News & market updates
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.
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.
Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said Sri Lanka cannot build foreign-exchange reserves 'at any cost' and must rebuild buffers to withstand external shocks while avoiding market distortions, monetary financing and heavy foreign borrowing. He urged a disciplined, sustainable reserve strategy and cited bilateral support from India during the 2022 crisis.
3A Ventures' Cyrus Daruwala told the CIO Confluence 2026 that Sri Lanka is overbanked and should brace for consolidation, urging banks to fix legacy core systems, payments and data monetisation. He warned against AI hype, saying AI spending in Sri Lanka is mainly justifiable for efficiency, not transformative growth.
US Federal Maritime Commission Chair Laura DiBella urged Sri Lanka to urgently seize the opportunity to expand Colombo's maritime and logistics hub by strengthening competition, reducing investment risks and encouraging private-sector-led FDI. She noted about 500,000 US-related containers (≈$30bn) move through the Port of Colombo, underscoring the growth potential.
Government aims to lift the maritime sector's contribution to GDP from about 2.5% to 5-10%, Ports Minister Anura Karunathilaka said at the Colombo International Maritime and Logistics Conference. A proposal with international partners will push legal, regulatory and infrastructure reforms to attract private and foreign investment and develop multimodal connectivity to position Colombo as a logistics hub.
EDOTCO Sri Lanka signed a $10 million BOI investment agreement to expand shared digital infrastructure, committing to deploy 130 macro towers, 300 multi-purpose smart lamp poles and 650 energy sites over the next 30 months to boost nationwide connectivity.
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.
The Public Debt Management Office raised the full Rs.80 billion at the T‑Bill auction; 182-day yield fell to 9.24% and 364-day to 9.77% while the 91-day rose to 9.03%. The rupee marginally appreciated to Rs.328.50/328.70 and net money-market liquidity surplus was Rs.158.14 billion.
Colombo's ASPI fell 0.35% (76.23 pts) to 21,466 as Middle East tensions and rising global oil prices weighed on sentiment; the S&P SL20 slid 0.34% to 6,033.87. Market turnover was about Rs. 972m on 43m+ shares, with foreign investors net sellers of Rs. 71.3m; capital goods led turnover while diversified financials and banking were also active.
HNB Finance PLC appointed Renuke Wijayawardhane, Shanti Gnanapragasam, Nabiha Mohamed and Dr. Thisuri Wanniarachchi as Independent Non-Executive Directors effective 8 September 2026. The appointees include the former CSE Chief Regulatory Officer and executives with banking, corporate finance and development finance experience.
Sri Lanka's rupee was quoted at 328.60/70 to the US dollar in the spot market on Thursday (from 328.60/80 the previous day) while government bond yields were steady to lower (e.g. 15.03.2028 at 10.05/15% and 15.12.2032 at 11.25/35%). The dollar TT rate was 324.15/333.15.
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.
Asian stocks slid as Brent crude held above $100 at $101.4/bbl and US 10-year Treasury yields hovered near a 2023 peak at about 4.84%, denting investor sentiment ahead of US inflation data and a series of central bank meetings.
Senaro Motor Company opened Sri Lanka's first motorcycle Premier Center in Nugegoda and unveiled the new Senaro RR250. The 100% Sri Lankan-owned assembler, with a 23-year history, says its locally assembled models have over 35% local value addition and the center offers sales, genuine parts, modifications and after-sales support.
ALIF-SL 2026, Sri Lanka's Afro-Latin dance festival, will run 25-27 Sept at the Galle Face Hotel in Colombo, bringing 30+ international artists and 175-200 participants from 20+ countries and headlined by Italy's Tropical Gem. The event includes the ALIF Cup Sri Lanka Open and is aimed at boosting inbound tourism to Colombo.
Hettich marked its 10th anniversary in Sri Lanka with an inaugural Partner Meet in Colombo and unveiled Blaupunkt built-in kitchen appliances for the local market. Vallibel One’s Managing Director Dinusha Bhaskaran attended the event.
Emirates will deploy a retrofitted A380 featuring its Premium Economy cabin on daily Dubai-Paris services (EK071/EK072) from 25 October 2026. Premium Economy has maintained healthy load factors on Lyon and Nice routes, with about one in ten passengers choosing the cabin.
City of Dreams Sri Lanka's Spice 8 has introduced a 24-hour Hot Pot dining experience on the gaming floor, offering premium meats, seafood and vegetables for interactive, table-side cooking aimed at both local and Chinese guests.
Colombo Stock Exchange closed lower, the ASPI fell 0.44% (−93.55 points) to 21,372.45 with market turnover at LKR 1.45 billion and banks leading turnover at LKR 600.63 million. Senthilverl Holdings bought 750,000 shares of Sarvodaya Development Finance, raising its stake to 10.28% (SDF shares LKR 39.60, down 3.41%).
MAS Holdings, the official clothing sponsor of Team Sri Lanka, unveiled and handed over the national contingent's official kits for the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games at a Colombo press event on Sept 9. The collection spans casual, podium, travel and sport-specific performance kits across multiple disciplines.
Coca-Cola Sri Lanka held the Coke Kottu Beat Party at Davindra Mendis Playground in Katunayake on 6 September 2026, an event combining live music, food offerings and Coca-Cola refreshments to celebrate Sri Lankan flavours and rhythms.
Union Bank of Colombo (UBC.N0000) opened its second ATM/CDM in Trincomalee at Uppuveli, offering 24×7 cash deposits and withdrawals and international card access; the first transaction was conducted by directors of Uppuveli Beach Hotel.
Treinetic (Pvt) Ltd opened The Legends Lounge, a hospitality and lifestyle venue in Malabe on 9 September 2026 to mark its 12th anniversary, signalling the software company's expansion beyond the technology sector into food, wellness, work and leisure services.
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.
Ceylinco Life launched the 20th Family Savari promotion, awarding trips to policyholder families-5 families (20 people) to Beijing, 10 families (40 people) to Malaysia and 250 families (1,000 people) to Pearl Bay. The company also highlighted the promotion's two-decade history and recent brand awards.
GS Evo Motors launched the JMEV EWIND compact electric SUV in Sri Lanka, featuring up to 108 kW power, 210 Nm torque, 0-100 km/h in 8.9s and up to 610 km (NEDC) range with a 70.38 kWh battery; it comes with an 8-year/150,000 km battery warranty and 5-year/150,000 km vehicle warranty.
Stefan de Alwis hosted Jeff Hoffman, Priceline/Booking.com co-founder, on The 3i Show in a landmark dialogue connecting Sri Lankan entrepreneurs with global investors; the episode is now available to stream on YouTube. Hoffman also engaged with Sri Lanka's entrepreneurship ecosystem and received an official invitation from the government.
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.
Colombo Stock Exchange traded lower on Thursday morning with the ASPI down 0.09% (19.83 pts) to 21,446.17 and the S&P SL20 at 6,033.71. Market turnover was LKR 161.13m, led by banks (LKR 75.31m); ACL, Teejay and Cargills Bank were top positives while Melstacorp, Royal Ceramics, Hemas and Dipped Products were top negatives.