News & market updates

Siyapatha Finance PLC opened its 57th branch in Thambuttegama, expanding its island-wide presence; the branch offers leasing, fixed deposits, savings, gold financing, business and personal loans, factoring and Smart Pay bill payment services.

Siyapatha Finance PLC opened its 57th branch in Thambuttegama. Siyapatha is the largest fully owned subsidiary of Sampath Bank PLC, which may benefit from the network expansion and branch services (including gold financing and Smart Pay).

Siyapatha Finance PLC, the largest fully owned subsidiary of Sampath Bank (SAMP.N0000), completed a 13-programme nationwide financial literacy initiative covering all provinces. Sessions addressed personal money management, leasing, gold loans, factoring, green finance and AML/consumer protection aligned with Central Bank regulations.

The Colombo ASPI fell 1.11% to 20,674.11, dragged down by declines in CTC, JKH, Sampath Bank, Dialog Axiata and HNB.

Gold rose over 1% to an all-time high above $3,500/oz, trading around $3,529 as markets price in a likely Fed rate cut in September. Bullion has gained about 34.5% year-to-date, with ETF inflows and central bank buying reinforcing the rally.

Colombo ASPI slipped 0.07% to 20,975.73 with turnover of 6.4 billion rupees; Dankotuwa Porcelain contributed 1.19 billion and closed down at 21.40. Most hotels rose on strong August tourist numbers, while HNB, NDB, Commercial Bank and John Keells weighed on the index.

CFA Society Sri Lanka, the CSE and the SEC published a financial-literacy article outlining investing basics—why financial planning matters, time horizon, risk, diversification—and comparing options like fixed deposits, Treasury securities, unit trusts, equities, real estate and gold.

Colombo ASPI fell 0.34% (71.78 pts) to 20,990.67, weighed down by declines in Ceylon Tobacco, Commercial Bank, National Development Bank, John Keells and DFCC; turnover was LKR 7.53 billion.

Gross foreign reserves fell from $6,531m in March 2025 to $6,044m in July 2025 and net reserves after swaps fell from $2,791m to $2,210m, even as the central bank increased dollar swap transactions with banks, opposition MP Kabir Hashim told parliament.

The ASPI rose 0.95% to close at 20,997.36, led by gains in Ceylinco Holdings, Senkadagala Finance and John Keells Holdings. Turnover was Rs 7.3bn with improved volumes as telecom, capital goods and financials drove the market advance.

Colombo ASPI rose 0.23% to 20,800.26 while the S&P SL20 fell 0.27% to 6,045.77. Alliance Finance said it will raise Rs1.5bn via listed unsecured subordinated bonds; Ambeon and Bukit Darah gained while Carson Cumberbatch fell.

Siyapatha Finance PLC opened its 56th branch in Mahiyanganaya. The branch will offer leasing, fixed deposits, savings, gold financing, business and personal loans, factoring and a Smart Pay facility, and management also ran a CSR tree-planting and donated computers to a local school.

Colombo ASPI fell 0.36% to 20,575.59, weighed down by banks with HNB down 6.25 rupees to 397.75. Commercial Bank, John Keells and Hayleys also declined; turnover was 4.4 billion while hotel and construction stocks saw buying amid tourist arrivals topping 1.5 million.

Asia Asset Finance PLC reported Q1 PBT of LKR 294.8m (up 123% YoY) and PAT of LKR 181.0m (up 57% YoY) for the quarter ended 30 June 2025. Its asset base reached LKR 41.8bn, the company opened four new branches and is targeting LKR 50bn in assets.

The Colombo Stock Exchange ASPI fell 0.32% (66.29 pts) to 20,649.20, weighed down by declines in Ceylinco Holdings, Commercial Bank, Carson Cumberbatch and Melstacorp while DFCC Bank rose. Turnover fell to 5.1 billion and share volume was 181,232,722.

Sampath Bank's fully owned subsidiary Siyapatha Finance opened its 56th branch in Mahiyanganaya, offering leasing, deposits, gold financing, business and personal loans and Smart Pay services.

Colombo Stock Exchange ASPI rose 0.49% to 20,571.07, led by gains in Commercial Bank (up LKR 7.75 to 197.50), HNB (up LKR 13.50 to 399.00), Carson Cumberbatch (up LKR 102.25 to 848.25) and Sampath Bank (up LKR 2.25 to 145.00). Turnover rose to LKR 10.8 billion with volume 234,578,423.

Foreign investors were net sellers of Sri Lanka government securities, offloading a net 291 million rupees in the week to Aug 14 after two weeks of buying; total inflows into rupee bonds since Dec 26 stood at 39 billion rupees through Aug 14.

Colombo ASPI rose 1.25% (252.16 pts) to 20,470.52 on Monday, led by gains in the banking sector. Commercial Bank (+Rs7.75 to Rs189), DFCC Bank (+Rs5.75 to Rs166), Carson Cumberbatch (+Rs105.50 to Rs746), Melstacorp (+Rs5 to Rs165) and John Keells (+Rs0.50 to Rs23.50) were among top risers.

Fitch affirmed Housing Development Finance Corporation Bank's national long-term rating at 'BB+(lka)' but revised the outlook to Negative, citing regulatory restrictions, funding curbs and weak asset quality (impaired-loan ratio ~52% at end‑1H25). Fitch said deposit mobilisation limits and EPF-backed housing loan exposure weaken competitiveness.

Siyapatha Finance opened its 55th branch at No. 29, Galle Road, Ambalangoda, expanding its retail footprint. The branch will offer leasing, fixed deposits, gold financing, business and personal loans, Fast Draft, factoring and Smart Pay, and the company launched CSR activities including tree planting and donations to a local school.

Foreign investors bought 8,756 million rupees (US$29.19m) of Sri Lanka government securities in the week ended August 7, the Central Bank said. It was the second straight week of inflows, taking total inflows into rupee bonds since Dec 26 to 39 billion rupees amid eased tariff-related volatility and deflationary policies.

CRIB delivered 8.9 million credit reports in 2024 and reported 14.8 million active credit records, covering 81% of Sri Lanka's adult population. It secured clearances to allow MSMEs and the public to use movable assets as collateral and expanded digital data sources, including gold loans.

Alliance Finance Company PLC opened a new branch in Chenkalady and relocated Ambalantota and Homagama branches, bringing its network to 90 branches across Sri Lanka. The branches will offer products including Gold Loans, Leasing and Fixed Deposits.

Colombo's ASPI closed flat at 19,975.50 while the S&P SL20 dipped 0.19% to 5,815.64. Ceylon Tobacco said June-quarter volumes recovered to 490 million sticks and profits rose 2% to 7.3 billion rupees, while Haycarb's June profit fell 30% to 517 million rupees.

Most Asian stocks rose after U.S. President Trump extended the U.S.-China tariff truce by 90 days, supporting sentiment; Japan’s Nikkei climbed about 2% to a record. Markets are also pricing in Fed rate-cut expectations and are focused on upcoming U.S. CPI data and an RBA policy meeting.

Colombo's ASPI rose 0.25% (49.77 pts) to 19,972.79, led by banks with NDB up LKR 3.50 on heavy turnover (NDB turnover ~LKR 4.49bn). John Keells was the top negative contributor, trading down LKR 0.40.

Mercantile Investments and Finance PLC opened its 80th branch in Nuwara Eliya, offering leasing, gold loans, fixed deposits and children's savings. The launch highlighted the group's link to the Grand Hotel Nuwara-Eliya, which is owned by its associate, Hotels Company.

Foreign investors bought 1,664 million rupees of Sri Lanka government securities in the week ended July 31, reversing a $1.4m outflow the prior week amid clearer U.S. tariff signals; total rupee bond inflows since Dec 26 stood at 30.3 billion rupees.

Fitch affirmed Senkadagala Finance PLC's National Long-Term Rating at 'BBB(lka)' with a Stable Outlook, citing adequate capitalisation, a diversified funding base and improving asset quality. Fitch flagged rising exposure to two- and three-wheeler lending and margin lending (~6% of loans) as increased asset/market risks.