Sri Lanka construction expands in August 2025: PMI

Saturday October 4, 2025 8:00 am

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s construction sector expanded in August, registering a value of 61.1 on a Purchasing Managers Index compiled by the central bank.

“The ongoing increase in project availability, along with the resumption of some temporarily suspended projects, has strengthened the confidence of the construction sector,” the central bank said.

A growth in road development and water supply work in the month contributed to the increase in the New Orders sub index.

New Orders rose from 58.6 59.7 in July to 59.7 in August.

The Employment sub index rose from 50.0 in July to 52.8 in August.

The Quantity of Purchases sub index expanded at a higher rate, registering 52.9 in August from 58.3 in July.

This indicated the optimism for continued growth in the construction work, CBSL said.

The Suppliers’ Delivery Time lengthened further during the month recording 51.4 in August from 52.8 in July.

The was driven by the increase in demand for construction material, the central bank said.

The outlook of the construction sector is projected to be positive, underpinned by the expected increase in new project opportunities, the central bank said. (Colombo/Oct4/2025)

Saturday October 4, 2025 11:00 am

ECONOMYNEXT – Foreign investors sold Sri Lanka government securities in thin trade recording first weekly outflow in six weeks, the Central Bank data showed, amid outflow of short term bond funds globally for the first time in 14 weeks.

Foreign investors sold a net 17 million rupee ($56,667) worth of government securities in the week ended on October 2, recording the first outflow in six weeks. The island nation witnessed inflows to a net 14,041 million rupee ($46.8 million) in the previous five weeks.

Globally, short-term bond funds saw a net USD 8.52 billion outflow after 13 weeks of inflows in a row, Reuters reported.

Foreign holdings in Sri Lanka’s rupee bonds were at 120.6 billion rupees as of October 2, still around their highest since December 2023, official 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 and the rupee has fallen slightly since then.

The island nation has enjoyed a total inflow of around 51.3 billion rupees (around $171 million) into rupee bonds since December 26 last year through September 25, the data showed.

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 last year. (Colombo/October 03/2025)

Friday October 3, 2025 7:01 pm

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake called on the island nation’s influential Buddhist leaders days after they warned against his government’s LGBTQ plans to boost more tourists.

The Chief Prelates of all three Buddhist Chapters earlier this week wrote to President Dissanayake expressing concern over the government initiatives including LGBTQ tourism promotion and warned that the new moves could harm cultural values and lead to serious social consequences.

In their letter, the Buddhist leaders pointed out that efforts aimed at promoting tourism through LGBTQ-related activities, could give rise to what they described as “serious social catastrophes.”

They also raised objections to proposed amendments to the Penal Code, which seek to introduce an offence of corporal punishment, which may have negative implications.

President Dissanayake on Friday met Chief Prelates of the Malwathu and Asgiri Chapters and received their blessings, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said in a statement.

It further said the President “engaged in a brief discussion and received blessings” without elaborating.

Later he also visited the Asgiri temple and met the Chief Prelate of Asgiri Chapter and “engaged in a brief conversation”.

In Sri Lanka, religious leaders from all major faiths have expressed strong opposition to the promotion of pro-LGBTQ laws, even when such reforms are framed as a means to boost tourism and attract foreign visitors.

Their resistance is rooted in the belief that LGBTQ rights conflict with traditional cultural values, family structures, and religious teachings that view heterosexual marriage as the only acceptable form of union.

Many clerics argue that legal recognition or public promotion of LGBTQ rights would erode the country’s moral fabric and encourage practices they consider sinful or unnatural.

They also fear that prioritizing tourism revenue through liberal reforms could compromise the nation’s religious identity and set a precedent for foreign influence in domestic policy.

As a result, religious leaders have been vocal in urging the government to preserve what they call Sri Lanka’s “cultural integrity,” warning that aligning laws with global liberal trends could trigger social backlash and deepen divisions between conservative communities and advocates of progressive change. (Colombo/October 3/2025)

Friday October 3, 2025 4:53 pm

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s rupee closed at 302.45/55 to the US dollar on Friday, from 302.46/52 the previous day, while bond yields closed up, dealers said.

A bond maturing on 15.12.2026 closed at 8.34/44 percent, up from 8.35/40 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.02.2028 closed at 9.05/10 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.12.2029 closed at 9.67/70 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.12.2032 closed at 10.48.58 percent, down from 10.50/60 percent. (Colombo/Oct3/2025)