Business
Unwarranted rating action by S&P amid arrangements to settle ISB maturity in Jan. 2022 – CBSL
The Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) is perturbed over today’s announcement by S&P Global Ratings, at a time when the GOSL has diligently lined up adequate funds to repay its maturing foreign debt liabilities and its repeated assurances over the strong commitment to oblige its debt service payments, including the International Sovereign Bond (ISB) maturing on 18 January 2022.,the CBSL said in a press release.
It adds – This move demonstrates repetitive nature in which S&P and other rating agencies acted to initiate rating actions just prior to the settlement of ISB obligations. S&P’s action also fails to recognise the positive developments taking place in Sri Lanka, in an environment in which the entire world is grappling with repeated waves of the COVID- 19 pandemic.
The sense of urgency on the part of an internationally recognised rating agency is inconceivable, particularly since S&P was being constantly updated by the Sri Lankan authorities on the latest developments in all sectors of the economy and many measures to shore-up foreign exchange inflows. In fact, these repeated rating actions, which have undermined and delayed the efforts of authorities’ to augment foreign exchange inflows, have negatively affected investor confidence, potential investment inflows and the gradual build-up of official reserves of the country. Recent rating actions also negated momentum of reserve-build-up and adversely affected investors who acted over such announcements.
As against the S&P’s claim on unforeseen positive developments, major economic and financial indicators are aligned in line with the measures and plans unveiled in the recent Budget announcement of the GOSL and the Six-Month Road Map announcement Communications Department 12 January 2022 by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL). The near-term funding arrangements are being finalised by the GOSL and the CBSL with various bilateral sources, which are due to be materialised.
Following several headwinds faced by the Sri Lankan economy in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are strong signs that economic activities are now returning to normalcy with all leading indicators signalling positive momentum. Tourism is on the rise and exports are continuously increasing. A number of measures introduced to enhance workers’ remittances are also yielding anticipated results. Government to Government financing initiatives, including liquidity facilitations and trade financing, and central bank swap arrangements are negotiated with neighbouring countries through high-level engagements. These facilities are expected to strengthen and fast track the recovery of the Sri Lankan economy.
With the expected inflows materialising as envisaged in the Six-Month Road Map, at the end of 2021 the reserve position amounted to over US dollars 3 billion level and such level is expected to be maintained in the near-term with gradual build-up with both non-debt and financing inflows. In addition, during the recent past, foreign currency debt exposure has been reduced due to various measures taken by the GOSL and the CBSL. Thus, taking the absolute value of reserve levels only into consideration against the overall exposure of the country’s debt portfolio is inappropriate.
Hence, S&P’s assessment to downgrade the rating has clearly failed to recognise the recent progress made by the Government and the CBSL in securing foreign exchange inflows to meet the government’s forthcoming debt obligations.
Against this backdrop, the Government wishes to re-assure all stakeholders, including the international investor community, that Sri Lanka remains committed to honouring all forthcoming obligations in the period ahead and maintain its unblemished record of debt servicing. The Sri Lankan authorities also welcome direct engagement with investors and invite investors for regular one-on-one discussions without being distracted by such unfounded announcements by external agencies.
Ceylinco Life’s Ambalantota branch agent AIP Manjula has been named one of three global finalists for the prestigious Insurance Agent of the Year award at the 11th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards (ATLAA) 2026.
The recognition places a Sri Lankan insurance professional among the finalists in a regional field spanning South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific region.
Ceylinco Life said the achievement reflected the calibre and customer-focused approach of its agency force, while recognising Manjula’s professionalism and commitment to policyholders.
The award evaluates insurance agents on criteria extending beyond sales performance, including ethical conduct, client service, policy persistency, digital adoption, innovative practices and contributions to the insurance industry and community.
The awards are organised by Asia Advisers Network and Asia Insurance Review, with LIMRA as co-organiser. An independent judging and balloting process is monitored by KPMG as the official scrutineer. The judging panel comprises senior insurance executives, association presidents and industry experts from across the Asia-Pacific region.
CEAT Kelani Holdings (CKH) has retained its National Long-Term Rating of ‘AA+(lka)’ with a Stable Outlook from Fitch Ratings for the sixth consecutive year, reflecting the company’s financial resilience and leading position in Sri Lanka’s pneumatic tyre market.
The ‘AA+(lka)’ rating, the second-highest on Fitch’s national scale, indicates a very strong capacity to meet financial commitments.
Fitch said CKH’s established market leadership and resilient financial profile remained key strengths, while noting its exposure to price-sensitive, cyclical and highly competitive markets.
The Stable Outlook reflects expectations that the company will maintain its market position despite rising input costs and increasing competition from imported tyres, while preserving adequate credit metrics during periods of weaker earnings and higher investment.
Fitch expects CKH’s established brand, extensive dealer network and adaptive pricing strategies to support its market position. Planned production facility upgrades are also expected to improve product quality, particularly in the radial tyre segment.
The rating agency expects near-term pressure on margins from higher raw material and energy costs but said the company’s low leverage and sound liquidity would provide a cushion.
CKH Chairman Chanaka De Silva said the rating reinforced the company’s focus on disciplined financial management, operational adaptability and long-term investment.
SLT-MOBITEL Enterprise, the enterprise services arm of Sri Lanka Telecom PLC, has launched its Premium Cloud service powered by Nutanix, aimed at helping Sri Lankan businesses modernise their IT infrastructure and accelerate digital transformation.
The service was unveiled at the Lanka Tech Summit 2026 held recently at ITC Ratnadipa, Colombo.
The Premium Cloud combines hybrid multi-cloud capabilities with enterprise-grade performance, enabling businesses to run mission-critical workloads, scale cloud deployments and strengthen business continuity through disaster recovery capabilities.
Hosted on SLT-MOBITEL’s Tier III data centre infrastructure, the platform is designed to provide enhanced security, reliability and flexibility while supporting the growing technology requirements of enterprises.
SLT-MOBITEL Enterprise said the platform would also support organisations seeking to adopt AI-ready capabilities and improve the management and performance of IT workloads.
A key feature of the launch was SLT-MOBITEL Enterprise joining the Nutanix Elevate Service Provider Program (NESPP), which the company said made it the first service provider in the region to join the programme.
Powered by Nutanix’s hybrid multicloud platform, the service enables application and data mobility across on-premises environments, public clouds and edge locations.
The company said the partnership combined Nutanix’s cloud technology with SLT-MOBITEL’s local expertise and support, strengthening its multi-cloud portfolio.
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