News & market updates

Visa says its Click to Pay solution will simplify Sri Lankan online checkout by removing manual card entry and using tokenisation to reduce fraud, aiming to increase conversion rates for merchants across retail, travel and digital services.

The Sri Lanka–Germany Business Council held its Members' Day, with Germany reaffirming bilateral partnership and participants highlighting trade and investment opportunities in logistics, manufacturing, renewable energy/green tech, digital transformation and tourism; SLGBC also announced a CSR project and networking initiatives.

Amana Bank was featured at the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Private Sector Forum in Baku during the IsDB Group's 2026 Annual Meetings. The bank, whose principal shareholder is the IsDB Group, showcased its Islamic-banking success story and its OrphanCare CSR initiative.

Dialog Axiata (DIAL.N0000) launched Dialog Air Fibre, the country's first 5G-powered wireless home broadband with plans: 100GB Rs.2,795; 200GB Rs.3,795; 300GB Rs.5,495. The service runs on Dialog's 5G network (over 1,000 sites), offers up to six hours battery backup and 48-hour installation with refund if standards aren't met.

LNBTI's InfernoX Inter-School Hackathon Grand Finale features 22 teams from 15 schools competing for a Rs. 1 million prize pool. Finalists will present projects across AI, disaster management, education, agriculture, healthcare, food safety and robotics.

UN Global Compact Network Sri Lanka held CATALYZE 2026: Social on 24 June with Jetwing Symphony/Lighthouse Hotel PLC Chairman Hiran Cooray as a keynote speaker. Listed partners and patrons included Elpitiya Plantations, Hemas Holdings, Commercial Bank and Sampath Bank.

Ceylon Chamber held a dialogue on Sri Lanka's energy transition to advance renewable energy, storage, grid modernisation and the development of technical and safety standards to attract investment. Speakers highlighted aligning energy policy with economic growth and supporting digitalisation, EVs and data centres.

Speakers at a Ceylon Chamber forum urged Sri Lanka to adopt clear technical and safety standards and frameworks to scale renewable energy and storage, improve grid reliability and attract investment. They also highlighted skills development, industry–academia links and alignment with digitalisation needs like AI, e-mobility and data centres.

German Ambassador Felix Neumann urged continued trade facilitation to boost Sri Lanka–Germany ties, highlighting opportunities in logistics, manufacturing, renewable energy, digital transformation and tourism. He delivered the keynote at the Sri Lanka–Germany Business Council Members' Day to promote investment and collaboration.

Finance Ministry Tax Policy Adviser Thanuja Perera said VAT on overseas digital services took effect on 1 July and non-resident suppliers must register with the IRD by 30 September. She defended tougher Inland Revenue enforcement amid low compliance, confirmed the VAT threshold remains Rs.60m (SSCL Rs.36m) and said most VAT refunds are now processed within statutory deadlines.

Colombo Stock Exchange delayed market opening by two-and-a-half hours after active CDS accounts were mistakenly suspended; the pre-open session was extended to restore accounts and regular trading commenced at 11:00 a.m.

The Cabinet approved procurement to introduce a technology-based supervisory solution for the Central Bank's Banking Supervision Department with technical assistance from the ADB. The platform is intended to modernise banking regulation and improve document preparation, review, storage and retrieval.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka named 25 companies and platforms, including Infinity Rover Ltd., as operating illegal pyramid schemes under Section 83(C) of the Banking Act, warning the public against these specific firms and apps.

Ceylon Chamber of Commerce held a forum on Sri Lanka's energy transition, focusing on renewable deployment, energy storage, grid modernization, technical and safety standards, and policy frameworks to attract investment and support digitalisation (AI, e-mobility, data centres).

Sampath Bank won Sri Lanka's Best Retail Bank, Best Commercial Bank and Best Corporate Governance – Sri Lanka at the World Finance Banking Awards 2026. The bank said the honours reflect its governance framework, continued digital capability expansion and over a decade of consistent retail and commercial performance (12th year for the retail and commercial titles).

The Department of Applied Sciences at SLIIT hosted SciFest 2026 on 5 June at the Malabe campus, drawing about 300 participants for science and innovation competitions; Team SilenceSpeak (SLIIT) won the university IGNITE prize and school teams won the science quiz and school IGNITE awards.

Expo Visa Services won five awards at the SLASSCOM National Ingenuity Awards 2026 for its digital platforms Study Fly and the EZ Visa App, including national and provincial wins in Edu-Tech and E-Commerce categories.

eMarketingEye will host EME Level Up: AI Hospitality Connect Sri Lanka 2026 on 14 July 2026 at Shangri-La Colombo, an invitation-only conference expected to bring over 180 hospitality delegates. Sessions will focus on AI-driven marketing, generative search, direct bookings, social media and hotel technology.

iPay supported the Central Bank's LankaQR Awareness Programme in Trincomalee on 5–6 June 2026 to promote LankaQR digital payments among tourism merchants in Trincomalee, Uppuveli, Nilaveli and Alles Garden. The company showcased iPay Business solutions and noted its market footprint (50% JustPay share, 1.2m downloads, ~1.8m monthly transactions).

Assetline Finance PLC posted PAT of Rs. 3,084.6m for the year ended 31 Mar 2026, up 13.6%, and successfully issued and listed a Rs. 5 billion debenture on the Colombo Stock Exchange. Total assets rose 71% to Rs. 89,523.4m and the lease/loan portfolio grew 85.1% to Rs. 79,195m, with Net Stage 3 loans at 0.98%.

Sampath Bank PLC was named Sri Lanka's Best Retail Bank and Best Commercial Bank for the 12th year and won Best Corporate Governance – Sri Lanka 2026 at the World Finance Banking Awards. The awards cite the bank's performance, innovation, customer value and governance, noting strengthened digital capabilities and governance framework.

The Cabinet approved the state-run Bank of Ceylon to procure a new core banking system for a five-year contract at an estimated cost of $10 million. The bank's existing system has been used for 22 years and was deemed insufficient for current banking operations.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said the government aims to raise economic growth to 7–8% and identified IT and electrical & electronics as key sectors, noting targets of US$5bn in IT exports and US$2bn in electronics. He pledged Rs.2 trillion in capex and outlined measures (Virtual SEZ, data centre, customs Green Channel, incentives) to address import, banking and talent barriers.

Cabinet approved procuring a services provider to digitize the Central Bank's Banking Supervision Department with technical assistance from the Asian Development Bank. The move aims to replace largely physical record management and improve supervisory efficiency following an ADB-assisted needs assessment.

Bank of Ceylon will spend $10 million to install a new core banking system, with cabinet approval to call for tenders and a planned five-year rollout. The move replaces a 22-year-old system used across its retail, corporate and overseas branches.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka declared Infinity Rover (Pvt) Ltd an illegal/prohibited pyramid scheme and listed numerous other companies and apps as prohibited schemes under Section 83(C) of the Banking Act.

Binance is investing about $300 million annually in compliance and user protection to strengthen fraud prevention, investigations and law‑enforcement cooperation. The firm reports recovering $174M from hacks YTD 2026, $8.2B in missent assets in 2025, and heavy investment in AI detection tools.

The Colombo Stock Exchange extended its Opening Market Auction after some active CDS accounts were inadvertently suspended during the deactivation of 15-year dormant accounts; trading resumed at 11:00 a.m. once the affected accounts were being restored.

Fitch says Asia investors in June 2026 are focused on AI disruption, private credit expansion and sovereign risk, flagging AI and digital-infrastructure overspend as emerging credit risks. Investors also flagged opacity and liquidity risks in private credit and noted sovereign vulnerabilities in Indonesia amid currency and policy concerns.

Colombo Stock Exchange did not open at the usual 9:30am on Jul 1, 2026 and the Opening Market Auction Call was extended after 10am. Brokers reported a CSE-side technical issue and some account suspensions as possible causes.