News & market updates

DFCC Bank expects to complete the Rs. 3.7 billion acquisition of Standard Chartered Sri Lanka's wealth and retail banking business by 31 July 2026. The deal covers Priority Banking, credit cards, retail lending, deposits and SME portfolios and will be funded from internal funds.

Brent crude fell below $80, down more than one-third from recent peaks after reports the U.S. will waive sanctions on Iranian oil, easing inflation fears and pushing global bond yields lower ahead of Kevin Warsh's debut as U.S. Fed chair. Markets awaited Warsh's guidance on future rate moves.

Sri Lanka's rupee was quoted at 333.50/335.00 to the US dollar and bond yields fell sharply ahead of a 70 billion rupee treasury bill auction. Yields on several government bonds eased (e.g., 01.08.2030 at 11.22/25% from ~11.40/50%), while Brent crude prices declined.

The Computer Society of Sri Lanka hosted the CSSL National CIO Forum 2026 and unveiled the CIO List 2025 at Shangri‑La Colombo, convening 150+ senior leaders from banks, telecoms, conglomerates and healthcare to emphasise CIOs' role in digital transformation and AI governance.

Visa launched 'Click to Pay' in Sri Lanka, introducing tokenized one-click online card payments to speed up checkouts and improve security for consumers, merchants and issuer banks.

UNDP and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka formalised the second-phase partnership to advance financial literacy under the National Financial Literacy Roadmap (2024–2028), focusing on capacity building for outreach officers, national awareness campaigns, and integration into MSME programmes.

Colombo market closed flat as the ASPI fell 0.02% to 22,377.29 after an early peak at 22,563.09, while the S&P SL20 rose 0.03% to 6,221.32 on turnover of Rs. 3.85bn. Foreigners were net buyers (Rs. 427.1m); top contributors were JKH, HAYL, DOCK, BREW and BIL, with CARG, CINS, SAMP, NDB and CFIN weighing on the index.

A Sweden–Sri Lanka Business Council dialogue study found members prioritise simplified visa procedures, predictable tax rules, smoother compliant capital flows, clearer profit repatriation, reliable banking relations and measures to curb brain drain. The 20-respondent study will guide the Board's priorities and engagement with embassies.

Hatton National Bank partnered with the Rainforest Trust of Sri Lanka to support installation of scientifically documented name boards for 52 trees at Colombo’s Independence Walking Park.

Sri Lanka launched the National Export Development Plan (NEDP) 2026–2030 targeting USD 36 billion in export revenue by 2030. The plan sets six cross-sector enablers and eight priority sectors — including auto components, minerals, rubber, marine, spices, digital products, electrical/electronics and processed food — to drive export diversification.

Sri Lanka rupee closed at 335.00/335.25 to the US dollar on Tuesday, weaker than 333.00/334.50 the previous day; bond yields fell and a 70 billion rupee Treasury bill auction is scheduled for Wednesday.

Swedfund invests USD 15 million in L B Finance to expand lending to MSMEs across Sri Lanka and finance electric/hybrid vehicles; the funding will target rural and women-led businesses and support LB Finance's environmental and social risk management.

The Ministry of Digital Economy and the Securities and Exchange Commission held a joint awareness session on June 15, 2026 to advance regulation of virtual assets, addressing domestic P2P/offshore risks, global regulatory precedents, and KYC/AML, transaction monitoring and blockchain traceability.

Nations Trust Bank (NTB) will list Rs15 billion of Basel III-compliant tier-2 debentures with coupons of 13.75%, 13.85% and 13.95%; Fitch rated the issue BBB+(lka) and subscription opens on June 19.

DFCC Bank will complete the acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank Sri Lanka’s retail and wealth business for 3.7 billion rupees, scheduled to be concluded by July 31, 2026. DFCC said it will use internal funds and will make a further announcement upon completion.

Sri Lanka held a Dubai investor forum on June 11 to pitch Port City Colombo as a Special Economic Zone and court Gulf capital to attract FDI into finance, technology, logistics, property and services across South Asia.

Sri Lanka's services PMI rose to 56.9 in May 2026 from 46.7 in April, signalling a rebound led by financial, professional and other personal services, with real estate, IT programming and goods transportation also recording growth; employment declined further.

Fitch says Sri Lanka's central bank tighter capital rules for gold-backed loans (10% risk weight for LTV<70% from 1 Sep) will be manageable for banks but hit finance companies harder; Asia Asset Finance, L B Finance, UB Finance, HNB Finance and MBSL face the largest capital impacts.

Secondary bond market rallied on peace-deal optimism and a reported budget surplus of Rs. 105 billion for Jan–Apr 2026, driving sharp declines in yields across the curve (2030 tenors around 11.30%–11.40%). The rupee strengthened to Rs. 333.00/334.50 and Brent crude fell, easing inflation and external pressures.

Asia Asset Finance PLC plans a Rs. 1.504 billion rights issue of 45,162,012 shares at Rs. 33.30 to boost Tier 1 capital. The board has recommended a 4-for-11 rights issue (subject to shareholder and CSE approval) to strengthen regulatory capital and support planned business expansion.

The Bank of Japan raised its policy rate to 1%, the highest since 1995, as Asian stocks made modest gains while initial optimism over a preliminary U.S.-Iran deal cooled. Brent crude fell to $82.96 a barrel and gold rose, with mixed currency and equity moves across the region.

Digital Economy Ministry and the SEC held a high-level awareness session on virtual assets to advance regulatory alignment and investor protection, covering P2P/offshore risks, KYC/AML, blockchain tracing and international regulatory models. Attendees included SEC, CSE, Central Bank FIU and other stakeholders.

Sri Lanka's rupee was quoted at 333.00/334.00 to the US dollar while secondary market government bond yields fell further, with 2029–2033 maturities quoted around 11.10–11.77%. A 701 billion-rupee treasury bill auction is scheduled for Wednesday and the ASPI opened up 0.78% at 22,555.92.

Sri Lanka and India are exploring converting their roughly $6 billion bilateral trade to rupee-to-rupee settlement, with RBI and CBSL measures allowing Indian bank branches in Colombo to lend in INR and Sri Lankan banks to borrow INR to reduce dollar dependence and transaction costs.

CBSL Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe told Parliament the Sri Lankan rupee weakened 8% vs USD between end-2025 and 9 June 2026 and defended a flexible exchange rate under the FIT framework as a shock absorber, citing higher imports, lower tourist inflows, speculation and financial outflows.

ASPI jumped 3.43% (743.22 pts) to 22,380.65 as markets rallied on signs of a possible end to the Middle East war, with index-weighted counters SAMP, COMB, JKH, MELS and DIAL among top contributors; turnover exceeded Rs.4bn and foreigners were net buyers (Rs.21.1m).

Sri Lanka's Ministry of Digital Economy and the Securities and Exchange Commission have launched a joint initiative to explore and regulate virtual assets and develop a formal regulatory roadmap. The outreach session—which included the Central Bank and Colombo Stock Exchange—covered uses like ETFs, cross-border payments, tokenization and AML/CFT risks.

HNB PLC signed an MoU with the Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka on 20 May 2026 to offer IESL’s 25,000+ members customised pre-approved premium credit cards, pre-approved personal loans and eligibility for HNB Priority Circle.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed flat with the ASPI down 0.02% to 22,377 and the S&P SL20 up 0.05% to 6,222; top gainers included Sunshine and Commercial Bank, while Singer and Sampath Bank were among the laggards.

Commercial Bank (COMB.N0000) now lets Premium/Platinum credit and Elite debit cardholders convert Max Loyalty Rewards points into airline miles with SriLankan Airlines and other carriers at a promotional rate of 6 points = 1 FlySmiLes mile through 31 Dec 2026, via its existing digital platform.