News & market updates

Hatton National Bank partnered with IHH Healthcare’s Sri Lanka office to run patient education sessions on orthopedics across Negombo, Kandy and Jaffna. The program covered trends such as robotic-assisted joint replacement, minimally invasive surgery and image-guided injections.

Insurance Association of Sri Lanka held its annual HR conference at Cinnamon Life under the theme “Driven by Purpose; Defined by People”, focusing on people analytics, workforce trends and HR transformation, with speakers including HNB Assurance's Lasitha Wimalaratne, AIA Insurance's Chathuri Munaweera and HR leaders such as Singer Sri Lanka's Roshan Kulasuriya.

AIA Sri Lanka is running a giveaway: users who use the AIA Pension Calculator and submit details by 31 August 2025 will be entered into a raffle in September where five winners will each receive a LKR 75,000 hotel voucher. The calculator provides personalized retirement savings projections to support financial planning.

HNB Assurance PLC was named Best Life Insurance Company – Sri Lanka 2024 by Global Brands magazine (UK). The company said the accolade, alongside other local and international awards, reflects its strong financial performance, customer focus and innovation.

Sri Lanka's rupee closed at 302.25/35 per US dollar, weaker than Friday's 301.95/302.05; government bond yields were broadly steady with small mixed moves across 2026–2032 maturities (e.g. 2026: 8.10/20%, 2027: 8.55/60%, 2032: 10.25/32%).

Sri Lanka Insurance Life (SLIC Life) reported Gross Written Premiums of Rs. 15.4 billion in 1H 2025, up 32% year-on-year. New business rose 68% to Rs. 3.6 billion; claims and maturities totaled Rs. 8.5 billion; life fund reached Rs. 228.4 billion and a Rs. 12.5 billion bonus was declared for 2024.

Secondary Treasury bond yields rose on selling pressure (2028 tenors ~8.80–8.90%; 2031/2032 at 9.95% and 10.30%). NCPI inflation was +0.70% in July and USD/LKR closed around 301.85/302.00, with money-market rates and liquidity also reported.

Fairfax Financial chairman Prem Watsa visited Fairfirst Insurance in Colombo, reaffirming Fairfax’s long-term commitment to Sri Lanka and praising the country’s recovery; he noted the reopened vehicle market and stabilised macro conditions are benefitting the general insurance sector.

Amana Takaful PLC won four Gold awards at the 14th SLIBFI Awards 2025, including Takaful Entity of the Year and Islamic Finance Entity of the Year. The company also won Gold for its Telemedicine marketing campaign and a Gold for its Shariah Department Senior Manager Nawaz Badurdeen as Islamic Banker/Employee of the Year.

Sanasa Life Insurance won the 'Large Category, Excellence in Business and Financial Results' award at the National Business Excellence Awards 2025. Chairman Prof. Aminda Perera said digitalisation has improved client onboarding, transparency and operational efficiency, enabling expanded outreach to low-income clients.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed flat with the ASPI at 20,715.49 (+0.69) and market turnover of 10.52 billion rupees. Top contributors included Dialog Axiata, Sunshine, Royal Ceramics, Co-operative Insurance and Ambeon, while most banking stocks — including Commercial Bank, Sampath and HNB — closed lower.

LOLC Holdings, with UNDP and WNPS, launched Sri Lanka’s first livestock insurance scheme to compensate farmers for leopard predation, with verified claims typically paid within 72 hours. UNDP will cover premiums while LOLC (via its insurance arm) will provide the policy and handle claims.

LOLC General Insurance will act as the insurer for UNDP-backed Sri Lanka’s first Livestock Insurance Scheme to compensate farmers for livestock lost to leopard attacks. UNDP/BIOFIN will cover premiums and claims are typically paid within 72 hours to reduce retaliatory killings and support conservation.

Softlogic Life Insurance PLC reported GWP of Rs. 18.7 billion for 1H 2025, up 29% YoY (Rs. 4.2b growth); PAT was Rs. 1.2 billion and the company declared an interim dividend of Rs. 4.50 per share. It also completed the acquisition of Allianz Life Insurance Lanka Ltd, now a subsidiary.

Lynear Wealth MD Dr. Naveen Gunawardane said Sri Lanka’s equity market is entering structural change as government reforms and fiscal discipline should stabilise inflation and interest rates (around 8–9%), supporting an estimated 20–25% earnings growth upside.

Sri Lanka sold Rs78.5bn of Treasury bills, with the 3-month yield down 1bp to 7.50%, the 6-month down 1bp to 7.89% and the 12-month unchanged at 8.03%. Bids totaled Rs154.47bn and settlement is set for Aug 22.

HNB Assurance Group reported combined 1H2025 GWP of Rs.14.3bn, up 30% YoY, and PAT rose 10% to Rs.519m. Life GWP jumped 35% to Rs.8.6bn, AUM reached Rs.61bn, EPS rose to Rs.3.46, and HNBGI launched an AI chatbot (HNBGI NEXA).

People’s Insurance PLC held Achievers’ Night on 26 July, recognising top sales performers and launching “People’s Insurance Buddy,” a customer-service chatbot to improve digital engagement. The event also honoured long-serving staff and celebrated leadership and the company’s 2024 profitability.

MetroCorp raised its stake in National Development Bank to 4.7% after buying 2.58% of the lender's voting stock. Softlogic Life Insurance sold 31.7 million NDB shares for 4.4 billion rupees, which were bought by MetroCorp and investor Indra Silva (who holds stakes in Commercial Bank, Sampath and Hatton).

Investor Indra Silva bought a 7.4% stake in National Development Bank (NDB) in a transaction valued at Rs. 4.4 billion. NDB reported an all-time high PAT of Rs. 4.2 billion in H1 FY26, and Softlogic Life (AAIC.N0000) sold 31.7m shares, booking a profit.

IRCSL reports the insurance industry's total GWP rose to Rs. 322,037 million in 2024 (up 54.6% since 2020) and Q1 2025 GWP was Rs. 92,229 million (up 10.6% YoY); total industry assets reached Rs. 1,267,683 million in Q1 2025 (up 14.2% YoY).

Treasury bond auctions on 12 Aug went undersubscribed: the 01.01.32 line was rejected at phase 1 and the 01.07.37 line raised Rs.18.53bn (74.13%) at a weighted average rate of 10.97%. Secondary bond trading remained within a thin range week ending 15 Aug, T‑bill yields dipped ~1bp on 91- and 182-day tenors, interbank liquidity was ~Rs.88.3bn and USD/LKR closed near 301.05.

Janashakthi Group (JXG) reported consolidated NPAT of LKR 2.28 billion for Q1 FY26. Consolidated revenue rose 41% YoY to LKR 8.36bn; Janashakthi Insurance NPAT was LKR 1.32bn (+70%), First Capital Holdings NPAT LKR 2.15bn, and Janashakthi Finance NPAT LKR 59.90m with loans/receivables up to LKR 23.81bn.

Janashakthi Group reported consolidated NPAT of Rs. 2.28 billion for Q1 (ended 30 June), on 41% YoY revenue growth to Rs. 8.36 billion. Key subsidiaries: Janashakthi Insurance NPAT Rs.1.32b (+70%), First Capital Holdings NPAT Rs.2.15b, and Janashakthi Finance NPAT Rs.59.9m.

Sri Lanka Insurance Life opened two new Agency Business Development Centres in Thampalakamam and Kathiravely in the Eastern Province to expand its presence and improve service delivery to customers.

Janashakthi Insurance (JINS.N0000) reported Q2 YTD 2025 net profit of Rs.1,318 million, up 70% year-on-year, with first-year premiums +61% and GWP of Rs.3,769 million (+27% YoY). Total assets rose to Rs.39 billion and regular first-year new business premiums surged 73%.

Janashakthi Insurance (JINS.N0000) reported Q2 YTD 2025 net profit of LKR 1,318m, up 70%, with first-year premiums up 61% and GWP of LKR 3,769m. As JXG's flagship, the insurer also grew regular long-term business 32% and new regular first-year premium 73%, citing digital and distribution expansion.

Hatton National Bank (HNB) reported H1 2025 Group PAT up 42.5% to Rs 23.16 Bn and Bank PAT up 37.9% to Rs 21.19 Bn, with group assets topping Rs 2.5 Tn. Asset quality improved (Net Stage 3 1.59%), Tier I at 18.42% and LCR 271.54%.