Category: Economy and Markets
Sri Lankan stocks up 0.77 percent
June 13, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lankan share prices firmed up on Wednesday, driven by investor interest in blue chip stocks, brokers said. Colombo’s broader All Share Price Index was up 37.24 points or 0.77 percent to 4,844.79, the Milanka Price Index gained 34. 65 points or 0.81 percent to end at 4,303.89, according to […]
‘s foreign reserves at US$5.8bn by April
June 12, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves rose to 5,835 million US dollars in April from 5,730 million US dollars in March, which was equal to about 3.3 months of imports, the Central Bank said. Though reserves are measured in months of imports, when a central bank sells foreign exchange to defend an […]
Sri Lanka rupee weakens to new low
June 12, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s rupee was quoted as low as 133.60/90 to the US dollar in intra-day spot trade Tuesday and recovered following some selling by a state bank, dealers said as emerging data showed a gradual contraction in external trade. Last year import rose to unsustainable levels as the Central Bank […]
Sri Lanka shares dip 0.08 percent
June 12, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lankan share prices slipped marginally, on thin volumes, as investors picked through selected stocks, brokers said. The main All Share Price Index slipped 0.08 percent or 3.89 points to close at 4,807.55, while the liquid Milanka Price Index nudged up 0.11 percent or 4.87 points to end at 4,269.25, […]
Sri Lanka, South Asian can benefit from free trade, education
June 12, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka and her South Asian neighbors should give trade freedoms to their citizens, strengthen property rights and increase investments in education, a business executive turned politician has said. While South Asian nations were trading with countries in the West whose citizens had won trade freedoms and had high living […]
Sri Lanka overnight rates at new high amid forex pressure
June 12, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s overnight interest rates rose to a high of 10. 50 percent Tuesday, the highest since a balance of payments crisis began in the middle of 2011, as the rupee sank to a new low against the US dollar. Excess liquidity (the aggregate clearing balance of the banking system) […]
Sri Lanka shares up 0.26 percent
June 11, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stock prices edged up Monday, on slim volumes with selected buying across blue chips counters, brokers said. JKH counter rose 1.30 rupees to 180.00 rupees on volumes of 146,832 shares. Carsons, with investments ranging from oil palms to beer manufacturing, was flat at 467. 00 rupees on trades […]
Sri Lanka exports drop 9.2 percent April
June 11, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s exports fell 9.2 percent to 680.1 million dollars in April, while the country’s import bill slipped 3.3 percent to 1,441.0 million dollars, due to slower sales of apparels and tea, official data showed. The bank said the average crude oil import price rose to 121.21 dollars per barrel […]
Deficit plugging Krugman slammed by Estonian leaders
June 10, 2012 (LBO) – Paul Krugman, an influential Nobel laureate who peddles a formula of deficit spending for rulers and currency depreciation for the people as tools of economic recovery, has received a set down from a small nation that did the exact opposite. In a New York Times blog post earlier this week, […]
‘s 2012 foreign investment target to dip to $1.7 bn: report
June 08, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s main investment promotion board is targeting 1.7 billion dollars of investments this year, lower than 2.0 billion dollars projected by the central bank, a report showed. The Indian Ocean Island attracted a record 1.0 billion dollars in investments last year, mainly from new hotel constructions, Board of Investment’s […]
Sri Lanka industrialists forging ahead amid uncertainty
June 8, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s see sawing policy ranging from labour, exchange rate, taxation and interest rates are challenging manufacturers, who are also finding ways to remain competitive in the export market, officials said. “We need policy consistency from the government,” Sunil Wijesinha, chairman of Dankotuwa Porcelain, a tableware maker said, referring to […]
Sri Lanka to choose lead managers for bond sale
June 08, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has received proposals from eight investment banks for a sovereign bond planned for the second half of 2012, which are being evaluated, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said. Though Sri Lanka has enough foreign reserves to easily repay the bond, analysts expect the 2012 bond sale to take […]