News & market updates

Seylan Bank PLC (SEYB.N0000) has integrated all Seylan credit and debit cards with Google Pay, enabling secure, tokenised contactless Android payments supported by Visa and Mastercard.

ESOL Premier Campus has launched OCN London (Ofqual-regulated) UK qualifications in Sri Lanka via an exclusive partnership, offering Level 3–7 pathways in English, business, education and digital marketing through online and hybrid delivery.

CFA Society Sri Lanka held its Charter Awards Ceremony, celebrating 27 new CFA charterholders. Chief Guest Rachini Rajapaksa highlighted the importance of technical knowledge, ethical judgment and the growing role of AI in the finance and investment industry.

SLIMFA Media Fest returns on 11 July at Taj Samudra Colombo with a full-day programme on 'Staying Relevant in a Changing World', featuring Indian and Sri Lankan media leaders discussing digital transformation, misinformation, AI, sustainability and audience engagement.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka launched the CA Leadership Academy and published four governance guides, notably Guidelines on AI for Finance Professionals and a Guideline on IT Governance for Directors, to strengthen board-level capabilities and governance standards.

Bank of Ceylon's Maldives branch celebrated its 45th anniversary and announced an upcoming Internet Banking launch; the branch channelled $126.4m in remittances to Sri Lanka in 2025.

Seylan Bank PLC has integrated all Seylan credit and debit cards with Google Pay, enabling Android users to make contactless payments supported by Visa and Mastercard and secured by tokenisation and OTP verification.

Sri Lanka and China EXIM Bank aim to sign an amended financing agreement for the Central Expressway Project (Section I, Kadawatha–Mirigama) by end‑August 2026, subject to internal approvals. The talks also covered broader development cooperation and priority sectors including tourism, logistics, energy and IT.

Deloitte Sri Lanka and Deloitte India hosted the Saarthi Programme for Independent Directors in Colombo to examine board governance priorities, focusing on cyber and technology risks, fraud risk management and social media governance to strengthen oversight and resilience.

Sri Lanka Insurance Life declared a Rs. 14.68 billion bonus to policyholders for 2025, the largest annual life-insurance bonus in Sri Lanka. The company reported total assets of Rs. 275 billion, a Life Fund of Rs. 247 billion, PBT of Rs. 4.3 billion and GWP up 24% to Rs. 32.6 billion.

Lanka Business TV held its 'Vyavasayaka' Business and Investment Summit in Panadura with over 250 attendees; speakers included NDB Wealth Management CEO Ruwan Perera and senior John Keells Properties and group executives. The broadcaster plans two more summits in Kandy and Kurunegala for 2026.

SLT‑MOBITEL, with the Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Ministry, launched the Lankakonect mobile app to let Sri Lankans abroad register and track consular and employment complaints in Sinhala, Tamil and English. The app provides real-time tracking for complaints and aims to reduce travel and delays for emigrant workers.

Uber has launched Uber Eats and Uber Rides in Ratnapura, expanding its delivery and ride-hailing services to the district. The launch provides access to food, groceries and transport for residents and visitors and creates new earning opportunities for local merchants, delivery partners and drivers.

China EXIM Bank Vice President Yang Dongning met Sri Lanka's Deputy Minister of Finance on 2 July 2026 to review and expedite the amended financing agreement for the Central Expressway Project (CEP-1) Section I, targeting signature before end‑August 2026. They also discussed cooperation to support tourism, value-added manufacturing, logistics, energy, IT and higher-education links.

Realised FDI reached about $250m in 1H and BOI Director General Dr. Sulakshana Jayawardena outlined a reform agenda including a digital single-window approval platform targeted this year, an Investment Protection Act, and land and skills reforms to boost investor confidence.

InGame Esports (Gamer.LK), founded by Raveen Wijayatilake, is Sri Lanka's first video-games marketing agency and has run 100+ campaigns across six countries for clients including Tencent, Miniclip, Dell, Samsung and Coca Cola. The firm has launched an AI marketing arm (IGE V2) and expanded into Africa.

ASUS Sri Lanka opened its third exclusive store in Galle — the brand's first in the Southern Province — offering its laptop ranges (ROG, TUF, ProArt, Zenbook, Vivobook) and the ASUS 4A Guarantee for after-sales support and warranty coverage.

ISSO – Prawn Crazy opened a 90-seat flagship in Canary Wharf, London, importing Lion Beer and Lion Stout from Sri Lanka for its launch. The concept pairs automated kitchen tech with a vertically integrated cold chain sourcing export-grade prawns from 150+ artisanal fishermen.

UN Global Compact Network Sri Lanka held CATALYZE 2026: Social on 24 June to mobilize businesses on social sustainability and responsible leadership; participants and partners included Jetwing Symphony PLC, Lighthouse Hotel PLC, Hemas Holdings, Commercial Bank, Sampath Bank and Elpitiya Plantations.

Lanka Premier League 2026 will open at SSC Colombo with a 500-drone opening ceremony; tickets go on sale 1 July via BookMyShow. Organisers say the spectacle is intended to boost the fan experience, broadcast appeal and the tournament's entertainment profile.

Deloitte Sri Lanka hosted the Saarthi Programme for independent directors in Colombo to discuss evolving board governance priorities, focusing on cyber and technology risks, fraud risk management, AI and social media governance to strengthen board oversight and organisational resilience.

The Sri Lanka–Germany Business Council held Members' Day where Germany reaffirmed cooperation and highlighted opportunities in logistics, manufacturing, renewable energy, green technologies, digital transformation and tourism. SLGBC also announced a CSR project to support a local school's infrastructure.

SLT‑MOBITEL Nebula Institute of Technology held its 2026 graduation, awarding qualifications to 204 graduates including 39 Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) from the University of Hertfordshire and multiple Pearson BTEC HND and diploma recipients, highlighting its role in developing Sri Lanka's ICT and engineering talent.

Emirates customers have made more than one million connections to Starlink Wi-Fi since the service launched across the airline's fleet seven months ago. The system is fitted on 33 Boeing 777s and three A380s, with over 60 Starlink-equipped flights daily and A380s offering more than 2 Gbps combined bandwidth.

NCINGA and AWS held the inaugural 'GROUNDED' Sovereign Cloud Symposium on June 17 to introduce AWS Outposts for on‑shore hybrid cloud; the government endorsed a Cloud‑First policy and aims to grow the digital economy 5X to over $15bn by 2030 and become a regional data‑centre hub.

TikTok unveiled Symphony Agent at Cannes Lions 2026, an agentic AI for creating TikTok-first campaigns that combines audience insights, trend data and creator sourcing to produce ads at scale. The tool, available in South Asia via Symphony Creative Studio, includes AI labels, invisible watermarks and content moderation.

TUDO.LK has introduced Google Pay Express Checkout, letting customers complete eligible purchases using payment details saved to their Google account for faster, streamlined checkout on supported devices and browsers.

GovTech Sri Lanka appointed Shevan Goonetilleke as Chief Executive Officer effective 19 August 2026. He brings over 25 years of technology leadership and will lead delivery of national digital infrastructure, platforms and citizen-centric digital public services.

GovTech Sri Lanka Ltd appointed Shevan Goonetilleke as CEO, effective 19 August 2026. He brings over 25 years' technology and digital platform leadership and will lead delivery of national digital infrastructure and government digital services.

GITA, together with the Indo‑Lanka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has launched an India Trade Desk in Colombo to provide end-to-end, one-to-one advisory and market-entry support for Sri Lankan firms seeking to expand into India. The service targets SMEs and larger firms across textiles, food processing, ICT/BPM, tourism, pharma, logistics, manufacturing and renewable energy.