Foreign purchases from Singapore rose from Rs. 2.6 billion in the year before the 2025 Invest Sri Lanka Forum to Rs. 7.7 billion in the year after. The increase is encouraging, but the bigger question is whether Sri Lanka can turn investor engagement into sustained participation.
The Satynmag Women-Friendly Workplace Awards 2026 concluded on 21 August in Colombo, recognising 31 organisations alongside the She Wins and She Grows honours for progress in women’s careers and workplace innovation.
Sri Lanka welcomed almost as many tourists in July 2026 as a year earlier, but tourism earnings remained noticeably lower. The next stage of recovery may depend less on arrival numbers and more on who visits, how long they stay and how much value the economy captures from each trip.
The EU–India FTA has not yet entered into force, giving Sri Lanka a valuable preparation window. The real challenge is not losing EU access, but protecting competitiveness as Indian exporters gain stronger tariff advantages.
Sri Lanka is moving towards attracting investors for Mannar Basin gas development. The resource could improve energy security, but success depends on commercial viability, environmental safeguards and ensuring gas supports rather than delays the renewable transition.
Sri Lanka currently shares a 10% US Section 301 tariff with several apparel competitors. But Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia have been promised a pathway to Section 301-free quotas that Sri Lanka does not currently have.
Hela Apparel raised billions through an IPO and rights issue, secured international development financing and repeatedly restructured debt. Four years after listing, it says it can no longer pay its debts. What happened between growth and the balance sheet?
Sri Lankan banks are expanding credit while facing higher operating costs, cyber risks and rapidly changing technology. A recent Asian Business Review commentary offers a useful framework for transforming without weakening trust or resilience.
Sri Lankan consumers may be spending more, but that does not necessarily mean they are buying more. Inflation, essential costs, credit growth and uneven income recovery are reshaping demand, and businesses must read the signals carefully.
Islamic finance has grown into a US$4.4 trillion global industry. Sri Lanka already has an enabling banking framework, Islamic financial institutions and a listed sukuk market, but greater scale requires stronger regulation, awareness and investable projects.
