Category: Economy and Markets
Sri Lanka shares end up 2.4-pct
Jan 27, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lankan closed sharply higher Friday recovering more ground after recent heavy losses with turnover also high and investors buying into fundamentally strong companies, brokers said. Capital Alliance Finance was also among the top gainers, closing at 36.30 rupees, up seven. Newly listed Asia Asset Finance was the most actively […]
Sri Lanka needs to grow food to stabilize exchange rate: Treasury secretary
Jan 26, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has to grow more food to reduce imports which will help strengthen the exchange rate, Treasury Secretary P B Jayasundera said, as the country lost almost a quarter of its foreign reserves defending a dollar peg. “There is no economic justification to import any longer the kind of […]
Sri Lanka must not intervene excessively to maintain peg: economic minister
Jan 26, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka should not intervene excessively to maintain a peg with the US dollar, economic development minister Basil Rajapaksa said as reserve losses mounted in a bid to keep the rupee at 113. 90 to the US dollar in the spot market. “I feel there must be a realistic value […]
Sri Lanka in talks with Qatar for toll expressway, resorts: economic minister
Jan 26, 2012 (LBO) – The State of Qatar is in talks with Sri Lanka to build a toll expressway from the island’s main international airport to the northwestern coastal town on Kalpitiya, economic development minister Basil Rajapaksa said. Sri Lanka opened its first expressway to Galle in the south late last year. Officials say […]
Sri Lanka mulls special passports for business people
Jan 26, 2012 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan business chamber is negotiating with immigration authorities to secure special passports for business people to help them cut through red tape during overseas travel. The National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) is trying to secure a different type of passport business people recognised by chambers […]
Sri Lanka stocks recover losses
Jan 26, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s stock closed up 0.65 percent Thursday recovering losses for the second day, with turnover rising, and index heavy John Keells Holdings reported higher profits for the quarter. The benchmark Colombo All Share Index rose 36 points to close at 5,592. 4 points and the Milanka Index of more […]
‘s foreign reserves down 23.4-pct from peak in Nov
Jan 25, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange reserves fell 23.4 percent to 6,201 million US dollars in November 2011 or 1,897.8 million US dollars from an end July peak, official data showed. The Central Bank said the trade deficit expanded 111 percent to 8.8 billion US dollars in the eleven months to November. […]
Sri Lanka stocks closed up 0.3-pct
Jan 25, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s stocks closed up 0. 36 percent Wednesday with illiquid stocks which lost ground in recent days recovering some losses, in thin trading brokers said. The benchmark Colombo All Share Index closed up 20 points at 5,556 points and the Milanka Index of more liquid stocks rose 26 points […]
IMF cuts growth global forecast, Euro negative
Jan 25, 2012 (LBO) – The International Monetary Fund cut the forecast for world growth as a series of ‘stimulus’ measures by deficit spending failed, worsening debt, undermining confidence and pushing some nations to into sovereign credit trouble. Emerging economies will grow 5.4 percent in 2012 (down from an earlier forecast of 6.2 percent), with […]
Sri Lanka Treasuries flat
Jan 25, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Treasuries yields were flat across maturities at Wednesday’s auction with 14.3 billion rupees of bills being sold, the state debt office said. The 3-month yield was flat at 8.67 percent with 8.6 billion rupees of bills sold and the 6-month month yield was flat at 8. 71 percent […]
Sri Lanka shares plunge 2.2-pct
Jan 24, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares plunged again Tuesday, following Monday’s fall, amid panic selling, although recovering somewhat towards the end of trading, brokers said. Newly listed Asia Asset Finance was another heavily traded stock, closing at 6. 10 rupees, up 20 cents. “The Colombo stock market continued to end with negative returns […]
‘s Galle literary festival closes
Jan 23, 2012 (LBO) – Curtains came down on the five-day long Galle Literary Festival on Sunday with discussions on obsessive love, war and Indira Gandhi taking centre stage. Biographers Nayantara Sahgal and Katherine Frank shed light on the iron lady of South Asia, the iconic Indira Gandhi’s political career and how she exercised power […]