News & market updates

HNB PLC reported Group PAT of Rs 34.7 Bn for the nine months to Sep 2025, up 47% YoY (Bank PAT Rs 31.5 Bn, +42%). Loans grew by Rs 287.7 Bn (Bank Rs 262.6 Bn), group assets exceeded Rs 2.6 Tn, net Stage 3 ratio fell to 1.36%, Tier I 16.74% and LCR 227.45%.

Hatton National Bank group posted a Q3 (Sep 2025) net profit of Rs 11.03 billion, up 53%, with EPS of Rs 19.30. Nine-month profit was Rs 33.4 billion (up 46%); loans rose 26% to Rs 1,391 billion and deposits grew 10% to Rs 1,932 billion.

PickMe held its ninth Nena Pahana event, supporting more than 650 schoolchildren with vouchers and donating laptops to ten top students, having invested over Rs.29 million in the programme to date. The company also provides a Rs.3 million personal accident insurance cover in partnership with Co-Operative Insurance Company PLC.

Union Assurance held its Union Assurance Premier Club Q1 & Q2 2025 recognition, rewarding 190 top agency advisers with cash and gold coins totaling Rs. 40 million. Awards spanned Bronze (166), Silver (21), Gold (7), Diamond (3), 15 Leader Awards and five Platinum achievers.

Janashakthi Life posted a 249% rise in net profit to Rs. 2.793 billion in Q3 2025 and 72% YoY growth in Regular New Business to Rs. 1.227 billion. Total assets rose to Rs. 41.508 billion, claim payouts were Rs. 2.603 billion, the A- rating was affirmed and the company is investing in digital infrastructure.

AIA Insurance Lanka CFO and CIO Sampath Thushara was named 'CFO of the Year 2025' by CA Sri Lanka for transformational financial leadership, capital-allocation strategy and digital finance initiatives, highlighting the firm's strong balance sheet and low risk-based capital charge.

IASL and IRCSL held insurance awareness roadshows in Jaffna (22 Oct 2025) and Kilinochchi (23 Oct 2025) to boost financial literacy and expand insurance coverage. The events highlighted initiatives including e-cards for motor insurance, an Insurance Repository with CRIB, simplified high‑benefit products and a reduction of the premium payment warranty to 30 days from 1 Jan 2026.

AIA Insurance Lanka CFO and CIO Sampath Thushara was named 'CFO of the Year 2025' by CA Sri Lanka. AIA credited his leadership on capital allocation, LEAN finance practices, API-based digital integrations and IFRS 17 work that helped maintain a strong balance sheet and low risk-based capital charge.

Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation General Limited (SLIC General) has appointed Dr. Sameera Dharmasena as Chief Executive Officer, effective 1 October.

InsureMe appointed Sagara Gamage and Randeewa Malalasoriya as Non-Executive Independent Directors to strengthen governance as it scales its digital insurance platform and technology arm (DIGIS) for regional expansion, including a recent deployment in Singapore.

Janashakthi Insurance PLC reported Q3 2025 net profit of LKR 2.793 billion, a 249% year‑on‑year increase. Regular new business rose 72% y/y to LKR 1.227 billion, total assets reached LKR 41.508 billion and the firm plans further digital investment; Lanka Rating affirmed an A- rating.

Sri Lanka's rupee opened at 304.80/90 to the US dollar while government bond yields fell sharply across the curve (e.g. 15.09.2027 quoted at 8.60/70% down from 8.65/74%). An auction of LKR 77,000 million T-bills is scheduled for Nov 12; ASPI opened up 0.91% at 23,549.

Co-operative Insurance Company PLC appointed Dayasumana Gamage as Acting Managing Director and Acting Principal Officer, effective 29 October 2025. The appointment was approved by the Insurance Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka and fulfills the statutory requirement for the Principal Officer; he will continue as Vice Chairman.

Secondary Government securities market turned bullish last week as strong demand pushed yields lower across 2026–2034 maturities (e.g., 2026 around 8.00%–8.10%, 2029 ~9.37%–9.46%, 2032–33 ~10.40%–10.62%) amid robust volumes. USD/LKR closed at Rs.304.80/304.90 and interbank liquidity surplus narrowed to Rs.118.29bn.

Co-operative Insurance Company PLC partnered with PickMe to provide a Rs.3 million personal accident insurance cover for PickMe drivers as part of the Nena Pahana programme. PickMe supported over 650 students this year, donated laptops to 10 top A/L students and allocated Rs.9 million for 2025 (Rs.29m to date).

HNB Assurance reported 38% YoY growth in Life gross written premium to Rs.13.74 billion for the nine months ended 30 Sep 2025. Total assets rose 18% to Rs.63.2 billion, the Life Fund increased 24% to Rs.47.4 billion and profit after tax rose 12% to Rs.617 million.

Colombo bourse rose on Budget optimism as ASPI gained 0.98% (225 pts) and S&P SL20 rose 1.13%; banking led activity (23% of turnover) and key positive contributors included SFCL, COMB, SAMP, HNB and VONE, with DFCC, LAUGFS and Bogala among high-turnover winners.

Nalin Subasinghe has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Sri Lanka Insurance Life, effective 3 November 2025. He brings over 21 years' insurance experience, including senior roles at HNB Assurance, Union Assurance and Capital Alliance.

AIA Group reported 25% growth in value of new business (VONB) to US$1,476m for the third quarter ended 30 Sep 2025. VONB margin rose 5.7 pps to 58.2% and annualised new premiums (ANP) grew 14% to US$2,550m.

Sri Lanka Insurance Life appointed Nalin Subasinghe as Chief Executive Officer effective 3 November 2025; he brings over 21 years of insurance experience including senior roles at HNB Assurance and Union Assurance.

Policybazaar has launched a technology-driven reinsurance platform in Sri Lanka, Qatar, Oman and the UAE. The digital-first platform uses data analytics and actuarial insights to deliver faster facultative and treaty placements across property, marine, liability, cyber and climate-linked risks.

CA Sri Lanka launched the Preparers’ Guide to SLFRS S1 and S2 and a three-tier Certified Sustainability Reporting and Strategy Adviser course to support national adoption of ISSB sustainability standards. The initiative aims to help companies and professionals implement the standards and improve quality of sustainability disclosures.

Fairfirst Insurance hosted the Fairfax Asia Summit 2025 in Colombo — the first time the summit was held in Sri Lanka — bringing Fairfax Asia Group and Fairfax Financial Holdings leaders together for two days of discussions on insurance industry topics including financial readiness and digital progress.

Sri Lanka's 2024 census shows the over-65 share rose to 12.6% and under-15s fell to 20.7%, pushing the dependency ratio to 49.8 dependents per 100 working-age people. The shift signals looming labour shortages in agriculture, garments and services and higher fiscal pressure on pensions and healthcare; retirement age has been raised to 60.

Senthilverl Holdings sold its remaining stake in Amana Takaful PLC for Rs. 1 billion. The market traded 51.5 million Amana Takaful shares (Rs. 1.4 billion), including 40 million at Rs. 27, and the stock closed at Rs. 29, up 7.4%.

LIIN estimates Sri Lanka faces a $7–10bn annual investment gap to meet SDGs and is launching a $5m Impact Enterprise Fund (mid-2026) targeting SMEs with $50k–$100k investments and a first-loss guarantee covering up to 20% of defaults.

Fitch assigned Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation General Ltd an 'A+ (lka)' National Insurer Financial Strength rating with a Stable Outlook, making it Sri Lanka’s highest-rated insurer. Its risk-based capital ratio was 277.3% at end-2024, well above the 120% regulatory minimum.