Energy

Sri Lanka electricity strike toned down over Presidential promises: Update

Thursday June 9, 2022 6:27 am

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s power engineers have toned down a strike which plunged parts of the country in darkness overnight following discussions with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa that high prices for private renewable power will only be given for smaller plants, union sources said.

The strike is continuing at low intensity, according to union sources.

The government has proposed an amendment to the Sri Lanka Electricity Act to be debated in parliament on June 08, which the engineers union of the state-run Ceylon Electricity Board say will lead to legalization of large scale procurement scams in renewable power.

Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa clashed with Energy Minister Kanchana Ratwatte calling for a delay in dropping competitive bidding and asked for a compromise based on consultations with stakeholders who had knowledge.

The Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers Union gave notice of the first strike since 1996 over the amendment to the law, which is to be debated in parliament on June 09.

Following a telephone conversation with President Gotabaya Rajapksa overnight a full-scale strike was called off.

Engineers have proposed that so-called ‘feed in tariffs’ or pre-determined high prices be limited to small plants.

Among suggestions to prevent large scale costs being imposed through feed in tariff corruption, one suggestion is to introduce ‘benchmarking’ where high feed in tariff way out of global rates cannot be charged from the Ceylon Electricity Board.

Feed in tariffs in the past have led to high prices and what is described by some critics as an unusual green scam.

Feed in tariffs were linked to rising fuel prices through a mechanism called ‘avoided cost’ where renewable prices went up in tandem as oil prices went up.

Sri Lanka’s renewable procurement prices fell to around 12 to 14 rupees a unit unit compared around 20 to 30 rupees under pre-determined ‘feed in tariffs’ at the then prevailing prices.

Renewable costs fell as Chinese technology came in and efficiency improved.

The current trade union action involves the planned procurement of large plants from private suppliers at high prices including India’s Adani at around 7.75 US cents a kilo Watt hour (unit) through feed in tariffs instead of competitive bidding, according to unions, who say it is about double the global price.

In local currency it is about 28 rupees a unit which compares to around 30 rupees for coal at current prices.

Renewable energy prices have shot up to over 4.0 cents a unit in 2022 from around 3.0 cents earlier amid sudden demand due to high oil prices and international private firms are rushing to lock in 20 to 25 years contracts now using various methods ‘persuasion’ critics say. (North American Renewable Energy Prices Skyrocket Nearly 30% in One Year)

The US Fed has already started tightening monetary policy which is expected to end energy and food commodity bubble fired by Jerome Powell from next year. (US inflation likely to stay high in 2022, 2023 even if Fed tightens now).

Renewable plants (other than dendro) are intermittent, variable and seasonal and cannot be directly compared with thermal and large stored hydro plants which can be used as base load and also for peaking as necessary (dispatched.)

Grids are compelled to absorb renewable power any time they come, they also usually do not generate reactive power, has no ‘intertia’ to absorb demand changes to maintain frequency and prevent blackouts which tends to de-stabilize a grid when large shares come from small distributed plants.

The highest cost small gas turbines (Rs189) of the CEB which are used by special interests to mislead the public – which were due to retirement decades ago – are sometimes used to provide reactive power for renewable energy, industry officials say. (Read about gas turbine reactive power and renewable energy).

Gas turbines are peaking plants, but are used for baseload in Sri Lanka due to politicians and lobbies blocking planned coal plants.

The European Union is currently evaluating the possibility of raising the overall renewable energy target to 45 percent by 2030 from 40 percent. (European Commission analysing higher 45% renewable energy target for 2030).

There are technology to produce reactive power, grid enhancements, battery and pump storage to store power during daytime all of which require more investments to the grid over time.

Sri Lanka’s state-run Ceylon Electricity Board in its long term generation plan has already proposed a 53 percent target at the least cost where renewable additional go in step with network expansion and ‘holding capacity’ for renewable.

Some observers say the CEBs long term generation plan is perhaps the last remaining evidence based planning document in the government of Sri Lanka which can be perused by the public. However the document is bulky and is difficult to digest.

Sri Lanka’s public sector had gradually lost policy making power (green paper, white paper, expert consultation, public consultation, policy) and policy developed and decided in dark rooms where elections manifestos are made by special interests.

Sri Lanka has a rickety grid which is built for central distribution, though there is a program to expand the network over time to absorb renewables. (Colombo/June08/2022)

Markets

Sri Lanka stocks close down 0.60-pct, dragged by HNB and LOLC

Friday November 13, 2026 3:28 pm

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Colombo Stock Exchange closed down on Friday, CSE data showed, with the benchmark All Share Price Index moving down 0.60 percent.

The ASPI was down 133.22 points at 22,024.18, while the more liquid S&P SL20 was down 1.06 percent, or 67.55 points, at 6,298.02.

The ASPI ended the week up 784.53 points from last Friday.

Positive contributors to the ASPI were Dialog Axiata (up 0.40 percent at 50.20 rupees), Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka (up 0.52 percent at 58.30 rupees), Aitken Spence (up 3.60 percent at 151.00 rupees), Ceylon Tobacco Company (up 1.05 percent at 1,828.50 rupees), and LOLC Finance (up 1.96 percent at 5.20 rupees).

Hatton National Bank (down 1.88 percent at 403.75 rupees), Richard Pieris and Company (down 6.21 percent at 27.20 rupees), LOLC Holdings (down 2.17 percent at 405.00 rupees), Sampath Bank (down 1.91 percent at 154.00 rupees), and Singer (Sri Lanka) (down 2.40 percent at 77.30 rupees) were top negative contributors.

Market turnover was 3.23 billion rupees. Capital goods led turnover with 869.21 million rupees. (Colombo/Nov13/2026)

Economy

Sri Lanka MP slams budget speech for omitting Tamil national question

Friday November 13, 2026 2:56 pm

ECONOMYNEXT – A Sri Lanka legislator has voiced strong disappointment that the President’s budget speech failed to make a single mention of the Tamil national question.

“It is very unfortunate that in His Excellency the President’s speech, there has not been a single word mentioned about the Tamil national question. Not a single word,” Shanakiyan Rasamanickam said.

“A budget speech generally, is a policy direction of the government for the next year. The budget speech is not only a statement of the country’s fiscal position or the economy’s position. It is the country’s, the government’s, plan, or what the government plans to do the following year. That’s a policy statement.”

Former presidents would at least mention the Tamil question even if it was not resolved, he said.

Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe in his speech, in his policy statement, he would mention: “The Tamil national question must be resolved,” Rasamanickam said.

Former Presidents Maithripala Sirisena and Gotabaya Rajapaksa also mentioned that the national ethnic question must be resolved, he added.

“Every President, every country’s Head of State, in their policy statements, have acknowledged the fact that there is an unresolved national issue, the Tamil national question, that it needs to be resolved. Various governments have proposed various mechanisms; none of them have succeeded, but at least it was mentioned.”

This year’s budget made allocations for the Office of Missing Persons, and the Office of Reparations.

“But the domestic mechanism is a mechanism that the victim community has rejected. So you all are allocating money to a mechanism where the victim community is not going to be part of.”

Last year’s budget 1 billion was allocated to be spent on the Trincomalee and Jaffna airports.

“Where was that 1 billion for the Trincomalee and Jaffna airports spent last year?”

“The trajectory of this government, Honourable Deputy Speaker, is worrying to me. It’s really worrying to me. Because if the objective is to say that there is no Tamil national question, if the objective is to say that you all have resolved any ethnic issue that this country faced, then Honourable Deputy Speaker, then I think the Tamil people will teach this government a very, very, very harsh lesson in the future.” (Colombo/Nov13/2026)

Bonds & Forex

Sri Lanka sells extra Rs6.5bn Treasury bills after auction

Friday November 13, 2026 12:32 pm

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka has sold 6,500 million rupees of treasury bills offered on tap at an average rate of 9.95 percent, the public debt management office said, bringing the total of bills sold in the week to 85.562 billion rupees.

The issue offered 90 billion.

Total market subscription was 6.5 billion rupees.

The debt office sold a 12-month bill at 9.95 percent.

On Wednesday (11) the debt office raised 79 billion rupees of 3, 6 and 12 month bills after offering 90 billion.

The settlement date is November 13. (Colombo/Nov13/2026)

Construction and Real Estate

Access Engineering Sept quarter group net profit surges 200-pct to Rs4.75bn

Friday November 13, 2026 12:15 pm

ECONOMYNEXT — Sri Lanka’s Access Engineering PLC recorded a group net profit attributable to equity holders of Rs. 4.75 billion for the quarter ended September 30, surging 200 percent from Rs. 1.58 billion a year earlier, interim accounts showed.

Basic earnings per share rose to Rs. 4.08 for the September quarter, up from Rs. 1.58 previously.

Quarterly group revenue expanded 36 percent to Rs. 20.39 billion from Rs. 14.94 billion, underpinned by condominium property handovers — reflected in inventories dropping Rs. 7.69 billion since March to Rs. 35.71 billion — alongside strong automobile sales and steady civil engineering execution.

Cost of sales rose at a slower 27 percent to Rs. 14.34 billion, lifting gross profit by 64 percent to Rs. 6.05 billion and expanding gross margins to 29.7 percent from 24.7 percent.

Other income jumped 144 percent to Rs. 259.9 million, while administrative expenses rose 75 percent to Rs. 1.14 billion, leaving operating profit up 64 percent at Rs. 5.16 billion.

However, finance costs more than doubled, rising 107 percent to Rs. 1.18 billion on elevated group borrowings of Rs. 43.74 billion, partly offset by finance income climbing 302 percent to Rs. 42.2 million.

Share of results from equity-accounted investees rose 122 percent to Rs. 26.7 million, pushing pre-tax profit up 56 percent to Rs. 4.05 billion.

Income tax swung to a net reversal of Rs. 186.6 million from an expense of Rs. 804.1 million, boosted by deferred tax assets on unrelieved losses from a 100 percent enhanced capital allowance claimed by 60 percent-owned radiopharmaceutical subsidiary Access Medical Tracers (Private) Limited.

Total period profit rose 136 percent to Rs. 4.24 billion, with non-controlling interest declining 24 percent to Rs. 164.9 million following last year’s buyout of minority shareholders in Harbour Village (Private) Limited.

No separate exchange gain or loss was itemized in quarterly earnings, though foreign currency translation via associates recorded a Rs. 17.4 million loss in other comprehensive income, alongside USD 16.6 million in corporate guarantees.

Notes also flagged an expected Rs. 1.45 billion recovery from the terminated South Asia Commercial and Logistics Hub project, a Rs. 225 million post-quarter legal settlement already provided for, and a Supreme Court appeal over a 2011/12 PAYE tax ruling.

Group assets stood at Rs. 132.4 billion as of September 30, with net asset value per share at Rs. 46.70, as the Employees’ Provident Fund raised its stake to 5.69 percent.

Access Engineering shares closed at 80.00 rupees at the end of September and are currently trading around 85.80 rupees. (Colombo/Nov13/2026)

Economy

Sri Lanka private sector says timely implementation of Budget 2027 key

Friday November 13, 2026 11:43 am

ECONOMYNEXT – Private sector body, The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, said it was encouraged by the broad direction of Budget 2027, noting that it reinforces Sri Lanka’s commitment to economic transformation while maintaining policy continuity, macroeconomic stability, and fiscal discipline.

“This continuity is particularly important as the country seeks to transition from economic stabilisation to a more durable, investment-led growth trajectory.”

The chamber also noted several areas where the Budget could have placed greater emphasis to strengthen the country’s growth prospects.

“In particular, there is a need for a stronger focus on attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), accelerating factor market reforms, particularly in land and labour, and fast-tracking public procurement reforms to improve the efficiency and speed of project implementation.

“More targeted and actionable proposals could have been introduced to unlock the potential of sectors with significant growth opportunities, including tourism, agriculture, IT/BPO and logistics.”

The chamber said the budget contains positive measures aimed at enhancing competitiveness, and external sector resilience, while presenting opportunities for focus on sectors that can accelerate growth.

“A number of the key structural reforms identified in last year’s Budget have been carried forward and strengthened, providing greater certainty and predictability to businesses and investors.

“These include the continued implementation of the Trade National Single Window (TNSW), the phased removal of para-tariffs, the rollout of the Digital ID framework, efforts to expand market access through new Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), the strengthening of one-stop-shop investment facilitation mechanisms, progress on Customs reforms, the expansion of Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), enhanced financing support for SMEs, and reforms relating to the management of State-Owned Enterprises.”

The CCC said that more than 20 proposals submitted by it have been reflected in Budget 2027.

These include measures to strengthen investor facilitation through the establishment of a professionally managed investment promotion agency; continued efforts to improve trade facilitation and export competitiveness; the Government’s consideration of a successor programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF); accelerated progress on key legislative reforms; the expansion of digital government services; and the promotion of cashless payments and broader digital adoption. The Budget has also captured several priorities relating to energy security, including the accelerated deployment of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and investments in fuel storage infrastructure, initiatives to optimize underutilized agricultural land, measures to support the expansion of the digital economy and the IT/BPO sector, and tax reforms to support exporters, including the acceptance of newly VAT-registered exporters as eligible exporters.

“The inclusion of these priorities reflects the value of sustained public-private dialogue and demonstrates increasing alignment between national policy objectives and the needs of a competitive, export-oriented economy.

“The priority now must be effective and timely implementation to translate policy commitments into investment, competitiveness, exports and sustainable growth.” (Colombo/Nov13/2026)

Markets

Sri Lanka stocks trend lower day after budget reading

Friday November 13, 2026 11:16 am

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Colombo Stock Exchange was trending lower on Friday, CSE data showed, with the benchmark All Share Price Index moving down 0.66 percent.

The ASPI was down 146.78 points at 22,011, while the more liquid S&P SL20 was down 0.94 percent, or 59.99 points, at 6,306.

Positive contributors to the ASPI were Access Engineering (up 1.30 percent at 85.80 rupees), LAUGFS Gas (up 3.31 percent at 49.90 rupees), Ceylon Tobacco Company (up 1.13 percent at 1,830 rupees), Ceylon Cold Stores (up 0.80 percent at 126 rupees), and Namunukula Plantations (up 1.79 percent at 68.10 rupees).

LOLC Holdings (down 1.03 percent at 409.75 rupees), Hatton National Bank (down 0.61 percent at 409 rupees), Sunshine Holdings (down 3.81 percent at 30.30 rupees), and Sampath Bank (down 1.91 percent at 154 rupees) were top negative contributors.

Market turnover was 1.55 billion rupees. Capital goods led turnover with 459.57 million rupees. (Colombo/Nov13/2026)