News & market updates

Sri Lanka's rupee closed at 336.20/35 to the US dollar on Friday and government bond yields edged up, with 2030–2037 maturities rising modestly to around 11.58%–12.75%.

SEC, CSE and CA Sri Lanka signed an MoU to implement XBRL-based reporting for companies listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange, targeting rollout in the latter part of 2026. The CSE has procured and customised the XBRL platform and is completing UAT while a joint committee finalises the taxonomy and implementation framework.

Sri Lanka's rupee was flat at 336.20/30 to the US dollar while government bond yields edged slightly higher; key quotes: 15.12.2029 at 11.20/30, 01.08.2030 at 11.60/63, 15.10.2030 at 11.62/68 and 15.12.2032 at 12.05/10 percent.

Sri Lanka sold Rs14,000 million of Treasury bills on tap at average rates of 9.95%, 10.24% and 10.20%, bringing this week's total T-bill sales to Rs154 billion. Market subscription for the tap sale was Rs84,810 million.

The CBSL's FIU warned from 2021 that advance import payments were being used for trade-based money laundering, preceding CID findings that about $715m was transferred overseas via fraudulent import transactions (2023–26). Officials cited limited Customs digital records and weak bank compliance and said tougher beneficial ownership, importer registration and multi-agency coordination measures are being introduced.

Opposition MP Dr. Harsha de Silva warned that new import control regulations requiring importer registration and extra bank checks will burden legitimate businesses and may not fix enforcement gaps that allowed about $715m in fraudulent advance import remittances to leave Sri Lanka.

LOLC Finance (LOFC.N0000) will repurchase up to 2,299,122,556 ordinary shares at Rs.7 each (maximum Rs.16.09bn) under a board-approved buyback. The repurchase equals seven shares for every 90 held, record/opening/closing dates are to be announced; public float is ~3.69%.

Ceylon Investment PLC proposes to repurchase up to 1,800,014 ordinary shares at Rs.203.33 each for a total of Rs.365,996,846.62, with the offer expected to run 2–23 Sep subject to regulatory concurrence. The Board approved the buyback, signed a Certificate of Solvency and says its Articles permit the repurchase without shareholder approval.

Colombo Stock Exchange ASPI fell 0.13% to 21,172.74 with market turnover of Rs 2.45 billion, led by retailing at Rs 1.036 billion. Melstacorp and Carson Cumberbatch were among positive contributors while HNB, Ceylinco Insurance and Ceylon Grain Elevators were top negatives.

Seylan Bank's athletics team placed 11th at the 40th Mercantile Athletics Championships, winning 8 Gold, 2 Silver and 9 Bronze medals. Several athletes received individual awards, including Overall Best Athlete – Male A. R. Chamika Weerawadena (4 Gold, 1 Silver, new 400m meet record) and a High Jump meet record.

HNB PLC signed a strategic partnership with Abans Auto on 1 June 2026 to expand Hyundai vehicle leasing in Sri Lanka, offering special rates, residual-value options (up to five years), repayment terms up to seven years, waived first-year credit-card fees and preferential insurance.

Sri Lanka's ASPI fell 0.20% to 21,171.86 at Friday midday; market turnover was Rs.1.62 billion, led by retailing (Rs.1.029 billion). Melstacorp, John Keells and Cargills were up, while Bukit Darah and Ceylinco Insurance were among the top decliners.

DFCC Bank PLC has partnered with SriLankan Airlines to launch the SriLankan Airlines DFCC Visa Platinum Credit Card, offering 3,000 bonus FlySmiLes Miles on enrolment and travel benefits including priority check-in, lounge access and extra baggage allowance.

Janashakthi Finance PLC (BFN.N0000) marked its 45th anniversary, highlighting its rebranding from Orient Finance, strong customer sentiment, industry awards and plans to accelerate digital transformation and financial inclusion supported by parent JXG (JXG.N0000).

Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC won six awards at the 2026 Asian Banking and Finance Awards — the most by any Sri Lankan bank. The honours cover retail, wholesale and corporate banking and recognise its AI SME credit underwriting, green financing (including a Rs.15 billion green bond) and a loan book above Rs.2 trillion.

Colombo market extended its rebound as the ASPI rose 0.24% (49.81 pts) to 21,199.37 and the S&P SL20 gained 0.22% to 5,945.87, with turnover about Rs.1.1bn and foreigners net sellers of Rs.188.6m. Top contributors included HNB, CARS, CINS, NDB and TKYO; NDB, SAMP and PKME gained while MELS fell and JKH closed flat.

Pan Asia Banking Corporation (PABC.N0000) has partnered with the Sri Lanka Export Credit Insurance Corporation to add SLECIC's APARA Guarantee Cover to its Remit Max Pre-Departure Loan Scheme, expanding access to pre-departure loans for migrant workers. The move aims to boost financing availability for prospective overseas workers and support remittance inflows.

CRIB hosted its Annual CEOs Forum and Institutional Rating Awards 2026 and officially launched the MyCRIB mobile app to give citizens real-time access to credit profiles and scores. The event, attended by CEOs across banks, NBFIs, insurance, telecoms and utilities, emphasised digital transformation, AI, data governance and financial inclusion.

Boards and regulators are urged to treat cybersecurity as a governance priority — giving CISOs stronger board access, mandatory incident reporting and minimum standards — because breaches can disrupt hospitals, payments systems and critical infrastructure.

Green finance is emerging in Sri Lanka to channel investment into renewable energy, green bonds, ESG-linked lending and sustainable infrastructure to boost climate resilience and economic recovery. Banks, capital markets, developers, tourism operators and tech firms are highlighted as key participants.

Sri Lanka's rupee closed at 336.20/30 to the US dollar (from 336.35/40), while government bond yields were broadly steady, with nearby maturities trading roughly between 10.30% and 12.15%.

NDB reported Q2 2026 standalone post-tax profit of LKR 3.01 billion and 1H 2026 post-tax profit of LKR 4.83 billion, with operating profit before taxes of LKR 9.50 billion after recognising a LKR 2.55 billion fraud impact. Excluding the fraud, 1H profit would be LKR 6.21 billion; revenue grew 12.8%, Stage 3 coverage improved to 62.9%, and CET1/Tier 1 ratio was 9.7%.

CBSL held the policy rate at 8.75% after its Monetary Board review, citing Middle East-driven commodity price shocks; headline inflation rose to 6.8% YoY in June 2026. The bank said inflation will remain above the 5% target in the near term, stands ready to act, and noted reserves of $6.45bn with some rupee stabilisation.