ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Colombo Stock Exchange closed down on Monday trading, CSE data showed, with the benchmark All Share Price Index moving down 0.32 percent.

The ASPI was down 68.82 points at 21,313.92, while the more liquid S&P SL20 was down 0.14 percent, or 8.13 points, at 5,994.33.

Positive contributors to the ASPI were Carson Cumberbatch (up 2.05 percent at 735.00 rupees), Commercial Bank of Ceylon (up 0.24 percent at 205.00 rupees), Central Finance Company (up 0.68 percent at 221.50 rupees), and Watawala Plantations (up 1.60 percent at 44.50 rupees).

Dialog Axiata (down 1.04 percent at 47.40 rupees), Aitken Spence (down 2.12 percent at 138.75 rupees), LOLC Holdings (down 1.40 percent at 459.25 rupees), and Ceylon Cold Stores (down 2.07 percent at 118.25 rupees) were top negative contributors.

Market turnover was 1.55 billion rupees. Banks led turnover with 309.87 million rupees.

Anilana Hotels and Properties informed the Colombo Stock Exchange that its hotel properties in Nilaveli, Trincomalee, and Pasikudah were acquired by Sampath Bank under the Recovery of Loans by Banks (Special Provisions) Act No. 4 of 1990.

The company stated it has challenged the bank’s resolution in court and has also filed an application in the Commercial High Court regarding a prospective investor who offered 1.2 billion rupees for the hotel properties in an attempt to reach a compromise with Sampath Bank. (Colombo/September14/2026)

ECONOMYNEXT – Foreign investors bought a net 2,750 million rupees (US$8.5 million) worth of Sri Lanka rupee bonds in the week ended on September 11, Central Bank data showed, amid a steady rupee currency.

The latest buying boosted the foreign buying in the government securities to 92 billion (US$280 million) in the last 13 straight weeks since June 19.

The inflows boosted foreign holding to 213.4 billion rupees, the highest figure the Central Bank has published in its Weekly Economic Indicators.

Officials at the Central Bank, however, could not verify if that is the record high figure as it changes daily with economic volatility.

The net inflows came after the rupee started to stabilize, analysts said.

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.

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 5.7 percent through September 11 this year.

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

The island nation enjoyed a total inflow of around 72.1 billion rupees into rupee bonds so far this year, following a net inflow of 71.5 billion rupees last year.

Analysts said Sri Lanka’s deflationary policies in the past helped inflows amid curtailed imports.

However, the island nation has seen an uptick in inflation in the last five months after a nearly 50 percent hike in fuel prices gradually.

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 14/2026)

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s official remittances from expatriate workers rose 10 percent to US$ 748.6 million in August 2026, while they reached US$6,131 million in the first eight months of the year with a 19.8 percent growth, Central Bank data showed.

Fitch Ratings: A severe AI-related equity price shock, combined with a retrenchment in capex, would entail a US recession according to a ‘What if?’ scenario analysis published by Fitch Ratings.

A sharp decline in US equity prices is not our base case, but it is an important downside risk to our global economic forecasts. Fitch’s scenario analysis – developed using Oxford Economics’ Global Economic Model – shows that a major correction in equity prices and a fall in AI-related capex would result in a very sharp slowdown in global GDP growth.

The adverse scenario we develop envisages a fall of around 35% in US share prices over six months, a decline of around 15% in other regions’ share prices and an additional confidence shock affecting US investment. In this scenario, the US economy would go into recession, US GDP would decline by 0.6% in 2027 (with private capital spending falling by more than 6%) and year-on-year GDP growth would fall to -1.5% in 2Q27.

The much weaker US outlook would hit global growth. World GDP growth (measured by the Fitch-20 average) would fall below 1.0% in 2027 in this scenario, consistent with global stagnation. The hit to growth for China and the eurozone would be 0.8pp. Countries with stronger trade links with the US see larger hits to growth – for example, Canada and Mexico would see an impact of more than 2% on their GDP.

Lower global demand in this scenario implies lower inflation, which would allow central banks to loosen policy to support activity, with the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates by 325bp. But if financial conditions were to tighten over and above scenario assumptions, the impact on GDP would be larger. If tighter financial conditions offset Fed rate cuts, and emerging market bond spreads and US government bond yields were 100bp higher, the additional shortfall for US GDP would be 0.5% over four quarters (0.2% for world GDP).

ECONOMYNEXT – Anilana Hotels and Properties has said that its hotels in Nilaweli, Trincomalee and Passikudah were acquired by Sampath Bank under the provisions of Recovery of Loans by Banks (Special Provisions) Act No.
04 of 1990.

The company said it had initiated two cases challenging the resolution by Sampath Bank to acquire the properties.

Anilana has also made an application to compromise under and in terms of the Companies Act No. 07 of 2OO7 informing Court of a prospective investor who had offered 1.2 billion rupees for the hotels.

“In the event a compromise is reached between the Bank and us in the Commercial High Court, we will disclose the same.” (Colombo/Sep14/2026)

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Asia Asset Finance has listed 45,162,012 ordinary voting shares after a rights issue that raised 1.5 billion rupees, the company said in a market filing.

The issue offered 4 new ordinary voting shares for every 11 existing at Rs.33.30 per share.

The issue raised 1,503,894,999.60 rupees.

The funds are to “strengthen the Tier 1 Capital to be compliant with the CBSL Regulatory requirement, thereby enabling the company to expand its business volumes, based on the expected fund utilization over the next two months,” the company has said.

Shares were trading down 60 cents at 46.90 rupees. (Colombo/Sep14/2026)