News & market updates

Krishan Balendra, Chairperson of John Keells Holdings, was elected Chairperson of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce at its 186th AGM. He urged preserving reform momentum — including Digital ID, a National Single Window, Customs modernisation and a National Tourism Destination Marketing Plan — to sustain recovery.

Krishan Balendra, head of John Keells Holdings, was elected chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce at its AGM on June 26. Supun Weerasinghe (Dialog) was named vice chairman and the board includes executives from Hayleys and Renuka Hotels.

Krishan Balendra, Chairperson of John Keells Holdings, was elected Chairperson of The Ceylon Chamber at its 186th AGM. He called for continued reforms — including Digital ID, a National Single Window, customs modernization and a National Tourism Destination Marketing Plan — to sustain recovery.

CFA Society Sri Lanka held the Capital Market Awards 2025 on 24 June; Sunshine Holdings won Gold for Best Investor Relations (Mid-to-Large), hSenid Business Solutions won Best Investor Relations (Small Cap), Talawakelle Tea Estates won Silver for Best Sustainability Reporting, and Dialog Axiata and Commercial Bank shared Bronze. Capital Alliance was a Gold sponsor and Hatton National Bank served as Banking Partner.

CFA Society Sri Lanka held the 12th Capital Market Awards on 24 June, with Sunshine Holdings winning Gold for Best Investor Relations (Mid-to-Large Cap). hSenid won Gold for Best Investor Relations (Small Cap); Hemas won Silver (Mid-to-Large), Talawakelle Tea Estates won Silver for Best Sustainability Reporting, and Dialog and Commercial Bank shared Bronze for Sustainability.

Hosking Partners says it invested tens of millions of USD in Sri Lankan equities in 2023, buying stocks such as Aitken Spence, John Keells, Dialog and others at deep discounts after the CSE market-cap fell to about $9bn (~70% USD decline). They point to rupee-driven inflation, 30% interest rates and a tourism-led recovery as key drivers.

Dialog Axiata PLC launched upgraded Power Plans starting at Rs. 1,300 + tax per month. Plans offer high-priority network access, exclusive smartphone offers, free Lionsgate Play and ViU+ access, family and Friends’ Circle features, plus data rollover and sharing.

Disrupt Asia 2025 will run 17–20 Sep in Colombo to position Sri Lanka as South Asia’s innovation hub, backing targets of USD 5bn for the digital industry and USD 15bn for the digital economy plus a proposed USD 50m Fund of Funds and a Virtual SEZ. Partners include Mastercard, Dialog and Cinnamon Life; the event aims to attract venture funds and accelerators.

Dialog Axiata (DIAL.N0000) held its 13th Dialog Awards in partnership with MTI to recognise excellence and innovation across its teams; the CEO noted the year included the Airtel acquisition and new initiatives.

Colombo market sustained an all-time high as the ASPI closed at 17,500.24, up 105.79 points (+0.61%) with turnover Rs.2.85bn and net foreign outflow of Rs.19.3m. Banking-led activity and retail buying drove gains, with Hayleys Fabric, Ceylinco, Ceylon Cold Stores, HNB and Ceylon Tobacco among top drivers.

Dialog Axiata's Dialog Enterprise deployed an SD-WAN solution for Ceylinco General Insurance, connecting over 200 branches island-wide. The implementation offers dynamic traffic routing, advanced encryption and scalable, high-performance connectivity to support branch–HQ operations.

Dialog Axiata PLC partnered with NARA to add Potential Fishing Zones (PFZ) to its Sayuru app, launched 23 May, providing real-time PFZ data to fishermen free of charge. The Sayuru service now serves over 110,000 day-boat fishermen and includes location-specific forecasts, offline maps and emergency alerts.

BSides Sri Lanka 2025 drew over 280 attendees to Colombo for the inaugural cybersecurity conference; Dialog Axiata PLC participated as a gold sponsor, joining industry partners to support community-led cyber education and hands-on training.

Sri Lanka's ASPI rose 0.33% (55.24 pts) to 16,712 on Wednesday with turnover of 4.2 billion rupees; top contributors were Hemas, Commercial Bank, Aitken Spence, Dialog Axiata and Sampath Bank, while John Keells weighed on the index after a 71% profit decline.

NEXT Ventures has launched NEXT Ventures Lanka, a new Colombo hub providing 24/7 BPO support, payroll, technical assistance and R&D for its global fintech operations; guests from Dialog, SLT, Commercial Bank and Sampath Bank attended and signed strategic partnership agreements.

Hatton National Bank saw a 9.99% stake divestment (45.9m shares) by Browns Investments via nine off‑board trades at Rs.305, driving turnover to Rs.18.7bn and lifting the ASPI ~1%. Banking counters led gains and accounted for 81% of turnover, with broad buying across banks and select FMCG names.

Colombo market opened subdued with the ASPI up 1.78 points and turnover rising to Rs. 3.7bn; foreigners were net buyers of Rs. 70.1m. Key contributors included CCS, HHL, HAYL, DIAL and BIL, with strong activity in Food, Beverage & Tobacco.

Dialog Enterprise (Dialog Axiata PLC) deployed an SD-WAN solution for Ceylinco General Insurance, connecting over 200 branches island-wide. The rollout is intended to improve application performance, security and scalability across Ceylinco’s branch network.

CBSL cut the OPR by 25bps to 7.75%, boosting the Colombo market (ASPI +0.7%, S&P SL20 +0.54%) on higher turnover; key contributors were CARG, MELS, JKH, DIAL and HHL, with strong banking interest and Rs.313.4m foreign net inflows.

The central bank cut its policy rate by 25 bps to 7.75%, and Sri Lanka stocks closed higher—ASPI +0.72% and S&P SL20 +0.54%. Top contributors included Cargills, Melstacorp, John Keells, Dialog Axiata and Hemas.

Foreign investors were net buyers with a Rs. 510.4 million inflow as the ASPI rose 0.12% and turnover was Rs. 2.43 billion; key contributors included John Keells, Vallibel One, Commercial Bank, Dialog and others.

Colombo ASPI closed 0.12% higher at 16,355.91 after volatile trading, led in part by Cargills rising to Rs.509.75; S&P SL20 was up 0.11% at 4,816.36. Turnover rose to Rs.2.4bn and banking, construction and consumer-durables shares were active.

Dialog Axiata PLC has committed USD 100 million to expand Sri Lanka's digital infrastructure — USD 81m from Dialog Axiata PLC and USD 19m from Dialog Broadband Networks — formalised via BOI supplementary agreements. The funds will enhance mobile and fixed networks, expand 4G and develop 5G infrastructure pending regulatory approvals.

Dialog Axiata PLC has committed $100 million ($81m by DAP, $19m by DBN) to expand mobile and fixed networks in Sri Lanka, focusing on 4G expansion and 5G rollout readiness. The investment was formalised with the BOI and brings Dialog's cumulative Sri Lanka investment to over $3.37 billion.

Dialog Axiata (Dialog Enterprise) has achieved ISO/IEC 27017 and ISO/IEC 27018 certifications for its cloud and data centre solutions, making Dialog Cloud the only Sri Lankan provider to hold both. The certifications validate its cloud security and personal data privacy controls.

Dialog Axiata (DIAL.N0000) reported Q1 FY25 revenue of Rs.43.3bn (+4% YoY), EBITDA Rs.19.7bn (+45% YoY) and NPAT Rs.4.1bn (+49% YoY). Capex was Rs.3.7bn, operating free cash flow Rs.12.3bn and the group remitted Rs.14.8bn to the government.

Colombo bourse closed the shortened week with the ASPI up 2.9% and S&P SL20 up 3.5%, average daily turnover Rs.3.67bn, led by gains in JKH, LOLC, CARS, EBCR and SAMP; foreigners recorded a net inflow of Rs.157.2m.

Dialog Axiata PLC launched Sri Lanka's first QR-based prepaid reload system enabling instant top-ups for Mobile, Home Broadband and Dialog Television at retail outlets. The Scan-Select-Pay flow removes the need to share mobile numbers and speeds retailer transactions.

Dialog Axiata's corporate arm, Dialog Enterprise, expanded its cybersecurity partnership with Check Point to provide advanced AI-driven security, SASE, managed security services and data-centre integrations for Sri Lankan enterprises.

Dialog Axiata PLC launched the IAX (India-Asia Xpress) submarine cable, strengthening Sri Lanka's international connectivity and taking Dialog's total international connectivity investments past USD 100 million. The cable links Mumbai, Chennai and Singapore and adds redundancy alongside BBG and MSC.