Category: Economy and Markets
Australia and Sri Lanka sign new partnership agreement
Feb 16, 2017 (LBO) – Australia and Sri Lanka have signed a new development cooperation partnership during Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe’s visit to Australia. “The new partnership sets a new direction,” the Australian High Commission said releasing a statement. “As Sri Lanka’s economy grows, Australia will support the Government’s reform agenda including ensuring that economic growth […]
With foreign debt servicing of USD4 bil, cabinet approves sovereign bond
Feb 16, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister says the island’s total domestic and foreign debt service payments for 2017 is estimated to be around 1,480 billion rupees. In a cabinet memorandum Karunanayake said total foreign debt service payments including foreign currency denominated debt amounts to 609.4 billion rupees (4.04 billion dollars) in 2017. […]
Asian stocks at 1-1/2 year highs on robust Wall St; dollar retreats
HONG KONG, Feb 16 (Reuters) – Asian stocks edged up to fresh 19-month highs on Thursday, helped by an extended rally on Wall Street and strong U.S. data though the dollar stepped back after a recent bounce. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.2 percent, rising to its highest since July […]
Sri Lanka senior citizens’ deposits up to Rs1.5Mn to get higher interest
Feb 15, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Finance Ministry said that it will increase the upper limit up to 1.5 million rupees for 15 percent special interest paid on fixed deposits maintained by senior citizens. Director General of Department of Development Finance said the treasury will pay 18,000 million rupees to cover the difference during the […]
More public-private collaboration needed during humanitarian crises: WEF
Feb 15, 2017 (LBO) – Public-private collaboration in the humanitarian space is being discussed, as highlighted at the recently concluded World Economic Forum, with options mapped out for greater “digital humanitarianism. ” The humanitarian programme of the World Economic Forum, at the Annual Meeting 2017 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland last month, provided a platform to discuss […]
Fitch revises Sri Lanka Insurance & SLT outlook to stable from negative
Feb 14, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Fitch Ratings has revised the outlook on Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation’s insurer financial strength rating to stable from negative, and affirmed its rating at ‘B+’. Meanwhile, the rating agency has also revised the outlook on Sri Lanka Telecom long-term foreign- and local-currency issuer default ratings to stable from […]
Hayleys 3Q16 profits grow by 8-pct to Rs.1.1Bn
(PRESS RELEASE) – Sri Lankan conglomerate Hayleys PLC’s profits after tax rose by 8% Year-on-Year (YoY) to reach Rs. 1.1 billion during the quarter ended 31st December 2016 (3Q16). Revenue during the quarter increased by a sharp 27% YoY up to Rs. 30 billion buoyed by strong performances across in the Group’s Agriculture, Construction Materials […]
South Asian stock exchange officials to meet in Colombo
Feb 14, 2017 (LBO) – The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) will host the executive committee board meeting for the current term of the South Asian Federation of Exchanges (SAFE) on the 27th of February 2017. “The event will strengthen cooperation among our exchanges and create opportunity for cross-border investment linkages,” Vajira Kulatilaka, chairman, SAFE and CSE […]
Sri Lanka’s Sampath Bank profits surge 67-pct in Dec quarter
Feb 14, 2017 (LBO) – Shareholder profits at Sri Lanka’s Sampath Bank group surged 67 percent to 2.56 billion rupees in the December quarter from a year earlier, interim accounts showed. The group reported earnings of 14. 44 rupees per share for the quarter against 8.91 rupees per share last year. For the year ended […]
Asia shares notch 19-month highs, dollar firm
SYDNEY, Feb 14 (Reuters) – Asian shares inched to 19-month highs on Tuesday as the potential for economic stimulus in the United States lifted the dollar, bond yields and Wall Street stocks. The dollar was also bolstered by speculation the head of the Federal Reserve would underline the prospects of more U.S. rate hikes […]
Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence net up 36-pct in 3Q
Aitken Spence PLC recorded a strong financial performance closing the immediate 9-month period with a 9.9% year-on-year growth in profits before tax amounting to Rs. 2.9 billion, and a 17% growth in profit attributable to shareholders. The growth is attributed to strong financial performances posted by a number of key operational sectors in the reporting […]
Sri Lanka foreign reserves drop by USD568mn in January
Feb 13, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s official reserves dropped 567. 5 million US dollars to 5.45 billion dollars in January, down from 6.01 billion dollars at the end of December, official Central Bank data showed. Foreign currency reserves were 4.52 billion US dollars and reserves in Gold were 0.86 billion US dollars. The Central […]