ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Colombo Stock Exchange closed lower on Friday, CSE data showed, with the benchmark All Share Price Index falling 0.33 percent.

The ASPI was down 68.26 points at 20,812.64, while the more liquid S&P SL20 was down 0.25 percent, or 14.93 points, at 5,886.72.

Positive contributors to the ASPI were Citizens Development Business Finance (up 5.15 percent at 34.70 rupees), Richard Pieris and Company (up 2.31 percent at 26.60 rupees), PGP Glass Ceylon (up 1.63 percent at 56.10 rupees), and Sri Lanka Telecom (up 1.43 percent at 85.10 rupees).

Carson Cumberbatch (down 2.67 percent at 710.00 rupees), Singer (Sri Lanka) (down 3.05 percent at 76.20 rupees), SMB Finance (down 8.33 percent at 1.10 rupees), and Commercial Bank of Ceylon (down 0.49 percent at 202.00 rupees) were top negative contributors.

Market turnover was 873.38 million rupees. The S&P/CSE Banks sector led turnover with 244.40 million rupees, while Real Estate Management and Development recorded 177.44 million rupees.

“Trading started off extremely slowly before picking up slightly in the final hour, with crossings in Sampath Bank, LIOC, and NDB accounting for roughly 350 to 400 million rupees—almost half the day’s total turnover,” said Raynal Wickremeratne, Head of Research and Strategy at NDB Securities. (Colombo/Oct02/2026)

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka lender Sampath Bank has launched a community-powered book search platform at the Colombo International Book Fair allowing visitors to find the books they are looking for across the fair’s 150+ stalls.

Sampath Book Finder, Sri Lanka’s first community-powered book discovery platform, also allows readers to recommended books they encounter by sharing the title, publisher, hall and stall number.

It turns “the collective knowledge of readers into a real-time digital solution, empowering them to find what they are looking for, discover something new and help others do the same,” Milinda Weerasinghe, Chief Marketing Officer, Sampath Bank PLC, said.

When a book proves difficult to locate, visitors can access bookfairtracker.com or scan the designated QR code and submit a request to the community, allowing readers who have already spotted the title to share its location and help others find it without having to search stall after stall.

SampathCards offers 25 percent cashback for Sampath GPay customers on their purchases and 3 months 0% instalment plans for book purchases at the fair.

The Colombo International Book Fair, organised by the Sri Lanka Book Publishers’ Association, continues at BMICH until 4 October, from 9 am to 9 pm daily. (Colombo/Oct2/2026)

ECONOMYNEXT – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a 100 million dollar results-based loan for Sri Lanka to improve its technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system and increase women’s employment in nontraditional jobs, the global lender said.

The financing consists of a $50 million regular loan, a $50 million concessional loan, and a $500,000 technical assistance grant from ADB.

The Skills Development System Transformation Program aims to equip more youth with industry-relevant skills, strengthen the country’s competitiveness, and increase women’s employment opportunities in nontraditional jobs such as automotive technology, engineering, information and communications technology, construction, and renewable energy.

“A skilled workforce is essential to Sri Lanka’s long-term economic transformation and competitiveness,” said ADB Country Director for Sri Lanka Shannon Cowlin.

“This program will help create stronger pathways from education to employment by making training more responsive to industry needs, expanding opportunities for young people and women, and ensuring that graduates have the skills required by a modern and evolving economy.”

Sri Lanka’s economy faces skills shortages in priority sectors, high youth unemployment, and low female labor force participation, ADB said, with employers reporting difficulty finding workers with the skills needed in a changing economy.

The nationwide program will be implemented from 2027 to 2031.

It is expected to benefit over 100,000 young people with better access to quality, employment-oriented training.

The program will provide expanded career guidance for secondary school students, enhanced capacity-building activities for teachers, and improved coordination between schools and training institutions, ADB said.

The program will establish a center of excellence for automotive technology, introduce a hub-and-spoke training model across all 9 provinces, upgrade learning facilities, and launch new industry-aligned courses in priority sectors.

It will also deepen partnerships between training providers and employers through workplace-based learning, industry participation in skills assessment and certification for learners, and stronger mechanisms for private sector engagement.

The program will improve quality assurance through a national accreditation system, performance-based financing mechanisms, and a digital training management information system that will align skills development with labor market demand. (Colombo/Oct2/2026)

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Sampath Bank plans to raise up to 50 billion rupees through the issuance of Basel III-compliant Tier 2 debentures, green bonds, or sustainability bonds.

Up to 500 million listed, rated, unsecured, subordinated, redeemable instruments will be offered at 100 rupees each.

The proposed instruments will carry a non-viability conversion feature, the company said in a market filing.

The funds will be raised in one or more tranches within three years from the date of obtaining shareholder approval.

“Each issuance under the blanket shareholders’ approval shall be launched subject to obtaining all necessary regulatory approvals, and other terms and conditions being acceptable to the Bank.”

The issue is subject to regulatory approval. (Colombo/Oct01/2026)

ECONOMYNEXT — Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings’ rated, unsecured, senior redeemable debentures were listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) on Friday, the company said in a market filing.

The debt securities have been issued across five-year and seven-year tenors, carrying both annual and semi-annual coupon options:

• 5-year tranche (payable annually): Fixed coupon rate of 13.00 percent per annum (AER 13.00%). Security ID: AHUN-BD-23/09/31-C2644-13 (ISIN: LK0003026444).
• 5-year tranche (payable semi-annually): Fixed coupon rate of 12.60 percent per annum (AER 13.00%). Security ID: AHUN-BD-23/09/31-C2645-12.6 (ISIN: LK0003026451).
• 7-year tranche (payable annually): Fixed coupon rate of 13.15 percent per annum (AER 13.15%). Security ID: AHUN-BD-23/09/33-C2646-13.15 (ISIN: LK0003026469).
• 7-year tranche (payable semi-annually): Fixed coupon rate of 12.74 percent per annum (AER 13.15%). Security ID: AHUN-BD-23/09/33-C2647-12.74 (ISIN: LK0003026477).

The hospitality group’s public debenture issuance in September sought to raise 5 billion rupees through 50 million debentures at 100 rupees each.

The debenture sale was oversubscribed on its opening day, drawing investor interest. (Colombo/Oct 02/2026)

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Colombo Stock Exchange opened in green on Friday, and trended up, CSE data showed, with the benchmark All Share Price Index moving 0.17 percent.

The ASPI was up 36.48 points at 20,917.38, while the more liquid S&P SL20 was up 0.03 percent, or 1.87 points, at 5,903.52.

Positive contributors to the ASPI were Citizens Development Business Finance (up 5.45 percent at 34.80 rupees), Richard Pieris and Company (up 3.85 percent at 27.00 rupees), Sri Lanka Telecom (up 3.34 percent at 86.70 rupees), and Ceylon Cold Stores (up 1.05 percent at 120.50 rupees).

LOLC Holdings (down 1.58 percent at 436.00 rupees), Colombo Dockyard (down 2.24 percent at 120.00 rupees), Overseas Realty (Ceylon) (down 0.19 percent at 51.90 rupees), and Hayleys (down 0.67 percent at 227.00 rupees) were top negative contributors.

Market turnover was 149.92 million rupees. The banking sector led turnover with 68.98 million rupees.

Lanka Walltiles said it plans to raise 5.01 billion rupees through a rights issue of 128,470,588 ordinary voting shares at 39 rupees each, at a ratio of 8 for 17. After the rights issue, the company will amalgamate its wholly owned subsidiary, Vallibel Plantation Management Limited, subject to satisfying the solvency test.

Pan Asia Banking Corporation said its debenture issue to raise 5 billion rupees was oversubscribed after receiving applications for over 50 million debentures. The debenture issue was officially closed at 4:30 pm on October 1, and the basis of allotment will be notified to the CSE in due course.

Fitch Ratings has upgraded state-run Bank of Ceylon’s Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings to ‘B-’ from ‘CCC+’ with a Stable Outlook, following the recent sovereign rating upgrade. The rating agency also upgraded the lender’s Viability Rating to ‘b-’ from ‘ccc+’ and raised its Short-Term Issuer Default Rating to ‘B’ from ‘C’.

Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC’s rated, unsecured, senior redeemable debentures will be listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange on Friday across five-year and seven-year tenors. The listing follows the hospitality group’s debenture issuance launched in September, which was oversubscribed on its opening day to raise up to 5 billion rupees. (Colombo/Oct02/2026)