News & market updates

Colombo bourse hit a new year high as the ASPI rose 142.74 pts (0.60%) to 23,956.51, about 43.49 pts shy of 24,000. Top contributors were LOLC, DOCK, COMB, BIL and MELS, with turnover ~Rs 10.5bn and net foreign selling of Rs 82.1m.

ASPI touched 24,000 intraday for the first time, closing at 23,956.51, up 142.74 points. Turnover rose to Rs.10.50 billion led by heavy trading in Colombo Dockyard (Rs.2.12bn) and LOLC Holdings (Rs.1.24bn), with gains led by LOLC, Colombo Dockyard, Commercial Bank, Browns Investments and Melstacorp.

EFC's National Best Employer Awards 2025 honoured SPEN.N0000, COMB.N0000, DIAL.N0000, HNB.N0000, HAYL.N0000, HHL.N0000, JKH.N0000 and others as Best Employer winners; honourable mentions included CTC.N0000, LLUB.N0000 and LION.N0000.

Government has consolidated MSME financial facilities into a single digital Rs.95 billion framework and the NCGI will issue Rs.7,000 million in credit guarantees in 2026 to unlock about Rs.10,000 million in MSME lending. Sixteen banks, including HDFC, Commercial Bank, NDB, HNB, Sampath, Seylan, DFCC, Nations Trust and Cargills Bank, will participate in channeling concessional and disaster-relief loans.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC sold its entire 22.92% holding (4,110,938 shares) in Equity Investments Lanka Ltd for Rs. 27.1 million to Comark Engineers Ltd, a subsidiary of Lanka Aluminium Industries PLC.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon (COMB.N0000) hosted 'ForwardTogether 2026' with IFC to advance customer-focused sustainable business transformation, highlighting its Climate Transition Plan work and adoption of the PCAF methodology to assess financed emissions.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed flat with the ASPI down 0.02% at 23,623.74 as speculative interest in Colombo Dockyard drove turnover. Colombo Dockyard listed 323,365,158 new ordinary voting shares after its rights issue; top contributors included Hayleys, Dockyard, ACL Cables, Commercial Bank and Nations Trust Bank.

Colombo bourse opened the week down: ASPI fell 0.44% to 23,627.87 with foreign investors net sellers of ~Rs.697.9m and turnover ~Rs.4.7bn. Top negatives included DOCK, COMB, NTB, SAMP and SPEN, while ACL, Tokyo Cement, DIAL and REEF saw notable turnover/interest.

Sri Lanka's ASPI fell 0.39% to 23,639.43 on Monday, with Commercial Bank, Nations Trust Bank and Sampath Bank among the top negative contributors; turnover was Rs4.68bn and the S&P SL20 was down 0.21% to 6,546.35.

HNB CEO Damith Pallewatte said exceptional loan growth in 2025 and a shift from government securities to lending are squeezing bank margins, tightening liquidity and raising funding costs. He warned deposit and lending rates are rising and that vehicle imports and lower single-borrower limits are reshaping credit and capital markets.

ASPI hit a new high at 23,731.60 after Friday's 0.10% rise (22.9 pts) while the S&P SL20 rose 0.28% to 6,560.08; market turnover was Rs.4.73bn with foreign net inflow of Rs.65.3m. Top positive contributors were COMB, DFCC, CTHR, NAMU and COOP, and banking made up 38% of turnover.

Colombo Stock Exchange rose 0.10% to close the ASPI at 23,731.60 on Friday, led by gains in Commercial Bank, DFCC Bank, C T Holdings, Namunukula Plantations and Co-operative Insurance. Market turnover fell to Rs4.7bn from Rs9.2bn, with banks and capital goods among key contributing sectors.

NDB Bank joined the ‘Revive Sri Lanka - Rising Stronger’ initiative at Kandy City Centre on 20 December to support SME/MSME recovery after Cyclone Ditwa. The event drew over 800 participants and included Commercial Bank, Sampath, DFCC and HNB among participating financial institutions.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon completed 100,000 Google Pay transactions within six weeks of launching the service for its Visa cardholders. The bank, the first in Sri Lanka to enable Google Pay with Visa and Google, said the milestone reflects rapid consumer adoption of contactless mobile payments.

CSE ended flat for a second straight session: ASPI down 0.71 pts to 23,607.80 and S&P SL20 down 0.12% to 6,494.76. Top negatives included JKH, DOCK, DFCC, SFCL and HHL while Sierra Cables, Commercial Bank, CDB and RIL recorded gains; turnover ~Rs.4.9bn and foreign net inflow Rs.22m.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon was conferred Superbrand Status, recognising its brand leadership and strong consumer trust. The bank reported Q3 2025 assets of Rs.3.23 trillion, deposits of Rs.2.59 trillion, a loan book of Rs.1.9 trillion, pre-tax profit of Rs.73.35 billion and net profit of Rs.48.02 billion.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon won Counter No.04 at Bandaranaike International Airport for Rs972.77m and Sampath Bank won Counter No.07 for Rs646.64m as part of cabinet-approved bids for six forex counters; contracts run for three years.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon was conferred Superbrand Status by Superbrands, reaffirming its position as Sri Lanka’s leading banking brand. The Commercial Bank Group ended Q3 2025 with assets of Rs. 3.23 Tn., deposits of Rs. 2.59 Tn. and net profit of Rs. 48.02 Bn.

The inaugural Sri Lanka Fintech Summit 2025 set industry priorities and KPIs, recommending bank–fintech partnership frameworks, a national cloud policy, digital ID expansion, CBDC research and a target to reduce cash-in-circulation from 4.5% to 3.5% of GDP in three years. Sessions included CBSL, the Ministry of Digital Economy, BOI and banking leaders.

Colombo market opened lower as the ASPI fell 0.19% (45.79 pts) to 23,608.51 on turnover of Rs.5.2 billion and a net foreign outflow of Rs.35.4 million. The session saw selling pressure weighing on DOCK, RICH and banks (HNB, SAMP) while JKH, RCL, COMB and PLR were among notable buying/turnover contributors.

Seminar on safeguards under the amended Companies Act No. 12 of 2025 will be held on 27 Jan (2–5pm) at NH Collection, Colombo 3. Organisers say the amendments place new responsibilities and stricter penal sanctions on company secretaries and directors; speakers include HNB and LOLC Insurance chairs.

Opposition MP Faiszer Musthapha warned amendments to the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Act would allow the Port City Commission to issue offshore banking licences outside the Banking Act, creating shadow-banking and systemic risk. He said permitting Port City offshore banks to borrow from domestic banks and lower capital requirements could strain FX reserves and disadvantage local banks.

Sri Lanka launched its first Smart Bus Ticketing System enabling contactless cards, digital wallets and QR payments, implemented by Ceylon Business Appliances with Nimbus and partnered banks including Sampath Bank, Commercial Bank and DFCC Bank.

Colombo bourse closed the week up 3.45% as the ASPI rose 0.54% yesterday to 23,654.30, with the market gaining about Rs. 264.8 billion in value for the week and daily turnover over Rs. 8.5 billion; top contributors included JKH, COMB, VONE, CARS and NTB.

Central bank lending to banks rose to Rs48 billion on Jan 08 as state banks faced a severe cash crunch, raising liquidity concerns. Analysts warned the government's 'domestic buffer' withdrawals could strain interbank markets, prompt central bank accommodation and pressure interest rates, inflation and the rupee.

Colombo Stock Exchange ASPI rose 0.54% on Friday and 3.45% over the week, led by gains in John Keells, Commercial Bank, Vallibel One, Carson Cumberbatch and Nations Trust Bank. Market turnover fell to 8.5 billion rupees and Renuka Agri Foods and Sampath Bank recorded crossings.

NDB Bank participated in the "Revive Sri Lanka | Rising Stronger" initiative on 20 December at Kandy City Centre, joining over 800 participants to support SME/MSME recovery after the DITWA cyclone. The event brought together major banks (Commercial, Sampath, DFCC, HNB) and highlighted public-private collaboration and NDB's SME digital banking focus.

Colombo market gained Rs.89.4bn as the ASPI rose 1% to 23,527.13, leaving it 133 points short of the record. Turnover was Rs.12.3bn with real estate (37%) and banking/diversified financials (32%) leading activity while foreigners were net sellers of Rs.1.7bn.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon launched the UnionPay SplendorPlus Card, offering a guaranteed 1% cash rebate on eligible purchases in China (rebates up to CNY 600) during the promotional period to 31 Dec 2026. The premium travel card also includes hotel discounts, airport lounge access and savings on Chinese e‑commerce platforms.