The Northern Province hosted the Northern Investment Summit on 21–22 Jan, where BOI chairman Arjuna Herath announced plans for a four-lane highway, Jaffna airport runway extension, Kankesanthurai port upgrade and three strategic industrial zones to attract investment. The summit highlighted priority sectors including IT, tourism, manufacturing, agriculture and healthcare and called for public–private partnerships and diaspora engagement.
Jaffna International Trade Fair (JITF) opens 23–25 Jan 2026 at Muttraweli Ground, Jaffna with over 400 stalls, building on a previous turnout of 78,452 visitors and 5,000 invited business delegates.
Construction ActivityIT & DigitalHealthcare & PharmaConsumer Staples (FMCG)
The EDB held an orientation for newly appointed Heads of Sri Lanka Missions to strengthen collaboration on export promotion, market access and to mobilize support for Sri Lanka Expo 2026. Officials reviewed export priorities, market opportunities and the Missions' role in buyer linkages and trade facilitation.
Government has consolidated MSME financial facilities into a single digital Rs.95 billion framework and the NCGI will issue Rs.7,000 million in credit guarantees in 2026 to unlock about Rs.10,000 million in MSME lending. Sixteen banks, including HDFC, Commercial Bank, NDB, HNB, Sampath, Seylan, DFCC, Nations Trust and Cargills Bank, will participate in channeling concessional and disaster-relief loans.
ASPI closed at an all-time high of 23,806.32, up 0.77% (182.58 pts) on turnover above Rs.9.8bn. Gains were led by Hayleys, Colombo Dockyard and Sampath Bank, with the capital goods and banking sectors among the top contributors.
Hambantota International Port launched the Automated Gate Pass Management System (AGPMS), Sri Lanka’s first fully automated, QR-code-based paperless gate pass to improve security, speed and traceability at port entry points. The system replaces manual passes, enabling real-time monitoring, reduced processing time and improved access control.
The Northern Investment Summit 2026 (21–22 Jan) set out plans to transform Sri Lanka’s Northern Province into an investment hub, proposing infrastructure upgrades (a four‑lane highway, Jaffna runway extension, KKS port upgrade) and three industrial zones at KKS, Paranthan and Mankulam.
PFEC Global will host the World Study Fair 2026 on 31 January at the Galadari Hotel, Colombo, featuring access to over 150 international institutions, on-the-spot offers, zero application fees and Malaysia Airlines discounts up to 30% to support Sri Lankan students pursuing study abroad plans.
SLIM reports Effie Awards Sri Lanka 2025 received a record 300+ entries, marking the strongest participation in the marketing, advertising and creative sectors; judging will commence soon and the Grand Finale is scheduled for end-February 2026.
David Pieris E-Mobility launched the Bajaj Chetak electric scooter in Sri Lanka, featuring a 3.1 kW motor, 3.5 kWh battery and up to 151 km IDC range. The company has set up nearly 2,000 DPMC touchpoints nationwide for sales, service and spare parts.
The Sri Lanka–Germany Business Council held its 26th AGM and elected Gerard Victoria as President for 2025/26; Aitken Spence group companies were elected to the Executive Committee and the council highlighted priorities including strengthening tourism cooperation and promoting bilateral investment in energy, logistics, manufacturing and digital services.
Labour force participation rose to 49.9% in Q3 2025 (from 46.9% a year earlier) while the unemployment rate was 4.3% (367,000). Employment increased to 8.10 million, with services employing 49.8% of workers and industry 26.8%, reflecting a shift away from agriculture.
The Export Development Board held a National Consultative Forum to shape the Strategic Export Development Roadmap 2026–2030, targeting US$36 billion in export revenue by 2030. The forum launched an Export Performance Indicator data tool and promoted Sri Lanka Expo 2026, with participation from senior government and central bank officials.
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders acquired a 41.73% stake in Colombo Dockyard (164,916,229 shares) on 19 Jan at Rs.40/share, paying approximately Rs.6.6 billion via allotment from unsubscribed rights.
The private sector minimum monthly wage has been raised to Rs. 30,000 from Rs. 27,000 (an increase of Rs. 3,000) effective 1 January. The change, under the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act, requires employers to base statutory payments (EPF, ETF, overtime, gratuity, maternity, leave) on the revised wage and disallows counting most allowances toward the minimum; employees can lodge complaints with the Labour Department for non-compliance.
Construction ActivityTourismExportersConsumer Staples (FMCG)
NGJA Chairman Dr. S.P. Chaminda said Sri Lanka is exploring a domestic gold refinery to process less-refined gold locally, reduce reliance on fully refined imports facing roughly 45% import levies, curb smuggling and support jewellery exports; discussions with foreign firms are ongoing and hoped to conclude this year.
FINEXT 2025 career fair at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura linked undergraduates with finance, technology and professional services firms; participating shortlisted companies included UAL.N0000, CALH.N0000, VLL.N0000, WLTH.N0000 and NDB.N0000. A panel on the export-oriented knowledge and professional services sector and onsite interviews provided recruitment and industry insights.
Colombo Dockyard drove turnover and traded higher after India’s Mazagon Dock bought a 41.73% stake; the ASPI rose 0.76% to 23,803 with market turnover Rs9.81bn, of which DOCK accounted for Rs2.65bn.
Charles Sturt University held a roundtable in Colombo as it launches a Colombo campus that will begin offering bachelor's degrees in Early Childhood Education and Business and plans to expand into IT, Psychology and Engineering. The campus includes the first Australian Early Childhood Education degree in Sri Lanka and aims to retain talent, support workforce development and attract regional students to generate inward foreign exchange.
The Sri Lanka–Germany Business Council elected Gerard Victoria as President at its 26th AGM and set priorities to strengthen tourism cooperation and promote bilateral investment in energy, logistics, manufacturing and digital services. Aitken Spence units were elected to the Council's Executive Committee.
Colombo market ended flat as the ASPI fell 0.02% to 23,623.74 with turnover near Rs.5.17 billion and foreign investors net sold about Rs.91 million. Top negative contributors were SFCL, JKH, BUKI, CTHR and DFCC, while DOCK, ACL and RHL led turnover and HAYL and DOCK supported index performance.
Vietnam opened its 14th Party Congress, targeting average annual GDP growth of 10% or higher for 2026–2030 and a per capita GDP of around $8,500 by 2030, prioritising technology-led, private-sector-driven and green economic transformation.
Colombo Stock Exchange closed flat with the ASPI down 0.02% at 23,623.74 as speculative interest in Colombo Dockyard drove turnover. Colombo Dockyard listed 323,365,158 new ordinary voting shares after its rights issue; top contributors included Hayleys, Dockyard, ACL Cables, Commercial Bank and Nations Trust Bank.
Colombo Dockyard listed 323,365,158 new ordinary voting shares after a rights issue, raising LKR 12,934,606,320. Controlling shareholder Onomichi renounced its entitlement in favour of India's Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders; the stock was trading up 5.75 rupees at 114.
Colombo bourse opened the week down: ASPI fell 0.44% to 23,627.87 with foreign investors net sellers of ~Rs.697.9m and turnover ~Rs.4.7bn. Top negatives included DOCK, COMB, NTB, SAMP and SPEN, while ACL, Tokyo Cement, DIAL and REEF saw notable turnover/interest.
IMF projects global growth at 3.3% in 2026 and 3.2% in 2027, a small upward revision for 2026 from the October WEO. It expects inflation to ease to 3.8% in 2026 and 3.4% in 2027, cites AI-driven investment as a tailwind and warns of downside risks from trade tensions, productivity shocks and high debt.
The Central Bank says the Port of Colombo is expected to nearly double throughput capacity to 15 million TEUs by end-2026 but warned geography alone won’t secure its transhipment role. Container volumes reached 6.92m TEUs in Jan–Oct 2025 (+7.1% YoY) and CBSL urged modernisation, digitalisation, automation and private investment.