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.
Nations Trust Bank proposes a Rs.13.87 billion rights issue (up to 45.47m Ordinary Non‑Voting Convertible Shares at Rs.305) that, if fully subscribed, will nearly double stated capital to Rs.27.86 billion and strengthen its Common Equity Tier 1 position; subject to CSE and shareholder approval.
Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath said Sri Lanka is negotiating a new bilateral visa arrangement with Thailand after Thailand decided to end the 60-day visa-free entry for Sri Lankans from 15 September 2026. Talks aim to address Thai security concerns, including alleged illegal activity, while facilitating legitimate travel; a draft is being discussed ahead of Herath's visit on 14 September.
Sri Lanka and India will sign three defence cooperation agreements during Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's visit covering cadet training, defence education and maintenance of air defence systems. India will provide free maintenance support for the remaining six L70 air defence units operated by the Sri Lanka Air Force.
The government has allocated Rs.10 billion for Disaster Relief (RE-MSME) and Extended Disaster Relief loan schemes to revive MSMEs and other businesses hit by Cyclone Ditwah, implemented with 15 financial institutions. Rs.8.06 billion has already been disbursed to 3,968 enterprises; the allocation covers 2025-26.
Government bond yields rose for a second session, notably across the 2032-2033 tenors, while activity and volumes remained muted; a Rs.80bn T‑Bill auction is scheduled today and a Rs.150bn T‑Bond auction was announced for 11 September. The rupee marginally depreciated to about Rs.328.70/329.00.
CSE closed down 0.38% (ASPI −81.43 pts to 21,542.23) as heightened selling amid Middle East tensions and rising global oil prices weighed on sentiment; turnover topped Rs.1.4bn and foreigners were net buyers of Rs.13.6m. Top negatives were CINS, BREW, CARS, SAMP and JKH; insurance led turnover (23%).
Vipul Misra was appointed Acting CEO of SriLankan Airlines effective 9 September. Misra brings over two decades of aircraft engineering and aviation leadership experience across carriers including Air India, Vistara, Indigo, SpiceJet, Kingfisher and Air Deccan.
AOD launched the Young Creatives Program, a two-year supported creative education programme for students aged 13+ with special learning needs. Students attend three days a week for practical art, craft and design training, mentoring by current BA students, and optional English/Math tuition toward London O-Levels.
AIA Insurance Lanka announced the winners of its AIA Healthiest Schools Programme 2026, with winning schools receiving a collective USD 75,000 to expand student health and wellbeing initiatives. Endorsed by the Ministry of Education, the programme recognised primary and secondary schools for projects across Healthy Eating, Active Lifestyles, Mental Wellbeing and Health & Sustainability.
The Tea Exporters Association held its 27th AGM, reappointing Huzefa Akbarally as chairman and warning that about 85% of Ceylon Tea shipping routes have been disrupted with freight rates rising several-fold, yet exports remain resilient. TEA urged government support to boost smallholder production, restore brand promotion and export incentives and said the industry could reach 350 million kilos by 2030.
ExportersTea & Plantation Crops
Ada Derana·Sep 9, 2026·Award or certification·JKHPositive
John Keells Holdings' John Keells Foundation hosted the John Keells English Day Finals 2026 on 3 Sept, where 76 Tier 1 scholars from eight teams performed dramas and presentations and competition winners were announced. The JK English Language Scholarship Programme has benefited over 23,700 students since 2004.
Siyapatha Finance PLC joined the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) to adopt global standards for measuring and disclosing greenhouse gas emissions associated with its financing portfolio, aiming to strengthen climate-related disclosures and ESG integration.
HUTCH won three awards at Dragons of Sri Lanka 2026: a Gold Award for Best Use of Artificial Intelligence for "The Roaming Hack", a Black Dragon for the same campaign, and a Silver Award for Best Product Launch for "HUTCH Pissuwak Ma Thamai".
Dilmah announced Dilmah Urban Estate, a combined dining and retail flagship at One Galle Face Mall, Colombo, opening to the public on September 7, 2026. The venue showcases an estate-to-cup tea experience and is positioned as a template for international expansion beginning with Malaysia.
Barista Coffee Lanka opened its 100th outlet, Barista Baseline, on 31 August 2026, bringing its network to 100 outlets across 19 districts as part of its ongoing nationwide expansion.
LANKATILES opened its 61st showroom in Mount Lavinia at No. 280 A, Galle Road, showcasing its wall and floor tile collections (including Majestica, Mosaics and Cool Rooftop Tile®) to homeowners, architects, designers and developers for residential and commercial applications.
Range Rover has launched its first all-electric Range Rover, featuring two 260 kW motors delivering up to 550 PS and 850 Nm torque and up to 372 miles (WLTP) range; the electrified flagship is offered in multiple trims and is available to order now.
Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe will keynote the Planters' Association of Ceylon's 172nd AGM on 19 Sept, where regional plantation companies will review sector performance and strategies including diversification, replanting, processing upgrades and renewable energy investments.
Canadian High Commissioner Isabelle Martin urged continued business cooperation and highlighted opportunities for enhanced bilateral trade and investment at the Sri Lanka-Canada Business Council AGM. Mohamad Hameez was re-elected Council President for 2026/27 and the executive committee includes representatives from Aitken Spence and Hatton National Bank.
Ada Derana·Sep 9, 2026·Award or certification·HNBPositive
HNB PLC was ranked among Sri Lanka's most valuable brands in Brand Finance's Sri Lanka 100 report with a brand value of LKR 25.4 billion. The group reported a PAT of Rs.49.8 billion in 2025, group assets of Rs.2.64 trillion and loans above Rs.1.5 trillion.
Maliban Group won two Gold Dragons among seven accolades at the Dragons of Sri Lanka 2026 for campaigns spanning experiential marketing, content creation, sustainability and sales-generation across its biscuit, dairy and milk product brands.
George Steuart & Company held its Annual Founder's Day service on 14 August 2026, marking its 191st year and announced its support, together with the De Lanerolle Brothers, for the restoration of St. Peter's Church, Colombo Fort. The event included foreign dignitaries and plans for a historian-led legacy document and a restoration roadmap.
LANKATILES opened its 61st showroom in Mount Lavinia on Galle Road, expanding its nationwide retail presence and showcasing its range of wall and floor tile collections (including Cool Rooftop Tile®) for homeowners, architects, designers and developers.
GRI and the Sri Lanka Export Development Board signed a multi-year cooperation agreement on 7 Sep 2026 to strengthen sustainability and impact reporting across Sri Lanka's export ecosystem, with particular emphasis on SMEs and alignment with GRI, NGRS and IFRS sustainability disclosure standards.
Japan's ambassador urged Sri Lanka to pivot toward Southeast Asia and Japan and adopt an export-oriented industrial model, calling for forward-looking trade and investment policy, stronger domestic industrial policy and expanded renewable energy investment; he cited the National Export Development Plan 2026 and a proposed Sri Lanka-Japan Economic Corridor.
Colombo Stock Exchange was marginally higher at midday: ASPI +0.08% (up 17.12 pts) to 21,559.35 and S&P SL20 +0.02% to 6,055.99. Market turnover was Rs125.6m led by retailing; Lake House (LPRT) announced a Rs4.00/share final dividend and its shares rose 5.68%.
Softlogic Stockbrokers has launched StockB, a free mobile app offering unified trading, research, real-time market data, charting, recommendations and digital agreement/payment features to expand direct stock market access for retail investors.
IT & Digital
Daily FT·Sep 9, 2026·Award or certification·LFINPositive
K Seeds Investments ranked L B Finance PLC (LFIN.N0000) as the top-performing finance company in Category 1 (asset base > Rs.100 billion) for Q1 2026/27, based on ten equally weighted KPIs calculated from interim Colombo Stock Exchange financials.
Fuel & Energy PricesRupee & Forex
Daily FT·Sep 9, 2026·Award or certification·COMBPositive
Commercial Bank of Ceylon (COMB.N0000) received the 2,000th guarantee from the National Credit Guarantee Institution and has disbursed about Rs.2.97 billion via roughly 600 guarantees- the largest total loan amount among participating financial institutions under the National Credit Guarantee Scheme.
The Environment Ministry and UNDP signed a five-year, $4.507 million GEF-funded project to conserve biodiversity and ecosystem services in Sri Lanka's eastern and southern coastal districts (Ampara, Batticaloa, Hambantota), focusing on coastal governance, financing, climate resilience and community livelihoods.