the Global Laurel Excellence Awards 2026, Most Trusted Land Developer, Outstanding Real Estate Investment Solutions, and Sri Lanka Property Excellence. The firm highlights its tourism-focused land portfolio (Devundara, Hiriketiya, Midigama) and a new project in Arugam Bay.

Exterminators PLC launched PACCP-X™, an AI-augmented pest management framework to shift pest control from reactive treatment to predictive prevention. The system combines AI, predictive analytics and smart monitoring across seven core elements for food, healthcare, hospitality and other sectors.

Melwa Group launched the Melwa Challenge Trophy 2026, holding the inaugural Gampaha District Championship on 29 July with 15 construction-industry teams; Vajira Hardware won and Negombo Kambi Centre were runners-up. The islandwide series moves to Ratnapura next, with district champions advancing to a grand finale.

Roar Global was named an OpenAI Select Partner, joining the OpenAI Partner Network to build, sell and deliver AI solutions and expand its OpenAI-related offerings and enterprise AI integration across the Asia‑Pacific region.

MAS Holdings has led the Adam's Peak Clean-Up Project, with the 2026 effort on 31 May bringing nearly 1,000 employee volunteers from its Bodywear value stream to conduct the largest clean-up to date. Volunteers cleaned the pilgrimage route from summit to base, collecting and responsibly disposing of waste and promoting environmental awareness.

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce will host the Sri Lanka Economic & Investment Summit 2026 on Oct 12-13 at the Shangri-La Colombo to connect investors, government institutions and businesses to discuss economic reforms and investment opportunities. Registrations are open.

Toyota Lanka unveiled the All‑New Toyota Hilux and All‑New Toyota RAV4 2026 at its 'Unlocked' launch event in Wattala, showcasing models tropicalized for Sri Lanka. The company also reiterated plans to expand its network to more than 30 branches by end‑2026.

Advantis Group, the transportation and logistics arm of Hayleys PLC, is the Official Logistics Partner and Platinum Sponsor of University of Moratuwa's Falcon E Racing as the team competes at Formula Student Spain 2026; a contingent of 32 students and two lecturers has departed for the event.

Heritance Hotels & Resorts has launched 'A Week Worth Tasting', a five-part destination-led culinary and cultural series created with Sri Lankan-born chef Sav Perera. The series visits Heritance Kandalama, Heritance Tea Factory and Heritance Ayurveda to explore regional ingredients, traditions and dining experiences across Kandalama, Kandapola and the southern coast.

EDB Chairman Mangala Wijesinghe said Sri Lanka generated nearly $9bn in exports in H1 2026, targets $19bn for 2026 and $36bn by 2030 under the National Export Development Plan, promoting sectors such as electronics, F&B, IT and logistics and announcing Sri Lanka Expo 2027 (Jan 14-17).

The Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) honoured students who achieved top GCE A/L Commerce results at its Academic Excellence 2026 ceremony on 21 July, with pupils securing District First Ranks in nine districts and an 80-85% curriculum overlap with the GCE A/L syllabus.

Lakshan Madurasinghe has become Sri Lanka's first Certified WHY Coach, accredited to deliver Simon Sinek's WHY Discovery process. He brings more than 25 years' experience across corporate, development and public sectors and will offer WHY Discovery and leadership coaching to executives, entrepreneurs and teams in Sri Lanka.

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce will host the Sri Lanka Economic & Investment Summit 2026 on 12-13 Oct at Shangri-La Colombo to spotlight investment opportunities and economic reform; the programme includes an investment-focused panel and B2B meetings to connect investors with government and promotion agencies. Registrations are open.

The Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism & Hotel Management (SLITHM) held its 45th graduation at BMICH, with 71 graduates conferred degrees. Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya attended and stressed human capital development to support the government's Tourism Vision 2030 targets (5m arrivals, USD 10bn revenue, 800,000 workforce).

Colombo Stock Exchange indices were trading higher midday, the ASPI up 0.36% (76.41 pts) at 21,205.62 and the S&P SL20 up 0.38% at 5,962.29; market turnover was Rs 314 million, with banks leading at Rs 122.7 million. Asia Asset Finance said 41,398,511 preference shares will be deemed converted into 53,348,596 ordinary shares at Rs 7.76 each effective Aug 10 (pref shares trade ends Aug 6; ordinary shares from Sep 16).

Commercial Bank of Ceylon has become the first bank globally to be awarded UNFPA's CRJB Champion Status, recognising its workplace policies on reproductive health, gender equality and employee well-being. The bank said it will adopt UNFPA standards, expand related programmes and report progress through its sustainability framework.

David Pieris Automobiles unveiled the all-new BAIC X3e fully electric crossover at the Auto Vision Motor Show 2026, offering two variants priced at Rs. 11.5 million (X3e Pro) and Rs. 12 million (X3e Max) with islandwide sales and after-sales support.

Amãna Bank marked its 15th anniversary on 1 Aug 2026, saying it has surpassed Rs.200 billion in total assets and serves over 500,000 customers. The bank reported strong financial performance with industry‑leading CASA, low non‑performing advances, consecutive dividends and strategic support from ICD/IsDB.

Minor International Group CEO Dillip Rajakarier told the Sri Lanka Corporate Director Summit 2026 that directors should prioritise strong governance and reputational risk over concerns about compliance costs, arguing that robust board oversight protects reputation and financial performance.

The Sri Lanka Tea Board says it has already submitted the Geographical Indication (GI) application for Ceylon Tea to the EU and that the application is at its final stage of evaluation. It clarifies the domestic GI application will be submitted after EU registration as part of an agreed strategy with NIPO and CIRAD.

Intex-InMac Sri Lanka 2026 will be held at BMICH from 5-7 August, featuring 250+ exhibitors from over 15 countries showcasing textiles, fabrics and next‑generation garment machinery including AI-enabled systems. The event aims to attract buyer delegations from 12+ countries to boost international sourcing, technology partnerships and Sri Lanka's apparel exports.

COOPFED signed MoUs with Lanka Sugar and BCC Lanka to supply 1,000 mt/month of brown sugar and 20,000 liters/month of bottled coconut oil (plus soap and other products) for distribution through 3,500 cooperative retail outlets, with plans to expand to 10,000 by 2029.

DTS has appointed MTS Foods (Menon Technical Services Ltd.) as its commercial partner for India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to act as the regional commercial and first-line technical contact for DTS auger-based thermal food-processing applications. MTS will coordinate enquiries, support existing equipment locally and represent DTS at FoodPro 2026 and Anuga FoodTec India 2026.

The International ADR Centre (IADRC) will host a 'Corporate Mediation Pledge' tomorrow (4) at the Sales Gallery of Colombo Port City, where 25 corporates will sign a pledge to use mediation in commercial disputes. The Mediation (Civil and Commercial Disputes) Act No. 13 of 2026 came into operation on 30 June.

The Central Bank reported a monthly current account deficit of US$149 million in June 2026 (third consecutive month) and a cumulative H1 deficit of US$245 million. The deterioration was driven by a wider merchandise trade deficit (US$5.5bn H1), a 40.2% rise in fuel import costs y/y, a 9.9% drop in tourist arrivals in June, and a 7.8% YTD depreciation of the rupee.

Harischandra Mills PLC reported 1QFY27 PAT of LKR 91.8m, up 147% y/y, on revenue of LKR 1.9bn (up 31%) and expanded gross margin to 18%. Management attributed the result to easing raw material costs, volume growth and operational efficiencies; Food segment revenue rose 22% and segment operating profit was LKR 83.2m.