ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Colombo Stock Exchange indices were trading up on Tuesday morning, CSE data showed, with the benchmark All Share Price Index moving up 0.09 percent.

The ASPI was up 18.43 points at 20,997.61, while the more liquid S&P SL20 was up 0.27 percent, or 16.10 points, at 5,925.55.

Positive contributors to the ASPI were Hatton National Bank (up 1.65 percent at 386.00 rupees), Ceylon Cold Stores (up 1.27 percent at 120.00 rupees), and Sri Lanka Telecom (up 2.16 percent at 89.90 rupees).

Commercial Bank (down 0.25 percent at 202.00 rupees), Hayleys (down 0.67 percent at 224.00 rupees), and Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka (down 0.38 percent at 52.80 rupees) were top negative contributors.

Market turnover was 114.4 million rupees. Consumer Durables & Apparel led turnover with 37.5 million rupees. (Colombo/September22/2026)

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has ruled that the 22nd Amendment to the country’s Constitution does not require approval of the people through a referendum and can be passed by a Parliament majority.

The court’s decision was read out by Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne at the start of the day’s session.

“I wish to announce that I have received the determination of the Supreme Court in respect of the Bill titled ’22nd Amendment to the Constitution’ and the ‘Judicature Amendment’, which were challenged in the Supreme Court under Article 121(1) of the Constitution.

“The Supreme Court has determined that the provisions of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution Bill or any part thereof does not require approval by the people at a referendum by virtue of the provisions of Article 83 of the Constitution.

“In the proviso appearing in Clause 2 of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution Bill, the phrase ‘the date reaching sixty-seven’ (හැට හතට එළඹෙන දිනය) appearing therein shall be replaced with the phrase ‘the date completing sixty-seven’ (හැට හත සම්පූර්ණ කල දිනය).

“The following to be added as the second proviso to Clause 2 of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution Bill:
> ‘Provided further that the term limit of six years set out in the first proviso will not apply to any person holding the office of the Chief Justice as at the date of coming into operation of this Act.’
>
“The Supreme Court has further determined that the provisions of the Judicature Amendment Bill are not inconsistent with the Constitution and may be passed by the simple majority of the Parliament.
I order that the full determination of the Supreme Court to be printed in the Official Report of today’s proceedings.”

The president has said the government will move forward swiftly with passing the amendment, with a 2-day parliamentary debate scheduled for this week.

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka, opposition legislators and civil society members went to court against the amendment which seeks to extend the retirement age of Supreme Court judges, including the Chief Justice, and Appeals Court judges, among other things.

Judiciary concerns could hurt Sri Lanka’s foreign investments: Opposition leader

International law associations have expressed concerns over the proposed 22nd Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka, primarily regarding its impact on judicial independence and the procedural integrity of the hearings.

The National People’s Power government claims that the constitutional amendment was introduced not to benefit a specific individual in the judiciary, insisting instead that the legislative changes are to clear the backlog of cases and improve efficiency across the judicial system. (Colombo/Sep22/2026)

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has determined that a key provision in the proposed Anti-Corruption (Amendment) Bill requires approval by the public at a referendum and a two-thirds special majority in Parliament, Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne announced.

Delivering the determination received by Parliament, the Speaker stated that Clause 17 in its present form is inconsistent with the Constitution.

“Accordingly, Clause 17 in its present form may become law only if it is passed with the special majority required under Article 84(2) and approved by the People at a referendum,” Wickramaratne said.

The court also ruled that Clause 6(7) requires a special parliamentary majority to pass. In addition, Clause 7 was found inconsistent with Article 12(1), with the court determining that the proposed repeal of Section 80(1)(e) should be withdrawn unless passed by a special majority. Other provisions, including Clauses 3, 4, 6(4), 6(5), and 11, can be passed by a simple majority.

The ruling follows a challenge filed by Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) after Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya presented the amendment bill to Parliament on August 19, 2026.

The government maintained that the bill aimed to address operational bottlenecks, align with UN standards, and satisfy conditions under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.

However, TISL petitioned the Supreme Court, urging it to rule that several amendments violated fundamental rights and required a two-thirds majority and a referendum.

“TISL warns that the proposed amendments introduce severe policy regressions, create major loopholes, restrict civic space and violate Fundamental Rights,” the anti-graft body said in a statement.

The watchdog had warned that repealing Section 80(1)(e) would allow corrupt officials to hide illicit wealth by excluding household cohabitants from mandatory asset declarations.

It also raised concerns over raising public company declaration thresholds to 50 percent, removing judicial oversight on decisions to refrain from prosecuting accomplices, and making remand the norm over bail. (Colombo/Sep22/2026)

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s nation-wide inflation index, as measured by the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) on a year-on-year basis, was 8.1 percent in August 2026, compared with 7.2 percent in July 2026, data from the state statistics office showed.

The NCPI, an alternative to the widely watched Colombo Consumer Price Index, rose 0.2 percent, in August 2026, registering 223.9, compared to 223.4 in July 2026.

The year-on-year inflation of the food group increased to 6.6 percent in August 2026 from 4.9 percent in July 2026.

The year-on-year inflation of the non-food group increased to 9.3 percent from 9.2 percent over the same period.

The NCPI includes 485 items representing consumption of Sri Lanka households. (Colombo/Sep21/2026)

ECONOMYNEXT – Foreign investors sold Sri Lanka rupee bonds for the first time in 14 weeks in the week ended on September 18, Central Bank data showed, amid a depreciation of the  rupee currency.

Offshore investors sold a net 7,302 million rupees (US$22.5 million) worth of Sri Lanka rupee bonds after buying for 92 billion rupees (US$280 million) in the previous 13 straight weeks.

The outflows reduced the foreign holdings in government securities to 206.1 billion rupees, down from the  highest figure the Central Bank published in its Weekly Economic Indicators.

Analysts said the net outflows followed the rupee’s depreciation.

The rupee currency’s selling rate fell to a near three-year low of 354 against the U.S. dollar on May 21 before recovering and gaining to the 332 level in the previous week. However, last week it lost grounds and reached 335 per U.S. dollar.

The rupee had been steady for more than three years before the sharp depreciation in May with the Central Bank citing higher oil and vehicle imports amid a lingering conflict in the Middle East. The rupee has fallen 6.7 percent through September 18 this year.

Globally, investors are cautious about economic growth due to the impact of the latest Middle East escalation.

However, the island nation has enjoyed a total inflow of around 64.8 billion rupees into rupee bonds so far this year, following a net inflow of 71.5 billion rupees last year.

The island nation has seen an uptick in inflation in the last five months following a nearly 50 percent hike in fuel prices.

The government reduced fuel prices twice, in the last weeks of June and August.

The Central Bank raised its key monetary policy rate by 100 basis points in May to curb inflationary pressure stemming from higher demand.

Before the May rate hike, the Central Bank kept its key policy rates steady since May 2025 after reducing them by 825 basis points over 24 months since June 2023 and foreign investors have been buying rupee bonds despite slight depreciation in the local currency. (Colombo/September 21/2026)

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s rupee closed at 330.75/90 to the US dollar in the spot market on Monday, improving from 330.75/331.25 the previous day, while bond yields closed flat, dealers said.

A bond maturing on 15.09.2027 closed flat at 9.85/10.00 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.12.2028 closed flat at 10.50/70 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.12.2029 closed at 10.85/95 percent.

A bond maturing on 01.08.2030 closed at 11.15/20 percent, down from 11.20/25 percent.

A bond maturing on 01.02.2031 closed at 11.30/33 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.12.2032 closed at 11.50/55 percent, down from 11.60/70 percent.

A bond maturing on 01.11.2033 closed at 11.70/80 percent, down from 11.80/88 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.10.2034 closed at 11.90/12.00 percent, down from 11.95/12.05 percent. (Colombo/Sep21/2026)