Business

China’s delay in consenting to restructuring seen as the only hurdle to IMF bailout

Published

4 years ago

2023/02/22

By Hiran H. Senewiratne

China’s delay in agreeing to a debt restructuring is the only remaining hurdle on the path to Sri Lanka obtaining the IMF bailout, market analysts said.

Amid those developments both indices moved upwards. The All- Share Price Index went up by 64 points and S and P SL20 rose by 31.6 points. Turnover stood at Rs 2.4 billion with four crossings. Those crossings were reported in Melstacorp, where 668,000 shares crossed to the tune of Rs 40 million; its shares traded at Rs 60, Sampath Bank 500,000 shares crossed for Rs 24.5 million and its shares traded at Rs 49, Access Engineering 1.75 million shares crossed for Rs 21 million and its shares traded at Rs 12 and JKH 151,000 shares crossed to the tune of Rs 20.8 million; its shares fetching Rs 137.30.

In the retail market top companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were Sampath Bank, Rs 199 million (four million shares traded), Melstacorp Rs 142.7 million (2.3 million shares traded), Ceylinco Insurance Rs 131 million (60000 shares traded), Lanka IOC Rs 112 million (565,000 shares traded), SLT Rs 49.8 million (610,000 shares traded) and Hela Apparel Rs 47.1 million (five million shares traded). During the day 69.5 million share volumes changed hands in 18000 transactions.

Further, indices closed in the green as a result of price gains in counters, such as, Sampath Bank, Hatton National Bank and Commercial Bank.

It said high net worth and institutional investor participation was noted in Sampath Bank, JAT Holdings, and Hemas Holdings. Mixed interest was observed in Sri Lanka Telecom, Aitken Spence and Melstacorp, while retail interest was noted in Amana Bank, SMB Leasing voting & nonvoting and Browns Investments.

The Capital Goods sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to Hemas Holdings and Aitken Spence) while the sector index gained 0.25 per cent. The share price of Hemas Holdings increased by Rs. 1.40 (2.24 per cent) to Rs. 64. The share price of Aitken Spence gained by 50 cents to reach Rs. 150.

The banking sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to Sampath Bank), while the sector index increased by 8.00 per cent. The share price of Sampath Bank gained Rs. 4.80 (10.86 per cent) to reach Rs. 49.00.

Sri Lanka Telecom and Melstacorp were also included among the top turnover contributors. The share price of Sri Lanka Telecom moved up by Rs. 7.70 (10.74 per cent) to Rs. 79.40. The share price of Melstacorp appreciated by 1 rupee to Rs. 58.10.

Separately, Nestle Lanka announced its first and final dividends of Rs. 55 and Rs. 75 per share respectively.

Yesterday, the Central Bank’s US dollar buying rate was Rs 359.97 and the selling rate Rs 369.31.

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Business

Ceylinco Life agent among three global finalists for award

Published

11 hours ago

2026/09/27

Thilina Walpola

Ceylinco Life’s Ambalantota branch agent AIP Manjula

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.

Business

CEAT Kelani retains AA+ rating for sixth year

Published

11 hours ago

2026/09/27

Thilina Walpola

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.

Business

SLT-MOBITEL Enterprise launches Premium Cloud

Published

11 hours ago

2026/09/27

Thilina Walpola

Riyaaz Rasheed, CEO, SLT-MOBITEL, and Faiz Shakir, VP Sales – Nutanix, Southern Asia, unveil SLT-MOBITEL Enterprise Premium Cloud Powered by Nutanix to support enterprise digital transformation

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.