Category: Economy and Markets
Sri Lanka stocks up 0.10-pct: Net foreign inflow
Sep 29, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed up 0.10 percent on Tuesday after three consecutive days of losses with gains seen some index heavy, brokers said. The Colombo benchmark All Share Price Index closed up 6.74 points at7,085.38 higher 0.10 percent. S&P SL20 closed 18.62 points lower at 3,850.93 down 0.48 percent. Turnover […]
World Bank says Sri Lanka urbanisation higher than estimated
Sep 29, 2015 (LBO) – Urbanisation in Sri Lanka is higher than officially estimated with almost half the population living in urban areas, a senior World Bank official said. “Urbanization in island is close to 50 percent like the rest of world,” Ede Jorge Ijjasz-Vasquez, senior director social, urban, rural and reliance global practice […]
Sri Lanka trade deficit narrows by 32-pct in July
Sept 29, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s trade deficit narrowed in July from the same month last year, the central bank said. This was partly due to the base effect as July 2014 recorded the highest monthly import value after November 2012. “The deficit in the trade account in July 2015 contracted substantially by 32.3 […]
Sri Lanka wants holding company structure for public enterprises: Governor
Sept 29, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government is looking at setting up a holding company which will own equity stakes in public enterprises, the central bank governor said. The aim here is to improve good governance and restructure under-performing ones, he said. “The government wants to evolve a holding company which will own equity […]
Sri Lanka to strengthen economy despite global scenario: Ravi K
Sep 29, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s finance minister Ravi Karunanayake said that the government would continue to strengthen the economy despite the current global situation.“I am ready to make a special statement on the fiscal situation of the country within the next couple of days,” Karunanayake said. “We will also explain how the emerging […]
ADB to triple lending for education in Sri Lanka
Sep 29, 2015 (LBO) – The Asian Development Bank says they will triple lending to one billion US dollars for education and will also help develop the islands capital markets.“In line with the governments initiative to increase spending on education to six percent of gross domestic product we plan to triple lending for education to […]
Sri Lanka sells 04, 06 and 13 year bonds; 13 year bond yields up
Sep 28, 2015 (LBO) – The issue of treasury bonds amounting to 13 billion rupees have been oversubscribed with 64 billion rupees of bids received from investors.The Central Bank has accepted 3.0 billion rupees of 04 year bonds maturing on 15 September 2019 at a weighted average yield rate of 9.50 percent. The bond auction […]
Free flow of information vital for financial markets: CB Governor
Sept 28, 2015 (LBO) – A free flow of information is vital for financial markets to grow, Sri Lanka’s Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran told media on Monday. He was responding to a question posed by Lanka Business Online about concerns of market participants that they should censor information when dealing with the media. Some […]
Colombo Stock Exchange to transform into a sustainable stock exchange
Sep 28, 2015 (LBO) – The Colombo Stock Exchange is to be transformed into a sustainable stock exchange while enhancing corporate transparency on Environmental, Social, and corporate Governance (ESG) issues.CSE recently joined the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges initiative, launched by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in 2009.It aims to explore how exchanges can work […]
Sri Lanka stocks edge lower, turnover at five week high
Sep 28, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed down 0.45 percent on Monday with losses in some index heavy and banking stocks and low retail investor activity, brokers said. The Colombo benchmark All Share Price Index closed down 32.16 points at7,078.64 lower 0.45 percent. S&P SL20 closed 22.79 points lower at 3,864.35 down 0.59 […]
Report of a spat with officials an exaggeration, says Governor
Sept 28, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank Governor said on Monday that a media report of a spat with senior officials over transfers that had proved controversial was a gross exaggeration. The report alleged that senior officials were holding a meeting when the heated discussion ensued. The transfers were part of a regular […]
Sri Lanka currency now competitive after float: CB Governor
Sept 28, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s currency is now competitive after being floated last month and will support export growth, the central bank governor told media on Monday. “Like other currencies in emerging markets, the Sri Lankan currency has also adjusted to become slightly weaker against the U.S. currency,” Arjuna Mahendran, the central bank […]