News & market updates

The Sri Lankan–German Business Forum 2026 will run 27–29 May in Colombo to promote FDI in maritime, ports and logistics and to showcase Sri Lankan IT startups. The conference, attended by the Prime Minister, will focus on port infrastructure financing, boosting exports to the EU and digitalisation.

LK Domain Registry has opened applications for BestWeb.LK 2026, inviting .lk website owners to submit entries by 8 June; the 16th edition will recognise sites across 24 categories and award 126 prizes, including special awards and feedback-driven improvement cycles.

Dialog Axiata PLC launched Dialog Air Fibre, Sri Lanka’s first 5G-powered ultra-fast Wi-Fi, now available for pre-order with a LKR 2,500 discount on the initial connection. The plug-and-play indoor device offers up to six hours battery backup, low latency and 104 TV channels via Dialog Play.

Samsung Electronics agreed to distribute KRW 40 trillion (~$26.6bn) in bonuses to its semiconductor division — an average of about $339,000 per employee, paid as 10.5% of profit in stock plus 1.5% cash; the deal could run 10 years and payouts occur early 2027 if the union approves.

Sri Lanka will develop an AI-powered National Cybersecurity Framework to detect AI-driven digital fraud in real time and unify fragmented security systems, Deputy Digital Economy Minister Eranga Weeraratne said; the move involves collaboration with Google Cloud and NCINGA on the 'Scam Shield' initiative.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon (COMB.N0000) signed an agreement to establish a fully-fledged branch at Port City Colombo offering full banking services including digital banking, trade, foreign currency and corporate solutions. The branch aims to support cross-border business and international investors in the Special Economic Zone.

Regenerative Agriculture Digital Resource Centres were handed over to the Tea Smallholdings Development Authority on 20 May to modernise Sri Lanka's smallholder tea sector through regenerative practices, digital learning and faster transfer of TRI research. Funded by Solidaridad and the Nucleus Foundation and based at Hanthana, the authority's head office and Walahanduwa, the centres will use digital tools and act as Training-of-Trainers hubs for smallholder capacity building.

Samsung Electronics retained its position as the world's No.1 gaming monitor brand for the seventh consecutive year, capturing an 18.9% revenue share of the global gaming monitor market in 2025. It also led the OLED gaming monitor segment with a 26% share and unveiled a new Odyssey lineup including a glasses-free 3D model and high-refresh-rate/6K displays.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon (COMB.N0000) will open a full-service branch in Port City Colombo offering digital banking, trade, foreign-currency, corporate and retail services to support cross-border transactions and international investors.

Sri Lanka has introduced mandatory Beneficial Ownership (BO) disclosure to strengthen corporate transparency. Deloitte says the reform's benefit depends on effective implementation and tech-enabled data integration, and warns heavy verification duties on directors and company secretaries may pose practical challenges.

Morocco’s Education Ministry and Huawei Morocco launched the third edition of DigiSchool to boost digital skills, training 300 new teachers (plus 60 alumni trainers) and engaging 12,500 students directly and 50,000 indirectly through 300 school clubs. The program focuses on programming, robotics, VR/AR and IoT with regional training, hackathons and a national Demo Day.

Sysco LABS hosted Tech Liga 2026, a futsal tournament with 14 teams representing 10 Sri Lankan technology companies; IFS A won the final on penalties (5-4) against LSEG B after a 1-1 draw.

US SaaS platform Review Craze has partnered with Sri Lankan tea and hospitality brand Tea Avenue to roll out its review-management and customer analytics platform across Tea Avenue outlets. Tea Avenue plans to expand to 40–45 outlets by end-2026 and will use the system for real-time feedback and sentiment analysis.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon has signed an agreement to open a fully‑fledged branch in Port City Colombo to offer full banking services—including digital banking, trade services, foreign currency transactions, corporate and retail products—to clients in the Special Economic Zone.

BAN Group upgraded its Boutique Marketing AI Ecosystem with new agentic AI capabilities, claiming the update can reduce creative development time and cost by more than 60%. The enhancement centers on MADAI, BAN’s proprietary platform for creative experimentation and advertising intelligence.

Jeff Hoffman (Staynex chairman, Priceline co-founder) urged smaller nations such as Sri Lanka to 'leapfrog' larger competitors by rapidly adopting AI, personalisation and other travel technologies to transform their tourism industries.

Fentons IT (FIT), with IceWarp, hosted an exclusive CIO networking evening 'The IceBreaker Moment' on 24 April at SHARK by Port City, attended by CIOs and IT decision-makers from over 40 organisations, mainly across the BFSI sector. The event aimed to foster open engagement and showcased IceWarp solutions through interactive activities and customer recognitions.

Sri Lanka has introduced mandatory Beneficial Ownership (BO) disclosure; Deloitte says successful outcomes depend on implementation—accurate verification, integration with digital ID, tax and banking systems, and capacity-building—drawing on international best practices.

The Cabinet approved plans to draft Sri Lanka’s first inbound labour migration policy to regulate recruitment and oversight of foreign skilled and semi-skilled workers; a Steering Committee will be appointed to prepare the draft framework to address sectoral labour shortages and centralise monitoring.

Dialog Axiata proposes a Long-Term Incentive Plan to issue up to 184,006,700 shares (2% of issued capital) to eligible employees, subject to shareholder and CSE approval. Grants will use the 30-day VWAP as reference price and individual awards are capped at 1%.

Salesforce launched Headless 360, exposing its platform as APIs, MCP tools and CLI commands and adding 60+ new MCP tools and 30+ preconfigured coding skills. The release also includes an experience layer for multi-surface interactions (Slack, Voice, WhatsApp) and governance tools for agents.

Jabra has launched its Evolve3 headset series, PanaCast U30 video bar and PanaCast Room Kits in Sri Lanka via sole authorised distributor ZILLIONe. The portfolio is available with a 2-year warranty and after-sales support, with the PanaCast U30 shipping this month.

CameraLK, Sri Lanka’s official Sony distributor, unveiled the Sony Alpha a7R VI and FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS at a regional launch held in Sri Lanka, featuring hands-on demo zones and a visiting Sony delegation.

SLT‑MOBITEL launched Sri Lanka’s first TRCSL‑approved pocket-sized 5G mobile router delivering up to 3,600 Mbps and supporting up to 32 devices; it features Wi‑Fi 6 Plus, a 7000mAh battery (up to 10 hours) and an OLED touchscreen. The device includes security controls and an AI Life app for network management, targeting consumers, creators and remote workers.

Ambeon Capital PLC reported consolidated PAT of LKR 3,242 million for FY2025/26, up 104% YoY. Group revenue was LKR 19 billion (+12%), with strategic moves including increased stakes in DFCC (9.91%) and Seylan (9.93%), a 13.33% holding in Ceylon Hotels and a planned controlling stake in Harischandra Mills.

Union Bank CEO Dilshan Rodrigo joined a CIMA APAC CFO Summit panel, urging executives to drive digital transformation, navigate AI disruption and exercise decisive strategic influence in today's corporate landscape.

Samsung Electronics retained the No.1 global gaming monitor position for the seventh consecutive year, securing an 18.9% revenue share in 2025 and a 26% share in the OLED gaming monitor segment. The company also unveiled its new Odyssey lineup including a glasses-free 3D 27-inch and a 6K 32-inch monitor.

The Ministry of Agriculture, with FAO support, launched the CROPIX Seed Production, Certification & Traceability System to digitize seed production and certification across Sri Lanka, improving transparency, traceability, real-time monitoring and access to quality seeds.

Sri Lanka's Deputy Minister of Digital Economy met with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on 20 May 2026 in Singapore to arrange a Gates review of the country's draft national AI policy and to start technical dialogues to strengthen Digital Public Infrastructure and advance the IDAT 2 digital agriculture initiative.

CG Corp Global chairman Dr. Binod Chaudhary visited Union Bank’s new Digital Zone at the VFS Global Centre in Colombo, highlighting the Group’s commitment as principal shareholder to spearheading Union Bank’s digital and technological transformation.