News & market updates

The Colombo Port City Economic Commission and CHEC Port City Colombo conducted high-level engagements and an investor forum in Muscat to court Omani investors and promote Port City Colombo as a South Asia gateway, exploring SEZ synergies and investor referral mechanisms.

Access Real Estate appointed former Sri Lanka bowler Chaminda Vaas as brand ambassador as it celebrates its 15th anniversary. The developer says it has delivered over 155 projects on 350 acres and served more than 4,500 landowners with ready-to-build plots.

AA3 Holdings (Pvt) Ltd opened Sri Lanka's largest ex-stock heavy equipment showroom and a fully equipped workshop in Kiribathgoda, boosting local access to earthmoving, excavation and road-construction machinery. The facility includes an advanced service centre and aims to serve clients across Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce convened stakeholders to map priorities to accelerate Sri Lanka's renewable energy transition, prioritising solar expansion, net‑metering, procurement frameworks, financing and energy storage. Participants called for stable policy, streamlined approvals, grid upgrades and better access to finance to boost investment and delivery.

Overseas Realty (Ceylon) PLC signed a lease for the Embassy of France to relocate its Colombo offices to Mireka Tower, the company's Grade A office development in Colombo.

Prime Lands Residencies PLC won the Silver Award for Best Use of Account-Based Marketing at the Hashtag Asia Awards 2026. The award recognises its "Prime 365: Always-On. Always Ahead." campaign and highlights the company's digital marketing leadership in Sri Lankan real estate.

KPMG says Sri Lanka's credit rebound faces a major test after the Central Bank raised the policy rate by 100 basis points to 8.75%, a move expected to moderate private-sector credit growth. Lower fuel and vehicle imports, resilient remittances and stronger tax revenue are seen supporting a return to a current-account surplus and fiscal consolidation.

Government plans to invest Rs. 382 billion in the education sector over 2027–2031 and will prioritise greater funding for vocational education in the 2027 Budget. The 2026 education allocation was Rs.303 billion (Rs.160b general, Rs.122b higher, Rs.20b vocational); officials also noted a proposed Digital Transformation Project and school rehabilitation works.

Sri Lanka's High Commissioner and the Federation of Malaysian Sri Lankan Organisations agreed to strengthen engagement to promote tourism and investment, exploring direct Malaysia–Northern Province air links and projects including hotels, golf, leisure and theme-park developments.

The government advanced energy infrastructure ahead of Budget 2027, ordering Delft, Analaitivu and Nainativu to be developed as Green Energy Islands and reviewing 14 petroleum projects including eight new storage tanks at Kolonnawa and Muthurajawela. Major grid works reviewed include a second 220 kV underground cable to Colombo, multiple transmission projects, a STATCOM at Padukka, rooftop solar integration, and the planned resumption of JICA-backed projects with 2027 funding.

Arcasia Investment & Trading Ltd and ATX Partners agreed to acquire a 50.16% stake in Industrial Asphalts and will make a voluntary offer of LKR0.40 per share to remaining shareholders. The consortium bought ~1.8807bn shares at LKR0.40; shares last traded at LKR0.70 and assets were LKR0.47/share (end‑March 2026).

The Wireless Intelligence and Innovation (WIIN) Institute of Technology was launched at TRACE Expert City to conduct research and industry training across telecommunications, energy, construction, FinTech and healthcare, including AI/ML programmes, in collaboration with University of Oulu and IIT Madras.

Excello Developers launched Aathavan, a 44-unit, eight-storey residential project in Dehiwala starting at LKR 38 million, featuring full solar power, water recycling, low maintenance fees and flexible bank-backed payment plans.

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.

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.

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).

Port City Colombo, a $15 billion SEZ, is placing India at the centre of its growth plan and aims to double annual Indian tourist arrivals to about 1.2 million by 2030. The development will add new attractions, convention facilities, duty-free retail and target Indian IT/GCCs as business tenants.

Treasury has authorised government institutions to reprice or extend eligible public procurement contracts to reflect higher fuel, freight and material costs, with measures applied retrospectively and effective until 30 September 2026. The Circular targets construction works (using CIDA price-adjustment formulas) and permits use of PPIs, freight/shipping indices or documented cost evidence for other procurements.

NovaNest Properties launched Rainbow Apartments in Ratmalana, a new residential development with multiple amenities and a full-time medical centre backed by Nawaloka Hospitals PLC, including a 24-hour ambulance service.

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.

Lanka Tiles is supporting the 23rd Annual Geoffrey Bawa Memorial Lecture, delivered by architect Junya Ishigami, on 23 July in Colombo; admission is free but registration is required.

BrandRadar (Roar Global) released "The State of AI Visibility in Sri Lanka 2026", a three-month study of 198 brands across six industries showing editorial authority and third-party citations strongly predict AI visibility. The report finds Toyota and BYD scored above 89 across platforms while some brands (e.g., Ceylinco General Insurance) show large visibility variance between AI systems.

The National System Operator has launched an international tender for a 250 MW/1000 MWh standalone BESS, to be delivered as 25 x 10 MW/40 MWh blocks under 15-year BOO contracts; proposals are due 14 August 2026. The tender aims to improve renewable integration and support the government's 70% renewable-by-2030 and net-zero-by-2050 targets.

Government set a 2027 primary expenditure ceiling of Rs.5.064 trillion (12.9% of GDP) and projects the budget deficit will narrow to 4.5% of GDP in 2027, targeting a primary surplus of 2.6% of GDP from 2027 onwards.

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.

Cabinet approved a €924,063 German grant to fund a program promoting energy-efficient, climate-resilient buildings in Sri Lanka, to be implemented by GIZ with the Energy Ministry and the Sustainable Energy Authority.

Toyota Lanka held a groundbreaking ceremony for its flagship showroom in Bambalapitiya, which will feature contemporary architecture, interactive vehicle displays and test drives designed by Design Consortium.

Maga Engineering Ltd. was awarded a Rs.4.99 billion contract to construct the 2.32 km Warakapola bypass and a $7.26 million (Rs.2.4 billion) contract to expand the Bandaranaike International Airport departure terminal.