News & market updates

Sri Lanka’s central government debt fell to USD 98,965m at March 31, 2026 from USD 100,356m at end-2025, a nominal decline of USD 1,391m driven by lower domestic and external obligations. The rupee value rose slightly due to an LKR/USD rate shift and the government made USD 8,094m in debt service while finalizing bilateral agreements to resume external servicing.

Binance launched U.S. equities trading for eligible users, offering access to more than 7,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs and zero-commission trading, and said it will soon introduce tokenized "bStocks" issued by BTECH Holdings Ltd, subject to approvals.

Sri Lanka's rupee weakened to 333.00/335.50 per US$ in the spot market from 332.00/333.50 the previous day; bond yields were broadly steady and a 140,000 million rupee Treasury bill auction was ongoing.

Prime Lands sold its 23.29% stake in HNB Finance PLC (400 million shares) for Rs. 3.5 billion at Rs. 8.80 per share, with Phantom Investments taking a 5.82% stake. Hatton National Bank holds a 51% stake in HNB Finance and the Phantom purchase is Rayynor Silva’s first entry into a listed finance company.

Secondary bond market remained bearish with yields rising across the curve and a Rs. 140 billion Treasury Bill auction scheduled today. Call money stayed above 9% for a fourth day (9.14%) and USD/LKR closed at 332.50/333.50.

Sarvodaya Development Finance PLC (SDF) has appointed Saliya J. Ranasinghe as a Non-Executive, Non-Independent Director effective 1 June 2026. Ranasinghe brings over 35 years' experience in financial inclusion, microfinance, green finance and renewable energy, expected to strengthen SDF's board.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed lower as the ASPI fell 0.75% to 22,011.10. Top contributors included John Keells and Lion Brewery on the upside, while Dialog Axiata, Sampath Bank, Ceylon Beverage Holdings and Ceylon Cold Stores led declines; Maharaja Foods opened a new outlet and its shares fell 2.23%.

Sampath Bank's wholly owned subsidiary Siyapatha Finance PLC opened a new branch in Boralesgamuwa, expanding its islandwide network to 63 branches. The branch will offer lending, deposits, gold financing and digital Smart Pay services and Siyapatha holds a Fitch National Long-Term Rating of A(lka) (Stable).

Colombo Stock Exchange dipped midday as the ASPI fell 0.10% to 22,155.45 with market turnover at 981 million rupees; Consumer Durables & Apparel led turnover at 348.1 million rupees. Central Finance, Hemas and Browns gained, while Access Engineering, Ceylon Cold Stores and Sampath Bank were down.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC co-hosted an EDB awareness seminar on export procedures, costing & pricing and financial facilities in Kurunegala on 27 May 2026, attended by 59 SMEs and 16 Export Development Officers. Sessions covered export documentation, pricing strategies and banking support for exporters.

DFCC Bank PLC launched DFCC ONE Online and upgraded the DFCC ONE App with features including traffic fine payments, digital onboarding for sole proprietors, enhanced P2P QR transfers (up to LKR 5,000) and LankaQR merchant payments to strengthen its digital banking offering.

Citizens Development Business Finance-backed CDB PPL 2026 concluded after two days of competition with 43 teams, where Panther Pacers won the championship. The event, held at Playdium One Galle Face, also launched the PPL Bowling Membership and named CDB as title sponsor.

HNB Investment Bank renewed its partnership with CFA Society Sri Lanka as a Silver Partner for the 10th consecutive year, reaffirming the group's support for professional development, ethics and industry standards in Sri Lanka's financial services sector.

Central Bank of Sri Lanka will run a digital payments promotional programme in Trincomalee on 5–6 June 2026 to raise awareness and provide personalised assistance from banks, finance companies, e-money providers and LankaPay, with merchant stalls and LANKAQR onboarding.

Colombo market fell for a second day as ASPI slipped 0.39% to 22,177.65 and the S&P SL20 eased 0.32% to 6,130.65 on turnover of Rs.2.01bn. Notable moves: Ceylon Cold Stores, Haycarb and Pan Asia Banking gained, John Keells was flat, with mixed or retail interest in several other stocks.

Sri Lanka's rupee closed at 332.00/333.50 to the US dollar on Tuesday (from 331.50/332.00), while bond yields were broadly steady; the telegraphic transfer rate was 327.00/336.00. 140,000 million rupees of Treasury bills are to be issued via auction on June 3.

Colombo Stock Exchange fell with the ASPI down 0.39% after the Central Bank raised the Overnight Policy Rate by 100 basis points to 8.75%. Kerner Haus Global Solutions (CPRT.N0000) filed a rights issue to raise 420.12 million rupees (10,502,975 shares at Rs.40).

Dividend · Rs 1.00 · XD Jul 1, 2026

Final dividend of LKR 1/share; XD 2026-07-01; record 2026-07-01; payable 2026-07-20; FY 2025/26

Hatton National Bank (HNB) appointed three directors effective 1 June: Lahiru Malik Lokuwithana (Non-Independent/Non-Executive; represents Ceylon Steel, 9.99% voting stake), Murtaza Jafferjee (Independent/Non-Executive) and Rachini Rajapaksa (Independent/Non-Executive).

LB Finance PLC will merge with its subsidiary Associated Motor Finance Company PLC; AMF shareholders (except LB) will be paid Rs.55 per AMF share in cash. The CBSL has approved the amalgamation, and shareholder approvals at EGMs are required; LB's 73% stake will be cancelled on completion.

The LMD-PEPPERCUBE Business Confidence Index rose seven points to 148 in May. Consecutive fuel price hikes, a roughly 5% fall in the Sri Lankan rupee year-to-date, higher electricity tariffs and a US$267m drop in official reserves have kept business sentiment fragile amid geopolitical tensions and rising cybercrime concerns.

Sarvodaya Development Finance PLC (SDF) appointed Saliya J. Ranasinghe as Non-Executive, Non-Independent Director effective 1 June 2026. He brings over 35 years' experience in financial inclusion, microfinance, green finance and development finance.

Sampath Bank PLC received Central Bank Governing Board approval to open a branch in Port City Colombo’s Business Centre (Building 1), enabling it to offer LKR and designated foreign-currency banking services to residents and non-residents under the CPCEC.

Sri Lanka's rupee was quoted at 331.50/332.50 to the US dollar and bond yields rose, with the 01.11.2033 paper quoted at 12.85/13.00 percent (up from 12.00/80 percent). The All Share Price Index was up 0.04% at 22,272 while the S&P SL20 fell 0.08% to 6,145.

Secondary bond market opened on a bearish note as yields rose across the curve after a 100bp policy rate hike and global yield/oil pressure; key maturities traded around 11.95%–13.11% (01.08.30 11.95–12.10%, 15.01.33 12.30–12.45%, 01.06.33 12.75%, 15.03.35 12.95–13.11%).