Speakers at the Sri Lanka Brand Forum Leadership Summit urged companies to redesign strategy for a new era of permanent volatility, prioritising employee wellbeing, organisational resilience (slack resources), decentralised decision-making, and long-term purpose-driven social programs.
Fuel & Energy PricesIT & DigitalHealthcare & PharmaConsumer Staples (FMCG)
The BOI launched 'Ready to Invest', a digital platform showcasing over $3bn of investor-ready projects across eight priority sectors. BOI said Sri Lanka attracted $1.06bn FDI in 2025 and about $1.9bn of BOI-approved projects are set to commence, led by urban/mixed-use ($970m), manufacturing ($650m), tourism ($400m) and logistics ($385m).
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will inaugurate construction of Phase II (Rambukkana–Galagedara, 18.65 km) of the Central Expressway tomorrow. The government approved over Rs.112 billion in contracts across seven packages and will fully finance the project domestically.
US international tourism fell 5.5% in 2025 — about 4 million fewer visitors and over $8 billion less in foreign visitor spending — the largest annual drop since the 2020 pandemic. Analysts pointed to political rhetoric, rising travel costs, visa-fee confusion and geopolitical tensions as drivers.
Tourism
Ada Derana·May 28, 2026·Credit rating actionPositive
IMF Executive Board completed the combined Fifth and Sixth reviews of Sri Lanka’s EFF, unlocking SDR508 million (≈US$695m) in immediate financing. Program performance was generally strong, but some continuous criteria were missed and risks from the Middle East war and Cyclone Ditwah weaken the outlook.
Interest RatesRupee & ForexFuel & Energy PricesTourism
Altair, Moshe Safdie’s 240-metre residential tower, has unveiled an entrance and lobby upgrade designed by Philip Weeraratne Associates. The works, made after the parent was acquired by Blackstone, aim to strengthen the building’s premium, hospitality-oriented identity.
Dr. Nirmal De Silva launched his book 'The 15 Organizational Realities' at BMICH, Colombo, presenting fifteen recurring organizational patterns and practical leadership shifts based on over 7,800 engagements across more than 250 organisations. The launch included a panel of senior private- and public-sector leaders.
IT & DigitalHealthcare & PharmaTourismConsumer Staples (FMCG)
Ada Derana·May 27, 2026·Earnings & results·JKHPositive
John Keells Holdings (JKH) posted Group EBITDA of Rs.80.01 billion for FY2025/26, up 75%. Recurring profit attributable rose 155% to Rs.13.24 billion; group units Nations Trust Bank (NTB) and Union Assurance (UAL) also reported improved results, with NTB completing the HSBC Sri Lanka retail acquisition.
Construction ActivityTourismConsumer Staples (FMCG)
John Keells Holdings reported FY2025/26 Group EBITDA of Rs.80.01bn (up 75%), recurring PBT of Rs.35.72bn (up 143%) and recurring profit attributable of Rs.13.24bn, and declared a final interim dividend of 10 cents to bring FY26 total to 30 cents (Rs.4.42bn). The group cited broad-based contributions from Retail, Transportation and Leisure, and noted improved performance at NTB and double-digit premium growth at Union Assurance.
Construction ActivityTourismConsumer Staples (FMCG)
Sri Lanka's tourist arrivals in the first 24 days of May rose 8.31% YoY to 113,755, taking YTD arrivals to 990,032 and narrowing the YTD decline to 1.2%. India remained the largest source market, accounting for 41% of arrivals in the period.
Shangri La Colombo will host Chefs Bimba and Gauri Nayak’s Pathare Prabhu dining experience at Central from 4 to 7 June 2026, with a hands-on cooking class on 3 June 2026. The menu will feature traditional dishes such as Kolambi Khadkhadle and Chicken Gode.
Classic Travel, the travel and tourism arm of Expolanka Holdings, will be the Official Travel Partner and Team Owner of the IImpact Basketball League from January 2026 to January 2027. The partnership aims to support youth development and grassroots basketball in Sri Lanka.
eMarketingEye launched Sri Lanka’s first AI Visibility Study for Hotels, analysing AI visibility for 742 hospitality brands across 18 segments on platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. The study names segment winners (e.g., Anantara Peace Haven Tangalle) and urges hotels to optimise for AI-driven discovery.
Colombo Stock Exchange was up midday, ASPI +0.54% to 22,294.71 with turnover Rs.700m and materials leading turnover at Rs.192.7m. Top movers included Hayleys, Sunshine and HNB (positive) while Royal Ceramics, SMB Finance and Aitken Spence fell; Jetwing Symphony declared a final dividend of Rs.0.50 and its shares rose 3.6%.
SLYCAN Trust held a Lighthouse Event on 21 May 2026 in Colombo to discuss strengthening climate and disaster risk finance and financial protection for communities, businesses and public institutions. The forum highlighted roles for commercial banks, insurers and sector-specific needs in tourism, agriculture and apparel.
Tourism
Ada Derana·May 27, 2026·Promotional / marketing·KHLPositive
John Keells Hotels PLC's Kandy Myst by Cinnamon has partnered with Kapruka to list and deliver Terra Lounge signature cakes across the Kandy region via Kapruka's e-commerce platform. Delivery will initially cover Kandy, Katugastota, Kundasale, Digana, Peradeniya, Akurana and Matale.
The Insurance Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka will host the OECD–ADBI Roundtable on Insurance and Retirement Savings on 2–3 June 2026 at The Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo, bringing global policymakers and regulators; the event will raise exposure for Sri Lanka's insurance/pension sector and showcase the hospitality/tourism industry.
Tokyo Cement reported FY26 turnover of Rs.61,011m (+22%) and 4Q turnover of Rs.17,623m (+36%), with FY26 PAT of Rs.2,580m (down from Rs.3,459m). Profitability was hit by rupee depreciation, higher material, fuel and financing costs even as volumes rose 28% and national cement consumption grew 19% to 5.62m MT.
Rupee & ForexFuel & Energy PricesConstruction ActivityExporters
Lanka Ashok Leyland (ASHO.N0000) reported FY26 PAT of Rs.3.06bn (vs Rs.1.53bn LY) and revenue of Rs.19.33bn, and the board declared a 300% dividend (Rs.30/share). The company said growth was driven by higher vehicle sales, local value addition, exports and operational efficiencies, and it relaunched premium coaches for tourism.
The Ceylon United Business Alliance urged the President and Finance Minister to impose a temporary ban on non-essential imports to protect USD reserves, saying restricting apparel imports alone could save about $75–150m per month. It named priority consumer sectors (apparel, footwear, tiles, plastics, processed food, furniture) while asking essential and tourism-related imports to continue.
Central Bank raised the Overnight Policy Rate by 100bps to 8.75%. The board cited supply-driven inflation (5.4% y/y in April) from high global oil prices, stronger credit-driven demand, external pressures including fuel-import driven trade deficits and recent rupee depreciation; reserves stood at USD 6.8bn.
Interest RatesRupee & ForexFuel & Energy PricesTourism
EconomyNext·May 26, 2026·Regulatory or legalNegative
Sri Lanka’s central bank raised the Overnight Policy Rate by 100bps to 8.75% to address rising inflation, credit expansion and external pressures; the statement cited 5.4% y/y inflation in April, high fuel prices, a wider trade deficit and gross official reserves of USD 6.8bn.
Interest RatesRupee & ForexFuel & Energy PricesTourism
The central bank hiked rates 100bp to 8.75%, and the Colombo Stock Exchange fell with the ASPI down 0.51% to 22,249.88; market turnover was Rs.2.99bn with insurance leading at Rs.2.6bn. Lanka Ashok Leyland proposed a final dividend of Rs30/share and Lighthouse Hotel declared a final dividend of Rs3/share.
Hilton Colombo won four awards at the 2026 Haute Grandeur Global Excellence Awards, including Leading Culinary Hotel in Asia and Best Luxury Hotel in Sri Lanka. The accolades, based entirely on guest feedback, reinforce the hotel's reputation and Sri Lanka's hospitality profile.
Tourism
Ada Derana·May 26, 2026·Promotional / marketing·DIMOPositive
Diesel & Motor Engineering PLC (DIMO) will host the MercedesTrophy Sri Lanka 2026 on 6 June 2026 at Nuwara Eliya Golf Club as an exclusive event for DIMO Mercedes‑Benz customers marking Mercedes‑Benz's 140th anniversary. Winners will receive an Arctic Circle Mercedes‑Benz driving experience.
Reshan Liyanage, Executive Director and CEO of Regal Réseau Hotel & Spa (Regal Holdings), received the Global CEO '45 Under 45 – Leadership Excellence Platinum Award 2026. The piece highlights the hotel's recent accolades, strong OTA presence and the group's expansion with the new Regal Rivera Villa.