News & market updates

Colombo Stock Exchange ASPI rose 0.40% (up 85.60 pts) to 21,235.16 as banks led turnover (LKR 76.8m) and the S&P SL20 gained 0.73%. Commercial Bank announced the final allotment for its Basel III Tier-2 debenture issue, which was oversubscribed with applications for 244.23m debentures (LKR 24.42bn) and 150m debentures allocated to identified investors.

Sri Lanka Corporate Director Summit urged companies to raise board governance standards to help rebuild the country's investment appeal. Speakers including Minor International's CEO and LYNEAR Wealth's MD stressed board quality, independence, faster decision-making, AI readiness and sustainability as investor priorities.

Hayleys PLC's subsidiary Sri Lanka Shipping Company Ltd. won a $17.16m contract to lease two 70-ton tug vessels to the Sri Lanka Ports Authority for five years. The award followed Cabinet approval and an international competitive bidding process (amount excludes taxes and duties).

Hayleys PLC (via Hayleys Agriculture) opened Sri Lanka's first frozen concentrated coconut water manufacturing facility to produce premium concentrated coconut water for export. The investment is aimed at boosting value-added agricultural exports and supporting local coconut growers.

Seylan Bank (SEYB.N0000) has partnered with John Keells CG Auto to offer dedicated NEV leasing for BYD and DENZA, with up to seven-year repayment terms, 24-hour lease approvals and a 50% concession on document processing fees.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed up 0.02% as the ASPI rose 3.83 points to 21,149.56; top positives included Seylan Bank (98.90) and PickMe, while John Keells (19.60), Hayleys (227.00) and Access Engineering (74.90) were the main detractors.

ASPI fell 0.29% to 21,145.73 while the S&P SL20 rose 0.03% to 5,945.01; turnover exceeded Rs.3.2bn with foreign net inflow of Rs.79.8mn and a Rs.2.3bn crossing in Cargills driving volume. Negative contributors included CINS, COMB, RICH, CARS and HARI; Melstacorp, NTB and HNB were also active.

Hayleys PLC's subsidiary Hayleys Aventura commissioned Sri Lanka's first outdoor automated rotary parking system. The installation offers space-efficient automated parking for urban developments with platform retrieval within a maximum of 2.5 minutes.

The CSE and SEC launched the 'A Share for Everyone, A Unit for Everyone' investor outreach at Monaragala and Batticaloa, drawing over 500 participants and offering investment coupons to early attendees. The programme will run nationwide to broaden access to equities through stockbrokers and unit trust managers, with participants including HNB Stockbrokers and Softlogic Asset Management.

Cargills (Ceylon) PLC dominated CSE trading with block crossings of Rs. 2.26 billion, taking its total turnover to Rs. 2.88 billion and helping push total market turnover to Rs. 3.27 billion. The ASPI fell 62.37 points to 21,145.73, while Melstacorp accounted for Rs. 181 million of turnover.

Colombo Stock Exchange ASPI fell 0.22% (47.45 pts) to 21,160.65 with turnover Rs 3.28bn, led by food & staples retailing and large crossings dominated by Cargills. Dialog, John Keells, Aitken Spence and Lanka Ashok Leyland were top gainers while Ceylinco Insurance, Harischandra Mills and HNB were top losers.

ASPI fell 0.92% (197.31 pts) to 21,208.10, its lowest in over three months, with 193 counters down and market turnover at around Rs.2.6bn. DIAL, COMB, RICH, JKH and CARS were the major contributors to the decline.

John Keells' auto arm (JKCG Auto) has expanded the BYD aftersales network in Sri Lanka, completing over 20,000 vehicle services and opening multiple new service centres and a large bodyshop. The push includes bigger parts inventory, technician training, digital diagnostics and 21+ fast chargers.

Janashakthi Limited was featured as an official TikTok for Business Case Study for its 'Who is JXG?' integrated brand and IPO campaign ahead of a Rs. 5 billion IPO. The campaign recorded over 4.76 million video views, more than 5 million impressions and about 255,000 destination clicks to the IPO landing page.

Colombo Stock Exchange ASPI was up 0.06% at midday (13.19 pts to 21,221.29) with market turnover LKR 358.7m and Food, Beverage & Tobacco leading turnover at LKR 201.3m. Positive contributors included John Keells, Dialog, Aitken Spence and Browns; HNB, DFCC and Ceylon Grain were top negatives; Tess Agro listed 125,000,000 shares effective July 21, 2026.

CSE indices fell sharply — ASPI down 197.31 points to 21,208.10 and S&P SL20 down 56.46 to 5,943.22 — despite turnover rising to Rs.2.63bn. Turnover was driven by crossings in CT Holdings (Rs.561m), Cargills (Rs.544.95m) and Lanka Milk Foods (Rs.232m), while price losses in Dialog, Commercial Bank, John Keells and Carson Cumberbatch led the ASPI decline.

The Exporters Association of Sri Lanka elected Nalaka Ratnayake as Chairperson at its 29th AGM; the new Executive Committee includes representatives from CIC Holdings, Hayleys, Dipped Products, Hatton National Bank, Sampath Bank and Lion Brewery. Speakers urged faster trade digitalisation, lower export costs and improved logistics to boost competitiveness.

Colombo's ASPI fell 1.7% this week while turnover hit a 65-week low of about Rs. 722.64 million; top drags on the index included John Keells (JKH), PKME and NDB. Banking led turnover (notably Sampath Bank) and activity was concentrated in capital goods, food & beverage and energy names.

Sri Lanka stocks closed lower as the ASPI fell 0.20% to 21,405.41 and market turnover hit a 52-week low of Rs 722.6m. Banks led turnover at Rs 184.3m; Commercial Bank, RIL Property, Melstacorp and People's Leasing were among gainers while John Keells and Digital Mobility were among laggards, and oil prices rose on Gulf tensions.

Colombo West International Terminal (CWIT) became the Port of Colombo's first container terminal to achieve three ISO certifications covering quality, environmental management and occupational health & safety. The USD 800m, fully automated terminal — developed with partners including John Keells Holdings — hit one million TEUs in its first year and is expanding Phase 2 infrastructure.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon's Basel III Tier-2 debenture issue was oversubscribed with applications for over 200 million debentures worth Rs 20 billion against an initial Rs 10 billion offer. CSE indices traded lower (ASPI down 0.11% at 21,424.48) with banks leading turnover at Rs 54.4 million.

Colombo bourse snapped a three-day decline as the ASPI rose 0.14% to 21,447.57 with turnover near Rs.1.5bn and foreign net selling of Rs.26.9m; gains were led by DIAL, HAYC, CFIN, JKH and CTHR.

The Sri Lanka Corporate Director Summit 2026 will be held on 22 July 2026 at the Cinnamon Grand Colombo under the theme 'Future-Ready Sri Lankan Directors: From Compliance to Sustainable Growth.' Key speakers include Kalpana Morparia and local governance leaders such as Dr. Harsha Cabral (Chairman, Tokyo Cement) and Harsha Amarasekera (Chairman, CIC Holdings and Sampath Bank).

Colombo Stock Exchange closed higher as the ASPI rose 0.14% (29.77 pts) to 21,447.57 and the S&P SL20 gained 0.29% to 6,006.07, with market turnover Rs 1.49bn and banks leading turnover at Rs 74.9m. Bukit Darah declared a first interim dividend of Rs 5.73 per share, entitlement July 27, 2026.

Colombo Stock Exchange traded higher Thursday morning, with the ASPI up 29.70 points (0.14%) to 21,447.50 and market turnover of LKR 229 million, led by banks (LKR 74.9 million). Lanka Realty Investments received LKR 1.05 billion from Lee Hedges for the final balance on its 51% stake sale, and Asia Asset Finance announced a LKR 0.70 fixed non‑cumulative preference dividend per share.

Colombo's ASPI fell 0.03% to 21,417.80, extending a third straight day of losses on profit taking and net foreign outflows of Rs.36.7m. Banking led turnover (27%) while Haycarb, Chevron Lubricants, John Keells and Hayleys were among top contributors.

The Sri Lanka Institute of Directors will hold the Sri Lanka Corporate Director Summit 2026 on 22 July at Cinnamon Grand Colombo featuring a session 'Talent and Culture – What Boards Can No Longer Ignore' with international speakers; Hemas Holdings PLC's Chief People and Corporate Affairs Officer Ravi Jayasekera will join the panel.

Dividend · Rs 5.73 · XD Jul 24, 2026

First Interim dividend of LKR 5.73/share; XD 2026-07-24; record 2026-07-27; payable 2026-08-13; FY 2026/2027

C.W. Mackie PLC appointed Asoka Piyadigama as an Executive Director effective 1 August 2026. He currently serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director of York Arcade Holdings and Acme Printing and Packaging and sits on committees within the CFLB Group.

Colombo market fell to a three-month low as the ASPI slipped 0.50% (107.39 pts) to 21,424.99 and the S&P SL20 dropped 0.37% (22.04 pts) to 6,000.15. Foreign investors were net sellers of Rs.126.9m; main negative contributors included Carson, Melstacorp, Vallibel One and John Keells, while Lanka IOC, Ceylon Cold Stores and Dipped Products led turnover.