News & market updates

The Sri Lanka–Russia Business Council held its 22nd AGM highlighting export opportunities in tea, rubber, spices and fisheries and renewed focus on promoting tourism with Russia remaining a top inbound market. The Council also flagged plans on trade settlement, SME access, tech transfer, renewables, logistics and education.

Sri Lanka's Road Development Authority reopened all major roads after Cyclone Ditwah and the Kandy–Colombo road is open to daytime traffic from Dec 5. The cyclone had blocked 256 major roads in 298 places and damaged 40 bridges; 252 locations were cleared by Dec 5.

Parliament approved the third reading of Budget 2026 with 158 MPs in favour, one against and two abstaining, concluding the legislature's budget proceedings; Parliament will reconvene on 6 January 2026.

Severe weather has killed 607 people and affected over 2.08 million across 25 districts, with 4,164 houses fully damaged and 67,505 partially damaged; 1,211 safety centres are sheltering 152,537 people.

Colombo Stock Exchange fell 5.35% for the week, wiping out nearly Rs. 424 billion in market value. The ASPI hit a two-and-half-month low at 21,497.08 yesterday, with heavy losses in banking and capital-goods counters including JKH, HHL, COMB, SAMP, DFCC, NDB and HNB.

The Export Development Board says Sri Lanka’s exports are on course to surpass $16–17 billion this year and is targeting $20 billion in export earnings. Officials cited policy reforms, product development and SME support, plus a planned international industrial exhibition and district programs to boost market access.

Tourism Deputy Minister Prof. Ruwan Ranasinghe said Sri Lanka's tourism sector is fully back to normal after Cyclone Ditwah, with major attractions open, transport links restored and no foreign visitors harmed. He added that roads, sites and the airport are operating while relief and repairs continue.

Daily FT and ICCSL, with ACCA and partner organisations, host a webinar today at 4:00 p.m. titled "A Roadmap for Service Transformation" with keynotes Ron Kaufman, Keith B. Carter and Graham Jones and a panel of local and international service leaders.

Trade Ministry Secretary K.A. Vimalenthirarajah said Sri Lanka will introduce a comprehensive national tariff policy by mid-2026 to replace decades of patchwork tariffs and move to a predictable, facilitative regime. The reform aims to boost export competitiveness, expand FTAs and speed trade facilitation (Single Window).

Transport and Highways Ministry reported 247 km of A- and B-grade roads damaged and 40 bridges destroyed by adverse weather; 81 road sections remain closed while 175 of 256 damaged sections have been reopened to traffic.

IMF has assured continued support for Sri Lanka after the cyclone and is closely engaging with authorities as a rapid post-disaster damage assessment proceeds; the Staff‑Level Agreement on the Fifth Review under the EFF remains on track ahead of a December 15 Board meeting. IMF staff are exploring additional support options pending assessment results.

AFC Asia Frontier Fund co-manager Ruchir Desai said Sri Lanka is now one of the fund’s top country picks, having raised allocation since November 2022, citing regained political and economic stability, undervalued equities (market ~11x earnings) and strong bank and consumer earnings.

Treasury Secretary Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma said almost Rs.697.4 million has been collected for the government’s 'Rebuilding Sri Lanka' fund — Rs.635m via the Bank of Ceylon account and Rs.61m via Central Bank accounts — from over 30,000 donors across 33 countries.

CHEC Port City Colombo deployed 12 heavy-duty machines and a technical team within 24 hours to clear and repair the A5 Kandy–Nuwara Eliya corridor after Cyclone Ditwa; the company donated Rs.10 million to the Rebuilding Sri Lanka Fund plus an additional Rs.3 million from staff/regional office and provided technical expertise for bridge and road repairs.

PRASL hosted a specialised Masterclass on Cybersecurity & AI Risk for PR and communications professionals, led by Asela Waidyalankara, to strengthen crisis communications preparedness against AI-driven misinformation and cyber incidents.

IMF will provide swift access to about USD 350 million (the sixth EFF tranche) within two weeks to support Sri Lanka's cyclone relief. Development partners also pledged immediate humanitarian aid and to repurpose financing for medium-term infrastructure and recovery efforts.

IMF informed Sri Lanka it can access the next $350m EFF tranche within two weeks. Development partners pledged immediate humanitarian aid and to repurpose/provide concessional financing for medium- to long-term infrastructure, agriculture and tourism recovery after Cyclone Ditwah.

The UN is leading a Joint Rapid Needs Assessment with Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Centre after Cyclone Ditwah to map flood impacts and coordinate data collection; efforts prioritize food security and agriculture, livelihoods, health and nutrition, water and sanitation, shelter and early recovery.

Cyclone Ditwah left 829 dead or missing in Sri Lanka (479 confirmed dead, 350 missing) and displaced about 188,974 people. The storm damaged 44,556 houses (1,289 destroyed), inundated crops and tore up roads, rail tracks and the fibre-optic backbone, disrupting infrastructure and services.

Colombo bourse fell 1.87% to 21,826.59, wiping Rs.143 billion off market value with turnover of nearly Rs.3.78bn and foreign net selling of Rs.295.5m. Brokers said price losses in counters including Ceylinco, Melstacorp and Commercial Bank drove the slide amid adverse weather forecasts.

Sri Lanka Customs faces a four-day backlog in cargo clearance after last week's disaster and expects normal operations by the end of December. Clearance was disrupted by staff shortages, light flooding around the port and ships moved out due to heavy winds.

Treasury Secretary Harshana Suriyapperuma said the government is coordinating with banks and insurers and has activated nearly Rs.30 billion in emergency budget lines, authorising Rs.7.5 billion for housing to support households, SMEs and businesses hit by Cyclone Ditwah. Authorities have begun a World Bank-backed rapid damage assessment and approved a Rebuilding Sri Lanka Fund to guide reconstruction.

DMC reports 1,558,919 people from 437,507 families affected across 25 districts and 465 confirmed deaths; 366 missing. Fully damaged houses total 783, 31,417 partially damaged, and 1,433 safety centres are sheltering 232,752 people.

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.

Multiple countries and international agencies have mobilised extensive humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka after Cyclone Ditwah, with India leading immediate response and major consignments arriving (e.g., US 20,000 polysacks, UAE 1,116 food packets, Australia AUD1m). The UN is coordinating rescue, relief and early recovery efforts.

The EDB, with IFC and the EU, concluded the second ExpoScaleUp pitching event under SLEEI 2025 to boost SME export readiness through training in market research, branding and logistics; selected SMEs will advance to ExpoConnect for market access and international buyer matchmaking.

Uber Sri Lanka commits LKR 65 million to the Sri Lanka Red Cross to support relief and recovery for communities affected by Cyclone Ditwah. The package includes LKR 30m for dry-ration kits and care packages, LKR 17.5m in free rides for Red Cross teams and LKR 17.5m via Uber Eats for grocery procurement and deliveries, plus a CMC donation pick-up drive via the Uber app.

Cyclone Ditwah has affected about 275,000 children among 1.4 million people in Sri Lanka, causing floods, landslides, widespread displacement and damage to homes and infrastructure. UNICEF is coordinating with authorities, scaling up life‑saving support and appealing for funding for water, nutrition, psychosocial care and emergency education.

The luxury cruise Mein Schiff 06 called at Colombo carrying over 2,000 international passengers (2,300 on board) with more than 1,600 taking excursions; local operations were managed by Aitken Spence Travels, underscoring tourism recovery and port capacity.

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.