News & market updates

Ceylon Petroleum Corporation reduced its debt to the National Iranian Oil Company to US$130.6m by June 2025 from US$191m a year earlier via a Tea-for-Oil barter agreement. The Finance Ministry report said the settlements and supplier borrowing reflect forex shortages and liquidity measures that have suppressed interest rates.

Lanka Tiles PLC has appointed Harsha Amarasekera as a Non-Executive Director; he also joins the board of Lanka Walltiles PLC. Amarasekera is an experienced attorney and currently holds leadership roles at Sampath Bank, CIC Holdings, Swisstek, Vallibel Power Erathna and Royal Ceramics.

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.

The Sri Lanka–Thailand Business Council elected Rizan Nazeer as President and pledged to expand trade and cooperation, highlighting the Feb 2024 FTA that removes tariffs on about 85% of goods and aims to raise bilateral trade from roughly US$350m to over US$1bn. The Council plans to boost private-sector engagement, joint ventures and SME access across agriculture/food processing, health and wellness, tourism, renewable energy and technology.

Fifty-two SOEs posted aggregate profit of Rs. 227.8 billion in 1H 2025, down from Rs. 280.7 billion a year earlier. The drop was driven by a Rs. 13.2 billion net loss at the Ceylon Electricity Board after tariff cuts, despite stronger profits at state banks and Cabinet-approved SOE reforms.

LTL Holdings Ltd issued a Right of Reply to COPE, disputing findings of ownership dilution and audit concerns. It says audits were conducted by shareholder-appointed auditors, ownership changes were driven by CEB decisions, and its projects (including renewables) follow the CEB LTGEP and competitive bidding.

Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody warned that lobbying for higher feed-in tariffs would raise consumer bills, noting solar prices paid to new producers have fallen from 37 → 27 → 24 → 18 rupees. He cited 30% cheaper panels, a stronger rupee, competitive low bids (e.g. Vidullanka ~3.77 USc/kWh) and additional grid/BESS costs.

India and Sri Lanka held a virtual meeting on the power grid interconnection to discuss implementation modalities and technical coordination, advancing the transnational transmission project. The link would let Sri Lanka import during shortages and export surplus renewable power to India, earning foreign exchange and boosting grid stability.

Ceylon Petroleum Corporation revised retail fuel prices effective last midnight: Octane 92 petrol reduced by Rs.5 per litre and Super Diesel increased by Rs.5 per litre; prices of other fuels unchanged.

Colombo bourse closed lower as the ASPI fell 0.15% to 22,804.84 amid foreign net selling of Rs.893 million and turnover of about Rs.5.6bn; the S&P SL20 rose 0.18%. Capital goods and materials led activity with notable stock moves including Aitken Spence (-Rs.1), Hayleys (-Rs.0.75) and John Keells (+Rs.0.40).

Eurus Power Solutions was appointed the exclusive Sri Lanka partner of Beijing Sifang Automation to represent and distribute Sifang’s power automation products. The partnership aims to introduce advanced power automation to support IPPs, energy trading and modernization of Sri Lanka’s power infrastructure.

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.

Voyage Sri Lanka 2025, organised by the Export Development Board on 16 Oct at the Kingsbury, drew over 250 delegates from about six countries and highlighted blue-economy opportunities across shipbuilding, offshore energy (LNG, wind), fisheries and nautical tourism. Sponsors and participants included Seylan Bank, Lanka IOC and Hayleys Advantis.

COPE summoned LTL Holdings over ownership dilution and audit concerns, finding CEB’s stake fell from 70% to 35% after transfers to West Coast Power, Peradiv and Tepro, and noting LTL has refused Auditor General access since 2015; a full report was demanded.

WindForce PLC emerged as the lowest-cost bidder for Lot 1 of the 50MW Mullikulam Wind Power Project, though the formal award is still pending. The company said the outcome is price-sensitive and will make further disclosures after any official award or agreement execution.

IMF cut Sri Lanka's 2026 growth forecast to 3.1% from 3.5%, saying the economy is returning to trend after an exceptional post-crisis rebound. The IMF also reported staff-level agreement on the Fifth Review of the EFF and noted progress on electricity pricing reforms.

BOI Chairman Arjuna Herath said high construction and energy costs are discouraging hotel investors in Sri Lanka by reducing yields. The government is reviewing tax structures, seeking to lower energy costs and promoting renewable generation through competitive CEB tenders.

Sri Lanka's rupee opened at 304.45/55 to the US dollar while government bond yields were broadly flat after declines; the rupee has fallen from about 302.55/60 since the start of the month. The central bank has stopped printing money via open market operations and is providing liquidity only for clearing at the ceiling rate.

LAUGFS Power PLC launched its first AI-enabled annual report, integrating Futurity's Omni platform to provide natural-language interactive access to its two most recent reports and dashboard visualisations. Futurity will support the platform under an annual maintenance contract and the rollout may extend across the LAUGFS Group.

The Sri Lanka Economic and Investment Summit 2025 will be held 2–3 December in Colombo with international speakers and sponsors/partners including Sunshine Holdings, Dialog Axiata and Hayleys, focusing on reform, investment-led growth and topics such as clean energy, logistics and tourism.

Colombo Stock Exchange rebounded as the ASPI rose 0.39% (88 pts) to 22,777.12 with turnover around Rs 5.38bn and foreign investors net sellers of Rs 372.5m. Key movers included Windforce (+17.6%), Colombo Dockyard (-9.9%) and gains in LAUGFS Gas and Lanka Realty Investments.

Colombo Stock Exchange rose with the ASPI up 0.39% to 22,777.12 as foreign investors bought a net 372.5 million rupees and turnover was 5.39 billion rupees. Windforce PLC, a top contributor, said it was the lowest bidder for a 50 MW wind plant in Mullikulam.

WindForce PLC (WIND.N0000) said it emerged as the lowest-cost bidder for Lot 1 of the 50MW Mullikulam wind power project in Mannar. The company said the award is pending final awarding procedures, regulatory approvals and negotiation of terms.

Sri Lanka will allow duty-exempt imports of capital goods for renewable energy generation and storage facilities of 1MW or larger, including battery energy storage, for new projects and extensions. The concession covers construction-phase imports and follows government adverts for BESS, wind and solar on BOO terms.

Vidullanka said it and consortium partner David Pieris Group were the lowest-cost bidder for the 50MW Mullikulam Wind Power Project; the formal contract award is still pending and the company called the outcome price-sensitive.

The Cabinet approved awarding a seven-month diesel supply contract (five shipments of 1,400,000 barrels ±5% each) starting 15 Nov 2025 to 14 Jun 2026 to a Singapore trading firm after competitive bids.

Colombo market fell for a third straight session, with the ASPI down 0.44% to 22,689.22 and the S&P SL20 down 0.84%; turnover was Rs. 6.19bn and foreigners were net sellers of Rs. 42.48m. Major movers included declines in JKH, SFCL and SAMP, while DOCK, COLO, ASCO and LGL posted notable gains.