Ranul Seneviratne

⚖️🎹

Richmond || Galle

[Market News🇱🇰 @MarketNewsLK]

Sri Lanka’s Primary Surplus Shows Strong Growth in Q1 2026 🚀

🏛️ The government has delivered a solid performance in its underlying fiscal operations with a steadily rising primary surplus:

● January 2026: Rs.223 billion
● February 2026: Rs.545 billion
● March 2026: Rs.710 billion

📖 The primary surplus is government revenue minus spending excluding interest payments on debt.

🌟 This consistent improvement highlights better revenue collection and spending discipline — a positive development for long-term debt sustainability.

#SriLanka #government #economy

[Market News🇱🇰 @MarketNewsLK]

Sri Lanka's Fuel Import Bill to Drop Sharply: Major Relief for the Rupee Incoming 💵🛢️

CPC Chairman announced a significant reduction in fuel import costs by July, which will ease pressure on the Rupee

Here's the clear breakdown: -

💵 May 2026: USD 520 million (spiked due to 11 shipments procured in April due to refinery shortages, including extra diesel for power generation amid drought and high demand)

💵 June 2026: Reduced to USD 318 million

💵 July 2026: Will gurther reduce to USD 198 million (returning to normal monthly levels of ~5 shipments)

🌟 Positive Outlook: Lower fuel import bills in June and July will significantly reduce pressure on foreign reserves and help stabilize the Sri Lankan Rupee. This gradual normalization brings welcome relief to the economy. 💰⚡

#SriLanka #fuel #Rupee

[Ranul Seneviratne @ranuldl]

Tragedy

[Ranga Sirilal @rangaba]

A fire at an elderly home in Milleniya, Batagoda, has killed at least five residents and left six missing. Forty-four were rescued, some hospitalised with smoke inhalation.

[Sri Lanka Tweet 🇱🇰 @SriLankaTweet]

Tragedy 😢
Eleven persons reported missing, 7 admitted to hospital and 44 others rescued after a fire breaks out in an elders' home at Batagoda, Horana - Police

[Ranga Sirilal @rangaba]

Sri Lanka has taken delivery of 10 used TH-57 Sea Ranger helicopters gifted by the US Navy, which has replaced these 1968-vintage aircraft with newer TH-73 Thrashers. Until the end of the Tamil separatist war, the US maintained an arms embargo, even refusing helicopter spares.

[Ranga Sirilal @rangaba]

Sri Lanka rupee has recovered some of its lost ground. The depreciation against the US$ so far this year is 5.4%, according to the @CBSL At one stage in May, it had deteriorated by over 7.2%

[Market News🇱🇰 @MarketNewsLK]

SriLankan Airlines Set for Public-Private Partnership 🇱🇰✈️

🛩️ Government decides to operate the national carrier under a PPP model

🛩️ Taxpayers can no longer bear the burden — Rs.30 billion needed annually until 2030 (Total Rs.90 billion)

🛩️ Private investment to be invited under joint ownership

🛩️ Government to retain strategic control for national emergencies & disaster relief
-Aviation Minister

#SriLanka #SriLankan #PPP

[Visegrád 24 @visegrad24]

BREAKING:

Massive explosion by Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket on a launchpad in Cape Canaveral, Florida

Major setback for Jeff Bezos

[Market News🇱🇰 @MarketNewsLK]

#IMF Board approves combined 5th and 6th reviews — #SriLanka gains immediate access to approx US$ 700 million

[The Lincoln Project @ProjectLincoln]

"If you want $3 gas, you're going to have to wait 6 years. We will not get back down to that sub-$70 oil level until 2032"

[Tharindu Wijeratna @TharinduWx]

No major customs administration uses live market rates for duty calculation. Weekly is the norm (US, Singapore). The UK goes further with a monthly fix.

Here’s how:

Singapore Customs fixes rates weekly, using the preceding week’s average MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore, the CBSL equivalent) exchange rates as the basis for the current week’s duty calculations.

In the UK, HMRC fixes rates monthly, publishing a rate on the penultimate Thursday of each month that applies to the entire following calendar month.

In the US, CBP publishes a weekly exchange rate, but the underlying legal framework is quarterly-based, with a daily override trigger.

If the certified daily rate differs by 5% or more from the quarterly rate, the daily rate applies instead. 🎯

[Tharindu Wijeratna @TharinduWx]

Today’s CBSL USD rate has fallen to LKR 328, but the Customs is calculating duties at LKR 353 this week.

Here’s why that’s actually by design.

Customs publishes exchange rates for the calculation of duties and other levies through a gazette notification.

When gazetted, that rate is fixed for the entire week. It does not move with the daily CBSL rate.

This is not an oversight. It is to maintain predictability, which is a fundamental requirement in international trade.

If an importer plans a shipment, budgets for the duty, and the rate increases overnight, they may end up paying a higher duty than they anticipated. The weekly fix removes that uncertainty.

This week, however, the gap is unusually wide. The mechanism was not built for a single-day fall of this magnitude.

[Market News🇱🇰 @MarketNewsLK]

Stellar Earnings Report by Lanka Ashok Layland (ASHO)✨

Net profit for MAR-2026-Q jumped 91% Y-O-Y and 65% Q-O-Q to Rs.1,178 million. Total revenue surged 87% Y-O-Y and 59% Q-O-Q

MAR-2026-Q EPS: 325.24
⬆️ 91% Y-O-Y
⬆️ 65% Q-O-Q

🔥 Annualised PER: 2.18
🔥 TTM PER: 3.36

[Market News🇱🇰 @MarketNewsLK]

#SriLanka’s April Exports Climb 6% YoY to $1.38 Billion

Total export earnings reached $1.38 billion in April, marking a solid 6% increase compared to the same month last year.

👚 Merchandise exports rose strongly by 9.87% to $1.06 billion.

👩🏻‍💻 Services exports contributed an estimated $317 million, reflecting a ~6% decline year-on-year.

A robust performance in goods exports helped drive overall growth despite softer services.

[Numbers.lk @numberslka]

How the SL 🇱🇰 Government Manufactured a Dollar Crisis

⭕ Sri Lanka imposed a temporary 50% surcharge on vehicle Customs Import Duty from May 16, for 3 months.

⭕ The LC opening numbers revealed by Dr. Anil Jayantha:

May 07: USD 2.6 million
May 08: USD 4.6 million
May 11: USD 3.8 million
May 12: USD 4.28 million
May 13: USD 8.36 million
May 14: USD 11 million
May 15: USD 23 million
May 18: USD 17 million

⭕ The government’s intention was to delay vehicle imports by making them more expensive for three months. But the market reacted in the opposite direction.

⭕ Instead of waiting, importers rushed to open LCs. This panic response increased demand for dollars, added more pressure on foreign exchange, and further weakened the rupee.

⭕ This is the problem with shallow policy decisions. A tax or surcharge may look correct on paper, but markets do not always behave the way policymakers expect.

⭕ When secondary effects are ignored, the policy can backfire. In this case, the attempt to reduce immediate pressure may have created even more pressure in the short term.

⭕ This is becoming a repeated weakness in the NPP government’s decision-making process. Policies are announced with good intentions, but without properly considering market dynamics, behavioural responses, and long-term consequences.

⭕ Commercial banks in Sri Lanka are quoting the US dollar selling rate at Rs. 354 today.

#SriLanka

[Ranul Seneviratne @ranuldl]

Insider trading 😪

[Azzam Ameen @AzzamAmeen]

In just 3 days, the US Dollar TT selling rate has jumped from Rs. 334.27 to Rs. 354.04 — up nearly Rs. 20.

What’s happening to the Sri Lankan Rupee? 📉🇱🇰

[Mario Nawfal @MarioNawfal]

🇦🇷🇩🇪 Argentina just signed its first ever long-term LNG export deal, and Germany is the buyer.

2 million tons a year, 8 years, worth at least $7 billion and potentially $20 billion depending on prices and full project scope.

Gas flows, gets liquefied offshore, and starts shipping to Germany in 2027.

The funniest part? In December 2024, during Germany’s election campaign, Merz said Milei was “ruining the country and trampling on people.”

Source: Bloomberg

[Numbers.lk @numberslka]

Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 Gov Launches Long distance bus Booking Service: Fee Rs. 30

⭕ Sri Lanka has launched a government-backed online seat booking pilot for long-distance buses.

⭕ The system is run through https://t.co/NpEutRrD2c under the Transport Ministry and SLT.

⭕ It starts with private bus operators at selected hubs, including Makumbura, Galle and Kandy.

⭕ Passengers can book online or call 0112001266.

⭕ Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 already has several private online bus ticket booking services, but their booking fees are much higher than Rs. 30.

#SriLanka #Transport

[Numbers.lk @numberslka]

DOES SRI LANKA 🇱🇰 CHANGE VAT FROM 18% TO 20.5%?

⭕ Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 has NOT changed the general VAT (Value Added Tax) rate from 18% to 20.5%. The standard VAT on goods and services remains at 18%.

⭕ The 20.5% rate applies only to financial services, not to everyday consumer goods or general services.

⭕ Earlier tax structure on financial services included:
• VAT: 18%
• Social Security Contribution Levy (SSCL): 2.5%

⭕ The new system combines VAT and SSCL into a single 20.5% rate.

#SriLanka #VATAmendment

[Market News🇱🇰 @MarketNewsLK]

#SriLanka's Ministry of Transport Bus Fleet Upgrade Pipeline

🚍 200 new luxury buses (tender ongoing) for expressway & long-distance

🚍 Part of broader 600-bus plan (Rs.3.6 billion allocation)

🚍 100+ low-floor accessible buses for Colombo urban routes

Improved comfort and reliability incoming