News & market updates

The SLIM-KANTAR People’s Awards 2026 was held on 18 March 2026 at the Monarch Imperial, honoring Sri Lanka’s most loved brands and personalities based on a nationally representative public survey.

The Lanka Confectionery Manufacturers Association pledged to keep prices of biscuits, chocolates and ice cream unchanged through May (Sinhala & Tamil New Year), citing rising utility and imported-input costs and urging government support on fuel distribution and customs delays.

ASPI rose 3.56% for the week but closed yesterday down 0.21% at 21,375.73 as the bourse ended a volatile week; foreign investors were net sellers of over Rs.1.2 billion and market turnover was about Rs.2.7 billion.

Colombo Stock Exchange fell 3.4% over the week; ASPI closed at 21,375.73 (-0.21%) and S&P SL20 at 5,999.99, with turnover of 2.67 billion rupees. Top negative contributors were John Keells, NDB and Cargills, while Ambeon Capital's subsidiary offered to buy 1,919,600 Harishchandra shares at Rs 3,400.

The Lanka Confectionery Manufacturers Association said prices of biscuits, ice cream, chocolate and other confectionery will not be increased until May. The group warned rising gas, electricity and ingredient costs, plus customs delays and higher shipping charges, could force price revisions after May.

Ambeon Essentials (a subsidiary of Ambeon Capital) made a voluntary offer to buy 1,919,600 ordinary voting shares of Harischandra Mills at Rs 3,400 per share. Hayleys previously offered Rs 3,300 after acquiring a 40.58% stake, and Harischandra was trading at Rs 4,810.25.

Visa warns Sri Lankan consumers about payment scams during Avurudu and publishes 10 safety tips to avoid fake shopping pages, impersonation accounts, suspicious links and urgent payment requests. The Central Bank and Sri Lanka CERT reinforce the advice, urging people not to share PINs/OTPs and to report incidents to hotline 101.

Galle City Center opens tomorrow: a 135,000 sq ft, nine-storey complex featuring six floors of premium retail and a four-star, 35-room hotel with rooftop banquet and restaurant. The development is expected to boost retail and tourism activity in the Southern Province.

Full’r Burgers, a brand of Giga Foods (Pvt) Ltd, opened its 11th outlet at 757/C Kaduwela Road, North Thalangama, Malabe, expanding the fast-food chain’s presence in Colombo’s suburban market to serve local residents and students.

Ceylon Cold Stores PLC won the Gold Award in the Large Category of the Confectionery Products Sector at the NCE Export Awards 2025 for its 2024/25 export performance. The John Keells subsidiary exports to 16 countries and is expanding ties in India via a partnership with Reliance.

Kia Motors Lanka launched the all-new Kia Tasman pickup in Sri Lanka, a ground-up body-on-frame 2.2L diesel (210PS/441Nm) vehicle with up to 1,151kg payload and 3,500kg towing capacity, advanced 4WD systems, off-road modes and SUV-like interior tech.

BrandRadar (Roar Global) launched the Sri Lanka AI Visibility Index and hosted the country's first AI Visibility Summit to benchmark how brands appear in AI-driven discovery platforms (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, etc.). Initial coverage includes hospitality, banking/finance, insurance, retail/e-commerce, automotive and real estate.

Colombo Stock Exchange opened higher, ASPI up 0.71% to 21,571.61, led by consumer durables and apparel with Teejay Lanka contributing Rs.546.8 million to morning turnover. Commercial Bank and Nations Trust Bank were top positive contributors; National Development Bank was the top negative contributor.

CSE extended its rebound as the ASPI rose 3.79% (797.62 pts) to 21,868.85, with market value gaining Rs.284.1 billion in the session and recouping about 48% of the Rs.1.1 trillion loss since the Middle East conflict began. Commercial Bank, Hatton National Bank, Melstacorp, John Keells and Hayleys led gains; turnover topped Rs.6.4bn and foreigners were net sellers (Rs.525m).

Baby Cheramy was voted the People’s ‘Baby Care Brand of the Year’ at the SLIM KANTAR People’s Awards 2026. The 64-year brand said it has repurposed its portfolio to better meet Sri Lankan mothers' needs, emphasizing safety, quality and ongoing innovation.

SPAR Sri Lanka opened a new Kandy outlet (Mar 30) and will open a Kurunegala store in April, expanding its island network to 12 stores with a 13th due soon.

Sri Lanka aims to digitize 100% of government transactions by 2030 and build a USD 15 billion digital economy; Mastercard launched the 'Access Unlocked V2.0' payments program introducing SoundBox and SoftPOS to help SMEs adopt low-cost digital payments.

Uber Eats has signed an exclusive partnership with Delmo to offer Delmo’s fresh chicken and value-added meat products on the Uber Eats app, launching with 10 outlets and with plans to expand nationwide.

DIMO hosted a DIMO–MTU technical forum showcasing next-generation propulsion and power solutions and the MTU Go! IoT platform, reaffirming DIMO as MTU's exclusive authorised service dealer in Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Colombo Stock Exchange jumped as ASPI closed up 3.79% at 21,868.85 and the S&P SL20 rose 3.81% to 6,134.23. Top positives included Commercial Bank, HNB, Melstacorp, John Keells and Hayleys; turnover was Rs.6.41bn with highest activity in food, beverages & tobacco.

The Middle East conflict threatens Sri Lanka’s migration and remittance flows — about half of remittances originate in the ME, and up to ~19,980 foreign employment opportunities could be lost in a month if disruptions continue. This would pressure foreign reserves, import capacity, unemployment and consumption, slowing the economic recovery.

Cabinet approved a fee-free QR payment program for transactions below Rs. 5,000 to boost digital payments and financial inclusion. Officials noted LankaQR logged about 274,000 transactions worth Rs. 1.18 billion in Q3 2025 (avg ~90,000/month; avg txn value < Rs. 5,000).

Deloitte Sri Lanka hosted an exclusive forum on 4 March 2026 to help Sri Lanka's consumer sector plan cross-border expansion, with a focus on India. Speakers stressed tax/regulatory due diligence, long-term commitment, partner selection, ESG and use of FTAs; IFC noted ~US$1bn invested in Sri Lankan corporates over the past five years.

Deloitte Sri Lanka urged Sri Lankan consumer companies to deepen their understanding of tax and regulatory frameworks and form strategic partnerships to succeed in cross-border expansion, with India highlighted as a key market. Panelists stressed due diligence, ESG standards, FTAs and risks like permanent establishment when entering new markets.

Sri Lanka's ASPI rose 3.38% to 21,784.11 and the S&P SL20 climbed 3.63% to 6,123.82; market turnover was Rs.2.3bn. Top contributors included Hatton National Bank, Commercial Bank, John Keells, Melstacorp and Dialog, while food, beverage & tobacco led turnover (Rs.834m).

The ASPI rose 3.47% (706.26 pts) to 21,071.23, recovering Rs. 244 billion on reports of a possible de‑escalation in the Middle East; the S&P SL20 gained 3.91% to 5,909.23. Market turnover exceeded Rs. 4.2 billion with gains led by Commercial Bank, Sampath Bank, John Keells and Colombo Dockyard while foreigners were net sellers.

Sri Lanka thanked Iran for an offer to supply oil but said it cannot accept because it has no ship to import; the government has floated tenders and expects fuel shipments to cover needs until end-April. The country has implemented fuel rationing, is exploring a G2G deal with Russia, and oil prices have risen about 35%, lifting transport and food costs.

ADB announced a financial support package to help its developing member countries mitigate economic and financial impacts from the Middle East conflict, including fast-disbursing budget support and reactivated trade and supply-chain finance for oil imports. The bank will mobilize countercyclical lending and TSCFP support to address energy price volatility, supply disruptions, inflationary pressures and risks to tourism and trade.