Category: Daily Financial Times

Government securities markets play an important role in public debt management, monetary policy transmission, and financial market stability, particularly in emerging and developing economies. Treasury bills constitute a key source of short-term financing for Governments and serve as a benchmark for risk-free interest rates in domestic financial markets. The performance of Treasury bill markets, reflected through yield movements, auction participation, and maturity composition, offers valuable insights into prevailing monetary conditions, investor expectations, and Government borrowing strategies.

In periods of economic adjustment or transition, Treasury bill markets often undergo notable changes in pricing and issuance patterns. Variations in macroeconomic conditions, liquidity levels, fiscal financing needs, and market sentiment can lead to differences in yield behavior and auction outcomes over time. Comparing market performance across distinct time periods therefore provides an important means of understanding how Treasury bill markets evolve under differing economic and financial environments, without necessarily attributing these changes to specific causal factors.

Sri Lanka’s Treasury bill market presents a useful setting for such an analysis, following a period of severe macroeconomic instability, debt distress, and heightened market uncertainty, the country entered a new policy and governance phase with the formation of a new Government in late 2024. Against this background, the present study undertakes a comparative analysis of Sri Lanka’s Treasury bill market across two distinct one-year periods: Period 1 (November 2023 – October 2024), which represents the pre regime change phase, and Period 2 (November 2024 – October 2025), which corresponds to the post regime change phase. By examining changes in yield levels, accepted amounts, and maturity-wise auction outcomes for 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day Treasury bills, the study aims to document and compare key market characteristics across these periods. The analysis is descriptive and comparative in nature, focusing on identifying differences and patterns rather than establishing causal relationships.

While existing literature extensively examines the determinants of Government securities yields and debt issuance behavior, much of this research focuses on long-term Government bonds, cross-country analyses, or the role of specific macroeconomic variables. Relatively fewer studies conduct detailed comparative analyses of short-term Treasury bill markets within a single country across different time periods using auction-level data. Moreover, studies focusing on South Asian economies, particularly Sri Lanka, remain limited in number, despite the importance of domestic debt markets in these economies.

This lack of period-based, auction-level comparative evidence represents an important research gap. Understanding how Treasury bill market outcomes differ across distinct periods can enhance understanding of market behavior, debt issuance patterns, and maturity preferences over time. Such evidence is valuable for policymakers, debt managers, and market participants seeking to assess market performance and identify structural developments in domestic Government securities markets.

2.1 Government Securities market and the role of Treasury bills

The Government Securities market in Sri Lanka serves as a key mechanism for raising domestic debt to meet the Government’s short-term and long-term financing requirements. This market comprises Treasury bills and Treasury bonds, where Treasury bonds are medium- to long-term debt instruments, while Treasury bills represent short-term Government securities. Treasury bills are issued under the Local Treasury Bills Ordinance No. 8 of 1923, whereas Treasury bonds are issued under the Registered Stock and Securities Ordinance No. 7 of 1937. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), acting as the agent of the Government of Sri Lanka, is responsible for the issuance, settlement, and servicing of these Government securities (CBSL, 2025).

Treasury bills play a particularly important role in the domestic money market by providing a short-term financing avenue for the Government and a low-risk investment option for market participants. Treasury bills in Sri Lanka are short-term debt instruments issued with standard maturities of 91 days, 182 days, and 364 days. They are typically issued at a discount and redeemed at face value upon maturity, with the return to investors arising from the difference between the issue price and the face value. Treasury bills are highly liquid instruments and are actively traded in the secondary market (CBSL, 2025).

These studies provides a comparative analysis of Sri Lanka’s Treasury bill market across two distinct periods, pre and post the regime change, focusing on yield behavior, auction activity, and maturity-specific acceptance patterns. The findings reveal significant shifts in both market dynamics and Government borrowing strategy following the regime change

The Treasury bill market constitutes a core segment of the domestic money market, and movements in Treasury bill yields serve as a benchmark for short-term interest rates in the economy. As a result, changes in Treasury bill rates directly influence the pricing of short-term credit, the cost of funds for financial institutions, and overall liquidity conditions within the financial system (CBSL, 2025). Furthermore, Treasury bills are accepted as eligible collateral by the CBSL under its open market operations, reinforcing their significance in monetary policy implementation.

Treasury bills are widely regarded as default risk-free instruments due to the sovereign guarantee attached to their repayment. Financial institutions are encouraged by regulatory requirements to maintain significant exposure to such low-risk assets, thereby enhancing financial system stability. Treasury bills are issued in scripless form and recorded in the Central Depository System (CDS) of the CBSL, ensuring secure ownership registration and efficient settlement (CBSL, 2025).

Investors may purchase Treasury bills through the primary market via Primary Dealers or from the secondary market through licensed banks and Primary Dealers. These instruments offer high liquidity, tax advantages under prevailing laws, and full repatriation of interest and maturity proceeds for foreign investors, subject to applicable regulations (CBSL, 2025). Owing to these features, Treasury bills remain a cornerstone of short-term investment and liquidity management in Sri Lanka.

2.2 Treasury Bill yields

Treasury bill yields are widely used as indicators of short-term interest rates and monetary policy stance in an economy. As short-term, sovereign-backed instruments, Treasury bills are generally considered risk-free and therefore reflect the baseline cost of Government borrowing over short horizons. Existing literature documents that movements in Treasury bill yields are closely associated with changes in liquidity conditions, inflation expectations, policy interest rates, and overall market sentiment (Fabozzi, 2006; Mishkin, 2019).

Several studies highlight that short-term yields tend to respond more rapidly to changes in monetary policy compared to long-term Government bond yields, making Treasury bill rates particularly informative during periods of economic adjustment or policy transition. Variations in 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day Treasury bill yields may also capture shifts in investor expectations regarding near-term interest rate movements and macroeconomic stability (Gurkaynak, Sack, and Wright, 2007).

From a maturity perspective, yield differentials across Treasury bill tenors reflect the short end of the yield curve and provide insights into term preferences and expectations about future interest rate paths. A decline in yields across all short-term maturities is often interpreted as evidence of easing monetary conditions, improved confidence, or reduced risk premiums. Conversely, elevated or volatile yields may signal uncertainty, tight liquidity, or heightened fiscal financing pressures.

While much of the existing empirical literature focuses on the determinants of Government securities yields, fewer studies conduct descriptive comparisons of Treasury bill yield behavior across distinct time periods within a single market. Period-based analysis of Treasury bill yields can therefore contribute to understanding how short-term interest rate dynamics evolve under changing economic and policy environments, without explicitly modeling causal relationships.

2.3 Auction participation and bid volumes

Auction participation, typically measured through received bids, reflects investor demand and market appetite for Government securities. Higher bid volumes indicate strong demand, greater market confidence, and ample liquidity, whereas lower participation may suggest risk aversion, competing investment opportunities, or uncertainty regarding economic conditions (Bikhchandani and Huang, 1993).

The literature on Government securities auctions emphasises that bid-to-cover ratios and total bids received serve as important indicators of auction competitiveness and market depth. Changes in received bids over time can reveal shifts in investor behavior, particularly during periods of macroeconomic stress or policy realignment. Reduced bidding activity may also reflect strategic behavior by investors in response to expected interest rate movements or issuance policies.

In the context of Treasury bills, auction participation is especially sensitive to short-term liquidity conditions in the banking system, as financial institutions are major participants in primary auctions. Consequently, variations in bid volumes across periods may reflect changes in excess liquidity, regulatory requirements, or alternative short-term investment opportunities available to market participants.

2.4 Accepted amounts and issuance behaviour

Accepted amounts represent the volume of Treasury bills issued by the Government through the auction process and reflect both supply-side decisions and demand-side conditions. The literature notes that Governments actively manage accepted amounts to balance financing needs, cost considerations, and market absorption capacity (Missale, 2012).

A comparison of accepted amounts across periods can reveal changes in borrowing strategies, particularly during phases of fiscal consolidation or debt restructuring. Reductions in accepted volumes may indicate lower short-term financing requirements or deliberate efforts to limit issuance in response to favorable liquidity conditions. Conversely, higher accepted amounts often reflect increased funding needs or opportunistic borrowing during periods of strong demand.

Accepted amounts are also influenced by the central bank’s auction acceptance strategy, especially in systems where the central bank acts as the issuing agent. Changes in acceptance patterns may therefore reflect broader debt management objectives rather than purely market-driven outcomes.

2.5 Maturity structure of Treasury Bill issuance

The maturity composition of Treasury bill issuance is a critical aspect of public debt management. Existing literature emphasises that Governments strategically adjust maturity profiles to manage refinancing risk, interest cost risk, and rollover pressures (Broner, Lorenzoni, and Schmukler, 2013).

Short-term maturities, such as 91-day Treasury bills, provide flexibility and typically carry lower interest costs but expose the Government to higher rollover risk. Longer maturities, such as 364-day Treasury bills, reduce refinancing frequency and help stabilise debt servicing obligations, particularly during periods of declining interest rates.

Empirical studies suggest that shifts toward longer maturities often occur when Governments seek to lock in favorable borrowing costs or signal confidence in macroeconomic stability. Conversely, reliance on shorter maturities may increase during periods of uncertainty or constrained market access. Period-based analysis of maturity-wise accepted amounts can therefore shed light on evolving debt management strategies and market preferences over time.

2.6 Data source and sample

The analysis is based on secondary data obtained from CBSL website and employs statistical summary measures to evaluate trends over time. The study utilises Treasury bill auction data covering the period from November 2023 to October 2025. The full dataset is divided into two sub-periods for comparison:

Period 1 Pre regime change phase: November 2023 – October 2024

Period 2 Post regime change phase: November 2024 – October 2025

The dataset includes auction-level information on yields and accepted amounts for 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day Treasury bills. All observations within the respective periods are included, ensuring comprehensive coverage of auction activity during each year.

2.7 Analytical technique

For each variable, mean values are calculated for both periods, followed by absolute and percentage changes. This approach allows for clear identification of directional shifts in yields, auction activity, and maturity preferences. Further, graphical analysis is conducted to identify trends, patterns, and fluctuations in the Treasury bill market across different maturities. Time-series plots are used to visualise yield movements and accepted amounts over the study periods, enabling a more intuitive understanding of market behavior and highlighting periods of volatility or stability. This combination of descriptive statistics and graphical representation provides a comprehensive analytical framework for the study.

2.8 Analysis of yield changes

Table 1 presents the comparative mean yields of 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day Treasury bills during the pre and post regime change phases, together with the absolute and percentage changes between the two phases.

As shown in Table 1 above, 91 Days Yield saw the largest percentage drop of -28.20%, moving from a mean of 10.98% to 7.89% (with minimum of 7.5% of minimum and 15.93 of maximum in both periods) while 182 Days Yield experienced a decline of -26.27%, from 11.07% to 8.16% (with minimum of 7.72% of minimum and 14.93 of maximum in both periods). Further, 364 Days Yield decreased by -21.97%, from 10.78% to 8.41% (with minimum of 7.94% of minimum and 13.02 of maximum in both periods).

Treasury bill yields across all maturities; 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day declined significantly during the post regime change phase. The sharpest reduction was observed in the 91-day yield, which fell by 28.20%, followed by 182-day and 364-day yields, which declined by 26.27% and 21.97%, respectively. This pronounced decrease in yields indicates a lower short-term interest rate environment, likely reflecting improved liquidity, reduced market risk sentiment, easing monetary conditions, and an overall more stable or improving economic outlook during the post regime change phase

The time-series movements of yields further illustrate these trends. Figure 1 below shows the behavior of 91-day Treasury bill yield, demonstrating a sustained downward movement during the post regime change phase relative to pre regime change phase. Similar patterns are evident in Figure 2 and Figure 3, which depict the time-series behavior of the 182-day and 364-day yields, respectively.

Overall, Treasury bill yields across all maturities declined sharply during the post regime change phase, reflecting a clear shift in the short-term interest rate environment. This pronounced downward movement is consistent with improved liquidity conditions, reduced market risk sentiment, and easing monetary conditions, pointing to a more stable or improving economic outlook. Further, this likely reflecting a more stable or improving economic outlook, leading to lower risk premiums and reduced borrowing costs for the Government.

2.9 Analysis of accepted amounts and Auction activities

Table 2 presents a comparative analysis of auction-level activity, including maturity totals, Central Bank offers, received bids, total accepted amounts (Phase I and II), and maturity-wise accepted amounts for both periods.

As represented by Table 2, across the board, auction activity declined in Offers, received bids, and accepted amounts during the post regime change phase. The decline in received bids signals reduced investor appetite for Treasury bills. The decline in Accepted values reflects either CBSL tightening acceptance criteria; or reduced market participation.

The accepted amounts show a mixed but highly informative pattern, indicating a strategic shift in the Government’s borrowing profile. Both the mean Maturity Total and Accepted (Phase I+II) decreased by -11.87% and -19.58%, respectively. This suggests a general reduction in the volume of Government Securities being issued or accepted during the auction process amounts during the post regime change phase.

The most dramatic changes are observed in the maturity-specific accepted amounts, where 91 days accepted saw a massive reduction of -54.54%, dropping from a mean of 58,141 to 26,432. This is the largest decrease among all metrics. 364 days accepted experienced a substantial increase of +46.90%, rising from a mean of 29,132 to 42,796. This is the only metric to show a significant positive change. 182 days accepted saw a moderate decrease of -18.08%.

The time-series figures further illustrate these developments. Figure 4 shows the overall trend in accepted amounts (Phase I + II), highlighting lower acceptance levels amounts during the post regime change phase. Figures 5 and 6 demonstrate the pronounced decline in accepted volumes for 91-day and 182-day Treasury bills, respectively. In contrast, Figure 7 shows a clear upward trend in accepted amounts for 364-day Treasury bills amounts during the post regime change phase.

This pattern strongly suggests a deliberate policy decision to shift the borrowing mix away from very short-term (3-month) instruments towards longer-term (12-month) instruments. This provide interpretations as short-term maturities (91 days and 182 days) saw major reductions in accepted volumes. Conversely, 364 days acceptances increased substantially indicating a market shift favoring longer maturity instruments, possibly due to improved confidence in economic stability, or strategic changes in the Government’s debt management approach. By increasing reliance on longer-term instruments in a lower interest rate environment, the Government appears to have reduced refinancing risk while securing more stable funding conditions.

These studies provides a comparative analysis of Sri Lanka’s Treasury bill market across two distinct periods, pre and post the regime change, focusing on yield behavior, auction activity, and maturity-specific acceptance patterns. The findings reveal significant shifts in both market dynamics and Government borrowing strategy following the regime change.

Firstly, Treasury bill yields across all maturities; 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day declined significantly during the post regime change phase. The sharpest reduction was observed in the 91-day yield, which fell by 28.20%, followed by 182-day and 364-day yields, which declined by 26.27% and 21.97%, respectively. This pronounced decrease in yields indicates a lower short-term interest rate environment, likely reflecting improved liquidity, reduced market risk sentiment, easing monetary conditions, and an overall more stable or improving economic outlook during the post regime change phase.

Secondly, the analysis of auction-level activity demonstrates a mixed but informative pattern in accepted amounts. While overall auction activity including maturity totals, CBSL offers, and total accepted amounts declined in the post-regime change phase, maturity-specific trends indicate a strategic shift in borrowing. The acceptance of 91-day and 182-day Treasury bills decreased sharply, particularly for the 91-day bills, which saw a 54.54% reduction. In contrast, 364-day Treasury bill acceptances increased substantially by 46.90%, indicating a clear preference for longer-term instruments in the post-regime change period.

Overall, the post-regime change phase reflects a transformed Treasury bill market characterised by lower yields, reduced short-term borrowing, and a shift toward longer-term instruments. These developments signal a positive adjustment in the Government’s debt management strategy, improved market confidence, and a more stable financial environment.

Hatch Fund Singapore has announced the completion of its first investment backing Cultive8, a fast-growing agri-technology startup with Sri Lankan roots and a rapidly expanding regional footprint.

Hatch is the centre of gravity for Sri Lanka’s startup and innovation ecosystem, combining co-working, incubation, mentorship, acceleration, partnerships, and venture funding to startups. This milestone investment reflects Hatch’s commitment to supporting high-potential early winners originating from South Asia and scaling them to

global markets.

Cultive8, formerly known in Sri Lanka as Agrithmics, is now headquartered in Singapore, with operational teams across Sri Lanka, India, and Bangladesh. The company is a well-established provider of automation, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), and fintech solutions for large and mid-size plantations and processing facilities across South Asia.

Its growing portfolio includes partnerships with leading enterprises across the telecommunications, agriculture, and industrial sectors, and it continues to expand its presence in India and Bangladesh. With exclusive focus on the agriculture-based industry, Cultive8 provides Artificial Intelligence of Things (AI/IoT) enabled technologies to solve challenges faced by this critical sector.

Cultive8 Founder and Group CEO Prashanth Premakumar said: ‘At Cultive8, we are passionate about what we build to elevate the plantation and agriculture sector in the region. With the investment from Hatch Global, we are excited to take this Sri Lankan tech to Asian markets and beyond. I strongly believe our continued efforts in R and D for the sector will provide direct impact for many critical challenges faced in the agricultural value chain.’

Through this transaction, Hatch Fund Singapore will invest approximately $ 650,000, streamlining parts of Cultive8’s cap table while injecting fresh growth capital to accelerate regional and international expansion. Beyond capital, Cultive8 will gain access to Hatch’s global accelerator platform, which supports early-stage companies through follow-on fundraising, strategic partnerships, and market entry. This includes access to markets such as Singapore, Japan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the US, where Hatch maintains a strong network and on-ground presence.

Hatch Fund Singapore is a $ 20 million early-stage fund focused on technology and technology-enabled startups emerging from South Asia.

Hatch Fund Co-Founder Jeevan Gnanam said: ‘The early signs of globally scaling startups from Sri Lanka are extremely encouraging. They reflect the strong tailwinds created by a stabilising macroeconomic environment post-crisis. Hatch Fund is uniquely positioned to identify and support these early winners as they transition from local success to global scale.’

Gnanam is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor with investments in over 30 startups and has played a key role in founding and scaling several leading technology and IT infrastructure ventures.

Focused on agri-tech, fintech, AI/machine learning (ML), blockchain, and med-tech, the Hatch Fund supports early-stage startups emerging from South Asia while leveraging partnerships in India, the UAE, and Singapore to unlock global markets. The Fund works closely with regional family offices and the global diaspora to help founders access international capital and scale faster.

This first investment marks a significant step in Hatch Fund’s journey and underscores its broader mission: to position Sri Lanka as a credible launchpad for globally relevant technology companies and to catalyse the next generation of regional champions emerging from the region.

Union Assurance PLC’s Annual Report for 2024, themed ‘Folds of Value’, has been honoured with the Silver Award in the Life Insurance category at the prestigious SAFA Best Presented Annual Report Awards 2024.

Organised by the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA), the award recognises excellence in financial reporting, integrated reporting, and corporate governance across South Asia.

The South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) is a regional body dedicated to advancing the accounting profession across South Asia. Its mission is to harmonise accounting, auditing, and ethical standards while promoting transparency and accountability in financial reporting. SAFA serves as a collaborative platform for professional accounting organisations and drives initiatives that strengthen corporate governance and integrated reporting. Through its Best Presented Annual Report Awards, the federation honours organisations that excel in disclosure, compliance with international standards, and stakeholder engagement, setting benchmarks for quality and integrity in financial communication.

The 2025 award ceremony, held in Islamabad, Pakistan, brought together leading institutions and regional delegates to celebrate excellence in governance and reporting. In the Life Insurance category, Union Assurance was honoured with the Silver Award, which stands as the highest recognition achieved by a Sri Lankan company in this segment. This accolade underscores the Company’s commitment to producing financial statements of the standard, aligned with international accounting standards and global best practices.

Chief Financial Officer Himani Weerasekera said: ‘Our Annual Report goes beyond compliance. It reflects our values and our focus on integrity in everything we do. This achievement highlights the dedication of our finance team and the entire organisation to uphold the highest standards in reporting and disclosure. We are honoured to be recognised among the best in South Asia.’

United Southern SC who were pursuing leaders SSC in the Tier B 3-day league tournament lost ground when they were beaten by Negombo CC in their match concluded at the Air Force grounds, Katunayake yesterday.

Needing 70 to win, Negombo CC completed the formalities scoring 73-2 to win by eight wickets and move to fourth place behind United Southern SC who have dropped to third place.

Second place behind SSC is now occupied by Moratuwa SC after their win against Kandy Customs SC.

Sri Lanka’s workers’ remittances surged to a historic high of an estimated $ 7.8 billion in 2025, marking the largest annual inflow ever recorded and underscoring a strong post-crisis recovery in external foreign exchange earnings.

Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment, and Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath announced the milestone yesterday, noting that the figure surpasses the previous decade-high of $ 7.24 billion achieved in 2016.

The 2025 performance reflects an 8% increase over that earlier record and a robust 19% year-on-year (YoY) growth, despite the Central Bank yet to formally confirm December inflows.

‘December remittances are estimated at between $ 650 million and $ 700 million, which would lift total inflows for the year to around $ 7.8 billion,’ Herath said.

He described the achievement as a significant turnaround for a country that endured a severe foreign exchange crisis just a few years ago, adding that the rebound reflects renewed confidence among Sri Lankans in rebuilding the economy.

The rebound in remittances has been particularly pronounced since the economic crisis. In 2022, inflows slumped to a 12-year low of $ 3.78 billion. This was followed by a sharp recovery in 2023, when remittances jumped by 57% to $ 5.96 billion. The momentum continued in 2024, with a further 10.1% YoY increase to $ 6.57 billion, supported by a surge in outbound labour migration as many Sri Lankans sought overseas employment after the economic collapse.

Historically, between 2014 and 2018, Sri Lanka averaged around $ 7 billion a year in workers’ remittances about $ 600 million per month, highlighting the sector’s long-standing role as a stabilising pillar of the economy.

‘The bulk of remittances in 2025 originated from Middle Eastern destinations, including Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Israel, alongside inflows from Romania, Japan, the Maldives, Oman, South Korea, Australia and the US,’ Herath said.

Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment Deputy Minister Arun Hemachandra said that in 2025, a total of 310,915 skilled and semi-skilled workers left the country for foreign employment, comprising 190,609 men and 120,036 women.

He also noted that total departures declined by 1.2% YoY, indicating that even with fewer workers going abroad, remittance inflows increased as migrants sent more money back home.

It also noted that workers’ remittances remain a critical non-debt source of foreign exchange, helping to offset balance of payments (BoP) deficits, improve liquidity in the domestic foreign exchange market, strengthen international reserves and enhance Sri Lanka’s overall creditworthiness.

In addition, remittances help the broader socio-economic benefits, including poverty reduction and the promotion of savings and investment.

Despite the strong performance, high remittance costs remain a key concern for migrant workers globally. The United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for reducing remittance costs to 3% by 2030 as part of efforts to reduce inequality within and among countries.

The Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Ministry said business registration for export, manufacturing, and other enterprises affected by Cyclone Ditwah has resumed under a second phase and will be extended until 16 January.

The Ministry said the registration was restarted following requests from manufacturing and small-scale industrial operators.

It also said a disaster relief grant of Rs. 200,000 will be extended to small and medium-scale factories that have yet to register with the Ministry, with payments to be channelled through the Divisional Secretariats in the affected districts.

According to a Ministry assessment, 29,649 export, manufacturing, and small and medium-scale businesses have already registered through the newly introduced hotline, while a further 9,628 export and manufacturing factories fall directly under the Ministry’s supervision.

The Ministry said follow-up assistance is being provided to all affected enterprises, with around 1,500 officials deployed to support the process.

Match tickets for the 3-match T20I series of Pakistan’s tour of Sri Lanka can be obtained through the following methods, states a Sri Lanka Cricket media release:

Online: https://mycricket.com.lk

Physical Counters:

Match tickets will be available for purchase from 5 January at the following locations from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

RDICS, Dambulla, and Sri Lanka Cricket headquarters counter at Maitland Place.

Matches will be played at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium on 7, 9 and 11 January.

Category Type Ticket Price (LKR)

Level 3 – AC Box (per seat) Seating 10,000

Grand Stand Level 3 Seating 5,000

Block A Seating 2,000

Block B Seating 2,000

Block C Lower Seating 2,000

Block C Upper Standing 1,000

Block D Lower Seating 2,000

Block D Upper Standing 1,000

Block E Lower Seating 2,000

Block E Upper Standing 1,000

Block F Lower Seating 2,000

Block F Upper Standing 1,000

Block H Lower Seating 2,000

Sigiriya End (Standing) Standing 750

NOLIMIT, Sri Lanka’s leading Fashion Retail Brand, is proud to announce the grand opening of its 28th store in the heart of Jaffna, a city celebrated for its distinct Northern identity, deep-rooted traditions, and a culture shaped by heritage, learning, and close-knit community life. From its vibrant marketplaces and cuisine to its arts, crafts, and enduring spirit of enterprise, Jaffna stands apart as one of Sri Lanka’s most culturally significant and fast-evolving urban centers. Reflecting this character, NOLIMIT’s newest store in Jaffna is designed to complement the city’s modern aspirations while offering residents and visitors a more elevated, family-friendly shopping experience. This milestone further solidifies the brand’s commitment to providing Sri Lankans with an unparalleled shopping experience while continuing its expansion across the island and beyond. The new store, located within Jaffna town’s main commercial precinct, offers a wide selection of menswear, womenswear and kids wear,

alongside shoes and accessories, as well as Homeware, toys, Travel and Luggage and cosmetics, bringing a complete lifestyle retail experience under one roof. The Jaffna store spans four stories, offering customers a convenient, affordable, and familyfriendly shopping environment with ample parking and easy access. Customers can explore a broader and more diverse product range curated to reflect both global fashion trends and local preferences. Founded in 1992, NOLIMIT has grown into the largest Fashion Retail Chain in Sri Lanka with a strong presence across the island. It has also expanded internationally with four stores in the UAE. Known for its customer-centric approach and award-winning service, NOLIMIT has established itself as a leader in Sri Lanka’s fashion retail sector, consistently setting new benchmarks in service excellence and fashion trends. Mr. Hafiz Mubarack, Managing Director, NOLIMIT, said: ‘Jaffna is one of Sri Lanka’s most important cities, rich in culture, enterprise, and potential, and we see it as a key growth hub in the country’s next phase of economic and social progress. With our 28th store, we are proud to invest in Jaffna’s future by bringing a modern, world-class retail experience that matches the city’s evolving aspirations, while making quality, trend-forward fashion more accessible to families across the region.’ Mr. Raneez Sheriff, Assistant General Manager, NOLIMIT, added: ‘In the coming years, Jaffna is well-positioned to evolve into a stronger commercial hub and a rapidly evolving consumer landscape. Strategically, our expansion focuses on reaching Potential markets and ensuring that NOLIMIT becomes the country’s most widely loved fashion retail chain, accessible to customers in every part of Sri Lanka.

Jaffna has always been an important part of our long-term growth plans, and this store opening reflects our commitment to being a truly national brand that connects with communities’ island-wide, while delivering an affordable, high-quality retail experience that matches the city’s momentum and aspirations.’ The store’s design incorporates international trends, creating a modern, stylish environment that invites customers to explore the latest fashion collections in a welcoming atmosphere. With a focus on customer satisfaction and convenience, NOLIMIT continues to lead the charge in transforming Sri Lanka’s retail landscape. As part of its expansion strategy, NOLIMIT aims to open additional stores across Sri Lanka in the coming months, reinforcing its position as a market leader in the fashion retail industry. The Jaffna store serves as a testament to NOLIMIT’s ongoing growth and its commitment to bringing worldclass fashion to every corner of the country.

When floods and landslides strike Sri Lanka, the public conversation almost always turns to nature. Heavy rain, deforestation, hill cutting, and river encroachment are cited as the culprits. These factors are real and serious: forest loss accelerates runoff, altered slopes destabilise terrain, and encroached floodplains erase natural buffers. None of this can be denied. Yet environmental degradation alone does not explain why disasters repeatedly unfold with late warnings, confused responses, and post-event blame.

The deeper problem is architectural. Not architecture in the sense of buildings or dams, but the governance and control systems that translate environmental signals such as rainfall, river levels, reservoir storage, slope saturation into timely, enforceable public action. Environmental damage increases the load on this system. The absence of an integrated hazard management architecture is what allows that load to become a catastrophe.

Each major flood exposes a persistent gap in Sri Lanka’s disaster management framework. Public debate quickly narrows to familiar, technical-sounding questions: Were reservoir gates opened too quickly? Were warnings issued on time? Was the rainfall truly unprecedented?

While these questions appear precise, they are largely distractions. They reduce what is fundamentally a national-scale systems failure into a sequence of isolated operational errors. This framing obscures the deeper issue: the absence of a coherent governance mechanism capable of integrating environmental realities into enforceable, state-wide decisions.

From an engineering perspective, Sri Lanka’s challenge is not rooted in a lack of awareness, expertise, or concern. Rather, it lies in the absence of an executable hazard governance operating system, one that can systematically connect data, forecasts, and risk assessments to binding actions across institutions. Without such a system, responses remain fragmented, reactive, and vulnerable to repetition of the same failures with each new flood.

Hazards are control problems, not media events

In modern risk management, floods and landslides are not anomalies. They are evolving input signals. Rainfall intensity, spatial distribution, and duration feed into catchment response. Catchment response feeds into river stages and reservoir inflows. These, in turn, determine when roads must close, when reservoirs must release water, and when people must evacuate.

The minimum control loop is well understood. Rainfall estimates feed runoff models, which generate inflow hydrographs. Reservoir routing produces downstream river stage projections. These are translated into inundation maps, warning triggers, compulsory orders, and enforcement.

Sri Lanka has fragments of this chain scattered across agencies. One monitors rainfall, another operates reservoirs, another issues landslide warnings, other requests evacuations. What it lacks is integration. However, these components are not fused into a single real-time decision system. Forecasts do not automatically become orders.

When this control loop is broken, the state relies on ‘early warning’ in the form of sirens, media announcements, and generic alerts. These are communication tools, not operational controls. A true warning is precise: it states that at a specific time and place, water will exceed a defined level, and evacuation is mandatory. Without stage-based, location-specific projections, warnings cannot be trusted or enforced.

Reservoir debates expose structural failure

The architectural gap is most visible in debates over reservoirs. After every major flood, arguments erupt: did a dam cause downstream inundation? Victims describe sudden water rises, engineers cite storage volumes, politicians demand accountability. The public expects a clear answer.

But without calibrated reservoir-river flood models, no one can answer the only question that matters: what downstream river stages were expected, at what times, from each release decision, under prevailing rainfall?

Victim testimony shows impact, not causation. Simplified arithmetic produces numbers, not hydrographs. Without real-time inflow data, routing models, and downstream stage discharge relationships, it is technically impossible to isolate reservoir releases effects from cyclone rainfall, uncontrolled tributary inflows, floodplain storage, and channel constraints.

This is why the debate never ends. Sri Lanka is arguing causality without the scientific and institutional machinery required to calculate it.

The Hill Country: A coupled hazard system

Sri Lanka’s hill country is not merely landslide-prone. It is a coupled hazard system. The same rainfall event can saturate slopes, trigger landslides, fill reservoirs, and flood downstream cities. Droughts can even prime landscapes for violent flash floods by degrading soil structure and drainage capacity. Climate volatility has tightened these linkages.

Yet governance remains fragmented. Landslides, floods, and reservoir operations are treated as separate problems, managed by separate institutions under separate laws. The hazard cascade moves as one system. The state does not.

Planning without execution

Sri Lanka’s spatial plans increasingly point in the right direction. They favour densification along transport corridors, protection of environmentally sensitive zones, reduced expansion into unstable terrain. This is sensible. Scattered settlement across hills and floodplains is economically and administratively unsustainable.

However, densification alone does not equal safety. Concentrating people in flood exposed areas without calibrated models, enforceable zoning, and evacuation control simply concentrates risk. A spatial plan without operational science is aspiration, not protection. A spatial map is intent. Safety requires a system that can execute that intent under stress.

What reform requires

Real reform is architectural, not rhetorical. At minimum, Sri Lanka needs:

Unified real-time telemetry linking rainfall, river levels, reservoirs, and slope sensors.

Executable models calibrated against past floods to produce stage-based forecasts with defined thresholds.

Legal command authority to convert those thresholds into compulsory orders across agencies.

Clear public outputs stating what will happen, where, and when in plain language and multiple formats.

Auditable decision logs so failures are diagnosed as engineering problems, not politicised afterthoughts.

This is not theoretical. Countries such as New Zealand and Australia recalibrate models after major floods, publish updated maps, and hard-wire lessons into operational rules. They do not rely on post-event narratives.

Sri Lanka’s disasters are not proof of nature’s cruelty. They reveal a governance system unable to process environmental stress. Deforestation, hill cutting, and river encroachment intensify hazards. Architecture determines whether that intensity becomes a manageable emergency or a national tragedy. Until Sri Lanka builds a hazard governance operating system capable of converting environmental intelligence into compulsory, timely action, every major storm will end the same way: suffering on the ground, arguments in public, and lessons deferred to the next disaster

The real lesson

Sri Lanka’s disasters are not proof of nature’s cruelty. They reveal a governance system unable to process environmental stress. Deforestation, hill cutting, and river encroachment intensify hazards. Architecture determines whether that intensity becomes a manageable emergency or a national tragedy.

Until Sri Lanka builds a hazard governance operating system capable of converting environmental intelligence into compulsory, timely action, every major storm will end the same way: suffering on the ground, arguments in public, and lessons deferred to the next disaster.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) yesterday said that acting in terms of the regulations made under the Registered Stock and Securities Ordinance and the Local Treasury Bills Ordinance, it has decided to extend the suspension of Perpetual Treasuries Ltd. (PTL) from carrying on the business and activities of a primary dealer. Accordingly, the suspension has been extended for a further period of six months with effect from 4.30 p.m. on 5 January 2026, in order to continue the investigations being conducted by the CBSL.