Category: Economy and Markets
Sri Lanka stocks end up 0.5-pct
Dec 13, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed firmer Tuesday in thin trading with turnover falling to one of the lowest in recent times, brokers said. The main All Share Price Index rose 0.50 percent (29.66 points) to 5,994.66, while the more liquid Milanka index rose 0.75 percent (39.34 points) to close at 5,267.74. […]
Sri Lanka sovereign bond deal gets accolade
Dec 13, 2011 (LBO) – A billion dollar 10-year sovereign bond for Sri Lanka has won praise from a specialist regional financial publication, saying the deal brought the country closer to seasoned Asian borrowers like Philippines and Indonesia. “Few other contenders can stand up against the sovereign, which has continued to lead the way,” FinanceAsia […]
Sri Lanka relaxes foreign investment in company debt
Dec 13, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank said it had lifted a foreign borrowing limit by companies to 50 million US dollars from 20 million, lifted a rate cap on debentures and also slashed the tenor to two years from five. Before 1950 a currency board arrangement (hard peg) placed a hard budget […]
Sri Lanka stocks slip 0.5-pct
Dec 12, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s stocks slipped 0.5 percent, with illiquid stocks losing further ground in thin trade, but more fundamentally strong stocks saw some support, brokers said. One million shares of Distilleries traded with the stock closing at 149.10 down 90 cents. In forex markets the rupee continued to be defended at […]
Sri Lanka bond yields up, money steady
Dec 12, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s money and forex markets were steady but bond yields were slightly up in a thin market Monday, dealers said. Meanwhile Central Bank data showed that foreign investors have bought into bills over the last week, reversing some sales earlier. The Central Bank raised limits for foreign holdings of […]
Sri Lanka draws Indian investors
Dec 10, 2011 (LBO) – Indian companies are keen to invest in post-war Sri Lanka given its growth prospects and are looking for opportunities, officials of Price Waterhouse Coopers India said. “These Indian entrepreneurs are looking at the emerging middle class which was the engine of growth for them in India,” he said. Indian businessmen […]
‘s President Sang: interview
Dec 10, 2011 (LBO) – Vietnam is a country which left behind a bitter war civil war with foreign involvement to become a fast growing nation and a top destination for global foreign direct investments following its Äổi Má»›i or (renewal) political and market reforms starting from 1986. Vietnam built bridges both internally and externally […]
Sri Lanka lawmaker speaks for food freedoms, voiceless minority
Dec 09, 2011 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan lawmaker has spoken out for food freedoms, after a fellow parliamentarian and prime minister proposed banning an imported food heavily consumed by Tamil speaking minority citizens. Harsha de Silva, a lawmaker representing Sri Lanka’s main opposition spoke out against a proposal by Prime Minister D M Jayaratne […]
Sri Lanka reaches billion dollar FDI volume in 2011: minister
Dec 09, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has reached a highest ever foreign direct investment volume of a billion US dollars by November 2011, deputy economic development minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene said. “This includes state land sales,” minister Abeywardene said. “Land purchases are an integral part of an investment project. By November 2011 we have […]
Sri Lanka stocks end down 0.5-pct
Dec 09, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed weaker Friday, sinking below the 6,000 point mark in thin trade with an investor continuing to accumulate shares of Distilleries Company, brokers said. The main All Share Price Index fell 0.51 percent (30.75 points) to 5,996.44, while the more liquid Milanka index fell 0.34 percent (17.85 […]
Sri Lanka forex reserves slip 12-pct in Sept to US$7.0bn
Dec 09, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves slipped 11.8 percent to 7,095 million US dollars by end September from a month earlier, amid defence of a soft dollar peg, official data showed. The trade deficit expanded 93.6 percent to 6.8 billion US dollars. The trade gap is driven by income derived from net […]
Sri Lanka food freedoms under fresh threat: report
Dec 08, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister D M Jayaratne had asked for a complete ban on fruit imports and asked for the price of wheat flour to be increased to a level people “could not afford”, a media report said. Farmers in countries like Pakistan produce better quality fruits than in Sri […]