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.
Labour Ministry said the reported 120th global ranking on Sri Lanka's minimum wage used 2024 data and was not an ILO report, noting the national minimum wage rose from Rs.12,500 at the start of 2024 to Rs.30,000 from January 2026, so the ranking is outdated.
Colombo Stock Exchange's ASPI rose 1.42% (304.53 pts) over the week while the S&P SL20 gained 0.89% (53.58 pts), with intraday strength led by DIAL, HAYL, RIL, CCS and DOCK. Market turnover exceeded Rs.2.6bn and foreign investors were net sellers of Rs.66.9m.
The Export Development Board and Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka held a one-day Marine and Offshore Engineering workshop on 24 August at the University of Moratuwa to boost skills, industry exposure and readiness of engineering undergraduates in support of Sri Lanka's marine/offshore export sector.
Commercial Bank of Ceylon rolled out its Q+ digital payments drive in Jaffna, canvassing more than 350 merchants and activating 40+ for a cashback campaign, handing over a QR facility to a local merchant as part of CBSL's third Digital Payments Promotional Program ahead of the Nallur Festival.
National Savings Bank (NSB) has joined EDEX Expo Mid-Year 2026 as the Official Banking Partner, offering students and young professionals access to NSB products (I'M account, Buddhi education loans, digital banking and payment services) at the expo on 5-6 Sept 2026 at BMICH, Colombo.
Cleantech Ltd.'s Re-Circle initiative won the Black Dragon award for Product Launch/Re-launch at the Dragons of Sri Lanka Awards 2026. Launched in July 2025, Re-Circle turns plastic waste into two products, The Dustpan and The Lady Bin, made from 100% locally recycled plastic.
Dividend · Rs 0.50 · XD Sep 15, 2026
First Interim dividend of LKR 0.5/share; XD 2026-09-15; record 2026-09-16; payable 2026-10-02; FY 2026/2027
The SEC reported Singapore-based foreign stock purchases rose to Rs. 7.7 billion in the 12 months after its Invest Sri Lanka Forum (up 196% from Rs. 2.6 billion prior). Foreign participation in market turnover is now 9% (up from 6%), though still well below the pre-crisis 40%, and the SEC said converting outreach to trading typically takes 6-12 months.
President's Secretary Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake urged immediate measures to ease the Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) tax burden and called for urgent reforms and strengthening of the Inland Revenue Department, speaking at the 21st Annual General Conference of the Association of Inland Revenue Commissioners in Colombo.
Government launches the 'Ceylon King Coconut Village' programme to establish 250 king coconut villages by 2028 (75 planned this year) to expand exports and capture a global king coconut products market the minister says could grow to about $10bn. The plan targets higher rural incomes, jobs and increased value-added processing and exports.
PUCSL Chair Prof. K.P.L. Chandralal said Sri Lanka needs about 5,000 qualified solar technicians a year to support roughly 600 MW of solar additions annually and hit a 70% renewable electricity target by 2030; some 1,500 have been trained so far under an SLSEA‑PUCSL program. New regulations make NVQ Level 3 the minimum from Jan 2028-Dec 2029, with NVQ Level 4 and Engineering Council registration required from Jan 1, 2030.
The SEC said foreign purchases originating from Singapore nearly tripled to Rs.7.7 billion in the 12 months after the Aug 12, 2025 Invest Sri Lanka Forum (a 196% rise from the prior year). It noted foreign investor turnover rose to 9% from 6% in 2025 but remains well below the pre-crisis 40% level.
DFCC Bank received CSE approval in principle to list up to 125 million Basel III-compliant unsecured subordinated debentures to raise up to Rs.12.5 billion; the five-year debentures carry a fixed 13% annual coupon and subscriptions open on 11 September 2026.
The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) will not tender post-hearing written submissions in its Special Determination petitions against the proposed 22nd Amendment after the Supreme Court refused petitioners an oral right of reply following the Attorney General's submissions. BASL and most other petitioners had sought a Full Court hearing, which was rejected without reasons.
Sri Lanka urged farmers to complete sowing by Oct 15-25 for the 2026/27 Maha season, targeting about 830,000 hectares, after forecasts of above‑average Oct-Nov rains from El Niño and a sharp dry spell from January. Officials recommended early sowing, shorter paddy varieties, Alternate Wetting and Drying irrigation and shifting water‑deficit paddy to other field crops; fertilizer subsidies will remain available.
Home Lands reports 60% of piling work completed at Central Park Boulevard Port City Colombo, achieved just under three months after launch and 10% ahead of plan. The USD150m investment (project value >USD300m) involves 192 piles and three contractors, including Access Engineering.
Dutch Ambassador Wiebe de Boer said the Benelux union could serve as a sandbox to boost Sri Lankan exporters' EU integration and link to the Port of Rotterdam, noting Sri Lanka's GSP+ access runs until 2029. He urged progress toward an EU FTA, flagged bureaucratic hurdles and named renewable energy, floriculture, agro‑processing, eco‑tourism and healthcare as priority collaboration sectors.
Sri Lanka's rupee traded at 328.20/30 to the US dollar on Friday, firmer than 328.45/60 the previous day, while government bond yields edged higher (e.g. 15.10.2030 at ~10.73-10.78%). The All Share Price Index rose 0.32% to 21,462.
An IMF country team led by Mission Chief Evan Papageorgiou will visit Sri Lanka Sept 10-23 to conduct the Seventh Review of the EFF-supported reform programme and carry out the 2026 Article IV Consultation. The mission will meet authorities and stakeholders and share findings at the end of the visit.
Ceylon Investment (CINV.N0000) and Ceylon Guardian (GUAR.N0000) have delayed the start of their announced share repurchase offers from 2 Sept to 22 Sept; the combined buybacks are worth just over Rs.1.02 billion (Ceylon Investment ~Rs.365.9m; Ceylon Guardian ~Rs.659m across ordinary and deferred shares).
Frontier Research warns cheaper AI-generated code could erode the value of Sri Lanka's ICT and BPM exports, which earned $150.49m in June (up 11.31% YoY). It says a government AI data centre initiative could open a new foreign-exchange channel and AI may help offset long-term labour constraints.
Secondary bond yields edged higher with selling in 2030-2032 tenors (e.g. 15.03.28 at 10.00%, 15.12.29 at 10.35%; some 2030-31 papers peaked ~10.75-10.80%). Net liquidity surplus was Rs.115.09bn and USD/LKR closed around Rs.328.35/328.50.
Sanasa Development Bank PLC appointed Nishani Ariyawansa as an Independent Non-Executive Director; she has over 30 years' finance experience, including serving as CFO of Standard Chartered Bank from 2010 to 2024.