News & market updates

Sri Lanka's cabinet approved a five-year national policy (2026–2030) to prevent money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing. The policy is based on the Central Bank FIU's third National Risk Assessment aligned with FATF standards and follows recent banking cyber incidents, including a US$2.5m treasury fraud.

Rights issue · 4:21 at Rs 10.00 · XD Jul 7, 2026

The Treasury raised the full Rs.150 billion offered at the first-phase bond auction, with weighted average yields of 11.57% (15.10.2030), 12.04% (15.10.2034) and 12.58% (01.07.2037). Money-market liquidity rose to Rs.152.35 billion and USD/LKR closed near 336.00/336.25.

Global markets fell sharply as Gulf tensions and Iran's claim to have closed the Strait of Hormuz drove Brent crude up 4.3% to $79.31/bbl, lifting bond yields and reviving inflation and interest-rate tightening concerns.

The ASPI fell 1.07% (233.18 points) to 21,532.38 as investors sold amid renewed Middle East conflict concerns. Market turnover was over Rs 1bn, foreign investors were net sellers of about Rs 56mn, with banks and food & beverage sectors leading activity.

Sri Lanka rupee quoted at 336.30/50 per US dollar, slightly weaker than 336.00/20 the previous day; bond yields were slightly higher after recent government bond sales. Rs120,000 million Treasury bills auction is scheduled for July 15.

Sri Lanka sold Rs150 billion of government bonds across 2030, 2034 and 2037 maturities, with average yields of 11.57%, 12.04% and 12.58% respectively; all offered amounts were sold and are available on tap.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon (COMB.N0000) will list Rs20 billion of Basel III-compliant unsecured subordinated debentures at 13.00% and 13.25%; an initial 100 million units at Rs100 each will be offered and subscription opens July 16.

CSE and the SEC will host investor forums in Monaragala on 16 July and Batticaloa on 18 July to broaden investor participation. Both free forums will feature CSE, SEC and CBSL presentations, stockbroker and unit trust representatives for on-site account openings (first 200 to open accounts receive a coupon).

Sri Lanka promoted luxury tourism at ILTM Asia Pacific 2026 in Singapore, showcasing a Sri Lanka pavilion and holding business meetings with international luxury travel buyers; 15 companies participated, including Ceylon Roots (LOLC Holdings PLC).

LOLC Finance (LOFC) launched 'Al-Falaah Tawarruq for Personal Finance', billed as Sri Lanka and South Asia's first structured Tawarruq-based Islamic liquidity solution; Islamic finance now accounts for 15% of LOFC's loan book and serves 15% of its customer base.

Alliance Finance broadened its Green Bond Framework to allow up to 30% of proceeds to refinance eligible rooftop solar projects, with a two-year look-back period; Deloitte confirmed alignment with ICMA Green Bond Principles and the amendments received external assurance.

LOLC Al-Falaah launched Sri Lanka's first structured Tawarruq-based personal finance liquidity solution, providing a Sharia-compliant asset-backed mechanism for customers to access liquidity. The product aims to expand Islamic finance options and financial inclusion under the LOLC group.

Pan Asia Banking Corporation (PABC.N0000) launched its first Mastercard Debit Card, a Mastercard World Debit offering enhanced security, global acceptance and value-added benefits for everyday and international payments.

Colombo Stock Exchange ASPI fell 0.27% to 21,473.27 at midday, while the S&P SL20 was down 0.04% to 6,019.55. BPPL Holdings said subsidiary Beira Brush will acquire Ravi Industries' customer base and the "Ravi" trademark for a minimum 300 million rupees payable over five years tied to revenue.

SLIIT Business School study finds many Sri Lankan shoppers still prefer cash-on-delivery due to lack of trust in online payments; platform quality, payment authentication, privacy and reliability were identified as key drivers of consumer confidence.

Ceylinco General Insurance's AI visibility score jumped from 28.5 to 83.6 in April, the largest one-month move in BrandRadar's March–May AI Visibility Index of 198 Sri Lankan brands across major LLMs. The study highlights rapid, platform-specific swings in AI recommendations that affect insurers and hotels.

Sri Lanka's rupee closed at 336.00/20 to the US dollar, slightly weaker versus 335.70/90 on Friday; government bond yields were broadly steady with most maturities closing flat.

Official worker remittances fell to US$695.0m in June 2026, the lowest since November 2025, but were still 9.3% higher year‑on‑year; inflows in the first six months rose 23.2% to US$4,604.8m. Analysts link the June drop to rupee depreciation since April and Middle East tensions prompting use of informal channels like Hawala.

Colombo Stock Exchange fell as the ASPI dropped 1.07% (−233.18 pts) to 21,532.38 amid escalating West Asia tensions. Banks led selling with turnover at 1.04 billion rupees; Palm Garden Hotels reported non-compliance with minimum public holding and People's Leasing listed 59,766,864 scrip shares.

Sri Lanka's rupee was quoted at 335.70/336.00 to the US dollar in the spot market on Monday, while local bond yields were broadly steady (e.g. the 15.12.2029 bond at 11.00/15%). The Colombo Stock Exchange opened lower with the ASPI down 0.19% at 21,724.13.

Private sector credit rose Rs.238.1bn M-o-M to Rs.11.04tn in May (2.2% M-o-M, 27.8% YoY). The CBSL raised the OPR by 100bps to 8.75% in late May to curb credit-driven import demand amid sharp rupee depreciation.

Workers' remittances rose 9.3% YoY to $695m in June, lifting January–June inflows 23.2% YoY to over $4.6bn — the strongest first half on record, bolstering Sri Lanka's foreign-exchange position amid weak exports and tourism.

Sri Lanka's official reserves fell 6.9% (US$431m) to US$6.45bn in June. CBSL estimates short-term FX outflows of US$2.15bn and short positions of US$4.04bn; IMF cut the end-2026 NIR target to US$778m and CBSL is expected to buy dollars, implying continued rupee depreciation pressure.

Senkadagala Finance PLC reported a record group profit after tax of Rs. 2.05 billion for FY2025/26 (up 16% YoY); total assets rose 40% to Rs. 57.07 billion and total capital adequacy stood at 23.84% after a Rs. 1.035 billion rights issue.

Foreign portfolio inflows into rupee-denominated government securities totalled Rs 32.04 billion for the week ending 9 July—the largest weekly inflow since Feb 2013—raising foreign holdings to Rs 168.90 billion. Secondary bond yields re-priced higher mid-week amid rising oil prices and geopolitical risk, T-Bill auction yields broadly steady, and the rupee weakened to ~Rs 335.8; a Rs 150 billion Treasury Bond auction across three maturities is scheduled on 15 July.

Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka & Finance PLC (MBSL) appointed veteran banker Russel Fonseka as Chief Executive Officer. Fonseka brings 30+ years' banking experience and was General Manager/CEO of Bank of Ceylon until August 2025.

DFCC Bank PLC has signed an MoU with Co-Energi to provide customers with energy audits, technical advisory and tailored sustainable financing for energy-efficiency projects. The partnership aims to help businesses lower operating costs and boost long-term resilience.

DFCC Bank held its annual Buddhanuwandana Poson Bhakthi Gee observances in Colombo and Kandy, livestreaming the programmes and hosting a Dansala at Kandy's Sri Dalada Maligawa to engage employees, customers and the public.

Visa hosted the Sri Lanka Cybersecurity Conclave on 25 June 2026, convening banks, government and regulators to address AI-driven cyber threats, fraud prevention and Visa's security solutions. Participants stressed threat intelligence, real-time response and information sharing.