The Sri Lankan Report

EconomyNext

ECONOMYNEXT – For the third consecutive year, the HSBC Ceylon Literary & Arts Festival will be held at Cinnamon Lakeside from February 13 to 15, staged as ‘Festival Beira’ and spotlighting Sri Lanka’s soft power through literature, the arts, music and film. The festival aims…

January 14, 2026 4:30 AM

EconomyNext

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Ceylon tea prices have fallen over two weeks on Iran troubles, though High Growns recovered some losses this week on the second day, brokers said. Iran is a key buyer of Ceylon tea, with foods allowed through sanctions, but there are…

January 14, 2026 4:35 AM

EconomyNext

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings said it plans to issue up to 50 million debentures to raise a total of 5 billion rupees. The listed, rated, unsecured, senior redeemable debentures will be issued at 100 rupees each. Initially 30 million bonds will…

January 14, 2026 7:25 AM

EconomyNext

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka has sold 9,000 million rupees of bonds offered on tap at an average rate set at an auction this week, bringing the total of bonds sold in the week to 193.79 billion, data from the Ministry of Finance – Public Debt…

January 14, 2026 8:47 AM

EconomyNext

ECONOMYNEXT – More than 16 years after Sri Lanka’s civil war, survivors of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) continue to face systemic denial of justice, reparations, and acknowledgment, a United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) report said. The report titled “We…

January 14, 2026 9:06 AM

EconomyNext

Fitch Ratings-Hong Kong/Tokyo: Most banks in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC) will maintain broadly steady profitability in 2026 as regional monetary easing cycles near their end, Fitch Ratings says in a new report. Net interest margins (NIMs) are likely to decline only marginally across APAC, resulting…

January 14, 2026 9:30 AM

EconomyNext

ECONOMYNEXT – The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) rose 0.43 percent on Wednesday, pushed up by Dialog Axiata, bank and capital goods stocks, data on its site showed. The broader All Share Price Index gained 100.90 points to close at 23,708.70 as it gradually rose throughout…

January 14, 2026 11:26 AM

EconomyNext

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s rupee closed at 309.35/50 to the US dollar in the spot market Wednesday, weaker from 309.20/30 the previous day, having depreciated in recent weeks, dealers said, while bond yields saw robust recovery across the yield curve, with several block trades executed.…

January 14, 2026 11:35 AM

EconomyNext

ECONOMYNEXT – Revenue collected by Sri Lanka Customs in the first 13 days of January accounted for over 66 percent of January 2026 target, the official data showed. The Custom’s January revenue target has been set 160.2 billion rupees. But the revenue collecting body has…

January 14, 2026 12:00 PM

EconomyNext

ECONOMYNEXT – CHEC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd, a unit of China Harbour Engineering Corporation said. it will invest another 300 million US dollars in the reclaimed special economic zone in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo. CHEC Port City Colombo has already invested 1.25 billion US…

January 15, 2026 12:12 AM

EconomyNext

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka has sold 13,575 million rupees of treasury bills offered on tap at average rates of 7.95 percent and 8.48 percent, the public debt management office said, bringing the total of bills sold this week to 110 billion rupees. The debt office…

January 15, 2026 3:30 AM

EconomyNext

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka has entered into an agreement on restructuring 188 million euro debt with Germany, its Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development said. “Following bilateral discussions after the conclusion of the MoU with the Official Creditor Committee (OCC), the Federal Republic of…

January 15, 2026 5:30 AM

EconomyNext

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Securities and Exchange Commission says a criminal probe has been initiated on a company called Blue Ocean Securities Ltd which is canvassing funds from the public purportedly to invest in the Colombo Stock Exchange. “The SEC has lodged a formal complaint…

January 15, 2026 7:47 AM

EconomyNext

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development has said it will meet with interested parties ahead of the divestiture of Canwill Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, the parent company of Sinolanka Hotels & Spa (Pvt) Ltd and Helanco Hotels & Spa (Pvt) Ltd.…

January 15, 2026 11:30 AM

Groundviews

Photo courtesy of The Weather Channel Sri Lanka experienced unprecedented rainfall in the final days of November with Matale recording 540 millimeters, the highest daily rainfall reported during the period. According to Professor of Hydrology and Agrophysics Lakshman Galagedara, the highest daily rainfall on record remains…

January 12, 2026 5:00 AM

Groundviews

Photo courtesy of CPJ Let us start with an uncomfortable truth. The Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) has failed at its primary mission. Decades after its introduction, terrorism has not been prevented by this legislation; it has merely been responded to, often heavy-handedly. Meanwhile, the…

January 12, 2026 9:19 AM

Groundviews

Photo courtesy of Sri Lanka Mirror The NPP was marketed as a rupture, a moral and political break from the past. It was presented as a vehicle for reform, inclusivity and a new feminist consciousness in Sri Lankan politics. In reality, it was a carefully…

January 13, 2026 3:51 AM

Groundviews

Photo courtesy of Sri Lanka Travel Pages   The pull of the wild heart, opening flower in morning light,   this sweet cloying return, pineapple, mango,   rambutan, and sea winds blowing briskly as far from   the sea as Viharamahadevi Park, which I know…

January 14, 2026 5:15 AM

Groundviews

Photo courtesy of HRW A new report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Accountability for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Sri Lanka found that sexual violence targeting Tamils, both men and women, during and after the armed conflict “was not…

January 14, 2026 7:37 AM