News & market updates

Hasitha Jayawardena was appointed Chairman of Melstacorp PLC and Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka, and Stasshani Jayawardena was appointed Chairperson of Aitken Spence PLC.

The ASPI fell 2.3% for the first week of February despite a 1.38% rebound on Friday; weekly turnover averaged Rs.4.16bn and Friday turnover was Rs.2bn. Ceylinco, Melstacorp, John Keells and Aitken Spence were among Friday's top contributors, while Watawala, Seylan Bank and SMB Finance were key detractors.

Colombo's ASPI rebounded, rising over 50 points (0.3%) after a prior Rs.188 billion drop, with bargain buying lifting the market and the banking sector leading turnover. Sampath, DFCC, Seylan, C T Holdings and John Keells were top positive contributors while Ceylinco and Aitken Spence weighed on the index.

Aitken Spence Hotels (Heritance) hosted the opening night of the 12th Galle Literary Festival, which is expected to attract over 5,000 visitors to Galle Fort. The company says the partnership is aimed at brand alignment and heritage promotion rather than direct hotel bookings.

Two prominent Sri Lankan business figures, Ken Balendra (85) and Harry Jayawardena (82), died yesterday. Both men had led or chaired multiple listed firms, including Melstacorp, Aitken Spence, Distilleries Co., Ceylon Tobacco, Lanka Milk Foods and Hatton National Bank.

Colombo market opened February lower as the ASPI and S&P SL20 fell about 1%. Turnover was Rs.3 billion with foreigners net sellers of Rs.179.3m; key decliners included HNB, LOLC, BUKI, CARS and CFIN, while SPEN, TJL and CCS were notable gainers.

Deshamanya Harry Jayawardena, chairman of Melstacorp PLC, has died aged 82. He also served as chairman of Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka and Aitken Spence.

UTE supplied ACE Distriparks with five Cat electric forklifts for its new 100,000 sqft warehouse to boost operational efficiency and sustainability; Aitken Spence Logistics (SPEN) was represented at the handover.

UTE supplied ACE Distriparks with five Cat® electric forklifts for its new 100,000 sqft warehouse, with Aitken Spence Logistics' CEO present at the handover; the move highlights greener logistics operations and efficiency improvements.

MMBL-Money Transfer (a 50/50 JV including Aitken Spence PLC) brought in a record $350.8m in worker remittances to Sri Lanka in 2024 — 5% of total remittances and 77% of Western Union inflows. The service operates via 3,000+ agents and represents Western Union, MoneyGram and Ria.

Aitken Spence PLC's travel arm opened a new Jaffna branch at No. 10A, Point Pedro Road to expand outbound and inbound travel services. The office will provide air tickets, hotel bookings, visa services, pilgrim/sports/musical tours and MICE solutions.

Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC won seven awards at the Sri Lanka Tourism Awards 2024, the highest number by any company; Aitken Spence companies won ten awards in total.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed higher as ASPI rose 0.71% to 16,373.15, led by banks and capital goods stocks. Heavy volumes included Sierra Cables, Teejay Lanka and LOLC Finance, with Teejay Lanka, NDB, DFCC and Ceylon Cold Stores among top contributors.

The Sri Lanka–Maldives Business Council report identified collaboration opportunities for Sri Lankan firms in tourism, logistics (including ferry connections), agriculture and infrastructure after meetings with seven Maldivian ministries. Aitken Spence Travels is listed among supporters of a CSR project providing spectacles and hearing aids to a Maldivian island.

Asoka Hettigoda was re-elected President of the Sri Lanka Germany Business Council for 2024–25. The AGM highlighted Germany’s support for Sri Lanka’s economic recovery, noting $888m of Sri Lankan exports to Germany in 2022 and 121,000 German visitors by November 2024.

The Sri Lanka–Germany Business Council held its 25th AGM and re‑elected Asoka Hettigoda as President. The German ambassador reaffirmed Germany’s support for Sri Lanka’s economic recovery and skills migration, noting $888m of Sri Lankan exports to Germany in 2022 and 121,000 German visitors by Nov 2024.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed down as the ASPI fell 1.83% to 16,049.42 and the S&P SL20 fell 2.24% to 4,860.33; turnover was Rs 11.4bn with a net foreign inflow of Rs 141m. Top positive contributors included John Keells, Aitken Spence, Bukit Darah, Lanka IOC and Nawaloka Hospitals.

Colombo Stock Market opened 2025 strongly as the ASPI rose 2.5% (404 pts) to top 16,000 on Rs.12.8bn turnover and net foreign inflow of Rs.88.6m, led by blue-chips and banking names such as JKH, Browns Investments, Aitken Spence, Sampath Bank and Hemas.

Colombo Stock Exchange's ASPI rose 2.53% to 16,348.55 on Jan 2, 2025 (S&P SL20 up 2.26%), with banks and tourism-exposed stocks leading gains and a net foreign inflow of Rs 88.6 million.

Colombo Stock Exchange ended 2024 higher, with the ASPI up 0.74% at 15,944.61 and the S&P SL20 up 1.01% at 4,862.10. Turnover was Rs7.7bn, banks/diversified financials and capital goods drew the most interest, and there was a net foreign inflow of Rs129mn.

Aitken Spence Travels (Aitken Spence PLC) won three awards — Best Travel Agent Inbound (Large), Best Cruise Lines Operator and Best Professional MICE Organizer — at the 2024 Sri Lanka Tourism Awards. Management said it served over 234,976 visitors in FY23/24, accounted for over 65% of the cruise market and was the largest room-night buyer.

ASPI rose 1.5% (232 pts) for a 22nd straight gain while the S&P SL20 is about 50% YTD, with turnover of Rs.7bn led by heavy activity in LOLC, HNB, SUN, SAMP and SPEN as T‑bill yields eased and retail participation rose.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed up after the holiday: ASPI +1.53% (232.13 pts) at 15,400 and S&P SL20 +1.48% (67.15 pts) at 4,602, with turnover Rs7bn. Top positive contributors were LOLC Holdings, Hatton National Bank, Sunshine Holdings, Sampath Bank and Aitken Spence.

Aitken Spence PLC's annual report won the Silver award (Diversified Holdings) at the 59th TAGS Awards 2024; Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC won Gold (Hotels) and Elpitiya Plantations PLC won Bronze (Plantations). The companies also received certificate recognitions for governance, sustainability and reporting.

Elpitiya Plantations PLC won the Bronze Award in the Plantations Sector at CA Sri Lanka's TAGS Awards 2024 and was Second Runner-Up at the Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Awards 2024. It also received recognition for sustainability reporting and its “Grow-to-Grow” bamboo project and is managed by Aitken Spence Plantation Managements PLC.