Monday January 19, 2026 4:43 pm
Monday January 19, 2026 4:43 pm
ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s rupee closed at 309.72/77 to the US dollar in the spot market Monday, from 309.70/80 on Friday, having depreciated in recent weeks, dealers said, while bond yields closed down.
A bond maturing on 15.12.2026 closed at 8.45/58 percent, up from 8.45/55 percent.
A bond maturing on 15.12.2026 closed at 8.94/9.04 percent.
A bond maturing on 15.02.2028 closed at 9.05/10 percent.
A bond maturing on 15.10.2029 closed at 9.63/68 percent.
A bond maturing on 15.12.2029 closed at 9.65/69 percent, down from 9.70/75 percent.
A bond maturing on 01.03.2030 closed at 9.70/76 percent.
A bond maturing on 15.03.2031 closed at 10.00/10 percent.
A bond maturing on 01.06.2033 closed at 10.70/80 percent.
A bond maturing on 15.06.2035 closed at 11.07/11 percent, down from 11.10/15 percent. (Colombo/Jan19/2026)
Monday January 19, 2026 4:58 pm
Monday January 19, 2026 4:58 pm
ECONOMYNEXT – Foreign investors sold around 3.1 million US dollars worth Sri Lanka government securities in the week ending January 14, after buying in thin trade in the previous week, Central Bank data showed.
It was the 6th week foreigners have sold rupee bonds in the last 20. The foreign holding in government securities fell from a near 26-month high.
Foreigners sold a net 948 million rupees (USD 3.10 million at 1$=305 rupees) in the week. In the previous week, they bought a net 57 million rupee worth rupee bonds, the data showed.
The island nation enjoyed a total inflow of around 71.5 billion rupees (around USD 234.4 million) into rupee bonds in 2025, the data showed.
Sri Lanka suffered an outflow of 10.1 billion rupees ($32 million) in the two weeks soon after Donald Trump’s tariff declaration in the first week of April last year and the rupee has fallen slightly since then.
Sri Lanka’s deflationary policies have helped to see inflows amid curtailed imports, analysts have said.
The country witnessed foreign outflows worth 48.2 billion rupees in 2024 with 66 percent or 78.1 billion rupees worth outflow from the government securities in the first nine months of that year. (Colombo/January 19/2026)
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Monday January 19, 2026 4:29 pm
Monday January 19, 2026 4:29 pm
ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Browns Beach Hotels has said the company will delist from the Colombo Stock Exchange, having made arrangements with majority shareholders Melstacorp and Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings to buy back shares from minority shareholders at an exit offer price of 30 rupees.
In a stock exchange filing, Browns Beach Hotels said the business has been experiencing sustained losses over a period of time due to challenges faced by the tourism industry since 2019 (Easter Sunday attacks, Covid 19 pandemic and the economic crisis) and the revenue earned by the Business in the last two years have not been adequate to offset such losses.
The decision was made considering the present financial position of the company and after an assessment “with regard to prospects for future profitability of the Company in view of the forecasts relating to the Tourism industry and the current debt position of the Company and its subsidiary”.
The shares of the company were transferred to the Watch List on 01 August 2024.
The company said it was not in compliance with minimum public holding requirements.
“Although the management of the Company has evaluated various options to rectify the non-compliance, it is the view of the management as well as the Board that the implementation of any of such rectification actions is not viable in the current economic climate.”
“In the above circumstances, it is the view of the management and the Board that the Company should seek a delisting of its shares from the Official List of the CSE and that the minority shareholders of the Company should be given the opportunity to exit from their investment in the Company.”
The delisting is subject to the obtaining regulatory and shareholder approval. (Colombo/Jan19/2026)
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Monday January 19, 2026 4:22 pm
Monday January 19, 2026 4:22 pm
ECONOMYNEXT – New active credit cards in Sri Lanka increased by 10,785 in November last year, the central bank data showed, as the country’s economic recovery and lower interest rates help boost the usage of them.
The number of total active credit cards recorded 2,144,202 by end November, compared to 2,133,417 by end October, showing an increase of 0.5 percent in the month.
The active credit cards have risen by 6.8 percent or 135,746 in the first 11 months of last year, the data showed.
Active credit cards in Sri Lanka rose by 4.8 percent or 91,371 in 2024 with the island nation’s economic recovery and strong promotions for credit cards amid falling interest rates.
Analysts have said most banks have tied up with super markets and other vendors to promote credit cards in the falling interest rate regime as the country’s economy has shown more-than-expected recovery.
They say Sri Lanka’s economic recovery and stability have helped customers to use more credit cards than in 2023.
Some analysts said higher interest (penalty) rates on credit cards also had prompted some users to cancel their cards after the economic crisis and the same customers might be actively using the cards now due to declined rates.
Active credit cards, however, fell 1.8 percent or by 39,991 in 2023, after the country declared bankruptcy in 2022 amid unprecedented hike in the Central Bank’s monetary policy rates.
The central bank spiked the interest rates sharply in April 2022 to fight against a hyperinflation.
However, the inflation slowed to a deflation September 2024 before turning to positive in August last year amid the central bank’s reduction of key policy rates eight times since June 2023. (Colombo/January 19/2026)
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Monday January 19, 2026 2:40 pm
Monday January 19, 2026 2:40 pm
ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka stocks closed down on Monday, data on the Colombo Stock Exchange site showed.
The All Share Price Index was down 0.39 percent, or 92.17 points, at 23,639.43.
The S&P SL20 was down 0.21 percent, or 13.73 points, at 6,546.35.
Turnover was 4.68 billion rupees. Most of this came from capital goods (Rs1.25bn),
Top negative contributors to the ASPI were Dockyard (down 8.25 rupees at 108.00), Commercial Bank (down 2.25 rupees at 222.75), Nations Trust Bank (down 7.25 rupees at 342.75), and Sampath Bank (down 0.75 rupees at 155).
The ASPI and S&P SL20 reached all-time highs of 23,731.60 and 6,560.08 on Friday. (Colombo/Jan19/2026)
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Monday January 19, 2026 2:15 pm
Monday January 19, 2026 2:15 pm
ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Vallibel Finance is looking to raise 2.11 billion rupees through a rights issue of 1 to 8 shares at 72 rupees each.
The funds will be used to strengthen Tier 1 capital in line with expansion and maintain capital adequacy requirements.
It said in a stock exchange filing that it will issue 29,431,675 ordinary voting shares.
The issue has received central bank approval and is subject to CSE and shareholder approvals.
(Colombo/Jan19/2026)
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Monday January 19, 2026 2:00 pm
Monday January 19, 2026 2:00 pm
ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Nations Trust Bank proposed debenture issue of 15 billion rupees has been given an expected National Long-Term Rating of ‘BBB+(lka)(EXP)’ by Fitch Ratings.
“NTB’s National Long-Term Rating is used as the anchor rating for this instrument because the rating reflects the bank’s standalone financial strength and best indicates the risk of the bank becoming non-viable,” Fitch said.
The debentures, which will have maturities of 5, 7 and 10 years, will be listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange.
The full statement is reproduced below:
Fitch Rates Nations Trust Bank’s Basel III Subordinated Debt ‘BBB+(lka)(EXP)’
Fitch Ratings – Colombo – 15 Jan 2026: Fitch Ratings has assigned Nations Trust Bank PLC’s (NTB, A(lka)/Stable) proposed Sri Lankan rupee-denominated Basel III-compliant subordinated unsecured debentures of up to LKR15 billion an expected National Long-Term Rating of ‘BBB+(lka)(EXP)’.
The proposed debentures, which will have maturities of five, seven and 10 years, will be listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange. The bank plans to use the proceeds to strengthen its Tier 2 capital, support the expansion of its loan book and reduce maturity mismatches in the balance sheet.
The bank expects the proposed debentures to qualify as Basel III-compliant regulatory Tier 2 capital. The debentures include a non-viability clause whereby they convert to ordinary voting shares subject to the occurrence of a trigger event, as determined by the Governing Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
The final rating is subject to the receipt of final documentation conforming to information already received.
Key Rating Drivers
NTB’s Sri Lankan rupee-denominated subordinated debt is rated two notches below the bank’s National Long-Term Rating anchor. This reflects Fitch’s baseline notching for loss severity for this type of debt and our expectations of poor recoveries. There is no additional notching for non-performance risks as the notes do not incorporate going-concern loss-absorption features.
NTB’s National Long-Term Rating is used as the anchor rating for this instrument because the rating reflects the bank’s standalone financial strength and best indicates the risk of the bank becoming non-viable.
Fitch reviewed NTB’s ratings with no rating action on 8 September 2025. See our latest rating action commentary, Fitch Upgrades 10 Sri Lankan Banks’ National Ratings and Affirms Five after Scale Recalibration, published on 21 January 2025, for the key rating drivers and sensitivities.
Rating Sensitivities
Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative Rating Action/Downgrade
A downgrade of the bank’s National Long-Term Rating would lead to a downgrade of the expected rating.
Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive Rating Action/Upgrade
An upgrade of the bank’s National Long-Term Rating would lead to an upgrade of the expected rating.
(Colombo/Jan19/2026)
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