HSBC Group MD Visits Sri Lanka To Offer Support | EconomyNext

An Echelon Media Company Tuesday January 6th, 2026

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Banking HSBC Group MD visits Sri Lanka to offer support Surendra Rosha with Mark Surgenor, CEO HSBC Sri Lanka and Maldives together with several senior management of the bank

Sunday June 19, 2022 1:56 pm

Sunday June 19, 2022 1:56 pm

ECONOMYNEXT – HSBC’s group managing director Surendra Rosha had visited Sri Lanka and met Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe and Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardena, and discussed ways to support the country, the bank said.

Rosha had met with key clients of the bank and discussed their challenges and how the bank is equipped to support the customers during the ongoing crisis.

Sri Lanka is currently grappling with a severe currency crisis and is planning a debt restructure and an International Monetary Fund-assisted stabilization and recovery program.

During his visit, he had also opened HSBC’s newly refurbished Primeir Centre at Union Place.

With the new improvements, HSBC hopes to provide customers with an inclusive banking service and attract potential new customers with its Premier banking proposition and worldwide banking services, within the business hub of Colombo. (Colombo/June 19/2022)

Construction and Real Estate Sri Lanka Police to get 350 Harbour View apartments

Tuesday January 6, 2026 6:07 pm

Tuesday January 6, 2026 6:07 pm

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved the purchase of 350 housing units from the Harbour View Residencies built by the Urban Development Authority, for Police officers, minister Nalinda Jayatissa said.

“The Cabinet approved the proposal to purchase 350 housing units for the Sri Lanka Police and to have adequate parking facilities constructed for those by the UDA, to provide housing to officers serving in the police divisions in Colombo and its suburbs,” Jayatissa told reporters.

The UDA’s Harbour View Residencies housing project, consisting of 14 floors with 452 housing units, at Cyril C Perera Mawatha, Colombo 13, was built to provide housing to government and semi-government officers. (Colombo/Jan6/2025)

Continue Reading Tourism Sri Lanka to conduct ‘leakage survey’ to determine accurate tourism revenue

Tuesday January 6, 2026 5:52 pm

Tuesday January 6, 2026 5:52 pm

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) will start a leakage survey towards the end of this month to determine the accurate revenue from tourism, its chairman said.

After the latest survey conducted early this year, the SLTDA has revised down per day spending from foreign visitor to US$148 from the early US$171 decided through a survey a decade ago.

“There will be another survey coming up at the end of this month, the leakage survey,” Buddhika Hewawasam, the SLTDA Chairman told reporters on Monday at a media briefing held in Colombo.

The survey is to determine how many dollars remaining in Sri Lanka out of 148 dollars, he said.

In the tourism sector, leakage refers to the portion of money spent by tourists that leaves the host country’s economy instead of circulating locally.

This happens through mechanisms like imports of food and drinks for foreigners, repatriation of profits by foreign-owned hotels or airlines, foreign worker remittances, and overseas marketing costs.

While some leakage is inevitable in any open economy, it can be alarmingly high, which means only a fraction of tourism revenue benefits local communities, jobs, and development.

A leakage survey is a systematic that measures the extent of outflow, often through data on supply chains, ownership structures, import dependencies, and expenditure patterns.

For countries reliant on tourism, especially developing or island nations, conducting these surveys is crucial for accurate assessment of true economic benefits, formulating policies to reduce leakage, promote sustainable and equitable development, enhancing competitiveness and resilience, as well as support responsible tourism goals. (Colombo/January 06/2026)

Continue Reading Bonds & Forex Sri Lanka rupee depreciated below 310 to US dollar

Tuesday January 6, 2026 5:21 pm

Tuesday January 6, 2026 5:21 pm

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s rupee closed at 310.00/10 to the US dollar in the spot market Tuesday, weaker from 309.75/85 the previous day, dealers said, while bond yields edged up on the short end and remained steady across the rest of the yield curve.

Analysts have warned the central bank not to push the rupee down by over-purchasing dollars above its deflationary policy which will eventually push up energy and food costs, even when US monetary policy is relatively benign.

When the central bank buys dollars at 310 to the US the market is signalled to push the rupee down, analysts say.

Unlike other buyers like the Treasury or ordinary importers, central bank purchases create new money and the rupee stays down from heavily one sided purchases.

To stop the new rupees from boomeranging on the forex markets, the rupee have to be extinguished, sterilized through deflationary policy.

The central bank has busted the rupee from 4.77 to 310 to the US dollar escaping accountability, especially after 1980.

A bond maturing on 15.12.2026 closed flat at 8.50/60 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.09.2027 closed at 9.00/05 percent, up from 8.95/9.05 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.12.2028 closed at 9.20/30 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.12.2029 closed at 9.70/73 percent, down from 9.73/75 percent.

A bond maturing on 01.07.2030 closed at 9.77/80 percent, down from 9.77/81 percent.

A bond maturing on 01.10.2032 closed at 10.30/40 percent.

The rupee has weakened from 293.25/75 to the US dollar last year, amid record current account surpluses and improvement in budget, denying the usual scapegoats macro-economists point to after depreciating currencies. (Colombo/Jan6/2026)

Continue Reading General Services Sri Lanka awards licence plate tender to South Asian Technologies

Tuesday January 6, 2026 5:14 pm

Tuesday January 6, 2026 5:14 pm

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s cabinet of ministers has approved a proposal to award the procurement of printing and supply of vehicle number plates to M/s South Asian Technologies (Pvt) Ltd, minister Nalinda Jayatissa said.

Sri Lanka’s vehicle registration system has been in crisis for months, with delays by the country’s Department of Motor Traffic in providing plates.

In 2025, the country lifted import controls on vehicles leading to an influx of new vehicles. But a shortage of plates saw most of the brand new vehicles on the roads with paper signs.

Four bids were submitted for the printing and supply of vehicle number plates to the Department of Motor Transport, Jayatissa told reporters.

“Cabinet approved the proposal to award the procurement of printing and supply of vehicle number plates to the Department of Motor Traffic for a period of 05 years to M/s South Asian Technologies (Pvt) Ltd.” (Colombo/Jan6/2025)

Continue Reading Economy Fixing Sri Lanka’s cyclone hit railway tracks to cost over US$330mn : Deputy Minister

Tuesday January 6, 2026 4:59 pm

Tuesday January 6, 2026 4:59 pm

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka will have to spend more than 350 million dollars to re-build railway tracks damaged by Cyclone Ditwah, Deputy Minister of Transport Prasanna Gunasena said.

Upcountry tracks were the most severely damaged while the Northern and Southern coastal tracks were the least affected.

The Rambukkana to Kadugannawa track is estimated to cost 74 million dollars Deputy Minister Gunasena said in comments broadcast over Sri Lanka’s Derana television.

The Nanu Oya to Badulla track, one of the most severely affected lines, was estimated to cost around 127 million dollars, to his recollection.

Re-building the Gampola to Nawalapitiya track was estimated at 35 million dollars

Kotawella to Nanuoya track was estimated at 68 million dollars.

The Kadugannawa to Peradeniya section of the track is estimated to cost around 2 million dollars.

Replacing a Colonial-era bridge Peradeniya in Kandy, popularly known as the ‘Yaka Palama, with a double-tracked bridge would cost at least 18 million dollars.

The Northern track between Mahawa and Kankesanthurai is expected to cost around 4 to 5 million dollars.

The Batticaloa line would also add to the cost, he said.

“We have we spend a huge amount of money to bring the Department of Railways back to what it was before Cyclone Ditwah,” Gunasena said.

“But we will be in a better position. The tracks will be new with newer technology. So there will be an improvement.

Rockfalls and landslides from Cyclone Ditwah had damaged tracks in 91 places with 73 bridges and 38 smaller culverts also hit, officials had said earlier.

RELATED:

Cyclone Ditwah damages Sri Lanka railway track in 91 places, 73 bridges : Deputy Minister

Sri Lanka railway tracks ‘left hanging’ by Cyclone Ditwah : GM

The railway track was ‘hanging’ in 15 places with the ground disappearing from under the tracks, General Manager of Railways Ravindra Padmapriya had said immediately after the cycloine, with only a third of the track operable immediately after the cyclone.

RELATED : Sri Lanka budget deficit to rise 1.4-pct in 2026 on Cyclone spending

Sri Lanka has increased capital spending by 1 percent of gross domestic product to 2 percent in 2026 in a revised budget for Cyclone Ditwah related damages. (Colombo/Jan06/2026)

Continue Reading Markets Sri Lanka stocks close up; S&P SL20 reaches 6-week high

Tuesday January 6, 2026 4:56 pm

Tuesday January 6, 2026 4:56 pm

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) continued to see positive investor sentiment on banking shares and selected capital goods, with these sectors contributing to the All Share Price Index gaining 1.21 percent, or 278.16 points to close up at 23,292.91. 

The more liquid S&P SL20 index gained 2.19 percent to close at a six week high of 6,379.11 on Tuesday. The index surpassed the 6,364.61 mark on November 21, data on its site showed.

The top contributors to the ASPI on Tuesday were HNB (up 17.50 rupees at 417.50), Commercial Bank (up 5.25 rupees at 212.50), John Keells (up 50 cents at 22.10 rupees), NDB (up 6 rupees at 147), and Sampath Bank (up 2.75 rupees at 151.25).

Commercial Bank, John Keells, Laugh Gas and Sanasa Development Bank recorded crossings.

The All Share Total Return Index (ASTRI) rose 2.96 percent while the S&P SL20 Total Return Index increased to 3.35 percent in the session.

Market turnover rose to 6.5 billion rupees from the previous session’s 5.7 billion rupees.

Share volume stood at 154,747,777 with 42,361 trades recorded in the session.

The exchange recorded 87 million rupees in net foreign outflow led by Digital Mobility Solutions (Lanka) (21 million rupees).

Lanka IOC revised its fuel prices from 6 January following the fuel price raise by the state run Ceypetco. The stock rose 1.75 rupees to close at 132.

Read more

Sri Lanka hikes diesel, premium fuel from January 2026

In Asia, equity markets rallied amidst the US kidnapping of the Venezuelan president.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 benchmark index topped its all time high record on Tuesday with the positive momentum seen in blue chip counters and across the board, Japan’s Mainichi newspaper said. The index closed 1.32 percent higher from Monday at 52,518.08.

India’s Nifty 50 was trading 0.28 percent lower at 26,175.60 while the Sensex index was 0.44 percent weaker at 85,063.34.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Karachi Stock Exchange 100 index was trading 1.45 percent up at 185,062.10 at close.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended 1.38 percent stronger at 26,710.45.

Singapore’s benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) climbed 0.27 percent or 59.47 points to close at 4,739.970.

As at 4.20 pm Sri Lankan time, spot gold was trading at 4,455.30 US dollars, up 0.46 percent. (Colombo/Jan06/2026)

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