From stabilisation to strategy: How leading corporates are positioning for next phase of growth

SRI Lanka's recovery is moving into a more demanding phase, where macroeconomic stability has been largely restored but growth is expected to slow and debt dynamics are again coming into focus.

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At the First Capital Investor Symposium last week, this shift was laid out in the firm's Investment Strategy: January 2026 - Sri Lanka outlook, which projected GDP growth easing to 3-4% in 2026 and 2027, down from an estimated 4-5% in 2025, amid weaker consumer spending, limited reform momentum and the lingering economic impact of Cyclone Ditwah (please see https://www.ft.lk/top-story/2026-slow-growth-outlook-raises-debt-concerns-First-Capital/26-787291)

Against that backdrop, a panel discussion featuring John Keells Holdings PLC Deputy Chairman and Group Finance Director Gihan Cooray, Hemas Consumer Brands Managing Director Sabrina Esufally, JAT Holdings PLC CEO and Executive Director Nishal Ferdinando and First Capital Holdings PLC Chief Research and Strategy Officer Dimantha Mathew shifted the focus from macro diagnosis to corporate response. Rather than debating whether recovery is real, the discussion centred on how growth will be generated in an economy facing tighter financial conditions, slower domestic demand growth and limited fiscal space.

For John Keells Holdings, Hemas and JAT Holdings, the challenge is not simply to defend margins or wait for demand to return. It is to create demand through long-cycle investments, reshape consumption patterns, expand infrastructure capacity already nearing utilisation and operate directly inside larger, more competitive markets abroad. The panel's remarks offered a view into how some of the country's most capital-intensive and strategically exposed companies are positioning themselves for this next phase.

For Hemas Holdings PLC, stabilisation has translated into a measurable shift in consumer behaviour, but not into a return to scale-led growth. Managing Director of Hemas Consumer Brands Sabrina Esufally said the recovery is visible in volumes and brand choice.