News & market updates

Sri Lanka's Ceylon Electricity Board restored power to 85% of the 3.9 million customers (55% of its 7 million customers) who lost service during Cyclone Ditwah. 16,771 transformers went inactive and 14,549 have been repaired; Kandy, Gampola and Nuwara Eliya were hardest hit and outages also affected telecom systems.

The Cabinet awarded the 2026 LPG supply contract to Swiss-based Geogas Trading S.A. to deliver 380,000 metric tons (±20%) of LPG starting January 2026 after a competitive international tender run by Litro Gas Lanka.

Binance Charity pledged Rs. 61.6 million to the Sri Lanka Red Cross to support immediate relief and early recovery for communities affected by Cyclone Ditwah. Funds will be used for food, clean water, hygiene and medical supplies, temporary shelter materials and cash grants for displaced families.

ADB approved a $100m policy loan and a $2.5m technical assistance grant to support Sri Lanka's power sector reforms and renewable energy expansion. The program backs unbundling the Ceylon Electricity Board into independent successor companies, cost-reflective tariffs, debt restructuring and measures to boost private participation.

World Bank Country Manager Gevorg Sargsyan said Sri Lanka can achieve the government's 7% GDP growth target but only with decisive second-generation reforms to dismantle trade barriers, boost productivity and mobilise private capital. He called for tariff cuts, customs modernisation, logistics fixes, commercial SOE reforms and deeper financial intermediation to convert investor interest in energy, logistics and food into commitments.

Share split · 1:5 · XD Jan 8, 2026

Litro Gas Lanka awarded a 12-month LPG supply contract to Swiss-based Geo Gas Trading SA for 380,000 tonnes ±20%, starting January 2026; Geo Gas sources most supplies from the United States and won the international competitive bid.

The Management Club (TMC) announced the Northern Investment Summit for January 2026 to attract local and foreign investment to Sri Lanka’s Northern Province. The summit will spotlight agriculture, fisheries, IT, tourism, retail and energy and has endorsement/support from BOI, EDB, NEDA and other agencies.

Cyclone Ditwah has killed 366 people, left 367 missing and affected 1,151,776 individuals across 25 districts, the Disaster Management Centre reported. More than 316,000 families are impacted, 218,526 people are displaced in 1,564 safety centres, with shortages of clean water, medical care and fuel and damaged access routes.

WindForce PLC subsidiary Diya Janani Ltd signed a Standard Power Purchase Agreement with the Ceylon Electricity Board on 27 Nov for a 6.5MWdc/5MWac floating solar project at Dambulu Oya costing about Rs.1.2 billion. The wholly owned project will be financed 80:20 debt‑equity and adds a utility-scale floating solar asset to WindForce's renewable portfolio.

Binance Charity pledged LKR ~61.6 million (USD 200,000) to the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society to support immediate relief and early-recovery efforts for communities hit by Cyclone Ditwah. Funds will be used for food, clean water, hygiene kits, medical supplies, temporary shelter materials and cash grants.

Sri Lanka will set up a joint public–private recovery fund to rebuild infrastructure after Cyclone Ditwah and has commissioned the World Bank to carry out a GRADE damage assessment expected within two weeks. A formal disaster declaration has been made to unlock international aid while the government seeks domestic and foreign support.

WindForce subsidiary Diya Janani signed an SPPA with the Ceylon Electricity Board to build a 6.5MWdc/5MWac floating solar project on Dambuluoya Reservoir at an estimated cost of 1,176 million rupees, financed 80:20 debt to equity. The company said it is one of the first and largest private-sector floating solar developments in Sri Lanka.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake urged the private sector to support immediate relief and broader recovery after severe weather in a meeting with The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. Discussions focused on restoring electricity and drinking water, repairing highways and bridges, and addressing disruptions to tourism, airports and transport.

President Anura Dissanayake said Sri Lanka has Rs30 billion available for immediate disaster response and can seek further funds via supplementary estimates if needed. Cyclone Ditwah has downed power lines, blocked major roads and bridges, and flooded farmland including recently sown rice paddies.

Cyclone Ditwah killed 212 people, left 218 missing and extensively damaged infrastructure and farmland across Sri Lanka. Authorities report 206 roads made impassable, 10 bridges damaged, a downed 132kV pylon and flooded farmland, leaving about 998,918 affected and 147,931 homeless with fresh-vegetable supplies to the capital disrupted.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake met the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce to seek business cooperation for disaster relief and to ensure the industrial sector is not hampered. The chamber raised issues affecting tourism, airports and transport, and discussions covered restoring electricity, drinking water and infrastructure such as highways and bridges.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake met the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce seeking business support for relief and to restore normalcy after adverse weather. The discussion covered impacts on tourism, airports and transport and urgent restoration of electricity, drinking water and highways and bridges.

Access to Gampola and Kandy has been restored after Cyclone Ditwah; relief teams and the military are working to restore electricity (expected by evening) and water (within three days) while roads remain partially blocked and fuel supplies are being sent.

Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody said more than 65,000 electricity disruptions were reported island-wide due to severe weather damaging power lines, with close to 26,000 outages restored; Ceylon Electricity Board crews are working to reconnect communities as conditions permit.

Solar Booze Ltd won the Excellent Performance Award at the FusionSolar 4th Global Installer Summit 2025 in China and the Service Excellence Award at the Clean Energy Awards 2025 in Sri Lanka. The company, an authorized distributor for Huawei FusionSolar and LONGi PV modules, said it will expand partnerships and technology-driven solutions.

The Cabinet authorised the Ceylon Electricity Board to proceed with the Rs. 24.06 billion Norochcholai–Wariyapola Transmission Development Project and begin formal negotiations with the AIIB to finance it, aiming to integrate over 750 MW of renewable energy. The project will strengthen the Puttalam–Wariyapola transmission backbone and reduce congestion and curtailment.

The Sri Lanka Economic and Investment Summit 2025 (Dec 2–3) is sold out with over 850 participants, including 100+ international delegates. The two-day event will feature 40+ speakers across trade, investment, manufacturing, renewable energy, technology, tourism, finance and agriculture, plus B2B/G2B meetings.

Treasury issued Public Enterprises Circular No.01/2025 effective 1 Jan 2026 capping SOE annual spending on sponsorships/donations/CSR at 1% of prior-year recurrent expenditure and prohibiting use of Treasury funds. The rules tighten reporting, require strategic-plan alignment and seek at least 30% PAT remittance to the Consolidated Fund.

Macksons Solar and Macktiles Lanka commissioned Sri Lanka's largest rooftop solar installation: a 10 MW system (over 18,000 panels) at Macktiles' Bandaragama factory, expected to generate ~12 GWh annually and cut about 8,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Deputy Industry Minister Chathuranga Abeysinghe said the Government kept Budget 2026 free of aggressive new taxes and will seek VAT cuts tied to improved tax efficiency while widening the tax base. He added the Treasury cash buffer tops Rs.1 trillion to help hold interest rates at 8%, and renewables plus accelerated infrastructure spending are expected to cut power costs and speed construction projects.

YKK Lanka has partnered with Regen Renewables to install a 1,792 kW rooftop solar PV system at its manufacturing facility. The project uses DAS Solar panels and Huawei inverters and aims to reduce energy costs and emissions as part of YKK Lanka's sustainability goals.

Solar Booze won two awards in 2025 — the Excellent Performance Award at the FusionSolar Global Installer Summit in Dongguan and the Service Excellence Award at Sri Lanka's Clean Energy Awards. The company, authorized distributor for Huawei FusionSolar and LONGi PV, plans to expand partnerships and technology offerings.

A Vietnamese embassy delegation visited Jaffna to promote economic, trade, investment and tourism linkages and explore cooperation in agribusiness, aquaculture, agro-processing, tourism, logistics, industrial zones and renewable energy.