Sri Lanka’s Industrial Asphalts sells 48.03-pct stake to Arcasia, ATX

Wednesday July 8, 2026 11:43 am ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Industrial Asphalts (Ceylon) has sold 1,800,693,010 shares, representing a controlling 48.03 percent stake, to Arcasia Investment & Trading and ATX Partners. The shares were held by its Executive Director Govindasamy Rama…

Wednesday July 8, 2026 11:43 am

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Industrial Asphalts (Ceylon) has sold 1,800,693,010 shares, representing a controlling 48.03 percent stake, to Arcasia Investment & Trading and ATX Partners. The shares were held by its Executive Director Govindasamy Ramanan. The agreement was struck on July 7 according to a market filing. Arcasia and ATX are also shareholders of Ambeon Capital, having acquired a 11.97 percent stake in 2024. Industrial Asphalts trading was halted till 11.00 am on Wednesday amidst the announcement, with the stock trading last at 50 cents. (Colombo/July08/2026)

Wednesday July 8, 2026 12:00 pm

ECONOMYNEXT — Sri Lanka will expand its Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) to cover an additional 1,500 fishing vessels in a bid to curb illegal activities, including drug trafficking, human smuggling, and unregulated fishing, minister Nalinda Jayatissa said. The Cabinet this week approved the proposal to mandate monitoring systems for these remaining vessels, with the government bearing the installation costs, he said. Currently, out of 5,200 registered multi-day fishing vessels in Sri Lanka, 4,200 are fitted with VMS equipment funded by an Australian government grant. While vessels registered after January 2021 must legally self-fund the equipment, approximately 1,500 older multi-day and one-day vessels continue to operate in domestic and international waters without tracking. Officials noted that 400 of these untracked vessels exceed 34 feet in length and are banned from international waters, raising concerns they could be repurposed for illicit activities. The remaining 1,100 lack the engine and fuel capacity for extended sea travel but still lack surveillance. Jayatissa said that while specific vessels are not predetermined as threats, law enforcement acts on targeted intelligence. “The situation is not that a specific predetermined portion out of all existing vessels is known to be engaging in such activities; rather, a number of arrests are made based on information received,” Jayatissa said. Comprehensive tracking would streamline maritime security and law enforcement coordination, he told reporters. “Through the process we are currently implementing, it will provide ease and facilitation for both the Department of Fisheries and the Police to carry out these operations,” Jayatissa said. The expansion aligns with rules set by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, which mandates continuous monitoring for all vessels operating in international waters. (Colombo/July 08/2026)

Wednesday July 8, 2026 11:33 am

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Colombo Stock Exchange was down during Wednesday midday trading, CSE data showed, with the benchmark All Share Price Index moving down 0.64 percent. The ASPI was down 141.27 points at 21,821, while the more liquid S&P SL20 was down 0.54 percent, or 33.08 points, at 6,102. Positive contributors to the ASPI were Hatton National Bank (up 0.63 percent at 397.75 rupees) and Richard Pieris and Company (up 2.69 percent at 30.50 rupees). LB Finance (down 0.15 percent at 166.00 rupees), Melstacorp (down 1.06 percent at 187.00 rupees), Dialog Axiata (down 1.79 percent at 43.80 rupees), Sampath Bank (down 0.53 percent at 140.75 rupees), and Hayleys (down 0.95 percent at 235.00 rupees) were top negative contributors. Market turnover was 536 million rupees. Capital goods led turnover with 70.7 million rupees. Nations Trust Bank said its Basel III compliant, Tier 2, listed, rated, unsecured, subordinated, redeemable debentures with a non-viability conversion feature will be listed on July 8. The debentures include 5-year, 7-year, and 10-year tranches with fixed annual coupon rates of 13.75 percent, 13.85 percent, and 13.95 percent respectively. NTB stock was trading down 0.16 percent, at Rs.313.75. (Colombo/July08/2026)

Wednesday July 8, 2026 11:31 am

ECONOMYNEXT — Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved a proposal to seek parliamentary approval for new import and export regulations aimed at protecting local industrialists and tightening tracking on prepayment-based international trade, minister Nalinda Jayatissa said. Goods imported under the prepayment system must arrive in Sri Lanka within 180, 365, or 730 days of payment. In March, Cabinet approved to make it mandatory to obtain an export control license for scrap metal products, various metal replicas and metal scraps to prevent illegal export of such goods. To give effect to the decision, the government published the Import and Export (Control) Regulations No. 05 of 2026 has been published in the extraordinary gazette notification No. 2493/03 of 15.06.2026. In addition, the Import and Export (Control) Regulations No. 06 of 2026 was also published by extraordinary gazette notification No. 2493/39 dated 18.06.2026, amending the Special Import License and Payment Regulations to introduce new provisions to ensure that goods imported under the prepayment system, which is an approved payment system for international trade, are brought to Sri Lanka within the prescribed period of 180, 365 or 730 days from the date of payment. These gazetted regulations will now be submitted to parliament for approval. (Colombo/July 08/2026)

Wednesday July 8, 2026 10:28 am

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s rupee was quoted at 335.50/90 to the US dollar in the spot market on Wednesday, weaker from 334.75/85 the previous day, while bond yields were up, dealers said. The telegraphic transfer rate for Sri Lanka’s rupee against the US dollar was 374.4884 buying, 339.50 selling; the euro was 374.4884 selling, 388.4054 buying; and the pound was 440.2500 buying, 454.2956 selling. A bond maturing on 15.12.2029 was quoted at 11.00/08 percent, up from 10.95/11.05 percent. A bond maturing on 15.03.2030 was quoted at 11.10/15 percent. A bond maturing on 01.08.2030 was quoted at 11.25/35 percent, up from 11.25/30 percent. A bond maturing on 15.10.2030 was quoted at 11.35/40 percent, up from 11.28/30 percent. A bond maturing on 15.12.2032 was quoted at 11.60/65 percent, up from 11.57/65 percent. A bond maturing on 01.11.2033 was quoted at 11.65/75 percent, up from 11.60/70 percent. Rs 100,000 million Treasury bills are to be issued through an auction on 8 July. (Colombo/Jul7/2026)

Wednesday July 8, 2026 9:59 am

ECONOMYNEXT — Sri Lanka’s prison system is facing severe overcrowding because of the government’s Ratama Ekata anti-drugs programme, with the inmate population nearly quadrupling its official capacity, minister Nalinda Jayatissa has said. The prison population has surged to 41,000, exceeding the system’s capacity of 11,000 inmates, he told reporters, in a sharp escalation from September 2024, when the prison population stood close to 28,000. “In prisons that can only accommodate 11,000 inmates, there was a population close to 28,000 by September 2024,” Jayatissa said. “Recently, due to the nationwide drug eradication operations being implemented and arrests being made while enforcing the law, this number has escalated further to 41,000 as of today.” To ease this infrastructure strain, a new detention facility is set to be established in the Mahamodara area of Galle. According to an Extraordinary Gazette notification issued under the powers granted by Section 2 of the Prisons Ordinance (Chapter 54), the facility will be officially designated as the “Mahamodara Prison,” holding country-wide jurisdiction. The order was signed by Minister of Justice Harshana Nanayakkara, in Colombo on July 7. While the new facility addresses physical space, the influx of inmates has also exacerbated systemic delays within the justice system, particularly due to a backlog in receiving forensic reports. Jayatissa noted that delays in getting Government Analyst reports have slowed down bail hearings and general court proceedings. The government has faced challenges addressing this, he said, including a lack of qualified applicants holding required chemistry degrees, though recruitment for the department is now moving forward. Meanwhile, the government is also expediting the recruitment of additional prison officers to manage the staff shortages plaguing the correctional system. Legal ambiguities stemming from a 2022 law have also created bottlenecks in filing cases, as uncertainty remained over the correct jurisdiction for specific drug-related offences. To resolve this, the government is currently drafting legislative amendments to clearly demarcate court responsibilities based on the volume of narcotics involved. “Therefore, we are currently amending that law so that cases involving drugs generally exceeding 10g are referred to the High Court, and if the amount is below that, they are referred to other lower courts,” Jayatissa said. (Colombo/July 08/2026)

Tuesday July 7, 2026 5:59 pm

ECONOMYNEXT –The International Monetary Fund (IMF) held a special discussion with the officials of Sri Lanka’s State Revenue Administration Reform and Modernization Department (RARMB) at the President’s Office and conducted a review process on the revenue reforms, the President’s Office said in a statement. The discussion was attended by a team from the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department led by Andrew Kille, Revenue Administration Project Manager Cindy Negus, IMF Resident Tax Advisor to Sri Lanka’s Inland Revenue Department Greg, Canadian senior advisor Bob Hamilton, and senior officials from the State Revenue Administration Reform and Modernization Department (RARMB). “The IMF representatives paid particular attention to plans for digital transformation projects, accelerating data integration, human resource and leadership development programmes, and sustainable strategies to broaden the tax base,” President’s Media Division (PMD) said in a statement. The discussion reviewed the reform process implemented over the past year under Sri Lanka’s Medium-Term Revenue Strategy (MTRS), covering the country’s tax system, customs procedures, excise administration and the overall public revenue framework, it said. “In this regard, the IMF delegation also held separate discussions with senior officials of the Inland Revenue Department, the Ministry of Finance, Sri Lanka Customs and the Department of Excise.” “The IMF also agreed to continue providing technical assistance and advisory support for the reform programme being implemented in relation to Sri Lanka Customs, the Inland Revenue Department and the Department of Excise.” The RARMB, established in 2025 under President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s government, aims to modernize public revenue collection, improve the efficiency of tax administration, implement legal and institutional reforms, and provide integrated management of the Inland Revenue Department, Sri Lanka Customs and the Department of Excise. “As part of the Inland Revenue Department’s reform programme, its branches have been reorganised into Medium Corporate, Metro and Regional Offices under a structured restructuring process. As a result, tax compliance has increased from 40–45% to 70–75%,” PMD said. It also said a new draft Bill to amend the Customs Ordinance has been prepared and submitted to the Legal Draftsman’s Department. “Further measures, including simplifying the tariff structure, introducing paperless processes and improving facilitation for exporters, are also scheduled for implementation.” “Meanwhile, under the Department of Excise reform programme, work is already under way to modernise the Department’s operations through the introduction of a new Excise Management System.” The PMD also said an integrated coordination mechanism has also been established between Sri Lanka Customs and the Inland Revenue Department under the RARMB. “This mechanism is intended to facilitate data sharing, integrated risk management, joint audits and verification of tax compliance by importers through a unified system.” (Colombo/July 07/2026)